Thursday, July 19, 2007
The First Official Entry for Self Raised!
Posted in Self-Raised by E.D.E.N Southworth
Welcome to the second book reading - Self Raised! We are very excited and hope you are too. :+) Now, on to the book!
Chapters 1-3:
So after the shock of Claudia abandoning her true love, Ishmael, we find him pretty overwrought--but not destitute! "It was not in Claudia's power to make his life quite desolate; how could it be so while Bee cared for him?"
Indeed. Will he see her for what she really is? I loved this statement about Bee's future: "...Bee never gave a thought to the future. That she tacitly left, where it belongs, to God." I think there is *great* wisdom in this sentence! How often do we "borrow trouble" from tomorrow by worrying today? What lessons we can use here with our children--even if you are not reading it with them, the words are pertinent and timely. Do you have a child longing for something in the future? I have seen many a girl long to be married when it was not yet God's time. I love Bee's simple faith in God--and her trust. If it was God's will she marry Ishmael then He would accomplish it. We can apply that to so many things, can't we? :+)
So Daddy Herman meets and greets his boy. What did you think of this "reunion"? What did you think of Ishmael's response to him at first? He was immediately thoughtful of his mother. "She was your wife! Yet she died of want, exposure and grief!" Can you imagine those words hitting Herman's heart? Oh, that would have done me in I think, had I been Herman. But even here Ishmael does not hold his own deprived childhood against him. "Ishmael never gave a thought to that; it was only a sin against himself, and Ishmael was not selfish enough to feel or resent it." I don't know that I could have been that noble and I wonder, in all honesty, if many people could. Would you have been?
And so Herman is denied what he had always longed for - that his son would take his name. That Ishmael would keep his vow to make his mother's name illustrious--well, I kind of liked it. It warmed my mother's heart. I think, if I am honest, I also didn't feel Herman deserved it. To come in and take the glory now that the son was glorious - that is just gross to me. Again I ask, if Ishmael had been a Reuben or a different sort of man - would Herman have been so readily available to take his son as his own? I don't think so.
So Ishmael's only wish is that Lady Vincent would know the truth. Do you think it was that Ishmael's pride was injured here - is that why he wished Herman to tell her? It cannot be that he wished to spare her feelings because if he really believed that she loved him at all - it would wound her to know that she had thrown away what she really loved for her own selfish prejudices. It is a bit tangled here - what do you think?
And then our hero reasserts himself and pleads the cause of the "widow" - Countess Hurstmonceux. We have never learned why Herman abandoned her - why he left her alone in Brudenell Hall. We know he never divorced her now, but what was the reason he left in the first place? Was it Nora or was there some infamy we know nothing about? Infamy, at that time, was the curse to life. Did he really hate the countess? "She wronged me, Ishmael! She deceived me! She was false to me!" Those are big statements and must have something behind them. I hope we find out!
I loved that Ishmael defended her. He had known her in his old home, and she had been kind and generous to all those around her. Ishmael knew this and believed good of her. As Proverbs 20:11 says, "Even a child is known by his actions, by whether his conduct is pure and right." Who do you think will be proved right?
So now it is your turn! What do you think of the first three chapters? Southworth jumped right in I think! For next week, please read Chapters 4-8.
See you in the comments!
Comments
Thursday, July 19, 2007 - Guess I'll go first!
Posted by kympossible
Well let's see how much I can remember... I read these chapters a couple nights back and have read other things since. LOL
I was a little surprised at the apparent ease and speed with which Ishmael processed the information that Herman was his father and the circumstances surrounding that. But of course, I expected nothing less from Ishmael than his gracious and trusting acceptance. I also wondered about Herman's desire for Ishmael to take his name - would it have been so tempting to him if Ishmael had been much more "ordinary". All the same, it was a generous offer. And I found that I was sympathetic to Ishmael's wish to honor the name of his mother. In our modern society, I don't know that we understand so readily the concept of "carrying on a family name"
I think I need to re-read the part where Ishmael wanted Herman to tell Lady Vincent the truth about his parentage. Almost like Ishmael wants to prove something to her, but that isn't like him. And what purpose does it serve, now that she is married?
I'm anxious to find out why Herman insists that he was wronged by the Countess. That should make for interesting developments!
Okay, my dumb question: were Ishmael and Self-Raised originally ONE volume? Because Self-Raised just picks right up where Ishmael left off, and if I hadn't read Ishmael, I would have had NO clue. Self-Raised doesn't seem like a "stand-alone" novel in that sense.
Blessings,
Kym
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Thursday, July 19, 2007 - our 2 cents :-)
Posted by BeccaBeard
My husband, Darin, and I, are reading the book together and here is what we think.
As for Herman, we think that Herman doesn't want to claim Ishmael just because he is successful. We think that he has HUGE regrets for how things went in the past, and genuinely wants to reach out to Ishmael and develop a true father-son relationship with him. We think that Herman is simply a Proud Papa when it comes to Ishmael's accomplishments. He wants to see Ishmael succeed and has great respect for him. Otherwise, would Herman have even vaguely considered Ishmael's encouragement about Lady Hurts-Me-So ;-)? He seemed to be really thinking about what Ishmael said about this, though who knows what he will do with his thoughts. Hopefully his developing relationship with Ishmael will heal a lot of things for Herman and he will finally feel as if he can go back to his wife and talk things over.
Lady Vincent.......that's a tough one! We wondered about it being a pride issue, but then we're talking about Ishmael here! We wonder if we're projecting our own bad attitudes onto Ishmael. After all, he only wanted the Middletons, Judge Merlin, Claudia and Rueben to know the truth. Even though he was heartbroken by Claudia, we wonder if he still saw her as "family" and wouldn't feel right letting everyone else know except her.
As for Lady Hurts-My-Soul, God bless Ishmael. He is the kind of guy who can stand outside any situation and look at it objectively, which is what he seems to be doing here. I think there is an issue that Herman is dealing with concerning her. I think he told Hannah something to that effect in the first book, and yes, yes, yes! We look forward to finding out what it is! :-)
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Friday, July 20, 2007 - Untitled Comment
Posted by BlessingsFromAbove
This post will be a little shortI am SOOOO tired and trying to get to bed!
BeeI think she is wonderful! I really liked: "...Bee never gave a thought to the future. That she tacitly left, where it belongs, to God." I think Kate summarized it great! I know in my own life, I sometimes spend so much time planning for my tomorrow, that I add undue stress on my today! And the thought of Bee just sitting and rocking her younger sister and getting such comfort in that. I need to STOP and remind myself to do that with my own children. I know life is busy, but how many times do I run off to get something done as soon as they are asleep, rather than enjoy the peacefulness of the moment. And that goes for older children as well. As moms, I dont think we ever tire of the peaceful, sleeping faces of our children!
Ishmaels PrideI dont think Ishmael was prideful at all when he wanted Herman to tell Claudia the truth. I think he was so completely wounded by what Claudia said about him that he wanted her to know that those things she said where untrue. I think this correction that he wants her to hear is simply because he cared so much for her, and what she thinks about him is important to him.
HermanFinally, I know this is only a book, but I think perhaps we are judging Hermans heart. If Ishmael had turned out like Reuben, would Herman be as interested in him? I know that I have made the comment too. But now I wonder if that is a judgmental question? I know Herman has been a snake in the past, but it seems to me that he is pretty much guilt stricken. So many horrible things have been the results of HIS decisions. I think perhaps he might be a changed man. We shall see if I am wrong!
Michele
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