Gaudy Night, Chapters 5-6
My apologies for the lateness of this, but both of my copies went missing for a while. By the way, Gaudy Night is currently not available pretty much any place I looked. Possibly this means the publisher is preparing a new edition (and, hopefully, an electronic one as well).
Brief synopsis:
Chapter 5
We open with the quote from Robert Burton about building a monastical College for old, decayed, deformed, or discontented maids to live together. In the story, Harriet is racing back to Oxford in answer to the Dean's summons. Not surprisingly, the Senior Common Room is rather hostile as Harriet examines the evidence of the Poison Pen.
There are two letters to students, one to Miss Flaxman, threatening her for attempting to poach another girl's beau. The other items include Miss Barton's book, which was burned one Sunday morning on the fire in the Junior Common Room. Then poor Miss Lydgate's proofs were stolen from the library where Miss Hillyard had left them while checking a few items and defaced. No one has an airtight alibi and things very quickly grow awkward when Harriet says she can rule out all of the First Years and most of the other students because they weren't present at the Gaudy when she received her own poison pen letter. This means perpetrator was one of the SCR. Or one of the scouts, whom Miss Burrows is quick to suspect because they are of "that class."
It's obvious several members don't want Harriet there investigating, but they can't trust anyone within the college and they don't want someone from the outside. Harriet suggests Miss Climpson and her agency, but this not acceptable either and Harriet is deemed the lesser of the evils available to them. As a cover, she will officially be helping Miss Lydgate with pulling her proofs back together, and much of the chapter is taken up with Harriet chatting with various SCR members, all of whom have their own theories or wonder why Harriet hasn't made more progress. Various prejudices are put on display and at the end, the Dean runs down the schedule for tomorrow's opening of the library before Harriet, the Dean and Miss Burrows toddle off to bed.
Chapter Six
Things start off promisingly with Harriet waking from a dream where she was being embraced by Peter and realizing she didn't want to wake up. She naturally tries to rationalize her way out of this, and succeeds. For the moment.
It is still the middle of the night and looking out the window, Harriet sees a sliver of light in the library where none should be. She ends up being aided in her investigation by Miss Barton, who has also seen a light in the Library, and they discover the door is locked. Miss Barton ends up breaking a window to get in and they discover there's been considerable damage done to the library. The Dean is summoned with the spare set of keys and Harriet reflects on the circumstantial evidence against Miss Barton (who'd gone to investigate on her own and who met Harriet as she was coming back), Miss Burrows (who had a quantity of turpentine on had to remove paint which she might have gotten on her if she was the vandal), and Miss Hudson, a student who was up during the Gaudy and whom Harriet caught trying to get something out of the Buttery after hours.
Padgett is summoned and ensures all is in readiness for the ceremony, even if everything is still a bit damp. Harriet stands guard while waiting for the ceremony to begin, and Annie brings her lunch. Annie expresses her opinion that Harriet should be married and that she's not fond of educated women -- and hints she wasn't always a servant.
After the library is properly opened, Harriet against broaches the subject of Miss Climpson and that avenue is once again closed. In fact, the Dean admits there are members of the SCR who are openly opposed to the idea and opposed to Harriet herself doing investigation. More discussion of suspects, and it is confirmed that Harriet will stay on a while longer to do her own investigations, though she warns that if nothing is resolved by end of term, professionals really ought to be called in.
Wtf 1930s Oxford?: Class and gender prejudices are most definitely on display here. The scouts are referred to as "that class" which is used as an argument both for and against suspecting them. It is pointed out by the Dean that Miss Hudson's antecedents are "not particularly refined," which could make her a suspect in the case. Annie points out she wasn't always a servant. It's a different age and the idea that the students rid themselves of dirty dishes by simply leaving them outside for the scouts to pick up seems very far away.
