Friday, February 29, 2008
Another Shoe Drops
The mystery surrounding Osborne Hamley deepens and Cynthia arrives. How do the dynamics of the Hamley home and the Gibson home change in this installment of the novel? What is your first impression of Cynthia? Do you find her sympathetic or not? What specifically makes you respond to her the way you do?
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In the previous installment, Osborne mismanages his allowances and receives loans for some unknown purpose. His brother, Roger, slips at the tongue and mentions Osborne’s secret marriage with Molly reading in the corner behind him. In this installment, Mrs. Hamley’s death causes more tension between the Squire and Osborne. The Squire now spends most of his days inside wearing the same clothes from the day to dinner at night. He and Osborne spend much time arguing and the Squire wishes Roger would return soon.
At the Gibson residence, tension between Molly and Mrs. Gibson thickens. Cynthia finally arrives, which loosens some of the tension. However, she brings a bit of tension of her own. The visit from Mr. Preston, where both Preston and Cynthia’s reaction, tells a story of perhaps a previous encounter; one that may/may not have been pleasant. (Do they have a secret relationship? Their actions are that of a couple who doesn't want others around to know of their courtship.) For now, the relationship between Cynthia and Molly is sympathetic, but I am not sure how long it will continue. Mrs. Gibson’s matchmaker tendencies are relentless as she attempts to match Osborne with Cynthia and Roger with Molly. I think a battle will erupt between Molly and Cynthia over Roger.
My first impression of Cynthia is the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree. Cynthia and her mother are identical in more ways than one. I believe this is the true reason the two often don’t get along and not that talk Cynthia wants the reader to believe (“I do believe I love you, little Molly…better than [my mama]. “I don’t think love for one’s mother quite comes by nature; and remember how much I have been separated from mine!”). The previous quote can be found on page 219 in the Barnes and Noble edition. Cynthia is extremely vain. She knows her beauty and plays the innocent role quite cleverly. Personally, Cynthia is a narcissistic, conniving little skank out to get Molly’s man (Roger).
Since the death of Mrs. Hamley, it seems Mr. Hamley is loosing his mind in my opinion. He is still peeved with Osborne and is now turning to Roger, who is absent for a time.
My first impression of Cynthia—she is arrogant and very aware of her beauty--that she uses it to an extent to get what she wants. I thought she might be a bit like her mother in personality, but then we soon find out that Cynthia doesn’t seem to respect her mother as one might think. But I did feel some sympathy for her once I found out her mother had sent her to live with a variety of relatives as a child. Hyacinth just doesn’t seem to have strong motherly feelings.
I don’t know how I feel about Cynthia as of yet. I will need to explore deeper into her personality.
In response to Lady t...
Yes, how could I forget that the Squire is wearing the same clothes day-after-day. lol Poor guy.
I am in agreement with you about the possiblity of a secret relationship/encounter between Cynthia and Mr. Preston. They do seem a bit odd and nervous for a bit.
And as far as Cynthia and Molly both being attracted to Roger, oh, yer, there will be some type of showdown in the near future. I can feel the tension coming off the pages. However, I do like your choice of word--"battle". You make it sound like there is going to be a gory blood bath. I like that.
Real nice assessement.
In the Hamley house, Osborne has become a source of tension for his father. Young Osborne seems unconcerned about the massive dept he’s accumulated, putting an emotional and financial strain on the whole house. He is revealed to be married, which, undoubtedly, is the major source of tension within the family. If Osborne had told his father about his new wife, the squire may be a little more understanding about the money and school situation… or he may have blown up in his face and snapped Osborne’s scrawny neck (*sigh* maybe later in the book…). The death of Mrs. Hamley is taking a heavy toll on the house, the brothers are distraught, the squire is all but lost, and the servants are ill-instructed and mistreated. Squire Hamley feels Osborne, his first born heir, has let him down and not met his expectations at school, and, consequently, he blames Mrs. Hamley’s death on Osborn for his poor performance at school and all the financial stress Osborne has caused. Roger, on the other hand, seems to be the constant in this equation. While he is upset about his mother’s death, he continues down the same path he’s always gone down and seems to act as an emotional anchor for the estranged Squire Hamley and Osborne.
At the Gibson house, tensions are also running high. The arrival of Cynthia has added another element of conflict not only between Mrs. Gibson and Cynthia, but also between Molly and Cynthia. This latter conflict is not so apparent yet, but seems to be brewing underneath the surface. I feel sympathetic towards Cynthia if only because she has Mrs. Gibson for a mother. Cynthia has been abandon, more or less, by her mother so as not to be too much in her mother’s way. She now has returned more cultured, more experienced, more jaded. She, like Molly, sees things beyond the pale façade that people put forth, only, unlike Molly, she has the foresight, the intuition, and the desire to use these fronts to her advantage, either manipulating them to get what she wants, or using them to mock or ridicule others. She is rebellious, smart, and a bit arrogant… I think I have a crush on Cynthia (*sigh*).
