Dickensians! discussion

Sylvia's Lovers - 2nd thread: chapters 15 - 29



"Among the Waves" (1898) by Ivan Aivazovsky
(chosen by Claudia)

This is the middle thread, for chapters 15 - 29 of Sylvia's Lovers by Elizabeth Gaskell.

Here are the ongoing LINKS TO EACH CHAPTER.

Chapter 15

Chapter 16

Chapter 17

Chapter 18

Chapter 19

Chapter 20

Chapter 21

Chapter 22

Chapter 23

Chapter 24

Chapter 25

Chapter 26

Chapter 27

Chapter 28

Chapter 29

**PLEASE ALLOW CLAUDIA to comment first. Thanks!

Chapter 15 – A Difficult Question

While Philip is reassured about Kinraid's relationship with Sylvia and confident that there will be no further obstacles to their love, Kinraid, on his way back from the shop with Molly and Bessie goes to Haytersbank to see Mr Robson. His cousins make a few innuendoes, but Charley is unperturbed.

Just before sundown on that same frosty New Year's Day, Bell Robson is asleep in her armchair. Daniel has gone to see some pigs. Kester is finishing milking the cows and Sylvia is in the stable with him, knitting some socks while she waits for the milk to be taken to the dairy.

When Charley arrives, Sylvia is pleasantly surprised and blushes, her eyes drooping in obvious anxiety. Charley is confident, knows what to say and what not to say, and talks to Kester about cows and milk. Kester instinctively knows what is going on between the young people. He prefers Kinraid as a suitor for Sylvia to Hepburn, whom he does not really like. He has known Sylvia since she was a baby, so he even helps her to have a tête à tête in the dairy.

Charley asks Sylvia a question that she cannot answer, an allusion to the previous evening. The question embarrasses Sylvia but remains unanswered as Bell wakes up while her daughter has finished filtering the milk, assisted by Charley holding the filter. Bell shows him the same suspicious and unfriendly attitude as before, so the young sailor feels he had better go. Sylvia is dismayed, but Charley promises mezzo voce to visit her before he sets off on the new whaling campaign.

After Charley leaves, Mrs Robson reads her daughter's feelings and tells her the true story of 'Crazy Nancy'. Nancy Hartley was once a servant to Bell's relatives and went mad after being abandoned by her lover, a young man whom nobody really knew before. She was deeply in love with him, but he left and all the girl could do was repeat the same sentence over and over again. She could not resume her work and was taken to a workhouse where she was chained and beaten for shouting repeatedly louder and louder the same words: He once was there."

Mrs Robson notices that Sylvia is impressed and moved by this cruel story. Is her daughter empathising with the poor girl, or has she understood that this was a warning to herself?

Crucial point... and a clever catchphrase

That evening of New Year's Day of 1796 - this is the third chapter dedicated to that eventful 1 January -, Philip goes to bed full of an "humble penitent gratitude" feeling that all danger is over, Kinraid did not consider Sylvia more as a mere flirt. The sailor is now out of Philip's way to a well deserved happiness, thinks he confidently.

But:

"Philip little knew how Sylvia's time had been passed that day. If he had, he would have laid down this night with even a heavier heart than he had done on the last."

To be kept in mind for the near future :

" .. He was like too many of us, he did not place his future life in the hands of God, and only ask for grace to do His will in whatever circumstances might arise; but he yearned in that terrible way after a blessing which, when granted under such circumstances, too often turns out to be equivalent to a curse. And that spirit brings with it the material and earthly idea that all events that favour our wishes are answers to our prayer; and so they are in one sense, but they need prayer in a deeper and higher spirit to keep us from the temptation to evil which such events invariably bring with them."

A cruel tale

Some stories have already been told in this novel: the tailor's account of the forceful and dramatic kidnapping of sailors on the Good Fortune, the short mention of William Coulson's sister sad outcome of her love story, the tales of whalers on the seven seas.

Every story within a story serves a purpose, be it narrative or moral. Mrs Gaskell is a master storyteller. Rather than intervening as an omniscient narrator, she chooses to tell us a few stories within the novel, which creates a distance with the dramatic development, but at the same time enhances and deepens the meaning of some aspects of the novel.

The story of Nancy Hartley is coming up at the end of this chapter, after Sylvia's tête à tête with Kinraid in the dairy. There, romance meets underlying, alluded sensuality (warmth, fragrant female tamed animality in the stables where Kester was milking cows).

Bell tells her daughter the terrible story of a young girl abandoned by her lover, a young man from somewhere else, unknown to all, a sailor but not quite a sailor, who worked temporarily as a sheep wool shearer. If someone has ever seen a wool shearer in action, it all makes sense: a shearer must act quickly and skilfully. They are strong, have developed muscles while handling heavy ewes, and sweat a lot while shearing the greasy and thick wool, carefully avoiding to wound the ewes. Theirs is a world of natural and powerful male sensuality, parallel to the "shippen" and dairy scene with Kinraid's approach to Sylvia, where female sensuality is present. Poor Nancy was slighted by her lover and then driven mad with grief, sent back to the workhouse she came from and was beaten as soon as she was obsessively shouting "He once was there".

This story in its full horror might almost overshadow the romantic side of the chapter centred on the new meeting with Kinraid. Told by Bell to Sylvia immediately after Kinraid's visit and his (according to Bell) intruding presence in the dairy, Bell's domain and more generally the women's domain here ("A fremd man in the house", "how comed he to be in the dairy", insists Bell), it is truly horrifying in its realism, and violent too. Does it perhaps reveal Bell's lack of love for her daughter? This cruel tale also contains a hint of malice and repressed sadism on the part of Bell, who spares Sylvia no detail. It also seems to imply that the diabolical lover (the devil's beauty) has bewitched poor Nancy, and it is easy to compare Kinraid to the unknown young man.

