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Felix Holt
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Felix Holt: Week 6: Chapters 36-42
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Mod
After Jermyn’s failed attempt at gaining the upper hand over Harold and saving himself from the law, Harold and Mrs Transome are aware of the true Bycliffe heir. Harold is trying to save his estate by marriage to Esther but what will that really imply. After all, the estate seems to be deeply mortgaged and in quite a mess, so even if Esther does get it, refusing Harold’s suit, it doesn’t appear to be much of an advantage.
Mod
Harold may be a flawed personality with his adjusting his morals to suit himself, but one does feel for him not knowing the truth about himself. And it seems now that he is about to learn it. How will that change things for him?
Mod
Beyond the advantages or not of the estate itself, Esther has plenty to think about from a new suitor (even if she now knows his motives), to the possibility of her dreams coming true on the one side, and a certain reluctance now in her (through Felix’s influence), and not wishing to leave her father, on the other. What might she eventually decide? And what of her feelings for Felix?
Mod
Felix has been imprisoned by reason of being caught in circumstances beyond his control. But while he admirably refuses to compromise his principles, this also means both his freedom and the well-being of his mother and little Joe are in question, for now she is without the financial support from the pills. Will he be released? What does the future hold for him?
George Eliot makes reference to Jason and Medea in summing up the relationship between Mrs Transome and Jermyn.’ The fortunate Jason, as we know from Euripides, piously thanked the goddess, and saw clearly that he was not at all obliged to Medea;……’
’ Jason and Medea by John William Waterhouse (1907)’
Here are more details of that story…..
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medea#J...
Esther has come to a turning point in her life. The ‘freedoms’ she can now experience because of her inheritance contrast sharply with Felix’s imprisonment. However, it is not the bars of the prison cell that is keeping Esther and Felix apart.
’ She began to look on all that had passed between herself and Felix as something not buried, but embalmed and kept as a relic in a private sanctuary. The very entireness of her preoccupation about him, the perpetual repetition in her memory of all that had passed between them, tended to produce this effect. She lived with him in the past; in the future she seemed shut out from him.’
It could be that, physically at least, she may have to leave Felix behind in her new life.
’ Felix Holt was present in her mind throughout; what he would say was an imaginary commentary that she was constantly framing, and the words that she most frequently gave him—for she dramatized under the inspiration of a sadness slightly bitter—were of this kind: "That is clearly your destiny—to be aristocratic, to be rich. I always saw that our lots lay widely apart. You are not fit for poverty, or any work of difficulty. But remember what I once said to you about a vision of consequences; take care where your fortune leads you."’
Thoughts on Mrs. Transome's concept of 'love': “I wish it were true, Denner,” said Mrs. Transome, energetically. “I wish he were in love with her, so that she could master him, and make him do what she pleased.”
This is what Mrs. Transome understands by 'love': power and influence. She has been frustrated in her life whenever she 'loved' as she understands it: she could master neither Jermyn nor Harold. Hence her bitterness:
"What is the use of a woman's will?—if she tries, she doesn't get it, and she ceases to be loved. God was cruel when He made women."
A woman is loved only if she submits to the other's will - in accordance with her belief that love = power. This belief makes mutual love among equals impossible by definition. For Mrs. Transome, there can be no such thing as loving each other for a woman with willpower: either she submits and is loved, or she loves and dominates without being loved in return. A sure recipe for being unhappy, and so she is.
Denner is presented as the exemplification of her concept of love, and the sole constellation in which it can work: Denner's is a submissive, servile love. Mrs. Transome has power over her - does she also love her servant?
“I believe you are the creature in the world that loves me best, Denner; yet you will never understand what I suffer. It’s of no use telling you.”
...
“Ah, then you are a happy woman, Denner; you have loved somebody for forty years who is old and weak now, and can’t do without you.” The sound of the dinner-gong resounded below, and Mrs. Transome let the faithful hand fall again.
Mrs. Transome speaks about Denner loving her - but what are her feelings in return? The servant is not her equal and 'cannot understand'. And in the last quote, I almost get a feeling of resentment: is Mrs. Transome afraid that she becomes dependent on Denner, and that thus the power relationship will be turned upside down?
Mod
“I wish it were true, Denner,” said Mrs. Transome, energetically. “I wish he were in love with her, so that she could master him, and make him do wh..."
Ha ha, true Sabagrey; her conception of love is certainly a lot more about power and control, but at the same time when one sees it vis-a-vis Jermyn, there is at least some semblance of feeling while it would seem for him to be another business transaction as you'd mentioned elsewhere in the context of Harold.
Mod
However, it is not the bars of the pri..."