With the introduction of Annie, we come into the second and more dominant gender viewpoint of the period. The first is Miss Barton's assertion of women having a place of equality among men, but Annie's insistence that a woman's place is married with children and that "I can't see what girls want with books. Books won't teach them to be good wives," is a more commonly shared viewpoint. Padget's assertion that "what this country wants...is a 'Itler" is very much WTF to our ears, but far less so when the book was written in 1935, especially when the foreman decorate agrees they should "keep the girls at 'ome." Remember that for the generation of men lost in WWI, there is a corresponding generation of spinsters, some who chose not to marry but many others who either lost their beau during the war or there simply weren't single men in their acquaintance. And most of the SCR of the age to fall into the category.
References: Only two major quotes here. Burton's quote from his 1932 work The Anatomy of Melancholy at the beginning of Chapter Five, and the quote from William Turner at the beginning of Chapter Six. Is this Turner the painter?
Lombroso is a 19th century physician who developed a theory about criminality based on phrenology.
"The Apple of Discord" is the apple fought over by Athena, Hera and Aphrodite, a squabble that led to the Trojan War.
The Kelmscott Morrises -- books from the Kelmscott Press founded by William Morris. High examples of the art, the most valued is "The Works of Geoffrey Chaucer" illustrated by Burne-Jones.
"Much learning has made thee mad" -- The Book of Acts 26:24, where Paul defends himself to Herod Agrippa II against the charges of blasphemy by telling of his conversion.
battels -- bills charged to the students for lodging and food. Carrie, the chief scout isn't against folks getting stuff from the buttery after hours so long as they ensure it's written down so it can be properly charged.
Discussion questions: Given how thick the suspects are on the ground, is it surprising the perpetrator is not one of those whom a finger is pointed at as we begin?
Do you get a sense that sometimes the women of Shrewsbury are trying just a bit too hard to live separate from the world in their academic ivory tower? The Dean and Bursar wear it well, and both Miss Lydgate and Miss DeVine seem very much in their natural environment, but what about Miss Burton or Miss Hillyard? Did they choose this life or fall into it from circumstance?
Proposals: None, as there is no Peter present. However, dream about Peter embracing Harriet which she tries to convince herself is absolutely Not About Peter.
Additional thoughts most definitely welcome.
Brief synopsis:
Chapter 5
We open with the quote from Robert Burton about building a monastical College for old, decayed, deformed, or discontented maids to live together. In the story, Harriet is racing back to Oxford in answer to the Dean's summons. Not surprisingly, the Senior Common Room is rather hostile as Harriet examines the evidence of the Poison Pen.
There are two letters to students, one to Miss Flaxman, threatening her for attempting to poach another girl's beau. The other items include Miss Barton's book, which was burned one Sunday morning on the fire in the Junior Common Room. Then poor Miss Lydgate's proofs were stolen from the library where Miss Hillyard had left them while checking a few items and defaced. No one has an airtight alibi and things very quickly grow awkward when Harriet says she can rule out all of the First Years and most of the other students because they weren't present at the Gaudy when she received her own poison pen letter. This means perpetrator was one of the SCR. Or one of the scouts, whom Miss Burrows is quick to suspect because they are of "that class."
It's obvious several members don't want Harriet there investigating, but they can't trust anyone within the college and they don't want someone from the outside. Harriet suggests Miss Climpson and her agency, but this not acceptable either and Harriet is deemed the lesser of the evils available to them. As a cover, she will officially be helping Miss Lydgate with pulling her proofs back together, and much of the chapter is taken up with Harriet chatting with various SCR members, all of whom have their own theories or wonder why Harriet hasn't made more progress. Various prejudices are put on display and at the end, the Dean runs down the schedule for tomorrow's opening of the library before Harriet, the Dean and Miss Burrows toddle off to bed.
Chapter Six
Things start off promisingly with Harriet waking from a dream where she was being embraced by Peter and realizing she didn't want to wake up. She naturally tries to rationalize her way out of this, and succeeds. For the moment.
