Category: 2021 Blog Post

“Robert Audley was supposed to be a barrister…” (Bradon 35)

This opening phrase can mean either that Audley is not truthfully employed or that he was born to occupy an office in Fig-Tree Court, Temple. The characterization that follows reveals both interpretations as equally applicable. Robert Audley is a man defined by what he is not and he has no interest in veering from the course predetermined by the circumstances of his birth. He is perfectly content to surrender himself to the dull pleasures of the routine. Numbers and passive language reappear throughout his introduction, reminders of Audley’s repetitious life and his past as an accountant: Robert is the “only child” of a father who left him “£400,” he’s aged “about seven-and-twenty,” a barrister for the “five years” his name has been painted upon “one door,” and he attends his “allotted number of dinners” (35). Although Robert’s complaints of “overwork” are laughed off, they are not entirely inaccurate (35). Audley’s greatest fault is not that he cares too little, but rather that he cares too much. Audley’s absolute rejection of violence is his only motivation, he spends all his hours contemplating how best to avoid conflict. Audley became a barrister only to avoid conflict with friends, this fear of opposition would explain why he “never… even wished to have a brief” as a confrontational litigator (35). Audley’s introduction is made even stranger by his friendship with George Talboys – a man in every way his opposite. Talboys sought out the life of violence as a dragoon that Audley so carefully avoided, not out of desperation but simple excitement. The cigar smoking Talboys plays cards while Audley smokes his “German pipe” and reads the same “French novels” unknown to Talboys earlier (35). Talboys is anxious to offboard the Argus while Audley is comfortable as a passenger on the leisurely cruise of his life.

“… he freely owned that he had no talent for whist, and that he didn’t know a knight from a castle upon the chess-board. Indeed, Mr. Talboys was by no means too learned a gentleman.” (Braddon 34)

In this description, George Talboys is not at all ashamed of his lack of higher education and status. In fact, he even goes on to laugh at and mock the woman he was speaking with on the ship at her interest in things like poetry and fashion. He finds them to be silly and of no real use. Diving deeper into the psychology of Mr. Talboys, this seeming resentment towards anyone and anything that could resemble higher status could stem from the resentment he has towards his own father. Since he had married a woman of a lower status than he, George’s father had discontinued his allowance that he had been given for many years. This had set them up for poverty later on, which is the reason he had to be away from his wife for over three years in the first place.

The abandonment of his father in his life, the later loss of his wife while away, and the lack of relationship between him and his son has resulted in Mr. Talboys’ struggle with intense psychological issues. Depression, for example, has been expressed in numerous ways throughout the book so far. It stated how George will often skip meals if not reminded and often has “gloomy fits” (Braddon 85). What seems like typical despair of a heartbreak then would quickly be classified as depression in today’s society. His passive attitude and often yearning for solitude may also help explain why he left Robert without a word so easily that day while fishing.

This passage from page 22 of the text includes George Talbot on the ship back to London, talking to a lady named Miss Morley. George is furious, passionate, and full of emotion because of Miss Morley talking about how she doubts whether her husband is still well. She also questions George’s laid back state of mind and confidence that nothing has gone wrong after three years. Although, it does not take long for George to change his mind completely and start to lose composure, sanity, and freak out to some degree. He screams and remarks at “what a fool” he is for paying attention to these thoughts, but also asks “why do you come and terrify me out of my senses” which shows that his mind is spoiled and he is no longer as hopeful about his wife being healthy and well (22).

This passage seems to be a turning point for George and for the novel, as dark ideas and thoughts have now entered the story and have become a reality. this passage also signifies a deeper layer of sadness and emotion when George starts to express his deep love for his wife. He said, “I am going straight home to the girl whose heart is as true as the light of heaven” (22). His references to heaven and a later reference to “tomorrow’s sunrise” in this passage touches also offers another connection to religion and nature. This language used by the author is expressed to display a strong sense of affection and confidence by George, but in reality, he is experiencing doubts and worries behind his words due to Miss Morley’s influence.

(George Talboys from Play ^)

 

Passage: “In her better fortunes, as in her old days of dependence, wherever she went she seemed to take sunshine and gladness with her. In spite of Miss Alicia’s undisguised contempt for her step-mother’s childness and frivolity, Lucy was better loved and more admired than the baronet’s daughter” (55)

In many points of the book, there are mentions about how colorful and beautiful Lady Audley is. This also happens in this specific passage where she “takes sunshine and gladness with her”.  Of course, Lady Audley’s relationship with her step-daughter, Alicia, is not great at all. Her natural beauty gives another reason for Alicia to become more jealous of her and create more conflict between the two individuals. The hatred of course mainly comes from Alicia’s jealousy but can also be a difficulty or the inability of a step-daughter to connect with her step-mother since they are not biologically related. This creates trust issues for each side and might eventually result in bad consequences. Also, Alicia may be suspicious of Lady Audley’s actions and might think that her colorfulness is simply a distraction from others discovering something secret that people are not aware of.