That seems to be the direction things are headed towards, but at the same time, it may also depend on how she sees Harold's suit since she was also reluctant to deprive the Transomes of their property
Lady Clementina wrote: "Trev wrote: "Esther has come to a turning point in her life. The ‘freedoms’ she can now experience because of her inheritance contrast sharply with Felix’s imprisonment. That seems to be the direction things are headed towards, but at the same time, it may also depend on how she sees Harold's suit since she was also reluctant to deprive the Transomes of their property.."
In order to help Harold and his family she could decide to marry him, but that longing for Felix will always be with her. Wouldn’t it just be a ‘business transaction’ for Esther if she married Harold, because, despite his handsomeness and charming ways, I am pretty sure that she doesn’t love him? Harold will probably provide her with a pleasant life unless he turns out like his real dad and strays back towards the type of women he really prefers.
Can Esther gauge the level of the sacrifice that she would have to bear for the rest of her life?
’ Every day she was getting more clearly into her imagination what it would be to abandon her own past, and what she would enter into in exchange for it; what it would be to disturb a long possession, and how difficult it was to fix a point at which the disturbance might begin, so as to be contemplated without pain.’
I have mixed feelings about Harold's suit-I think he is certainly becoming fond of Esther, and may find himself falling in love now he's realized there is a possible rival out there. However I agree with the previous comments that this is likely more transactional love than a deep connection-is that in fact something of which Harold is even capable?Once again, Felix Holt seems to be working against his own best interests, both in terms of his court case and of his love, although he seems never to have seen this as something that could lead to marriage. In fact, that is one thing both Felix and Harold appear to have in common-both swearing that they are not marrying men.
"I remember very well what you said to me—‘A clever lawyer can do anything if he has the will; if it’s impossible, he will make it possible. And the property is sure to be Harold’s some day.’ He was a baby then." (ch. 42)wait - what? Jermyn is talking about the time of the Bycliffe affair, and Esther's father's death - about 22 years earlier. But at that time, Harold was already 12 or 13 years old, certainly not 'a baby'.
I think the two big events in the past of the Transomes - Mrs. Transome's "sin" and the claim of Bycliffe - got a bit mixed-up, not intentionally, and put at the same point in time when they should have been far apart.
It's really a minor issue; I just can't help noticing such details sometimes.
sabagrey wrote: ""I remember very well what you said to me—‘A clever lawyer can do anything if he has the will; if it’s impossible, he will make it possible. And the property is sure to be Harold’s some day.’ He wa..."Earlier today I was listening to a BBC radio programme about us telling stories to others about important moments in our lives……. and how we often got some of the details wrong, turning them into almost mythological moments.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m001...
(Podcast) https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m000...
Mrs Transome’s and Jermyn’s ‘sins’ happened many years ago and their own memories of them will probably have been fashioned into something quite different from each other.
’ "I will never tell him!" said Mrs. Transome, starting up, her whole frame thrilled with a passion that seemed almost to make her young again. Her hands hung beside her clenched tightly, her eyes and lips lost the helpless repressed bitterness of discontent, and seemed suddenly fed with energy. "You reckon up your sacrifices for me: you have kept a good account of them, and it is needful: they are some of them what no one else could guess or find out. But you made your sacrifices when they seemed pleasant to you; when you told me they were your happiness; when you told me that it was I who stooped, and I who bestowed favors."
Frances wrote: "I However I agree with the previous comments that this is likely more transactional love than a deep connection-is that in fact something of which Harold is even capable?."no, he is not capable, we are told:
To be deeply in love was a catastrophe not likely to happen to him; but he was readily amorous. No woman could make him miserable, but he was sensitive to the presence of women, and was kind to them;
And there are these little words that tell us that his 'being in love' is only an impression he wants to create intentionally:
Harold was looking, as he felt, thoroughly enamored of this bright woman, who was not at all to his preconceived taste. Perhaps a touch of hypothetic jealousy now helped to heighten the effect.
Esther, quite overmastered by this new and apparently involuntary manifestation in Harold;
This is the suspense in this part of the book: we are told about Harold - but Esther is not, and she is young, naive, and susceptible. While we would like to call out to her to turn and run as fast as she can, we have to sit still and wait for what she will make of it.
sabagrey wrote: .“ This is the suspense in this part of the book: we are told about Harold - but Esther is not, and she is young, naive, and susceptible. While we would like to call out to her to turn and run as fast as she can, we have to sit still and wait for what she will make of it. ..."
Yes, Esther is almost trapped in a bubble of adulation perpetrated by the Transomes (mother and son,) and has not developed that worldly wise suspicion to work out why they might be acting in the way they are.
’ Esther never reflected that there was a double intention in these pretty ways toward her; with young generosity, she was rather preoccupied by the desire to prove that she herself entertained no low triumph in the fact that she had rights prejudicial to this family whose life she was learning.’
I liked the metaphor that Eliot used to describe Esther’s confused state……
’ Esther found it impossible to read in these days; her life was a book which she seemed herself to be constructing—trying to make character clear before her, and looking into the ways of destiny.’