Nancy Hartley's fate is also, in a way, reminiscent of Berta Mason, confined to the attic of Thornfield Hall in Jane Eyre.

This nightmarish story may be seen as a mise en abyme - as stories within a novel sometimes are. It is probably meant by Bell to be a warning to what might happen to Sylvia if she succumbed to Kinraid’s charm. Bell knows how sensitive and easily upset her daughter is.

Bell fears what could be going on in her daughter's mind and heart:

"But the forbidden thing was already tasted, and possible danger in its full acquisition only served to make it more precious-sweet."

Well a-well... What an interesting chapter, plot-wise and also in terms of techniques!

The second thread is now expecting your comments, (and so am I) until we read chapter 16 tomorrow Monday 28 April!

Claudia, I highlighted that quote, too. It seems to speak volumes about Philip's future, and it looks dim. It seems that Philip is going to be sorely tested.

I really enjoyed this chapter. I am starting to see that there is another side to Charley. Perhaps it's a bit too soon to say, but he seems more sincere and invested in Sylvia than before. Perhaps the carefree Charly is a facade?

Sylvia's mother does not like Charley. I wonder if she's hard on him and a relationship between her daughter and him because the story could have been her past. Didn't she date/see Sylvia's dad while he was going out to sea? Didn't she have to wait through lonely, scary months before seeing him again? Perhaps she doesn't want her daughter to experience this pain.

Petra wrote: "I really enjoyed this chapter. I am starting to see that there is another side to Charley. Perhaps it's a bit too soon to say, but he seems more sincere and invested in Sylvia than before. Perhaps the carefree Charly is a facade?"

I'm so glad you said this, Petra, because I've been thinking similarly. Are we too hard on Charley? Why is it a problem if he is gallant to women generally, as long as he is faithful to Sylvia? I guess it's too early to tell whether he can be faithful to Sylvia, but he has no trouble saying goodbye to his women-cousins to visit her instead. We have only Coulson's word for his infidelity to his sister, and even if what Coulson says is true, seems to me it's a bit much to die of heartbreak just because you've been jilted, and I'm not sure that should be blamed on the person who jilted you.

Charley is hardworking, faithful to his crew, brave, financially solvent, has a loving relationship to his cousins and family, and seems to be better at listening than Sylvia's father is. Also Kester likes him (and I did enjoy Kester's role in this chapter).

I guess, structurally, I expect Charley to fail Sylvia because Gaskell has now had Coulson bring his sister up twice, which does require us to have some doubt. But that doesn't seem entirely fair to Charley.

I thought this was an interesting sentence:

Phillip “was almost convinced that he was mistaken in thinking that Kinraid had had anything more than a sailor’s admiration for a pretty girl with regard to Sylvia. “

I think that is his only concern as Charley seems to have no interest in settling down. I also think that he sees capturing Sylvia’s interest as almost a sport.

I go back to the description of the store and the house of squares and right angles which no doubt Philip will follow religiously. The life to come for Philip will be an interior one. Neat, tidy, dustless, a life of accounting and accountability.

And then there is Charley. He is the exterior world, a world where there is little predictability or certainly. When Gaskell brings him to the dairy I saw much symbolism. His is an external world. Charley is associated with the flow of life, symbolized by the milk. The fact he helps filter the milk with Sylvia suggests to me how their future life could be a life force and bind them to the natural forces. We need to recall that the end of the first part of the novel, and the end of the year in the story, presented us with a storm.

Philip and Charley. Sylvia must be moved by Gaskell to a decision in part two of the novel. As for part three, as readers we know that the final part must be one of consequences for Sylvia.

Gaskell has done a masterful job of not giving her readers much to be certain of except the feeling and suggestion that whatever Sylvia’s decision will be will there will be consequences that will resonate for the remainder of the novel.

I also highlighted the section on Phillip's thoughts. My immediate response was to consider how such feelings are usually rewarded... with abject failure. He seems almost prideful in hbut is prayers of thanks for what he believes will be his hoped for outcome and doesn't appear to consider any other possibility at this point.

I also find it interesting that there are apparently no other men that Phillip considers as competition to worry about. But it is a small town though Molly looked elsewhere.

Thanks everyone above for inaugurating the second thread with your rich comments!

We get to see more of Charley, far less predictable than Philip and his probably square-angled and dustless world. Are we to be so hard on Charley indeed?

One more chapter set in the evening light and the night gradually falling...

Chapter 16 – The Engagement

Two months have passed. After a few frosty weeks, March has arrived with less harsh weather.

Daniel Robson is busy with the first of the year's work in the fields (spreading manure). Mrs Robson is convalescing and has been advised by the doctor to get some change of air and has been invited by a former neighbour in Middleham, some 50 miles inland from Monkshaven.

Sylvia's mind has been on Kinraid ever since New Year's Day. According to Philip Hepburn, she has grown thinner and seems preoccupied. She is still haunted by the story of Nancy Hartley. She has a good relationship with him as he does not seem to be as insistent as he used to be.

Philip is very busy at work. Trade flourishes at this time of year before the whaling season begins. Shipowners, captains, sailors and their families are preparing for a long campaign to Greenland and a long absence. The ship-masters are buying supplies of food, warm clothes and the families give some presents to loved ones as a souvenir. Crews are being recruited wherever possible, but ship captains will have to recruit in the Shetlands, as the press gangs have seized many able-bodied men in Monkshaven and the surrounding area.

