Friday, April 11, 2008
". . . and he gets all his gloves from Houbigant!"
We found out, finally, the "power" Preston has over Cynthia. Do you find her a more sympathetic character? Does your opinion change in the passage where she brushes off Roger's accounts of his travels as she is packing to go back to London. And what of Mr. Henderson?? Oh, and what do you think will come of Mr. Sheepshanks seeing Molly?
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17 comments:
Well, yes, I do feel more sympathetic towards Cynthia now that the truth has come out about the secret that Mr. Preston had over her. He is such a dirty old man!
In previous discussions, there was a question as to how old Mr. Preston could be? I believe him to be a bit older than Cynthia because he needed for her to wait until she was 20 years old to marry him, so he must be a bit older, and because he had money. But he does love her in his own way.
As far as the rest of the men that are madly in love with her, who knows what will happen. That cynthia has got them all drooling over her(I ain't mad at her).
Mr. Sheepshanks will probably start some scandal since these people all seem to love scandall anyway. Plus, you just can't trust a name like --Sheepshanks!
I guess I do feel a little more sympathetic of Cynthia in a way because of her childhood and the lack of involvement on her mother's part. She had absolutely no guidance during a critical part of her life. However, she now has a lot of good guidance and good people looking out for her yet she still chooses to attempt to solve things on her own. She doesn't want to take Molly's good advice and go to Mr. Gibson, who could give the best help possible. She had an excuse for her earlier action, but I don't think she has one now. She is still acting in her silly, childish way, especially with ignoring Roger's letters and not telling him the truth of the matter.
I don't know what will happen with Mr. Henderson. Perhaps he is the only one who will look through Cynthia's past and forgive her for her actions and they will end up getting married. Then Roger will finally figure out that he really loves Molly and they will live happily ever after. Of course, Mr. Sheepshanks will cause some trouble before all of that can happen because he will begin spreading rumors that Molly and Mr. Preston have feelings for each other. This will get out and there will be a ton of confusion that has to be sorted through before everything gets set straight.
In response to Erin...
You do make some good points concerning Cynthia's 'still' childish behavior. Yer, what is her reasons for not confessing any of this Preston mess to the grown-ups? Instead, Molly is looking pretty darn scandalous for trying to help Cynthia.
Maybe she just likes the attention and enjoys keeping everyone hanging on a slippery rope.(?)
I still think Cynthia is a little too snobbish. I understand that she owes Mr. Preston, but she doesn't have to mistreat other people who have nothing to do with this situation. I do have some sympathy for her but she also doesn't have to let him have that kind of power of her. I am not quite sure why she has succumb to this because she seems to have so much power over all the rest of the men who seem to be stumbling over themselves behind her. She knows how to be coy and deceptive with them. It's hard to say what will really happen because she's too much like her mother and knows well how to influence people's perception of her and her motives.
Mr. Sheepshanks is going to tell others what he knows but it's not going to come out the way it really happened. There seems to be a lot of this misinformation going around in this little town.
I had no sympathy whatsoever for Cynthia in the earlier readings of this book, and that hasn't changed much. Sure, there have been some circumstances in her life that have, well, screwed her over, but she's just using those as excuses. Cynthia herself said she wasn't a good person, but how is that supposed to make us feel when we discover the truth behind her resentment towards mr.Preston? It doesn't make me feel sorry for her, and that seems to be exactly what she wants. It's like she wants people to accept her rudeness because of her unfortunate past.
I also think it is unnecessarily rude of her to treat Roger the way she does. She is selfish and uncaring about others.
I'm not really sure about Mr. Henderson yet. He's still fairly new to the story. Perhaps he and Cynthia will have a thing going, but I can't really say much at this point.
And seeing as how everyone loves gossip in this book, I think Mr. Sheepshanks will give people what they want.
In response to cicelyj,
I like your analysis of Cynthia and her relationships with other men, or her power over them. You also bring another question to mind that I had not thought about. Really, why DOES she let Preston have so much power over her when she has other men wrapped around her finger?
I still don't feel sympathy for Cynthia. Like her mother, she used Preston for her own gain. Unfortunately, Preston held her accountable. I find her selfish and out for #1, herself. I have heard comments like "I came from a broken home, I grew up poor, etc., poor me, poor me." All they are are excuses. As far as her and roger, she is just leading him on like she does with all the men.
Who knows what will become of Cynthia and Mr. Henderson. Maybe she'll lead him on also until someone else comes along or maybe they will end up together. We'll find out!!!
I think that Mr. Sheepshank will fit in with this town and the gossip. Hopefully his gossip won't hurt Molly's reputation too much. At least Molly won't be afraid to let her father know if he tries to harm her in anyway.
claudia,
Obviously we agree on our opinions of Cynthia. I also don't feel sorry for her and look at herreasoning as excuses that allow her to continue to be who she is; rude, selfish and uncaring. She gets no sympathy from me as a reader. And the way she treats her impending engagement is definately a tell tale of who she is as a person
After FINALLY getting the truth out of the situation, I feel liberated and also sympathize with Cynthia. I think she indeed was a product of her environment: dirt poor (although she and her mother made it seem the contrary), uncared for, and fatherless. I think a young girl in her situation could have managed and done a whole lot worse than what she did. I bet all of you ladies had a crush when you were 15/16 that you would have easily agreed to marry in the future. That's what it really seems like to me; Preston, the cradle robber that he is, was able to get what HE wanted by coercing her with money....classy.
As for SheepSAINT, I think we have another case of the Hollingford Goodenoughs. He's one of those 'little bird' informants that flock around and spread the news--worthy or not.