In response to Lady T…
Preston and Cynthia for sure had some sort of relationship beforehand, if only a one sided relationship. Cynthia seems like the sort to play with the emotions of her male suitors, and Mr. Preston seems like the type to be easily played. They probably had some pseudo relationship or maybe played doctor in the Cumnor’s garden… you know, something like that. The result was Preston fell in love and Cynthia become bored and now Preston pines away for her as she tries her best to avoid him. Or maybe not, that’s just what I’m speculating from what I know of the characters. Oh, one more thing, “narcissistic, conniving little skank” seems a bit harsh for my girl Cynthia, she’s just a troubled young lady just trying to find her way in this crazy world; lighten up, huh?
After the death of Mrs. Hamley, the tension at the Hamley's seems to thicken rather than lighten up like one would expect. Osborne and the Squire are still butting heads, though they do recognize that they share the grief that came along with Mrs. Hamley passing. Sometimes I feel like bashing Osborne over the head for not telling his father where the money has gone. The Squire may not approve of the marriage, but it sure doesn't hurt to try. By keeping this secret from his father, Osborne is only making things worse. Both men need to forget about their pride for a moment and have a real talk rather than skirting around the issue and squabbling over minute things.
The Gibson house, on the other hand, is not lacking in drama. Molly feels Mrs. Hamley's death deeply and she is still at odds with her stepmother. Cynthia shows up and at first seems like the perfect distraction for Molly, but she brings some drama of her own. She appears to be indifferent to her mother's character, even going so far as to question why Molly wasn't a bit more rebellious. She seems sympathetic towards Molly about her loss, but she also warns Molly, telling her that she is no good and that she wishes she could love people as Molly does. Although she seems to be a decent companion, we can already tell that Molly is becoming jealous of her. When Molly needs Roger's attentions, those that she took for granted at first, she sees him flirting with Cynthia. She tries to ignore this, but there is an underlying resentment that is bound to come out at some point. Cynthia on the other hand appears oblivious to this treatment she is putting Molly through. Either that or she is ignoring it.
In response to Chuck,
I like your idea of Roger as a part of a mathematical equation, in that he is the "constant" and takes the role as an "emotional anchor for the estranged Squire Hamley and Osborne".
I partially agree with your assessment of Cynthia as well. However, you make it seem as if her ability to use people and ridicule them (traits that you have given her) make her better than Molly. I for one would appreciate her intelligence, but not this particular usage of it. Unless of course, people are stupid and deserve such treatment. Which in this case, just may be fitting. But like I said, it depends.
I like Cynthia in many ways for a few reasons. Cynthia is not the typical arrogant female who dotes on the fact that she has been away in an expensive school in another country. She doesn't appear to be flighty like her mother and she is able to see through all the mirages her mother tries to create with Molly. She is sympathetic towards Molly because she knows her mother is really negligent and doesn't care about anybody but herself. In addition, I like Cynthia because she does put forth some effort to respect Mr. Gibson even though he is not her real father. She makes some effort to meet Molly half way at trying to be sisters because neither one of the girls desired to be put in that situation.
As far as Osbourne is concerned, he reminds of the other 10 sons Jacob had, for those of you who know the story about Jacob and what happened to his son Joseph. Those 10 sons sold their brother into slavery and deceived their for nearly 20 years. They let their father be grieved into thinking that his son was dead and he was really alive. The thought of Joseph being dead nearly killed Jacob. Osbourne is like the 10 sons because he has been pretentious all this time and he has never disclosed the truth to his parents. He allows his mother to be grieved because she is worrying about him knowing that he is in trouble and it has created a financial deficit that Osbourne is not able to help pay. I understand fully why his father is angry and he has every right to be. It is not easy to financial support and provide for an adult child who is supposed to be going college only to find out that the tens of thousands of dollars spent have been thrown in the wind.
Everything changed once these two characters entered the picture. In the Hamley home, tention was being built with the mention that Osborne was returning. Once he arrived, Mr. Hamley stayed away from Osborne to be with his wife. Once she died, the arguing started and both couldn't wait for Roger to return. If Osborne told his fasther about his wife, then maybe the Squire would have been more understanding and not think that Osborne was just wasting the money the squire was giving him. But I think there is more to the story to come to explain the reasons behind the mention of a wife.
In the Gibson home, the tension between mother and daughter is real but Mr. Gibson has yet to pick up on it. The readers first impression of Cynthia is that she is snobbish and spoiled. But as we get to know her, she turns out to have respect and sympathy for Molly and is not afraid to give her opinions and thoughts to he mother. The mother is trying to fix up Cynthia with Osborne to probably get her out of the home. But as we read, I'm sure that will backfire.
Ever since Osborne had his first visit to the Gibson household, I found it rather peculiar at how fond of him was Clare. There are still many unanswered questions regarding the two of them; however, Clare’s personality becomes more and more evident—and gut wrenching—every line.
With Cynthia, my first impression was rather confusing. I didn’t know whether I was feeling positively or negatively towards her. I think we were led to assume the ladder, but so far, she’s got my sympathy because I don’t like her mother that much at all. I also think the narrator touches a little stream of consciousness with her, thus making my opinion of her a more favorable one.