The Foster brothers are preparing their successors to run the business, familiarising them with their suppliers and logistics. The Foster brothers also insist that Philip and William go through the accounts for the last two decades to make sure everything is transparent. The two young men are extremely busy and so Philip has failed to see Kinraid when he came into the shop. He was served by Hester, bought a scarf and some ribbons and "didn't tarry".

The very mention of Charley's name reminds William Coulson of the sad end of his sister Annie's love story with the handsome sailor in Newcastle. Since the tragic events on the Good Fortune, William has verified that the injured sailor was indeed his late sister's unfaithful lover. Philip listens to the story with interest, but remains discreet so as not to fuel William's resentment. Philip's jealousy and suspicions are heightened by this tragedy of which he was unaware. He desperately wants to go to Haytersbank and warn Sylvia - especially as Bell is away from home, but he has to stay at work after the shop closes.

At the same time, Kinraid, who has come to Monkshaven for the sole purpose of visiting Sylvia, as he is due to sail on the Urania off North Shields, goes straight to the Robsons’. Sylvia is alone, assisted by the discreet poor widow who has been occasionally helping since Bell fell ill, sitting in the living room mending her father's socks. Daniel is out with Kester, but it is getting dark as the sun sets. After some flirtatious approaches, Charley declares his love and a romantic moment ensues. The two lovers are unaware of the increased darkness, and have not noticed that Dolly Reid has come in and gone out.

When Daniel Robson entered, Sylvia ran upstairs as soon as she heard her father’s step nearing, and retired to her room, leaving Charley alone to face the situation. He begs Daniel for his daughter's hand. Mr Robson, who is fond of Charley - not for himself, but because of his profession, which revives his own past - happily agrees, even without Bell's consent. The engagement is to be kept secret until Kinraid returns from his whaling campaign. Daniel calls for Sylvia to come down, but she remains in her room. Daniel Robson admits that she is a spoilt child, but no matter, he and Kinraid will celebrate the engagement with a drink and a pipe.

Stories

We are reminded again of the dramatic story of crazy Nancy and her leitmotiv "He once was here" and how this old cruel tale affects Sylvia. We cannot help but think of a parallel with Charley Kinraid, a Newcastle man, who is little known in the town, although he is related to the Corneys.

We already know - but Philip did not yet - of Annie Coulson, William's sister, who was once in love with Kinraid and, when he left her for another girl, became ill and died. Indeed Julie that story comes up for the second time in the text, which is not purely incidentally, and might fuel some feelings in Philip and influence him - and move the plot on. His measured and virtually silent reacting to William's words is telling.

Confidentiality - Secrecy

Philip and William are asked to keep their agreement on the future Foster succession confidential until it is legally sealed and made public. Philip has obviously not said a word to his relatives. He is preparing his and Sylvia's future in material terms.

Charley Kinraid and Mr Robson agree not to tell anyone, especially Mrs Robson, about Sylvia's engagement to Kinraid until he returns home in October.

Professional success

Both Charley and Philip enjoy rapid success in their respective careers, although they are still young men.

Charley is the best specksioneer of this coastal area and has found another whaling ship to embark. He believes that he will soon be a mate, and that he will be a ship master soon, if he keeps with his current shipowners. His world is the world, the seven seas and hostile areas in dangerous situations. It is a masculine universe.

Philip, like William Coulson, is a serious salesman and will soon be a worthy successor to the Fosters. He is only 23, but already sounds experienced and thorough in his work. When he is asked to stay after work to proofread the shop's books from two decades ago, he is patient and attentive and does not complain. His universe is a drapery and haberdashery shop, a relatively limited space, and a rather feminine context. He is sometimes mocked by Daniel Robson who finds him not masculine enough.

Sylvia’s lovers

Philip is silent and does not yet propose to Sylvia, probably because he wants his new professional position to be public first. He respects his present employers's requirements and wishes. He is more like the son-in-law Mrs Robson wishes to have.

Still, not yet declaring himself, he seems to be lurking in the shadows. We have seen him as an observer in the shadows before (chapter 12 and before that, to some extent in chapter 10).

Charley said that he has come purposefully and directly from Newcastle to see Sylvia and is expected to sail next Thursday. It is only Monday evening, so time is short before he must leave on Wednesday. He knows what he wants, buys a few things at Foster's (another ribbon reference) and goes straight to Haytersbank. When he meets Sylvia, he has the air of an experienced seducer. He is apparently dismayed by Sylvia's cold attitude - a way of coping with her own embarrassment - and threatens to leave. He knows the right words to say, and in no time at all he reveals his plans and hopes for the future with her. He is also very quick to adapt to any situation, as he is observant and has a great ability to synthetise all what he sees: the absence of Bell, how he feels she does not quite like him, what to say to Mr Robson, how he supposes Philip might now propose.

Although his declaration of love takes place in a clair-obscur, Charley Kinraid is exposing himself in full light (his love, his perspectives of professional prosperity). The mere fact that it is getting dark and that Sylvia runs upstairs when her father turns up, and that she refuses to come down again, and that Daniel wants to keep the engagement secret, casts a shadow of uncertainty.

Ribbons

Many ribbons are mentioned in this novel: pink ribbons, brown ribbons, blue ribbons, ribbons with pattern. Ribbons are about beauty, femininity, and flirtation, but they are also used as gifts or souvenirs. They are also one of the many important details spread throughout this novel.

The Shetlands

This archipelago is situated ca. 105 miles north-east off Scotland. It takes more than 14 hours to get there by ferry.

It has a very rich history but the most important thing which might be of interest to us right now is that the Shetlanders' nautical skills were also actively sought by the Royal Navy.

