Continuation of the Marlow line

[leapingirbis]

The discussion about Kay below made me wonder how many children each of the Marlows would end up producing. I hope this hasn't been discussed before - if so I apologise! My thoughts are as follows

Comments

[ankaret]

I reckon Peter's record with Fob makes him good father material.

I think I'd have to read well-written Nicola/Robert to sell me on it - the age gap makes me a bit queasy, which I don't think would bother me if Nicola's main ambition was, say, to win the Ashes with the first mixed England cricket team, but since she's so focused on things nautical and he's already been there and done that...

I can absolutely see small blond children of Rowan's showing up at the Westbridge Infants, meeting a very right-on teacher say 'Now, you have two mummies and that's absolutely OK', looking at each other in very infant-Nick-and-Lawrie perplexity and then saying politely 'We also have New Forest ponies and pigs.'

[slemslempike]

And dealing very effectively with Peter's offspring who have no little bullying tendency about them?

[ankaret]

dealing very effectively with Peter's offspring who have no little bullying tendency about them?

"Mummy Rowan says only fools and the British Army mess around unnecessarily with plumbing. So stop stuffing his head down the toilet."

As far as Peter goes in general, I always thought his disastrous taste in friends might also translate over into disastrous taste in partners, too, though there's always Selby as a beacon of sensibleness.

[coughingbear]

It's about fifteen years, the gap, isn't it? I can see it, but not with Nicola straight out of school or anything. I envisage both of them knocking around the world for a while, and meeting again perhaps after Nicola gets her first sea command (having bumped the timeline along to allow her to become a full RN officer, which rather does for Robert's war service). It's very unclear whether he's still sailing out of St-Anne's after his father dies just because of the spy problem, and what he's likely to do next.

[slemslempike]

That's interesting that you think that Rowan would have children in a heterosexual relationship but not a same-sex one. Why the difference? I'm not entirely convinced about the inevitability of the "biological clock", but I can't imagine that any ticking would be silenced just because she was gay.

I really don't know why so many people peg Ginty for divorce.

[darth_tigger]

I really don't know why so many people peg Ginty for divorce.

Because she sometimes comes across as flaky with a tendency to bail out at the first sign of trouble?

[slemslempike]

Yes, as a fifteen year old, who has always existed rather comfortably in the middle of a large family with nothing to really push her! By the same token, Nicola's stubbornness and determination to do absolutely everything on her own and never let anyone see that she might want help has her marked for rather unsuccessful relationships. But I imagine that both of them might be different as adults rather than children in a boarding school where life is made quite easy for them.

[darth_tigger]

Absolutely true, and a real-life Ginty would probably stand as good a chance as many of having a successful marriage. I can rather see her as a suburbanite combining housewife with career woman with a beautiful home straight out of a catalogue and a husband who's big in the Rotary Club. But you asked why so many people see her like that, and of course, we've only got her-up-to-15-or-so to base anything on. Yes, she could easily change once life became less easy and might find that she enjoys the challenge, but what we've seen so far is often vacillating, unsure, afraid of confrontation and effort and happy to take the "easy" option. So, many readers extrapolate from the information given, and assume she's likely to keep those character traits and be more likely to bail out.

[darth_tigger]

I agree about Lawrie, except I think she'll produce twins (or even triplets) and have them acting in films aged 6 weeks. Film companies love multiple births to actors, as it means they can use both/all to play the same baby (there's strict rules on how long an infant can "act" for, so two or three looking the same doubles or triples the shooting time).

[ankaret]

Cue wails from Lawrie about how she and Nick could have been in films from the cradle if she'd known.

[slemslempike]

Although at least this way she doesn't have to share any limelight!

[ankaret]

I can see her sitting in front of a DVD trying to work out which was which until Rowan shooed her out into the fresh air.

[debodacious]

I was thinking the other day that Lawrie might do a bit of a Gwyneth Paltrow and end up with Jan Scott's hairy rock band brother. With offspring called, perhaps, Plum and Zerubabel Scott?

And I also agree that there is no real reason to write off Ginty's future just because the Merricks don't fancy her as a future DIL. Outside the Marlowverse she would come across as a very normal teenage girl. I don't think many of us would want to feel we hadn't developed as a person since we were 15.

[leapingirbis]

well, statistically at least two of them will have to divorce, and Ann won't as she's too religious, Mrs Giles will be too busy having babies, Nick will be too stubborn, Lawrie won't actually marry, Peter would see it as a weakness, Rowan sticks to her decisions, so that leaves Kay and Ginty! Anyway, personally I wouldn't see divorce as "writing off her future"; I know lots of very happy second-time round relationships!

[debodacious]

I wasn't really thinking specifically of divorce, more the fact that AF fans crystal ball gazing rarely predict a dazzling future for Ginty, in part because of Mr Merrick and Patrick's conversation about her. I think I'd go for Kay and Giles being the statistical divorcees - Kay because her marriage seems pretty doomed from Day 1 and Giles because the future Mrs Giles would eventually get fed up of coming second to his naval career.

[jen_c_w]

I do...
I've always wondered whether Helena Merrick just hates her because she's stunningly pretty and Pater Merrick just feels that Patrick's getting too instense too young - he is VERY intense about everything cf classical music, and I think Daddy probably just wants him to live a little.

I have also been thinking, a lot, about young Virginia's future life, but more of that later perhaps.

[childeproof]

But you've given them all children - too much Marlow spawn, and frankly, I see the Marlows as less baby-happy (in the sense of trigger-happy) than that

[leapingirbis]

I can more see Patrick having an illicit affair with a Catholic priest than with a farmer. Patrick is just not cut out to be blissfully happy!

As for my generosity in allocating babies - you are quite right, it is a bit over the top, but upper-class families do do a lot of breeding - as Lady Sybil says, it is what they are bred to do!

[ankaret]

And then his priest leaves the priesthood for him and then it all falls apart with piles of guilt!

It is wonderful the number of different futures that can be plausibly spun out for AF's characters. I think it's a tribute to her powers of characterisation.

[leapingirbis]

And then his priest leaves the priesthood for him and then it all falls apart with piles of guilt!

Yes that's right. Poor old Patrick! And his poor parents - they'd probably have preferred him to marry Ginty. Though perhaps I underestimate them? Can't someone write a fanfic?