Friday, August 31, 2007
Chapters 9-12
Posted in Self-Raised by E.D.E.N Southworth
Well thank you very much for the notes below. I love hearing about everyone's homeschool schedules and lives. Don't you just appreciate being able to be your own task-master as the teacher? Boy, I love that freedom! I think I will have to ask homeschool-related questions more often as we chat about Mr. Worth--it was nice to glimpse your lives a bit here. :+)
So, Chapters 9-12...
We find Claudia and her husband on the Ocean Empress sailing towards her new life full of excitement and adulation. This is such an interesting statement here by Southworth:
"But Lord and Lady Vincent were the only titled persons present, and from both European and American voyagers received a ridiculous amount of homeage. Claudia enjoyed the worship, though she despised the worshippers."
Isn't that interesting that what she seeks she cannot stand in the getting? I found that to be most enlightening. Don't we often find life's idols we so eagerly seek only to be tarnished brass in the getting? What were her hopes? Did she honestly not look past the title-getting to the life she would eventually lead? Were people *that* shallow then? How could they live in a loveless marriage?
Her arrival in Europe was not at all what she expected was it? One can only imagine what she was thinking.
So she arrives at her home, Castle Cragg. What did you think of it? I thought it sounded very dark and damp and dreary from the outside, but the inside proved to have quite a bit of interest. What did you think of the housekeeper's first words? "Eh, sirs! anither ane!" What does she mean here?
"So she arrayed herself with very great splendor and went downstairs." Right into the presence of Faustina. Just *who* is Faustina? Did you notice Claudia' first instincts were to hate her? What do you make of that? Things do not exactly seem quite right to me - do they to you? I love Southworth's scripture quote during dinner, "Better is a dinner of herbs where love is than a stalled ox and hatred therewith." I should say so!
And in Chapter 12 we see the truth - as does Claudia - just a bit too late, don't we. Oh my! "She was playing for a title, I for a fortune. Well, she won the title and I won the fortune!" And he even kept her ring! Remember that her ring rolled off and she lost it? He keeps his "vow" to this Faustina, but dishonors his wife!
" But instead of entering England like a royal bride she was smuggled into England like a transported felon who had returned before her time of penal service in the colonies had expired! Instead of a triumphal entry and progress along the highways, she was dragged ignominiously though the byways!"
Even for our selfish Claudia, this is a hard hard reality. He plans to "dispose" of her. What does that mean? What do you think?
What a bunch of crazy chapters! :+) I am only going to assign Chapters 13-15 as 15 is pretty lengthy. I am also going to extend this time for two weeks since we have some of you on vacation and this weekend is a holiday. I hope you enjoy the last few weeks before we jump back into FALL! :+)
I hope to see you in the comments! :+)
Comments
Friday, August 31, 2007 - YIKES!
Posted by Anonymous
I got a book that was originally published in the early 1900's. The inscription on the first page indicates the previous owner got it in 1907. But my chapters are different! Ihaven't even read about them arriving in London(which happens in my chapter 14, castle cragg is in chapter15 and faustina is mentioned in chapter 16! I 'thought' I was caught up...lol...this will be interesting.....I'll see y'all when I read some more...LOL....
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Friday, August 31, 2007 - LOL.
Posted by thisworldisnotmyhome
I;m not anonymous...Im me! now, back to reading my messed up chapters...
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Saturday, September 1, 2007 - Untitled Comment
Posted by kympossible
Well if we weren't suspicious about Lord Vincent before, we certainly were once they arrived in England!!! Then it became so apparent that not only did he not LIKE Claudia, he despised her and seemed to enjoy her discomfort. I must admit that in some respects I thought it was a bit of a comeuppance for Claudia at first - not staying in the finest hotel, and not hobnobbing with royalty. She was positively rude to the proprieters of the hotels they did stay at, wasn't she? She didn't handle it with very good grace.
But oh dear, what she found at Castle Cragg!! She has gotten quite a bit more than what she bargained for in her marriage for a title. The quote from Lord Vincent sums up the situation quite well. He is even more perfectly horrid than I had originally thought, since it seems he is not content to have a marriage of convenience for the sake of her money - he intends to dishonor Claudia and do away with her somehow. It sounds to me like his plan is to disgrace her and completely ruin her reputation, then put her away penniless and without a friend to whom she may appeal for help.
But oh how cool-headed Claudia was when she stumbled upon this conversation! To give no sign that she has just heard all the designs against her! The fact that she did not love or indeed, like her husband in the first place may help her in this case, because her heart is not broken by his unfaithfulness.
On to the next chapters!
Blessings,
Kym
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Sunday, September 2, 2007 - Untitled Comment
Posted by andijeane
I have to admit that I was pretty shocked by chapter 12. It makes for an entertaining story, but the content seems a bit sensational to me. I guess I didn't expect to see things like mistresses and evil plots after reading "Ishmael." I'm interested to see how this all works out. I don't mean to sound negative - I was just surprised. I guess I expected this book to be more similar to "Ishmael."
It sounded to me like Claudia really liked the worship on the ship. I don't think that she was disappointed in her expectations yet. She "despised the worshipers," but, knowing her astuteness, she probably knew that she would despise them. She didn't care who worshiped her; she just wanted the worship. That is pretty shallow. It seems so strange that someone like her would be able to live with such surface relationships. She was so lively when we met her in "Ishmael." Now she has sold her whole personality for a title!
Kym, I agree with you about Claudia's attitude towards the hotel proprietors. I thought it would be good for her to rough it a little.
Castle Cragg, Faustina and the discovery of a plot against her must have been a rude awakening for Claudia. As horrible as she has been, I definitely can't say that I would have wished something like this on her. Could you imagine being stuck in a secluded castle in a foreign country with no friends nearby, knowing that someone has plans against you but not knowing what the plans are? And living in the same house as your husband and his mistress had to be horribly degrading for someone of her position.
~Andrea
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Monday, September 10, 2007 - back and ready to go
Posted by homeskoolmom
I got caught up on the airplane while we were on vacation!! Actually got a little ahead because I couldn't remember how far to read. I'll jump in with comments next week.
Christine
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Tuesday, September 11, 2007 - <i>Untitled Comment</i>
Posted by BeccaBeard
My husband and I have been reading the book online until we could order it. We received our copy today and are excited not to have to sit at the computer to read together.....it seemed so much less cozy than sitting together on the comfy couch. ;-)
The story has been a rough transition for Darin and me! In "Ishmael" we never read any of the conversation that went on between Vincent and Claudia. So while we had vague feelings about Vincent, we had nothing firm to go on. So now reading and finding out his true character is quite a shocker! Like Andrea wrote, this book is definitely not like "Ishmael"! But it is definitely a continuation, and we see the behaviours of everyone in the first book being rewarded as they should be (good or bad) in this second book. I'm sure all the characters in the book will come away with brand spanking new insights into themselves, life in general, and maybe even God by the time it's all over!
Edited by BeccaBeard on Sep. 11, 2007 at 9:58 PM
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