Some 3,000 men served during the Napoleonic Wars from 1800 to 1815 and press gangs were rife. During this period 120 men were taken from Fetlar alone (one of the most Northern islands, has a permanent population of about 60 inhabitants nowadays), and only 20 of them returned home.

(source Wikipedia)

Now Sylvia, as if in answer to us about her choice and its consequences, is engaged in absence of Mrs Robson, goes to her bedroom and refused to come down again!

We will read chapter 17 on Wednesday 30 April!

Until then, there is time for further thoughts!

Claudia

Ah, secrets. You are so right. Philip holds secrets, Charley has secrets and Sylvia, well, she is the centre of the secrets of both Charley and Philip. On the one hand, she has accepted Charley, but her retreat to her room in the darkening hours of the day suggest that something may be unknown. Is it that while she craves the adventure of love offered by Charley she might secretly know that a life of dustless angles is her real place in life?

As a reader I don’t know what really resides in her heart. I’m not sure Sylvia knows what is really in her own heart.

And yes, the ribbons. Thank you for keeping these seemingly innocent adornments in our minds.

This chapter is an utter surprise. Yesterday I suggested that Charley was not seriously interested in marriage. I was very wrong. Since the chapter title starts with “The” I knew that an actual marriage engagement would occur, but I did not expect it to be with Charley. I missed where he actually gave her the ribbons.

Kathleen, I also missed where Charley gave Sylvia the ribbons.
Claudia, thanks for the references as to the importance of the ribbons. There are many in this story. I'm sure they are significant but without your explanations, I probably would have thought them a nice, affordable way to show one's friendship or interest (as a gift) or embellishment and colour (bought for oneself).

So many secrets!! Gaskell knows how to weave a story. As a reader, I'm tossed from side ot side (like in a boat) as to what to think about where this story is going. Gaskell is keeping the reader invested with these turns.

As mentioned there are some foreshadowing in this chapter, with Sylvia going into a dark room, away from Charley, and not coming back being the most ominous, I think.

Philip doesn't have the will to work to get Sylvia. From the beginning, he seems to think that it's a done deal that he'll marry Sylvia one day. He has doubts, but underneath it all he seems convinced that it will be so.

Looking forward to the next chapter to see what will happen. Things are in flux right now. Anything goes.

Kathleen wrote: "This chapter is an utter surprise. Yesterday I suggested that Charley was not seriously interested in marriage. I was very wrong. Since the chapter title starts with “The” I knew that an actual mar..."

You did not miss anything Kathleen!

I mentioned ribbons as an instance of recurring details in the text, just to keep in mind! There are some others coming up soon. Twilight, sundown, sunset is also a recurring atmospheric detail, and Peter also mentioned the snow storm into the New Year.

Charley just bought a bandana and ribbon with a special pattern in the Fosters' shop but he obviously did not give it to Sylvia. It is probably meant for his Corney cousins, as he must stay somewhere until he is off to Newcastle the day after.

Petra wrote: "Kathleen, I also missed where Charley gave Sylvia the ribbons.
Claudia, thanks for the references as to the importance of the ribbons. There are many in this story. I'm sure they are significant b..."

Ribbons are everything you said Petra! Beautiful little things, affordable accessories in Sylvia's frugal world, etc. Some other little things will emerge

Your comments didn’t misdirect me, Claudia. The first thing I thought after finishing the chapter is that Sylvia ran out of the room before Charley remembered to give them to her. Yes, he might have planned to give them to someone else.

Kathleen wrote: "This chapter is an utter surprise. Yesterday I suggested that Charley was not seriously interested in marriage. I was very wrong. Since the chapter title starts with “The” I knew that an actual mar..."

I was surprised, too! While I was willing to give Charley the benefit of the doubt about his seriousness, I still thought it would take him more time than that to work up to a proposal.

I guess when you've got a deadline for going back to sea, you don't waste time.

And I guess I'm just unaccustomed to seeing a successful main-character proposal so early in the book.

Julie: I guess when you've got a deadline for going back to sea, you don't waste time.
And I guess I'm just unaccustomed to seeing a successful main-character proposal so early in the book.

True! There is a maritime urgency about it, but the thing is, this engagement was concluded in no time and to be kept secret from Bell and the rest of the world, including Philip, the second yet undeclared lover. Trouble ahead?

We are not quite halfway into the novel, it is not yet a happy ending but may sound more, up to a certain extent, however, not quite so extreme, like a Willoughby thing in Sense and Sensibility

This chapter contained one bit of intrigue Some perplexity or other was occupying John and Jeremiah Foster; their minds were not so much on the alert as usual, being engaged on some weighty matter of which they had as yet spoken to no one.

My ears pricked because whatever affects the Fosters is sure to affect Phillip.

I also liked that Gaskell recognizes that it is easy for Phillip and William to look down on Charley's behavior, since they do not have his affliction. Independent of personal interest which either or both of them had or might have in Kinraid's being a light o' love, this fault of his was one with which the two grave, sedate young men had no sympathy. Their hearts were true and constant, whatever else might be their failings, and it is no new thing to 'damn the faults we have no mind to.'

Great observation of human beings, who always find it easy to criticize the behaviors which are no temptation for themselves. I did wonder, however, that Gaskell sets out their being "constant" as a virtue they possess...are we meant to infer that Charley is not constant? We don't know this yet, because his pledge of love to Sylvia is new and presently unbroken, and I do not consider his flirtations before knowing her as any sign of whether he might change his way in light of being truly in love.

Sara- I did wonder, however, that Gaskell sets out their being "constant" as a virtue they possess...are we meant to infer that Charley is not constant?