The repetition of the colors is really common throughout the book and it forms a really important description factor. For instance, the colorfulness which is mentioned in this passage displays a beautiful image of an individual. On the other side, when the author describes people as pale or white, she describes them as not really attractive and with less energy and less life. This is also a common contrast that occurs in the text, usually with side characters such as Phoebe Marks and Luke.

I believe that the passage is really about emphasizing the bad relationship that Lady Audley and her step-daughter have in order to later in the book represent a significant part of the plot that can possibly connect their relationship with Lady Audley’s secret. I believe that because there is too much emphasis on their bad relationship and that cannot be happening randomly. This relationship may actually create more bad relationships with other people such as with the baronet and Mr. Robert. Everything happens for a reason and I believe that the fights that happen are happening for a specific reason that we do not know about yet.

Lady Audley’s Secret wastes little time in bringing this story to focus on secrecy. When the narrator is describing Lime-tree walk they are careful to include every detail about the place. One of those details was “that it seemed a chosen place for secret meetings or for stolen interviews.” (9) This place, which is “scarcely twenty paces from the house” (9), is an opening into the thread of secrecy this piece follows. In this moment the deceitful actions are outside the home still. That all changes when Luke and Phoebe are going to take a look at Lady Audley’s jewelry.

The first action of deception was attempted by Luke. “Why, one of those diamond things would set us up for life, Phoebe.” (34) Despite that proclamation she is not willing to steal. That attitude changes quickly when Luke discovers the secret box. Now Lady Audley had something to hide and Phoebe was now willing to steal it. It is still something that will get Luke “the public-house” (34). These items labeled as more desirable than diamonds by Phoebe were a baby’s shoe and a lock of hair. Despite the initial reluctance to steal, Phoebe now is more than will steal and has confidence in the value of what she is taking. The question then is why? Lady Audley appears to be hiding a secret life and a hidden past that I think could be related to George Talboys or Robert Audley. The relation there is because of the quick transition from this secret of Lady Audley, possibly a hidden son or daughter, quickly transitioning on the next few pages to talking about both Robert Audley and George Talboys. It cannot be a coincidence that these two characters would be introduced immediately following the opening of Lady Audley’s past. I am not quite sure whether the relation would be knowledge of the secret or being father of the hidden child. Nonetheless there is a connection between these two very closely position characters and event.

“He walked straight out of the house, this foolish old man, because there was some strong emotion at work in his heart – neither joy nor triumph […] He carried the corpse of that hope which had died at the sound of Lucy’s words” (17).

Throughout this passage there is a lot of emphasis on emotion. One part that stands out to me is the repetition of death, more specifically the word “corpse”. Especially in the last sentence it says, “He carried the corpse of hope which had died at the sound of Lucy’s words” (17). Not only is he saying that his hope for this marriage was already gone, but that it had also died at the sound of his future wife’s voice. This line is significant especially when he should be feeling happy. I think it has a lot to say about his feelings towards Lucy, and how those feelings may be present throughout the rest of the novel. This repetition of corpse has something to say about who he is as a person. He’s about to start a new beginning in his life and is describing it as more of an ending where essentially all hope is dead. It may be a stretch, but I get the idea that this passage has a much greater meaning than his feelings about a new marriage. I think this is showing how this relationship will continue because he is disappointed by the outcome that he originally wanted. The prospect of marrying Lucy was so grand that it seemed as if he never thought it would happen. Now that it is, all he is feeling is disappointment and heartache. What jumps out at me the most about this idea of death, is that later on in Chapter 5, when Phoebe and Luke sneak into her room, in this box filled with jewels, there’s what they presume is a baby’s hair among a chest of jewels and gold. Clearly something had to have happened, maybe the loss of a child, that could indicate disappointment and loss in their lives. This passage may be hinting towards death and disappointment that will fill their marriage and their lives throughout the novel.

Paragraph starting with “Why, one of those diamond things would set us up in life, Phoebe,” and ending with “you shall have the public-house, Luke.” (34)

I think this passage exposes the idea of preaching morality, but then turning around and doing the opposite for your own gain. Phoebe shrieks at Luke to put the bracelet down, and when he says that “one of those diamond things would set us up in life, Phoebe,” she responds by saying, “how can you speak about such things,” but in the end, Phoebe is the one that goes against her morals and takes something from the chest. Not only does Phoebe steal from the chest, but instead of stealing a diamond piece, that is valuable, while also replaceable, Phoebe decides to take the belongings of a child, which I assume is more treasured by the family than the diamonds. I thought this passage pertained to the theme I have observed throughout the novel so far, which is the differences between appearances and reality. In multiple cases we see people performing an act to seem like a genuine, or exceptional person, when they can be malicious and devious. I saw this with George Talboys, how he speaks about the pure love he held for his wife and how he basically kissed the ground she walked on, but when we read about their relationship before he left, the author talks about these rages that he would go into, showing how his actions contradict the things he says, which I see in this passage with Phoebe. When Luke first opens this draw, Phoebe mutters, “So this is what my lady hides in the secret drawer,” this use of the words hides, secret, and mutters all refer to the theme of appearance versus reality. In this instance the vocabulary is used to describe Phoebe’s lady as well, showing that there are multiple characters that we’ve meet so far, that connect to this theme. 

