[ SECRET POST #2936 ]

[case]

⌈ Secret Post #2936 ⌋

Warning: Some secrets are NOT worksafe and may contain SPOILERS.

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Notes:

Secrets Left to Post: 03 pages, 066 secrets from Secret Submission Post #420.
Secrets Not Posted: [ 0 - broken links ], [ 0 - not!secrets ], [ 0 - not!fandom ], [ 0 - too big ], [ 0 - repeat ], [ 1 - text secret ].
Current Secret Submissions Post: here.
Suggestions, comments, and concerns should go here.

Comments

Re: Fandom Annoyances

[dreemyweird]

No, that's exactly the way I see it, as well! The romance, I mean. I'm just worried that in the remaining 200+ pages it'll become less about their mindsets and them as people and more about -true love-. I suppose I've been traumatized by my experience of reading Ouida's love stories.

It is true that Thornton has his struggles and that the Union is also really fucked up sometimes, and I'm very glad Gaskell wrote about that. And perhaps the problem is that I can't quite get rid of my 21st-century goggles and see Thornton as the decent man he is. But I can't help wishing there were something substantial I can point to and say "yes, this makes him a likeable character".

It is a shame about the adaptation. But at the same time I'm relieved to hear that, because it means that the fandom's obsession with the pairing probably isn't due to the fact that the last third of the book is suddenly all about romance and nothing else :)

Re: Fandom Annoyances

[(Anonymous)]

It's been a while since I read the book and unfortunately I can't remember all the details. Also, I saw the film adaptation first so that influences my take on Thornton but I don't recall him ending up a dick. Just my take on it of course, but I recall his redeeming points to be:

* a sense of fair play, by the standards of the time.
* his love for his mother and even his silly sister. He's fully cognizant of the sacrifices she made for him and it's clear he'd spend his last penny on her comfort rather than his own.
* his desire to be more than just a rich industrialist. The whole reason for him seeing Mr. Hale as a tutor is seen as an indulgence by his mother, but he loves learning for learning's sake and cares enough to pursue it even when he doesn't need to and it takes precious time away from his business.
* out of all the people in the story (even his own family!) he's the only one who makes no bones about Mr. Hale's decision to give up his living because it's a decision of conscience. In every other way, that decision is a disaster. It takes everything away from himself and his family, but as wishy washy as Mr. Hale seems at times, he's still a man of conscience. He cannot bring himself to take the Church's money and be a spiritual leader when he doesn't feel like he can do the job justice and he'd rather be poor and live in an industrial town like Milton even if it means leaving an idyllic life behind him and even when it earns him the exasperation of his loved ones. Most other people see him as well meaning but foolish-- only Thornton sees him as a good man worthy of respect.
* his concern for Margaret's reputation even though he doesn't particularly like her or agree with her opinions. He admires her strength of character, also.


(possibly mild spoilers depending on how far along you are?)

Then there's the gradual changes he makes. You notice that the more he gets to know Higgins, the more he's willing to see that point of view. Not even Margaret is entirely successful in changing his mind until he meets and talks to Higgins one on one. His isolation from his workers allowed him a certain degree of hard heartedness, but he can't keep that up once he's spent more time with them. I see a slow, but well defined character arc for him, and it's an improvement.

It's still relative, I think. Thornton doesn't look particularly enlightened to modern eyes, but very little about the book does because it's so rooted in that time and place.