Great observations Sara! I think that we are influenced by the story of Annie Coulson's fate, even by the allegorical and old story of "Crazy Nancy" and, oppositely, the recurring description of those reliable and constant young men that Charley might be not sentimentally reliable. It seems to be what Elizabeth Gaskell wants us to believe.

I also picked up on that quote about the Foster brothers and wondered what foreshadowing that could entail. Sara, you are right, that whatever the Fosters “weighty matters is, Philip and William will be affected.

It’s hard not to forget that now we know Charley was the one who jilted William’s sister, Annie(did I get that correct?) and with that knowledge, it makes me leery about the proposal to Sylvia. Sylvia, remember , is still lost in the story of crazy Nancy and repeating the phrase “he once was here”. I like your thoughts, Claudia, about how this knowledge of William’s sister’s death connected to Charley will might prompt him to something drastic maybe?

The secrets abound. Even the Fosters have a secret we don’t know about.

Sara, I wonder about what's going on with the Fosters, too. They said they had to clear something up before Philip & William could say anything about the agreement of the store. Now this new development. Something is afoot.

I can't imagine the Fosters being involved in anything underhand....but they do take part in smuggling, but most do in this area so that's not an indication of underhanded, dangerous activities.

Chapter 17 – Rejected warnings

The Foster brothers entrust Philip with the delicate task of verifying information from an unreliable source about the insolvency of a long-time business partner, a London silk manufacturer. They provide Philip with a substantial sum of money to cover his travel expenses for a month's stay, if necessary. He is to set off the following day and reach Newcastle, from where he will take the Smack to London.

William Coulson is frustrated by 'the confidence which Philip had apparently received, but which was withheld from him'. Philip would rather not go away, and he is upset at the thought of leaving Sylvia and has mixed feelings about his business trip. He admits that it would have been ungrateful to the brothers, who felt that they could not entrust such a difficult matter to anyone else, if he had refused.

According to Alice Rose, London is a "fiery furnace", a convergence of temptation and sin, "a sore place of temptation", "pitfalls for men and traps for money at every turn". William is a little jealous, but Philip tries to reason with him. Hester is on the verge of tears. After Philip has left to go to Haytersbank, she tells Coulson what she thinks, warning him not to be jealous of Philip, who has "never spoken an ill word" or "done an ill turn" to him. William Coulson is "dismayed at Hester's words".

Philip wants to say goodbye to his uncle and to Sylvia. He is still hurt by Coulson's words, which he feels are unfair to him. He ponders what to say to Sylvia, to whom he has not declared his love, nor told her parents a word about his succession to the Fosters business. He has patiently "worked his way into her esteem" and now he will "tell her of his passionate attachment" before he leaves for London "for an uncertain length of time". Philip has worked out his strategy and approach depending on how Sylvia would react to the announcement of his absence.

When Philip arrives at the farm, he sees Kinraid talking to Daniel Robson, and the mere thought that Charley has seen Sylvia revives his jealousy. He is still affected by the tragic love story of Annie Coulson and the handsome harpooner. Philip tells his uncle that he is going to London the next day on business. Kinraid and Philip have a brief conversation, during which Philip learns that Charley will be going away the next morning and is to sail off the day after that to the Northern seas.

Philip is about to leave when Mr Robson asks him to enquire about a new plough while he is in a bigger town. He suggests that he might find Sylvia at home.


Sylvia, meanwhile, is on cloud nine, dreaming of her "great happiness in being loved by her hero, Charley Kinraid". Nothing can shake her, except the familiar footsteps of Philip, whom she reluctantly welcomes.

When Philip realises that she is in love with Charley Kinraid, he has some harsh words for him ("Good for nothing") and tells her the story of Annie Coulson as a warning. Sylvia is very angry, while Philip tries to calm her down, explaining that her mother asked him to look after her as she has no brother or anyone else to look after her as she is so pretty and men might "chase after her". Sylvia does not believe any of his words and suggests that he should say all this "to [Kinraid's] face and hear what he will say to [him]."

Sylvia flees to "her little bedroom", while Philip is dismayed by her attitude and sits "still in despair" as darkness falls and the fire in the fireplace dies out. Mrs Reid has gone home, and Philip should go back home too, but he feels lame and stiff. He finally goes upstairs and knocks on Sylvia's door, but in vain. He finally says goodbye through the closed door and "God bless you". He even apologises for offending her and leaves the house, thinking that he has warned her after all. Unexpectedly, Sylvia opens her window and says goodbye to Philip, and shuts her window again, "rekindling hope" and "quenching reproach or blame".

Philip leaves. He is reassured that Kinraid will be leaving for his port of embarkation the next day and sailing for the next six months, so the sailor will most likely forget about Sylvia. He is lulled into hope because Sylvia has said "Goodbye Philip".

Philip Hepburn

This chapter focuses again on Philip Hepburn and shows us the many facets of his personality as they change with the circumstances. This chapter contains many passages in free indirect speech, describing Philip's state of mind thoroughly.

Hepburn is a reliable employee. He listens to the Fosters because they are men of experience and prefers to remain silent while they speak. They do not hesitate for a moment to send him on a delicate business trip at a time when business trips were rare and slow, with no fast means of getting from North Yorkshire to London. They entrusted him with a delicate mission, knowing his discretion and a certain sense of diplomacy on professional level and did not hesitate to give him a considerable sum of money to cover his expenses. Although Hepburn is reluctant to leave Sylvia for an uncertain time, he has a sense of duty and knows that he must carry out the task expected of him by his superiors.

Philip is discreet indeed. He does not reveal why he goes to London “to any living soul”, as asked by the brothers. He keeps relatively calm even if Alice Rose talks in a sanctimonious way and William is envious.

