This is making me feel more than a bit uncomfortable - especially knowing some of the theories about Dickens and Ellen Ternan (older than Nell, but still very young). I think where 21st Century sensitivities come into it is that it feels as if it is being presented as comic when it's anything but. I think it's the context that is so disturbing: Quilp seeing off Mrs Quilp and Fred basically selling his sister. Nell's vulnerability - we all know what to expect, don't we? Hearts of stone at the ready - is also a factor. Older men and younger women can be a source of comedy ('Don Pasquale' and its earlier form 'The Silent Woman' come to mind), but older men and young girls just feels creepy.
The ball, though, is a delight. The petty snobbery of not having country dances, Dick Swiveller dancing like a forerunner of John Travolta and Mrs Wackles' response to the young girls laughing - this is the humour I can sign up to.
Dick Swiveller's map of London made me smile. It feels like he will grow into Mr Micawber, if all goes well. At the moment, he feels like a likeable rogue - but that could all change.
And we have the element of mystery: what is the grandfather doing out at night? Gambling? Or what? It's definitely a page-turner, so limiting myself to two chapters a week will be a challenge (especially in this weather).
I love the ball. This is exactly the type of scene that has always made me love Dickens. And Bren, you’ve given us a great picture for it: “Dick Swiveller dancing like a forerunner of John Travolta.” Hahaha great description.
Quilp’s character is such a strange one. It’s like Dickens wants to give him no excuses - he is just a “villain”. I also find it interesting that the contents of the letter are never shared - probably because that is part of the “mystery”.
I too am looking forward to The Old Curiosity Shop the rest of the way. The framing narrative feels to me like trying to recapture the magic of The Pickwick Papers. Been there. Done that. Move on.
Super-confused about Master Humphrey's Clock and its end-point. In my version, there's another bit of this last chapter (quite a mournful, all-life-is-here kind of reflection on London; and then an invitation to the Weller gang to come and hear the latest story; and then a shivery kind of section that implies Master Humphrey is now quite alone, musing on what might have been). After that, there's a section called The Deaf Gentleman From His Own Apartment. Were these bits stuck on later, to make a stand-alone publication?
Ah! Well spotted Linda! Dickens stopped writing the frame story at this point, but he did bring it back briefly when The Old Curiosity Shop finished (and before he began serialising Barnaby Rudge) and then again at the end of Barnaby Rudge, when the publication of Master Humphrey’s Clock stopped for good. We’ll get to those later bits when we come to the end of the novel!
This is making me feel more than a bit uncomfortable - especially knowing some of the theories about Dickens and Ellen Ternan (older than Nell, but still very young). I think where 21st Century sensitivities come into it is that it feels as if it is being presented as comic when it's anything but. I think it's the context that is so disturbing: Quilp seeing off Mrs Quilp and Fred basically selling his sister. Nell's vulnerability - we all know what to expect, don't we? Hearts of stone at the ready - is also a factor. Older men and younger women can be a source of comedy ('Don Pasquale' and its earlier form 'The Silent Woman' come to mind), but older men and young girls just feels creepy.
The ball, though, is a delight. The petty snobbery of not having country dances, Dick Swiveller dancing like a forerunner of John Travolta and Mrs Wackles' response to the young girls laughing - this is the humour I can sign up to.
Dick Swiveller's map of London made me smile. It feels like he will grow into Mr Micawber, if all goes well. At the moment, he feels like a likeable rogue - but that could all change.
And we have the element of mystery: what is the grandfather doing out at night? Gambling? Or what? It's definitely a page-turner, so limiting myself to two chapters a week will be a challenge (especially in this weather).
I love the ball. This is exactly the type of scene that has always made me love Dickens. And Bren, you’ve given us a great picture for it: “Dick Swiveller dancing like a forerunner of John Travolta.” Hahaha great description.
Quilp’s character is such a strange one. It’s like Dickens wants to give him no excuses - he is just a “villain”. I also find it interesting that the contents of the letter are never shared - probably because that is part of the “mystery”.
I too am looking forward to The Old Curiosity Shop the rest of the way. The framing narrative feels to me like trying to recapture the magic of The Pickwick Papers. Been there. Done that. Move on.
Super-confused about Master Humphrey's Clock and its end-point. In my version, there's another bit of this last chapter (quite a mournful, all-life-is-here kind of reflection on London; and then an invitation to the Weller gang to come and hear the latest story; and then a shivery kind of section that implies Master Humphrey is now quite alone, musing on what might have been). After that, there's a section called The Deaf Gentleman From His Own Apartment. Were these bits stuck on later, to make a stand-alone publication?
Ah! Well spotted Linda! Dickens stopped writing the frame story at this point, but he did bring it back briefly when The Old Curiosity Shop finished (and before he began serialising Barnaby Rudge) and then again at the end of Barnaby Rudge, when the publication of Master Humphrey’s Clock stopped for good. We’ll get to those later bits when we come to the end of the novel!
Thank you for the clarification!