Romance of the Forest

Opinions of legal system -
Higher status people (aristocracy) had sole power. No substantial evidence is required or obtained. Basically their word must be taken as proof or as true. The legal system is very random.

Absentee of law - law circulatory outside of characters and readers knowledge.

Why would the people stand by and accept or tolerate this kind of legal system? Overall there is no real order or sense of law or justice.

Narration change similar to legal system -
It is very jumpy, random, and drastic. Just as the legal system makes known their power, Radcliffe does a similar thing with the narration change; it is more direct and authoritative, she telling you what to do or what is to be done just as the legal system does; what they say goes. Total control.

Why does Radcliffe choose to construct the narration in this way? What purpose does it serve?

Use of poems in Radcliffe

 The poetic introductions to chapters seem to be more vague or pertaining to the abstract while the verses inside are almost always aesthetic or emotional such as the various sonnets and  page 7. description of Adeline's eyes. Verse inside the chapter is impulsive such as page 262 where the "scenery inspired" this verse "soothing each gust of passion into peace/ All but the swelling of the soften'd heart/ That waken, not disturb, the tranquil mind". The sonnets often time convey a very real emotion of one of the characters while the meaning of the poetic quotations at the beginning of the chapter tend to be uncovered gradually as the chapter progresses. I liked the begining of Chapter V "A suprise-An adventure- A mystery" which is actually pretty descriptive of the chapter. The suprise being La Motte's paranoia of his creditors and the adventure would be Adeline going to the town while the mystery is the stranger's identity.

literature the bridge to friendship

Other than all of the depressing themes in the story, one positive scene I saw in the story that stood out was how Maria had read the books that was available to her and then help her lead up to the man Darnford and Jemima. After some conversations with each other, all three characters begin to open up with each other. It is sort of strange how the whole destiny of their meetings were triggered by the books. However, the content of the books which started the whole thing was unique because the story itself refers to Milton’s Paradise Lost and Dryden’s Fables. Some of these works are very influential for the time as is today. However, one could say that the books themselves took an identity in which guided all the characters to meet. Books themselves present people with the transfer of knowledge, but could they be also a guide for people to meet with others with the same understanding of the story itself? Nevertheless, Maria had found some escapism of the world around her in the books and found some moment of peace with the idea of what the books presented.  

Reference Points

It seems to me that Radcliffe uses the excerpts of poems as introductions to foreshadow and set the tone of the chapter ahead. An obvious example of this is the introduction to chapter 4:

“Full of, unknowing and unknown,

He wore his endless noons alone,

Amid th’ autumnal wood:

Oft was he wont in hasty fit.

Abrupt the social board to quit.”

This excerpt literally describes La Motte’s behaviour during the following chapter. I think these excerpts are a reliable way to frame the reader’s mind for what is about to happen. I don’t think they are necessary for the story but they are definitely a welcome addition. I wonder if Radcliffe searched for excerpts that fit her story or based the story on the excerpts.

To the Lilly

On pg. 75 we get the “Sonnet to the Lilly” which Adeline sings while she is sitting in the forest. She has been feeling sad because she has lost Madame’s affection and she doesn’t know why. However, this morning nature calls to her and she finds herself in a picturesque scene. The paragraph leading into the poem describes how the scene make Adeline feel better. 

Radcliffe actually wrote this poem for the novel, so unlike the epigraphs at the start of each chapter that set the scene, the poem is consistent with the character and expresses Adeline’s emotions. The poem expresses a very Romantic idea of finding comfort in nature. A few paragraphs before Adeline lamented the state of her relationship with Madame LaMotte saying, “I have lost that affection which was my only comfort.” However, in this beautiful environment she is able find comfort and hope. 