He is blind to Hester’s reactions and “half-sentence”. As he is focused on – not to say obsessed by - Sylvia, he does not notice Hester’s feelings for him.

We also see how very upset Philip is by Kinraid’s presence, and therefore has strong feelings akin to epidermal jealousy. Hence his words of warnings to Sylvia. He is wounded by her anger but admits that he should have been more diplomatic to her, who is “a young lassie”.

When he hears Sylvia shouting "Goodbye Philip!" from her window, he pathetically appropriates himself those words as if they were a declaration of love, whereas she has just realised that she had gone a bit too far in terms of rudeness to Philip.

Charley Kinraid

Charley was very much centre stage in the two preceding chapters. He is Sylvia’s “hero”, and stands in the late afternoon light, talking outside with Mr Robson, while Philip recedes (once again) in obscurity, particularly in the passage set near the fireplace, when the room is plunged in the darkness, and the fire dies out, which is also a reflect of Philip’s distress.

Charley's charisma is enhanced by Mr Robson's good feelings towards him, as Charley’s profession and travels wake up pleasant memories of times long past.

In this chapter, we are not learning much more about him, just a few descriptive elements from Philip's perspective. He seems to be part of the family, sure of himself, “secure and exultant”, “with his broad, handsome, weather-bronzed face”, but with a touch of contempt towards Philip whom he earlier described as “yon tall fellow of a cousin as looks black at me, for if I’m not mistaken he has a notion of being sweet on you himself.” (chapter 16). His exultation is most probably caused also by his victory over Philip, and therefore “full of kindliness towards all the world”.

I wonder who Charley Kinraid really is. He was omnipresent in Molly's words and allusions, in Mr Donkin's story, in William's sad account of Charley's attitude towards his sister Annie and her fateful end, in Sylvia's dreams, whether night or day, in Mr Robson’s enthusiasm, in Bell's antipathy and in Philip's jealousy and fear.

A coin

Among the things in Sylvia's little wooden work-box, there is the half of a silver coin.

"At the time, in his agitation, [Philip] saw, but did not affix any meaning to it, that the half of some silver coin was among the contents thus turned over before the box was locked.

Coins were often halved, pierced or bent and given as a love-token. The practise of coin debasement was widespread during the early nineteenth century.

"Coins would have been cut in half by a couple and they would have kept a half each.

People used silver sixpence coins as love tokens because they understood them to have special powers. They thought they could cure illness, ward off witches, strengthen their prayers, divine the future and bring good luck.

The silver was thought of as protective, in the way that ordinary copper coins were not. Also, earlier examples of the coin had a cross on a shield which conveys both Christian and pre-Christian symbols of protection and faith that other coins lacked. The denomination itself is important too, six is a multiple of three, and three is a powerful number linked to the Holy Trinity. The royal symbols on the coin added to the feeling that this coin had the power to heal. Some people still believed that the king had healing powers. Extra significance could be given to the coin by punching holes into it and engraving it."

(Source: capitalcollections.org.uk)

https://www.capitalcollections.org.uk...

This chapter provides us with an explanation for the Fosters' mysterious behaviour, Sara, Lori and Petra. Times were different, there were no sales agents as we know them nowadays, and merchants had to travel themselves. In terms of business competition, things had to be kept (and still have to) confidential particularly as far as insolvency was concerned. And travelling was a bigger deal!

Thank you all for reading and commenting along!

Get prepared for chapter 18, tomorrow Thursday 1 May!

I am going to ask some questions as food for thought. No need for Claudia or anyone to pursue answers. They are more for speculation.

First, with the change from the first volume to the second, there does seem to be some changes in tone, although I am not sure I would have noticed had we not been told. The new volume is more dramatic, the tension between Philip and Charley heightened, the focus is more on story. My question is on the abrupt thrust into the middle of the story we get with chapter fifteen. Would there have been some sort of preface refreshing the reader to the story so far, that my edition does not contain? Chapter fifteen is an interesting introductory chapter for a second volume since it certainly grabs the reader, but I would have expected some review since it was a new volume.

My second question is on appearances. Gaskell has certainly asserted the physical attractiveness of Sylvia and Charley and likewise offset that attractiveness with the descriptions of Philip and Hester. In Charley's case, he has heroic characteristics that broaden his appeal, but Sylvia is described with a multiple of faults.
She is contrary, headstrong, rude, uneducated, and at certain times clumsy and dumb. Were it not for her looks and her role as central character I wonder if we would like her at all. Part of this can be associated with the way characters were portrayed at the time, but I wonder whether Gaskell is commenting on the nature of appearances beyond the style of the times. The author appears to have been an attractive person herself and her portrayal of Sylvia with so many faults aside from looks puzzles me. Note appearances are not only being undercut in the beauty department; Philip has the appearance of a dependable, staid, and trustworthy young man. but I wouldn't trust him a mote when it comes to this triangle. Lori may be prophetic in her thoughts. There is certainly foreshadowing for some rash event by Philip.

Does anyone have any thoughts on what Gaskell may be saying about appearances?

Sam: I am only replying to the first question.

Definitely, there is a change of tone and atmosphere in chapter 15, even perhaps from chapter 13 onwards, as Mrs Gaskell then began a new manuscript, after an undetermined break, or several breaks, due to the various family circumstances I mentioned earlier, which affected her much and delayed her work on Sylvia's Lovers.

There was no preface to the second volume, nor to the third. Volume two began with chapter 15. The three volumes were published at the same time but separately in February 1863, becoming one book later in the same year, with black and white illustrations by George du Maurier.