It is still the middle of the night and looking out the window, Harriet sees a sliver of light in the library where none should be. She ends up being aided in her investigation by Miss Barton, who has also seen a light in the Library, and they discover the door is locked. Miss Barton ends up breaking a window to get in and they discover there's been considerable damage done to the library. The Dean is summoned with the spare set of keys and Harriet reflects on the circumstantial evidence against Miss Barton (who'd gone to investigate on her own and who met Harriet as she was coming back), Miss Burrows (who had a quantity of turpentine on had to remove paint which she might have gotten on her if she was the vandal), and Miss Hudson, a student who was up during the Gaudy and whom Harriet caught trying to get something out of the Buttery after hours.
Padgett is summoned and ensures all is in readiness for the ceremony, even if everything is still a bit damp. Harriet stands guard while waiting for the ceremony to begin, and Annie brings her lunch. Annie expresses her opinion that Harriet should be married and that she's not fond of educated women -- and hints she wasn't always a servant.
After the library is properly opened, Harriet against broaches the subject of Miss Climpson and that avenue is once again closed. In fact, the Dean admits there are members of the SCR who are openly opposed to the idea and opposed to Harriet herself doing investigation. More discussion of suspects, and it is confirmed that Harriet will stay on a while longer to do her own investigations, though she warns that if nothing is resolved by end of term, professionals really ought to be called in.
Wtf 1930s Oxford?: Class and gender prejudices are most definitely on display here. The scouts are referred to as "that class" which is used as an argument both for and against suspecting them. It is pointed out by the Dean that Miss Hudson's antecedents are "not particularly refined," which could make her a suspect in the case. Annie points out she wasn't always a servant. It's a different age and the idea that the students rid themselves of dirty dishes by simply leaving them outside for the scouts to pick up seems very far away.
With the introduction of Annie, we come into the second and more dominant gender viewpoint of the period. The first is Miss Barton's assertion of women having a place of equality among men, but Annie's insistence that a woman's place is married with children and that "I can't see what girls want with books. Books won't teach them to be good wives," is a more commonly shared viewpoint. Padget's assertion that "what this country wants...is a 'Itler" is very much WTF to our ears, but far less so when the book was written in 1935, especially when the foreman decorate agrees they should "keep the girls at 'ome." Remember that for the generation of men lost in WWI, there is a corresponding generation of spinsters, some who chose not to marry but many others who either lost their beau during the war or there simply weren't single men in their acquaintance. And most of the SCR of the age to fall into the category.
References: Only two major quotes here. Burton's quote from his 1932 work The Anatomy of Melancholy at the beginning of Chapter Five, and the quote from William Turner at the beginning of Chapter Six. Is this Turner the painter?
Lombroso is a 19th century physician who developed a theory about criminality based on phrenology.
"The Apple of Discord" is the apple fought over by Athena, Hera and Aphrodite, a squabble that led to the Trojan War.
The Kelmscott Morrises -- books from the Kelmscott Press founded by William Morris. High examples of the art, the most valued is "The Works of Geoffrey Chaucer" illustrated by Burne-Jones.
"Much learning has made thee mad" -- The Book of Acts 26:24, where Paul defends himself to Herod Agrippa II against the charges of blasphemy by telling of his conversion.
battels -- bills charged to the students for lodging and food. Carrie, the chief scout isn't against folks getting stuff from the buttery after hours so long as they ensure it's written down so it can be properly charged.
Discussion questions: Given how thick the suspects are on the ground, is it surprising the perpetrator is not one of those whom a finger is pointed at as we begin?
Do you get a sense that sometimes the women of Shrewsbury are trying just a bit too hard to live separate from the world in their academic ivory tower? The Dean and Bursar wear it well, and both Miss Lydgate and Miss DeVine seem very much in their natural environment, but what about Miss Burton or Miss Hillyard? Did they choose this life or fall into it from circumstance?
Proposals: None, as there is no Peter present. However, dream about Peter embracing Harriet which she tries to convince herself is absolutely Not About Peter.
Additional thoughts most definitely welcome.