Placing a poem in the middle of prose also changes the pace of the chapter. Up till this point, Adeline hasn’t said much. The narrator tells us what she is feeling, but in the poem we get to see her emotions fully expressed, even if it is through song. It reveals a certain amount of innocence to Adeline. I remember in Catholic school being told that lilies represent virtue and purity and I think the lily represents the purity and innocence of Adeline. I think you have to have quite a bit of innocence in you to be able to be moved to hope by nature when everyone you care about seems to be turning away from you. She does not harden her heart; she opens it to other things.

Mystery & Sanity

"Hence, horrible shadow!

Unreal mockery, hence!" 

These lines are spoken by Macbeth upon seeing Banquo's ghost, an event that symbolizes Macbeth's descent into madness. Lady Macbeth begins to lose trust in her husband and his sanity at this point. Similar, this quote begins a chapter in which many of the characters continue to lose trust in La Motte. His wife still believes that he is having an affair with Adeline, and his private meetings with the Marquis leave the rest of the inhabitants of the abbey uneasy. La Motte's behavior becomes increasingly mysterious throughout the chapter, specifically in his encounters with the Marquis, leaving both Adeline and Madame La Motte worried for his well being. Adeline suffers from "anxiety for the welfare of La Motte" in the same way that Lady Macbeth does during her husband's insane outburst at the banquet. Madame La Motte views "the mysterious conduct of La Motte" with "a pang of self-accusation," and feels guilt similar to Lady Macbeth's guilt over planning the murder of the king. Quoting this specific act from Macbeth makes the reader skeptical of La Motte's sanity and intents as well, and adds to the mystery of the novel. The quote also lends a gothic tone to the chapter by referencing such a well known scene with supernatural elements.

Macbeth and La Motte

I chose the opening excerpt from Macbeth on page 85

"'Hence, horrible shadow!
Unreal mockery, hence!'
                   Macbeth"        

I think this excerpt serves as a comparison to the way La Motte feels like he's constantly being pursued.  First, he feels pursued by the officers of justice.  Then there is the state of horror that La Motte cannot escape,  "The same image has pursued me in my midnight dream..."  (pg.88-89).  The 'mockery' could be applied to Madame who is unable to get a direct answer out of La Motte or to how La Motte feels about Marquis who is unshakable and perhaps not exactly what he appears to be.

Overall the frantic, paranoid nature of the excerpt matches La Motte's inner voice perfectly and gives the rest of the chapter the same frantic feel. It also makes the reader compare La Motte to Macbeth.  The two are not the same, but there are some characteristics both characters share, (obsessive paranoia being one of them).

Story of a Girl

Odes of Passion (page 172)

"And Hope enchanted smil’d, and wav’d her golden hair;

And longer had she sung-but with a frown,

Revenge impatient rose…’"

It’s only three lines, three small lines, but those three lines describe so much about that girl, the one girl who is gorgeous beyond simple world but carries on too much in the world. As I read it, that was the pressing thought in my mind. I seem to have a pressing thought for every text that we read (which I suppose is the main point of doing these readings in the first place). It also reminded me of the song “Story of a Girl” because that is the entirety of the song, it is a story of a girl who cried a river and drowned the whole world, but while she looked so sad in photographs, I absolutely loved her, when she smiled (and I digress). Seriously, you all should listen to the song if you haven’t already. That is the song of my childhood.

At first glance, this poem evidently is meant to show something about the female main character Adeline. That seems simple enough, and the ode itself does present that. Standing by itself, I would have just assumed that it was meant for any normal girl because for every girl, and every person for that matter, has been through something that makes them a rose stuck in a bushel of thorns. Put before the chapter however, the “Ode to the Passions” leads the reader into this belief that its placement is obviously of some significance. Similar to a post that I read before, the ode acts as the music before a battle or love scene in a musical or movie before it leads into the actual actions, focusing the audience on that raw emotion to help intertwine them with the story and the characters. It is meant to draw attention to Adeline and her beauty that took Theodore’s heart, which is exactly what the following two paragraphs tell of. It describes the encounters that Theodore had with Adeline and his thoughts on her, how her presence had touched it along with his remembrance of another poem that too describes beauty.