“Lucy Graham was not looking at Sir Michael, but straight out into the misty twilight and the dim landscape far away beyond the little garden. The baronet tried to see her face, but her profile was turned to him and he could not discover the expression of her eyes. If he could have done so, he would have seen a yearning gaze which seemed as if it would have pierced the far obscurity and looked away — away into another world” (15). 

While Sir Micheal is confessing his love to Lucy, instead of looking at him she stares “straight out into the misty twilight and the dim landscape far away beyond the little garden” (15). Her “yearning gaze” implies she wants back what she has lost, and the use of the words “misty” and “dim” shows the lack of hope Lucy has for gaining that back as she now believes it is “far away beyond the little garden.” However, while she lacks hope, she still thinks about what her life could have been if she had kept the secret public, as her gaze “pierced the far obscurity.” Although it is unknown what life without secrecy would have been, she still feels regret about keeping it a secret, and leaving her past. While what she lost remains unknown, the reader quickly learns the hold it has over Lucy through the gaze.  Also, the contrast in size in the beginning and end of the passage, “little garden” and “another world”, shows that she believes she is further away from her secret than she actually is. As brought up in the class discussion, the dark secrets are closer to them than they believe (the garden is “scarcely twenty paces from the house” (9)). So, while she believes she must look out into another world to see her secret, she in reality only has to look in the “little garden.” Lucy continues to hold onto her secret, wondering what life would have been if nothing had changed, and with the marriage she believes she has officially lost her past life, as it is a world away, however she is now closer to it than ever. 

“I scarcely think there is a greater sin, Lucy,” he said solemnly, than that of the woman who marries a man she does not love. You are so precious to me, my beloved, that deeply as my heart is set on this, and bitter as the mere thought of disappointment is to me, I would not have you commit such a sin for any happiness of mine. If my happiness could be achieved by such an act, which it could not – which it never could,” he repeated earnestly, “nothing but misery can result from a marriage dictated by any motive but truth and love” (Braddon 15).

Upon first glance, Sir Michael Audley’s proposal to Miss Lucy Graham seemed rather romantic and full of a sort of innocence and vulnerability that I hadn’t expected. Being a man and a member of the aristocracy, it surprised me that Sir Michael would give any sort of thought to Lucy’s feelings. I couldn’t believe that he would value the desires of her heart over what would be best for him. However, as I took a closer look at the aforementioned passage and those that surrounded it, I found myself questioning my initial conclusions.

Perhaps the proposal wasn’t as straightforward and romantic as I first thought. While many women would have been overjoyed by the notion of Sir Michael’s proposal, this was not the case for Lucy. On the contrary, she was extremely upset and begged Sir Michael not to ask too much of her. She claimed that she could not “be blind to the advantages of such an alliance” (Braddon 16). It was with this statement that I began to wonder about Lucy’s motivations. Was her demure nature and sugary sweetness simply a façade put in place to distract those she met from knowing about her past and the dark shadows that lurked within it?

We are told that, “Beyond her agitation and her passionate vehemence, there was an undefined something in her manner which filled the baronet with a vague alarm” (Braddon 16). I think this is important to make note of because it alludes to the fact that Lucy might not be as mentally sound as some people believe. I also find it intriguing that Sir Michael didn’t heed his own warning about love and marriage. I think he’ll come to regret this decision later, as he realizes that one moment of bliss can’t justify years of misery.

 

 

 

 

“There was not much in it; neither gold nor gems; only a baby’s little worsted shoe rolled up in a piece of paper, and a tiny lock of pale and silky yellow hair, evidently taken from a baby’s head. Phoebe’s eyes dilated as she examined the little packet. ‘So this is what my lady hides in the secret drawer,’ she muttered” (Braddon 34).

Phoebe and Luke discover the secret drawer in Lady Audley’s jewel box. This passage juxtaposes the value in the materialistic and the personal. Words, such as “gold”, and “gems” focus on wealth. Here, objects that are widely considered beautiful and rare, stand in opposition with ordinary personal belongings, such as “hair” and “shoe” (34). The passage also focuses very much on the size of the items. The word “little” is used twice to describe the size of the pieces. The lock of hair is described as “tiny” (34). This creates an even more significant gap between the two kinds of items. Although the objects are contrasted, they are also united and combined through the writing. It highlights the value of the simple things by using the word “silky” (34) to describe the lock of hair. While hair is accessible to most people, silk is very expensive, therefore, this collocation can almost be seen as an oxymoron, which contributes to the fusion of simplicity and wealth.

Furthermore, the passage includes the words “lady” and “secret” (34), which is a nod to the title of the novel and suggests that the scene is of importance. The contradictions that can be found in this passage, add to the mystery behind Lady Audley. The revelation of the secret drawer’s content is unexpected to the recipient and creates a nuance of unpredictability with Lady Audley’s character. This contributes to the title of the book that only has the readers ask themselves: What is Lady Audley’s secret?