In response to Claudia,
I totally agree with Cynthia using her past as an excuse. She just wants everyone to feel sorry for her and instead of trying to become a better person, she is using other people to cover up her mistakes. You said, "It's like she wants people to accept her rudeness because of her unfortunate past." Very true...but, too bad for Cynthia, that's not how it works. Most of the time, people don't care about your past. Suck it up and move on. I don't feel sorry for her either.
Erin, I'm responding to your comment of how Cynthia neglects to do the right thing now even with influential people in her life. I also sympathize with her in this aspect because it's hard to fess up to one's troubles. I will admit that she's far too concerned with appearance and public appeal right now, but I just try to put myself in her shoes. I think we're all a little guilty sometimes of wanting to put the best image in front of others, regardless of what we’re feeling inside. She just has to realize that at certain point, she has to care for herself and her well being before worrying about what others like Mr. Gibson might think of her. She's struggling to show faith in the figures she claims to admire and remains behind a veil that eventually has to be revealed.
I don't find Cynthia any more sympathetic than I already did, though I've had more sympathy for her than most from the start. My opinion of Cynthia doesn’t change when her indifference towards Roger comes out; she was never actually interested in Roger's science and his travels, she only paid attention, as she's learned to do when men speak, which was probably the first time Roger had a pretty girl seem interested in anything he was saying (Molly doesn’t count - I get the impression that Molly is pretty... though in a right-kind-of-light, she's-got-a-really-good-personality sort of way, not in a head-turning Cynthia sort of way). He mistook her cordiality for sensuality and quickly acted on it. Cynthia, desperate at the time, grabbed the life preserver that was tossed her way and held on for dear life. Perhaps I'm painting a somewhat skewed account of the engagement, but, as I've said, I'm sympathetic towards Cynthia - though I identify more with Roger, but he's not as hot as Cynthia, so I have to take her side. Sorry, Rog.
Not sure what to think of Mr. Henderson, he's another smitten by the Cynthia charm, I suppose, and Mr. Sheepshanks seeing Molly and Preston – come on, you knew that was going to be all over the town! These people don't have internet, they can't turn on the television, hell, even their tabloids are only about which carriage the queen rode around in last week, of course he's going to talk, and so is everyone else - there's nothing else to do in that town!
Martian,
I'm glad you're so liberated now that you've found out Cynthia's secrete. I can just picture you, sitting in your favorite chair, wrapped up in a toasty cardigan with a steaming cup of coco (5 marshmallows, please), your eyes growing larger and larger as you devour Gaskell's prose, hungry to have the secrete revealed, and then, in that moment of pure ecstasy when you finally discover the truth, you throw you hands back, roll your head up to the ceiling, and release a sigh of pure pleasure. Good for you, man, I wonder what else this monumental moment will liberate you from; perhaps some hidden desires? Some repressed preferences? No one can say for sure but you, good luck, my friend, on your journey into the unknown, and may you always be liberated!
I'm only kidding, I just thought "liberated" was a bit overboard; it seemed too strong of an adjective and produced that scene in my head so I thought I would share it with you so you can see the effects of your word choice. I realize I’ve spent the whole response bagging on you, and this is neither informative nor productive, but I’ve gone this far and there's not way I can turn back now.
I really have no sympathy what so ever for Cynthia. I mean, she promised to marry a guy for money for CLOTHES! She pretty much whored herself out for a wardrobe. How she brushed off Roger is horrible. All he does is put her on a pedestal and she completely ignores it. She is just like her mother. Moved by the dollar sign and cold to the heart. Mr. Henderson though, who know what will come of that. She seems to like the guy enough, he has money, and lives in London. Sounds just right for her.
As for Molly, I think she'll get a little flack for being caught by Mr. Sheepshanks but I think for the long run she'll be just fine. Her and Roger just HAVE to end up together. They are far too perfect for each other.
claudia,
I agree totally with what you have to say about Cynthia. I think she is full of excuses as well. I really just wanna hit her, but then again I'm a fairly violent person when I want to be.
Haha. I like Chuck's painting of Martin's liberation from suspense. Priceless.
Also regarding Chuck's articulate comments, I think he hit on something that's quite significant to understanding Gaskell that we haven't yet talked much about, so far as I recall anyway. Gossip is a main pastime in WD -- it's even the name of a couple chapters. Chuck pointed out that this is perhaps not so much that Gaskell's characters are meddlesome magpies, but that gossip was a key element/pastime in society. Evan at social events -- balls, teas, or "the calls" aka -- people did almost nothing but eat and talk. What else would you expect besides gossip? I'd be bored stiff in their shoes.
Cynthia . . . I feel no different towards her. I noted last time that I did indeed feel sorry for her due to the neglect she endured as a child, but ultimately I think she is dumb. She was sixteen when she made that promise to Mr. Preston! That's old enough to know better. She was silly and vain, more caught up in her looks than anything else. Her obvious unattachment to Roger is annoying -- if she doesn't love him just break the engagement for goodness' sake. And, based off her multiple "I should have just married so-and-so" comments and total disreagard for the opportunity to see her "lover," I think it's clear she doesn't really care to marry Roger. I know many of my fellow bloggers are hoping for a Roger/Molly wedding, but I don't know how I would feel about that if I were Molly. It's quite apparant she loves him, but cmon he's forsaken her to swoon for her step-sister. His two years in Africa are being spent dreaming of Cynthia. To me, the whole sister relation would make Roger a little hard to take for a husband should he ever come around to Molly. Hmmmm . . . just a thought.
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