Your question and observation were very pertinent, because we remember that chapter 1 was introductory, and chapter 15 nevertheless contains a few thoughts in the opening paragraphs- as if the narrator were taking a step back to reflect (the passage I quoted on Philip, "He was like too many of us (...) to keep us from the temptation to evil which such events invariably bring with them.").

So far, the vast majority of the novel has been set in the small town of Monkshaven. This setting is about to change, and when it does major new issues are sure to follow. I look upon this chapter as extremely important. Sylvia sits in the middle of our story and her two central lovers are both set to depart both her and Monkshaven. Charley is to go north into the wild unknown of whale hunting. Philip is set to go south to London, a place that is evidently wild and unknown to rural people (and, I guess Londoners as well) Both men are in pursuit of their separate livelihoods - whaling or business.

In this chapter we see both Charley and Philip defined by their faces, Charley’s is bronzed and weathered while Philip’s is pale and delicate. While these two men pursuit their separate tasks in different regions, we have Sylvia still planted in Monkshaven, still in the same place. With at least a month of time before she sees either Charley or Philip again what will run through her mind? Will she still dream of a life with Charley or will she reflect of the stability of Philip?

Hats off to Gaskell. The wonderful symbolic inclusion of the severed coin suggests to us that Sylvia’s mind is not made up, that she is still incomplete, undecided, of two minds. All three of our main characters are now separated from one another.

Hats off to you Peter for this great synthesis of the dynamics and symbols on the eve of two departures in opposite directions!

I keep thinking that this back and forth with Phillip’s emotions might turn out to be too much for him to handle. He has positive energy when he thinks about what he wants - to marry Sylvia. Then when he interacts with Charley and gets confusing behavior from Sylvia when he warns her, his mood swings the other direction. He’s almost like a time bomb waiting to go off.

I wonder if or when Charley will be confronted about all of the women he has supposedly wooed. Might Phillip be brazen enough to bring it up?

And do we think Sylvia will be able to keep the secret of her engagement to Charley? And why did they make it a secret anyway? All a dramatic and tension filled part of the story I guess.

Sam wrote: "Sylvia is described with a multiple of faults.
She is contrary, headstrong, rude, uneducated, and at certain times clumsy and dumb. Were it not for her looks and her role as central character I wonder if we would like her at all."

I like her a lot! I mentioned already that I think she's an exemplary daughter to two parents who have their own flaws and complexities. She's also a hard and uncomplaining worker as a housekeeper--nearly every time we see her she's spinning or straining or looking after her mother or hauling something in and out of the dairy--with high standards that she takes with her when she visits Molly's family at the New Year party.

I guess I'm a little disappointed in her utter lack of interest in literacy, but on the other hand she loves stories about adventure and faraway places, and I do admire her willingness to have and declare her own opinions about what she wants out of life (not reading). And beyond that, if her mother wanted her to learn to read, maybe pick a teacher who is not the cousin who loves her unrequitedly (if love is in fact the proper thing to call it). Reading is one of the great joys of my life, but I can't say I would have wanted to learn it under those circumstances either.

I don't think she's rude for not wanting to hang around with Philip, given what he reads into even the slightest bit of obligatory cordiality. I'm forgetting whether she's rude elsewhere. Sometimes she's a touch heedless, but what teenaged girl isn't?

Mostly I am just pleased that Gaskell has written a character who seems like she could be both a girl and an actual person, not a walking concept of what someone wishes a girl would be like. I love Dickens, but he wasn't always so good at that.

Julie: "Mostly I am just pleased that Gaskell has written a character who seems like she could be both a girl and an actual person, not a walking concept of what someone wishes a girl would be like."

Absolutely!

Lori: Philip as a ticking bomb is a fitting description!

Chapter 18 – Eddy in Love’s current

The next morning, Philip leaves Monkshaven and heads north along the coast to Hartlepool, where he will take a coach to Newcastle.

The weather is 'bright and clear', the air 'soft as May'. Walking on the flat sand, Philip enjoys the journey. He is "lulled into dreaming" and "the whole scene is so peaceful and so reassuring that it dispels the cares and fears" of the night before.

Just as he reaches the Haytersbank gully, he spots a man "dashing down", who turns out to be Charley. He sees the sailor take off his hat and wave it, "touching a part of it as if with some special meaning". Philip suddenly feels "tired and weary" and his walk becomes a heavy task. He "keeps his eyes fixed on Kinraid as if fascinated, and [walks] beside him", unseen by his rival.

The two men are now near a stream, about 8 miles from Monkshaven. There is indeed a natural phenomenon that could be called a whirlpool, so Philip walks up a path inland and at one point must crouch down to avoid being seen. Looking down, he saw something unexpected: "It's God's providence".

Kinraid whistles the popular ballad of the time sung by the girls on the staithes before (chapter 2) "Weel may the keel row" but is soon ambushed by four naval recruiters who take him prisoner. His objections and his document proving that he is a protected whaler do not convince them, as the Navy is in need of sailors. After a hand-to-hand struggle, Kinraid is bound and tied and carried to their boat, where one of them kicks him repeatedly. Philip, hiding, fears that Kinraid has been killed.

However, Kinraid has spotted Hepburn and calls him to give Sylvia a message from him. After a few conflicting words with the Press Gang agents, Philip sees Charley's hat on the ground and notices a pink ribbon tied to the hat band. It is the briar rose ribbon Philip had given to Sylvia which she wore at the New Year's Eve party. Philip suddenly feels disgust, not pity, for Charley. He feels 'an increased rage against Kinraid, who has made Sylvia's idea the subject of lewd whispers'. Kinraid asks Philip to tell Sylvia what he has seen, and to "bid her not forget the great oath [they] took together this morning", and that he will "come back and marry her afore long".