Trev wrote: "I liked the metaphor that Eliot used to describe Esther’s confused state……’ Esther found it impossible to read in these days; her life was a book which she seemed herself to be constructing—trying to make character clear before her, and looking into the ways of destiny.'."
Yes, such a beautiful image - and at the same time a glimpse of Eliot's own writing process?
Mod
He did admire her when he first saw her, so perhaps it can be 'love' but in the sense it is for him (transaction + fondness)--perhaps comparable to his mother (power +fondness).
Esther was uneasily silent. On this great question of her lot she saw doubts and difficulties, in which it seemed as if her father could not help her. There was no illumination for her in this theory of providential arrangement. She said suddenly (what she had not thought of at all suddenly)—"Have you been again to see Felix Holt, father? You have not mentioned him in your letters."
...
"It was a hasty remark, and rather escaped him than was consciously framed. He said, 'Then she will marry Transome; that is what Transome means.'"
Esther is quite unhappy with both her counsellors outside the Transome sphere: for her father, everything is as it should be with 'Providence' showing the way. And Felix makes a cool prophesy about her marriage, not as providential, but as planned by Harold. By both, she is seen as the one who submits and follows - a role that she does not want to accept anymore. She is looking for help in her dilemma, but she won't find it in these two men, and is left all alone to deal with the combined 'friendly fire' of the Transomes.
question to the mods and others: when we'll have finished the book, I would very much like to discuss how Felix Holt compares to Middlemarch - I at least see a lot of parallels, and lines of development from one to the other (especially the characters). Only that would imply spoilers for all those who don't know Middlemarch.
If there's interest in such a discussion, maybe we could have a thread on just this, with a spoiler warning?
sabagrey wrote: ""I think the two big events in the past of the Transomes - Mrs. Transome's "sin" and the claim of Bycliffe - got a bit mixed-up, not intentionally, and put at the same point in time when they should have been far apart.It's really a minor issue; I just can't help noticing such details sometimes.."
No not a minor issue as it affects the the participants' own rationale and their thoughts as to the other person's rationale, for engaging in "sin" with one another. The closer the events are together in time, the greater a factor.
I appreciate the clarification because I was left with the impression that the "sin" and "claim" were almost simultaneous.
Week summary
Jermyn might think all the cards are in his hands, but things turn against him (and without his knowledge as we later find), as Christian puts his own plan into action securing for himself some pecuniary advantage while putting Harold in possession of the fact that it is Esther who is the Bycliffe heir. While Harold is for a time unclear as to what his course should be, he soon enough settles on marriage with Esther as a possible solution—the best for both sides. After all he can’t simply give up the estate, and he doesn’t wish to do wrong by the heir either.
So with his mother’s consent, Esther is invited to spend time at Transome Court, where Harold will of course woo her. While marriage may have been in his mind all along, he finds himself admiring Esther too, even if he isn’t quite ‘in love’ with her. Interestingly, having been disappointed by Harold’s attitude to herself, we find Mrs Transome rooting for Esther and hoping she’d have been in a place to rule Harold rather than the current circumstances where Harold will be in control of things and perhaps not make Esther’s life a happy one. She is also seen once again contemplating her age and loss of beauty, perhaps set off by a young and beautiful woman in the house, all set to be next mistress. Neither son nor mother has considered the possibility that Esther might not even want to marry Harold.
Esther’s dreams of a grand and luxurious life are turning into reality but her reaction, though she is going with the flow so to speak, isn’t what it might have been had all this taken place some time earlier, before her meeting with Felix. There is concern for the Transomes themselves whom she would be displacing as also a certain reluctance in herself. Additionally, she doesn’t really wish to be parted from Mr Lyon. But once again, young as she is, she is flattered by Harold’s attention and it is Felix who opens her eyes to the possibility that marriage is what Harold must have planned from the start.
Felix, meanwhile, continues to be in prison, refusing all help from Harold other than as a witness. In Harold’s favour he has tried to extend every aid. Mr Lyon too does all he can from providing support to Mrs Holt and little Joe, to visiting Felix in prison. But Felix while being true to himself is hurting his cause by his obstinacy in matters of taking help.
Jermyn remains ignorant of Harold having found out the truth for a time, but as soon as he gets hint of this being a possibility, he turns to Mrs Transome, first by simple pleas but later asking her to make the truth known to Harold. Mr Transomes eyes are now completely opened to Jermyn’s true nature; the relationship with her was simply entered into for his own advantage, while we learn on her part there was indeed love. Despite her wrath, Jermyn seems all ready to make Harold aware of things.
What now? Will Harold discover the truth and how will he react? Does Jermyn manage to save himself despite everything? Does Esther come into the estate—then what of Mr Lyon? Does Felix secure his release? And what of Felix and Esther? So many questions and just one segment left to resolve it all.