Category: 2021 Blog Post

This Passage is from page 22/23 of the text, where we find George Talboys talking to Miss Morley on the ship back to London and we see George’s bubble burst. Miss Morley’s own doubts about coming back to London, slowly at first, starts to affect the mood of George. He asks her “why do you come and try to put such fancies into my head” (22), because he is realizing that he has been naive to believe that after 3 and ½ years of being gone without explanation – his wife could be ill, spiteful, or even worse dead. These are dark and dangerous thoughts for George because as his bubble pops, he has 3 years of anxiety and bad thoughts rushed into his head all at once. 

This passage changes the tone of the novel quickly. Before this passage, or this chapter, the author describes the beauty of Audley court and shows us a pretty romantic engagement speech. But this passage acts as a tone shift to the novel and contrasts against the light of the first chapter, with a dark and looming realization and thought pattern in this passage. George’s new doubts of his marriage affects him greatly, as well as adds conflict for the reader. “My pretty little wife! My gentle, innocent, loving, little wife! …. why her faithful husband had deserted her?” (23). Continues to add new information for us, and give us more about why his bubble popping shakes George up so much. This passage seems to be pretty important because in our first meeting of George he changes drastically. From a happy go lucky lover, to very sad and distraught. I believe this passage will create more problems than the mental distress George is under.

The passage I chose can be found on pg. 77, and describes the bright, natural beauty surrounding the estate after a dreadful storm. The passage can be found to use multiple different dichotomies that we have discussed as a class, but in particular the idea of light/dark, and using nature to facilitate an understanding of what is secretly happening within the lives of those so close by. The emphasis on nature is an objective passive way of making commentary on the lives in the estate. This could be connecting to current issues, or foreshadowing for the future of the text. There is not only descriptive imagery, but also usage of certain colors that evoke a specific emotional response. For example, the commentary on the color of the corn is more for the reader to see happiness or positivity will soon be following after a storm, inferring a conflict. This conflict could be within the self or interpersonal, but regardless the same point is illustrated. Using this same imagery of the bright corn, their stalks also lift high to the sun after missing it dearly in the storm, being battered by the elements. This might be a little crazy, but potentially the stalk is supposed to represent how the the “core” or inner self is seeking a greater good, is yearning for a newfound brightness in life, but also “brighter” qualities. When light and dark are brought up as a theme, this can be seen typically as a conflict between the two, but I’m challenging that in the instance of the Audley estate, the two actually exist in a parallel fashion. that although there may be calm in one aspect, there is a brewing storm in another. The “so what” of this is that it further bolsters the idea that the author using nature as a reflection of what is going on with the characters of the text.

The passage I selected begins with “I do not think that throughout his courtship the baronet once calculated upon his wealth or his position as a strong reason for his success…” (13). There is the constant repetition of words that indicate that money is important in the victorian era and in the novel when concerning marriage and love. Furthermore, there is a noticeable repetition of words and phrases that are indicative of the patriarchy. The baronet had hoped that Lucy’s life had been one of “toil and dependence” (13). This suggests that family structures are very much important in the victorian era. This passage foreshadows the conflict to come between Lucy and Sir Michael Audley’s daughter because of the power struggle to become a lady of the house and thus household decision-maker. It is one of the few responsibilities women with status are able to achieve through marriage to a rich man.

Lucy wishes to “captivate a rich man” which entails she is likely in an unfavorable financial situation (13). In addition, there is very little known about Lucy Graham, thus there is a lot of mystery surrounding her intentions to marry a man that did not even initially interest her. Moreover, the apparent gender roles that Lucy must fill and take away from Audley’s daughter, in addition to the fincnacial drive, forshadow future conflict and jealousy between Lucy Gram and Audly’s daughter. There will also likely be scandals concerning Sir Audley given it seem that Lucy is only interested in the money and status, as well as, the fact that not much is known about her.

Chapter 1

“He was glad of her reply; and yet that and the strange laugh jarred upon his feelings. He was silent for some moments, and then said with a kind of effort – ‘Well, Lucy, I will not ask too much of you. I dare say I am a romantic old fool; but if you do not dislike me, and if you do not love anyone else, I see no reason why we should not make a very happy couple. Is it a bargain, Lucy?’” (17).