With the arrival of new characters coming into an already unstable situation, tension is bound to rise and more conflict is expected to occur. When the Gibsons and Hamleys began to have more of a relationship, especially Molly and Mrs. Hamley, Molly was learning to be a lady from Mrs. Hamley because she obviously cound't receive it from her single father. It gradually becomes more complicated with the arrival of the Hamley sons and it seems that Molly is more or less learning to conceal her emotions from being so easily seen and gains more confidence in her judgment. Molly trusts Cynthia as a sister would and is much more naive because of her sheltered background than her stepsister who has more knowledge of the world by experiencing it. Cynthia's character is not as sympthetic as Molly's because with going off to college, in my opinion, she more than likely has more of a negative view of those around her and probably a more realistic one.
In response to Martin, I'm hoping, as I'm sure everyone else is, that Cynthia is completely opposite of her mother in personality-that she might actually be genuine, honest, and "unplanned." I'm hoping she chooses to do good without the expense of those around her as the new Mrs. Gibson does.
Originally, both the Hamley home and the Gibson home were places of reasonable peace and tranquility. The inhabitants got along well and loved each other. However, after the death of Mrs. Hamley, their household has begun falling apart. Osborne has not lived up to his expectations and the Squire is totally losing his grasp on life. Roger is the only member of the Hamley household who appears to be prospering. For the Gibson home, it began falling apart when Clare became Mrs. Gibson. She has taken over the house and changed so many things that no original Gibson family member is truly comfortable. Molly and her father seem to be doing things and following Clare's requests just to please her.
Luckily, Cynthia comes on the scene and she appears to be a stark contrast to her mother. She admits to not loving her mother and consistently gives rude and snide remarks to her mother's requests. I really enjoy Cynthia's character and hope to see her outwit her mother in whatever comes up in the future. I don't think she is necessarily a sympathetic character, considering her treatment of her mother. But I think that perhaps Molly can have some influence on her to give her a more sympathetic side. I also hope that Cynthia can have some influence on Molly so that they can help each other.
I think the two homes both get fairly stressed out. For the Hamley's it's as if the prodigal son comes back and just spat on them. The Gibson's put on face but, you can tell they are all unhappy. As for Cynthia, I like her. She is the very opposite of her mother and she's witty. It's about time they brought in someone with wit! I believe I respond to her the way I do because I see her as more of a real person in contrast to those around her, she just seems more real.
shelley,
I really do like your opinions of the Hamley and Gibson homes. I think that you'r thoughts are right on track. However, I do not believe that Cynthia is so negative. I don't think she is hauty, in fact I just think she is a normal girl who has been left by the only family she had. She's angry and she should be! It seems to me like she puts on a face so others cannot see what is really in her. In this time it seems that your actions where very important and I am positive that if she carried all of the baggage that she has acquired she would be just as ugly as her mother. I think that in time hopefully she will warm to people and let the mask come off.
Sailorgirl,
I agree with you about Mr. Hamley seeming to lose his mind. He is lost without his wife and the situation with Osborne seems to just grate his nerves and patience. Since roger is the steady one out of his two children, he is angry that Roger has been gone for so long. He is similiar to a mediator.
Sailorgirl, responding to your assessment of the Squire, I think he, in fact, should be evoking the most sympathy out of us. He has been unable to maintain his household, partially for reasons beyond his control. Once the Mrs. passes, it seems like icing on the cake. Roger is gone, there’s no order at the hall, and the Squire and Osborne maintain their differences. It’s hard to imagine being able to keep cool in a situation like that; put me in his shoes, and I too would find myself losing it…
Erin, I think your idea of Molly helping Cynthia and vice versa just might work. Well, aleast it would be interesting to see these two characters in reverse. Cynthia could show a little more love and compassion for others while Molly could use her wit to tell off that Mrs. Gibson.
Sorry. I meant AT LEAST.
I didn't like Cynthia very much. I feel she is stuck up, thinking she is better than everyone else, her mother included. Cynthia tries to make Molly feel like it's a privilege for her to be liked, saying she wasn't sure how what she was going to think of her, but that she likes her alright after all. Cynthia is two-faced. She puts on airs and a sweet demeanor for anyone outside her close circle (Molly and her mother) -- including Mr. Gibson -- but shows no humility or consideration for others. Her manners are learned for the sake of politeness; they are not an outflow of a sweet spirit, as is the case with Molly. She believes she has a right to a good catch and first pick of those eligible. Molly gets the leftovers. We do feel a little sorry for Cynthia, however, after she relates her loveless and attention-lacking childhood. It is sad she does not know how to love.
In response to Shelley:
Concerning the Squire's anticipated reaction to Osborne's marriage, I think we would have to take in mind the Squire's grief over loosing his wife. Mrs. Hamley was viewed as the cord that tied the Hamley household together in peaceful, working harmony. Everyone admired, respected, and loved her for her sweet personality, gentleness and wisdom. Of course, the Squire would be chief of these admirers. I feel that, should Osborne reveal his marriage, the Squire would react to Aimee's negative nationality and religious elements, but it would be the in the manner of comparing Mrs. Hameley's "perfection" as lady of the house, wife, etc to Aimee's obvious and deducted imperfections. In other words, I don't think he would simply rant against the French or Catholics.
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