“Oh! Have you seen, bath’d in the morning dew,

The budding rose its infant bloom display;

When first its virgin tints unfold to view,

It shrinks and scarely trusts the blaze of day?

SO soft, so delicate, so sweet she came,

Youth’s damask glow just dawning on her cheek.

I gaz’d, I sigh’d, I caught the tender flame,

Felt the fond pang, and droop’d with passion weak.”

The different poems both resemble each other in that regards, showing painted words of beauty and comparing the girl to a sweet rose. The third paragraph following the second poem though, continues on the second part of the ode, telling why Adeline was “but with a frown, revenge impatient rose” because it is here that Theodore realizes about how Adeline has been hurt, how this entire situation had marred her, leaving her but a delicate rose on the outside and a very impatient, hurt, and scarred by thorns of circumstances. True the second poem serves to amplify Theodore’s initial view on Adeline and her beauty; however, the ode shows us more than her superficial characteristics. It shows us the state of her heart. What stuck out to me even more is that the chapters coordinate with the three lines of the ode, first of her beauty, then of her unrest, and lastly of her brokenness. 

Deserved comeuppance

"Drag forth the legal monster into light,
Wrench from his hand Oppression's iron rod,
And bid the cruel feel the pains they give."

This quote at the beginning of chapter 22 tells us what is going to happen next. Line 1 means that deads of the Marquis de Montalt will be identified and laid out for all to see what he has done and that happens with the testimony of Du Bosse and La Motte. With this he is arrested and can no longer go after Adeline. Line 2 means that his ability to have power over others and adversely affect their lives has been taken away with his arrest for trying to kill Adeline who is now out of his reach. Line 3 voices the hope that he have to feel and experience the cruelty and hardship that which he made everyone else have to go through in his mission to kill his daughter because he did not want to recognize her or deal with the fall out of people finding out he had a child with her mother. This poem like many in the book when in place at the beginning of a chapter if read carefully can give you insight into what will happen, it helps move the story along and gives you a preview. This use of poems as a way to move the story and tie together ideas makes for a very interesting read because it is a different way to follow the story that I have not experienced before.

Identity and Radcliffe

Throughout the novel Adeline is horrified by the actions of her father and is terrified at the fact of being sent back to him and she is terrified at the prospects of her future due to her background. Throughout the novel this sense of melancholy over her sense of identity is changed in that she is adopted by Luc who is unknown to the audience Theodore's father, making the two lovers related. This fact makes a a very complicated problem for Theodore and Adeline adding to the Gothic feel of the novel. The most important identity reveal is that the Marquis who was said to be a relation of Adeline is a fraud which adds to the mystery of whether or not her family that she was raised with actually was her family. When the fake marquis is revealed Adeline gets all the wealth making her seemingly to forget her feelings of inadequacy and live a happy life.  I think that this a big flaw in the novel in that I wish Adeline had faced her fear of her father and received some closer in this because it's a big problem for her throughout the novel and for her family identity to not be closed just seems like too big of a plot hole to leave open.

Poems of Love and Irony

Throughout reading this book I found it ironic how many of the poems portray love as something that should be avoided, ignored, or something to be wary of, and throughout the events of the story love is something that causes Theodore to be almost killed, Adeline to nearly go insane from, and for every other character, misery. In "Ode To The Passions" the character of Hope is holding a rose of revenge. I thought it was pretty ironic in relation to the plot in that Adeline's inability to hope for a good future for herself causes her to fall into despair and her lack of hope for Theodore when he's faced with the death penalty causes her to go nearly crazy, causing her to be easily manipulated into the Marquis plans of revenge. Reading the novel without the poems I think would take away a lot of the tension in the novel in that when you read them they give a sense of weight to the plot and the characters decisions that because you can't see inside their heads, and just have to believe that their sincere, the poems kind of ground the book in a more real world sense that just because you love someone doesn't mean that circumstances aren't going to turn out badly or that it won't lead to the characters death.