I found this passage rather strange because Lucy Graham is asked not to be happy with Mr. Audley as her husband, but if she will be satisfied being him since she doesn’t love anybody else. Since his previous wife’s death, Mr. Audley has not taken interest in any women except Lucy Graham, and he was clearly taken aback by her response when first asked if he would be his significant other. However, the passage provided above is, essentially, just another way of once again asking Lucy to be his wife, just without the feeling of true love. Specifically, the word “bargaining” in this passage stands out among the others because it is clear the Lucy Graham is not in love with Mr. Audley, but Sir Michael Audley so desperately wants her to be his partner. This could cause conflict in the future because, as humans know all too well, the feelings of love and passion can easily change overtime. Lucy is described as one of the most beautiful women in all the land, but in the bargain, she made with Mr. Audley, she did not love anybody else only at that time in the story. As mentioned before, she has admitted not to being in love with Sir Michael, but to essentially not dislike him enough for the time being to be his wife and the woman of Audley Court. What I really think this passage is about is relinquishing happiness for status, power, and wealth. Humans, as a species, constantly must make decisions that influence out societal status and perceived wealth and, often, we aren’t happy with the decisions we make. In the case of Lucy Graham, she may be happy for the time being with her newfound wealth, jewelry, and travels, but it is likely she will eventually need more than just the old Sir Michael providing for her to make her truly happy in life without having internal conflicts.

“This George Talboys was the life and soul of vessel; nobody knew him or what he was, or where he came from, but everybody liked him. He sat at the bottom of the dinner table, and assisted the captain in doing the honours of the the friendly meal. He opened the champagne bottles, and took wine with every one present; he told funny stories, and led the laugh himself with such a joyous peal, that the man must have been a churl who could not have laughed fore pure sympathy. (19)”

I thought this was an interesting character development for George. The way he is described very much made me think of a simple person who would make others laugh and was a joy to have around. However we later learn that this changes so quickly as the time on the Argus comes to an end. It made me think if he was truly this joyous person to be around or if this was a act of some sort while he was on board. It is mentioned that his personality change started as they were a fortnight’s sail from port (A fortnight is two weeks) which also made me think that maybe he was the a true bright life on the ship and he just did not think about his situation at home as much until they were close enough that it became so real but was not while he possibly distracted by the sea. regardless I think if was interesting that they decided to include this part about his character specifically how he was viewed on the Argus in this chapter. As well as the way it is mentioned earlier just how “average” George is I found this interesting as I felt after mentioning his qualities it always circled back to this.

Robert Audley’s appearance grabbed my attention as he was not shown to have any direct relation with Lucy, our protagonist. Nevertheless, the brief description of the character and his career seem to have significant meaning to the story plot as we move along. Robert’s career as a barrister is mentioned four times within a few lines. The pattern stands out as we read through the passage with the phrase “as a barrister” that speaks of Robert’s job when working at Figtree Court. Along with the line “If these things can make a man a barrister, Robert Audley decidedly was one” (Braddon 37), the passage sarcastically described Robert’s bare minimum responsibilities at work. By listing out the only two tasks including having a chamber and dining with powerful and famous figures, Robert was depicted to have a job that requires minimum effort and qualification. Additionally, by stressing the benefits and treatments Robert got as a barrister, the passage implies his intention and motivation when taking on the job, all the while providing insights on his characteristics of a lazy and unmotivated man. The passage went on telling how Robert works at his job with the same spirit. The word “brief” was repeated three times consecutively, pointing at how Robert had no interest as well as responsibility at his job. With the strands “never either had”, “tried to”, and “even wished to”, it could be inferred that Robert is indeed a lazy guy with an easy life depending on his father’s money. These traits of Robert provided a brief characterization of the power and money forces during the mid to late Victorian period society. These characteristics also had me wonder how Robert would contribute to the story’s plot and how he would be involved with Lucy and the Audley’s family.

“Yes, here, here…” (Braddon, 16)

When reading the beginning of the passage, I sympathized with Lucy when Braddon explains her misfortunes during her “babyhood.”  She even insists that Sir Michael could have any other women much more superior than herself, but he chose her.  However, we later see Lucy’s materialistic motivations become a contributing factor to her decision later.

I believe this passage is explaining the idea of love and status through Lucy’s reaction to Sir Michael’s proposal.   Throughout the passage, Lucy makes a lot of words that can contrast between the idea of poverty and beauty; accomplished but poor.  The passage also uses “you” and “we” in a way to explain that Sir Michael will never be able to relate to her life.  Thus, being impossible for her to really fall in love with him even though he would help rescue her from poverty, “you cannot tell; you, who are amongst those for whom life is so smooth and easy; can never guess what is endured by such as we,” (Braddon 16).  Lucy also repeats the lines, “you ask too much of me,” in the beginning of the passage.  However, she later changes the wording to, “Do not ask too much of me, then,” (Braddon 16) after she explains her upbringing of poverty.  This can imply that when Lucy accepted his proposal, she wasn’t hiding that some of her decision was based on his wealth and luxurious lifestyle. I am interested in seeing if Lucy’s motivations change from being somewhat wealth relate to real love throughout the book.

