Victorians! discussion

With Curdie watching Princess Irene was able to get a good sleep. Later Curdie makes his way with Lina back to the dungeon. Lina stays behind while he steals his way out of the jail and all the way to the baker to fetch some bread. He does so sneakily but he pays for it. Back in the castle Lina delivers the loaf and the king enjoys it immensely. The King is recovering and Princess Irene tells him Curdie arrived. Later the doctor is not at all pleased the King is better. He tries to hide it, but Princess Irene, now alerted to the shenanigans, is not fooled. He is told that the lord chamberlain will come for him to sign some papers.

The lord chamberlain came with the expected papers. He read them not very clearly that the King asked his daughter to read them to him as a reading exercise. All the lord chamberlain’s tactics to have them signed failed, and he left. Meanwhile Curdie and Lina were back in the wine cellar where they saw the servants take much wine from the caskets. Curdie snatched a loaf of bread and a pie, and this time he was seen by a housemaid. The cook tried to find out who took them but didn’t believe the maid. Curdie decided to go back into the cave. He suspected that much of it contains gold ore. So he went to work with his mattock.

Curdie finds the housemaid crying over not having been believed. He finds her trustworthy and asks her to help him. In the King’s chamber he waits behind a curtain for the doctor to come. Lina is under the bed. When the doctor arrives he can clearly see the snake-like nature of the man. He proceeds to mix the poison for the King, but before he can administer it Lina upon Curdie’s command bites him in the leg, then drags him out of the room and in front of the lord chamberlain’s door. The commotion wakes the chamberlain up and he comes out and falls over the doctor. Curdie offers to help him up and as he touches the chamberlain’s hand he can sense a bird of prey.

Lina leaves the palace and races out of town. The housemaid follows Curdie’s command and tells the servants that they are to repent, to cease lying, stealing, being unkind to one another. They mock her, beat her up, and throw her into the cellar. Meanwhile the King feels better and listens to Curdie and Princess Irene’s adventures with the goblins. Slowly he realizes that many things that have formerly not made sense to him all of a sudden seem to have new meaning. His crown, which he had so intensely guarded throughout his sickness he asks to be put away.

Curdie finds the housemaid in the locked cellar and asks her to wait. When he gets to the dungeon he finds it crowded with Lina’s beastly friends from the journey. Together they manage to get everyone into the palace. The housemaid shows them a different way to the King’s chamber bypassing the servants. Curdie sends the housemaid one more time to warn the servants to repent. While the King is still sleeping Curdie tells Princess Irene not to be alarmed by the strange noises that she will hear.

I was pleased that Curdie found someone within the court who was not a villain. It was fitting that it was a young housemaid who had resisted the corruption that was taking place all around her. I hope he will be able to find more allies in the future, maybe the old commander of the guards lying ill in bed.

Lina’s attack on the doctor, as directed by Curdie, was particularly vicious and verging on horrific. I almost heard the bones crunching.

I was fascinated by the creatures made up of different parts of animals. What a visual treat they might make if some sort of ‘stop motion’ movie was made of this story. I tried to visualise the two named ‘animals’ - legserpent and ballbody - Were they like the aliens from Star Wars or creatures in a Disney Fantasy? Maybe a mixture of both. These animals were just one indication of George MacDonald’s legacy as the father of fantasy writing.

I enjoyed the scenes with the king getting stronger, interacting with his daughter, and resisting the baddies.

And I agree that it’s good to see Curdie has found one person who is trustworthy. I found the justifications and excuses of the other servants to be so very human. (For some reason this reminded me of the household to which Odysseus returned.)

Trev- Your description of the legion of creatures as Star Wars extras made me laugh. In fact, I absolutely pictured the character from Monsters, Inc for Ballbody. :)

Renee wrote: ". (For some reason this reminded me of the household to which Odysseus returned.)"

That's a great comparison! The servants and the suiters in the Odyssey certainly behave in the same abominable way and both are in a great eating hall. This may not be that far fetched after all :-)

At least Curdie gives them the chance of redemption. Macdonald is writing for a very different audience.

Yes. Very much so.