 

“He walked straight out of the house, this foolish old man, because there was some strong emotion at work and his heart – neither joy, nor triumph, but something almost akin to disappointment; some stifled and unsatisfied longing which lay heavy and dull at his heart, as if he had carried a corpse in his bosom. He carried the corpse of that hope which had died at the sound of Lucy’s words. All the doubts and fears and timid aspirations were ended now. He must be contented, like other men his age, to be married for his fortune and his position” (Braddon 17).

This passage describes Michael Audley’s emotions after his conversation with Lucy about if she loves him. Lucy’s response was that she does “not love any one in the world”, and this was reassuring to Michael (Braddon 17). In this passage, the word “corpse” is repeated many times. The “corpse” is referring to the emotional burden that Michael is feeling due to his uncertainty of whether Lucy loves him or not. Michael is also described as a “foolish old man”, which could mean that Lucy is lying to him and does in fact love another person (Braddon 17). Michael wishes to be married to someone who truly loves him, and his hope for that “died at the sound of Lucy’s words” (Braddon 17). At the end of the passage, Michael accepts that he is being married for his wealth and status.

This passage reminds me of Robert Browning’s poem “My Last Duchess” because it deals with marriage of people of different economic status. The poem depicts a wealthy duke reminiscing about his wife who has died. Like Michael, the Duke suspects that his late wife had possibly cheated on him or loved another person. In the end of Browning’s poem, it says “I gave commands; Then all smiles stopped together. There she stands, As if alive” This makes it seem like the Duke had her killed, possibly because she loved another man. This might be a stretch, but I wonder if Michael will do something similar to Lucy. This could also be why “corpse” was repeated so many times in the passage as well.

 

Passage: “Why, I have seen her under my wretched canvas tent, sitting by my side, with her boy in her arms, as plainly as I had ever seen her in the one happy year of our wedded life”  (26)

George’s description of his and Helen’s son as “her boy” instead of as “our boy” (26) suggests that he has trouble connecting with his son, and doesn’t claim him as his own. Braddon could also be hinting that the child is not George’s, but the product of an affair — which would align with the typical drama of sensation novels. The use of “her” instead of “our” also speaks to the role of women in the Victorian era. Due to separate spheres ideology and patriarchal values, George likely views his son as Helen’s responsibility, since child-rearing was a traditionally female role. I noticed that in ch. 7-13, after Helen’s death, George refers to his son as his own, which suggests a shift in character based either on his perceptions of Georgey or an assumption of responsibility that was only appropriate (based on gender roles) after his wife’s passing. George’s emphasis on their “one happy year” (26) is also significant, as it foreshadows that Helen’s death would prevent the couple from experiencing beyond that year. 

The visions George mentions occurred while Helen was in England and he was in Australia. This might be a stretch, but I have a theory that Lucy is actually Helen, and that Helen never really died. If true, this passage might pave the way for a reunion between George and Helen/Lucy in which George’s apparent sighting of her could be reduced to a mere vision, akin to the kind he had while in Australia. In essence, this passage foreshadows the end of Helen and George’s marriage as well as a poor relationship between George and his son. This foreshadowing is coupled with a nod to historical notions of patriarchy and an early prediction about Lucy’s identity and how that may emerge within the context of the Talboys.

“ “Great Heaven!” exclaimed George Talboys, “is this the way you welcome me? I come to England to find my wife dead within a week of my touching land, and you begin to chatter to me about my beard — you, her father!” “True! True!” cried George” (63)

 

This conversation is the first one that George and Maldon have had since George left. George does not hesitate to call Maldon out for not being serious and about how the first thing he said was about his beard and not his wife. George in this conversation is obviously upset and seems like he has already had enough of Maldon, which is very reasonable. Maldon on the other hand doesn’t seem that fazed and is really just blaming his daughters death on George. Later in the conversation Maldon says “If you’d only been here a week earlier?”(63) It seems like Maldon can’t take responsibility for his actions and just wants to put the blame on someone else, or it also seems like Maldon might be hiding something. It seems like he might be lying about his daughter’s death and trying to keep a secret because of the way he acted. When he first saw George it didn’t seem like the way someone would act when they saw the husband of their daughter who had just died. I wouldn’t think that his first reaction would be to blame him for his daughter’s death. Also at the end of the conversation Robert said to himself “He seems, for some reason or other, to be half afraid of George.”(63) This shows how Maldon might not want to tell George something that would make him upset.

 

I think that this conversation shows the relationship that George and Maldon have and Maldons suspicious actions. Even though Maldon does seem sad his altercation with George makes it seem like he is hiding something from George.