After the press gang has left by boat with their prey, Philip is in a whirlwind of conflicting and violent feelings and thoughts about what he has just learned and what he should convey. Most of Kinraid’s last words and Philip’s reply are drowned out by the sound and fury of the men rowing their boat towards the moored tender, which will eventually reach the naval frigate Alcestis.

How much has Philip promised ?
“And then the dread Inner Creature, who lurks in each of our hearts, arose and said, 'It is as well: a promise given is a fetter to the giver. But a promise is not given when it has not been received.'”

Driven by irrational thoughts and fantasies, Philip almost expects his rival to break his chains, rise and come to the shore "free and triumphant". At the same time, he finds reasons to exonerate himself.

“It was by no fault of Hepburn's that the boat sped well away; that she was now alongside the tender, dancing on the waves; now emptied of her crew; now hoisted up to her place. No fault of his! and yet it took him some time before he could reason himself into the belief that his mad, feverish wishes not an hour before—his wild prayer to be rid of his rival, as he himself had scrambled onward over the rocks alongside of Kinraid's path on the sands—had not compelled the event.”

When he sees the ship with her “beautiful great sails” in the descending sun, he hurries on his way to Hartlepool.

A pivotal chapter

- Unexpectedly, a dramatic event with many possible consequences takes place. Charley Kinraid is forcibly recruited by press gangs in a relatively remote area, in presence of Philip but with no other witnesses than the agents themselves.

- Philip is asked by Kinraid to inform Sylvia and tell her what has happened, remind her of their mutual vows and tell her that he will come back and they will be married. Kinraid's last words are lost in the wind and the splash of the oars.

- It is wartime, and more than ever, anything can happen to Charley.

- It is up to Philip to deliver the message. He is the only repository of it. However, Philip said something that he does not quite remember himself, as the situation was turbulent and traumatic. His reply to Kinraid's plea has gone with the wind. "A promise is not given until it is received." Philip is trapped in conflicting thoughts.

A wonderfully written chapter

- A glorious March morning, a magnificent landscape, waves, spring colours, tones, sun, all adding up to a peaceful scene, "so soothing". "The sunny look of everything coloured [Philip's] daydreams with hope". The opening lines, describing a beautiful morning, mentioning "if ever a March morning did", hint at something unusual, perhaps ominous, especially because these peaceful feelings may be misleading. The ending scene of the chapter is magnificent too, "Once more he looked out towards the ship. She had spread her beautiful great sails, and was standing out to sea in the glittering path of the descending sun."

- The waves coming in from afar, the distant roar, "unseen rocks", "the haunting of a sea serpent" seem to indicate impending disaster coming from the sea.

- Philip spots Kinraid, apparently hurrying down from Haytersbank, then stopping and waving his hat towards an unseen object uphill, and touching one particular spot of the hat. Philip is suddenly both exhausted and fascinated by Kinraid. He walks alongside him, hidden, as if he were his shadow. A terrific cinematography if it were filmed.

- From where he was, Philip must have sensed even before we did what was about to happen when Charley whistled the famous ballad. "It steeled Philip's heart”. Unexpected violence erupts. Kinraid is suddenly captured by Navy agents in an ambush, but he resists fiercely. When he is bound and tied, his eyes are still wild.

- For the first time, we are reading directly about Kinraid's feelings from his perspective: " His soul was beating itself against the bars of inflexible circumstance; reviewing in one terrible instant of time what had been, what might have been, what was. Yet while these thoughts thus stabbed him, he was still mechanically looking out for chances."

- When Philip is seen by Kinraid and called and asked to pass on a message to Sylvia, mixed feelings arise in Philip's soul. Admiration for Kinraid's courage when defending himself, pity when the sailor is tied and bound, disgust, rage, genuine hate when Philip heard Kinraid's message to be passed on to Sylvia and spotted and identified the pink ribbon tied on Kinraid's hat, fallen on the ground.

- Philip is experiencing a violent inner struggle with his conscience and the "Dread Inner Creature". The landscape was quiet. Only the sound of the waves could be heard, but suddenly there is a cacophony of man-made violent sounds: growling, cursing, wrestling, shouting. Even when it is quiet again, except for the lapping of the waves, Philip is left alone with a tumultuous heart.

- Philip's prayer has been answered (echoes of the incursion of the omniscient narrator back in chapter 15 I quoted two chapters earlier!):
"...his wild prayer to be rid of his rival, as he himself had scrambled onward over the rocks alongside of Kinraid's path on the sands—had not compelled the event.

'Anyhow,' thought he, as he rose up, 'my prayer is granted. God be thanked!'"

What a great, dense and dramatic chapter!

It is now up to you, until we read chapter 19 on Saturday 3 May!

This is an exciting chapter which leaves Philip with a moral quandary. He's a religious man who probably is very honest in his business dealings. But he may get a chance to win Sylvia if he does not tell her that the press gangs grabbed Kinraid who may be off at war for years. He also might be thinking that God answered his prayer; therefore, God wanted Kinraid out of the competition.

What a chapter! I had almost forgotten about the press gangs and was as surprised as Kinraid when they pounced.

Connie, I don't think Philip is left with a moral quandrary at the end of the chapter. I think he's made up his mind to remain quiet. He seems to have argued with himself and decided the situation was "meant to be". I dislike him more than before for such a lack of compassion. He thinks only of himself.

Claudia, I loved the descriptions of Philip's walk along the waterfront. The sun, waves, sand....one can just picture such a walk and bring back memories of one's own beach walks. The writing is beautiful.

I agree. What a dramatic chapter. I didn’t see this twist of the plot coming.

Charley is going to sea, but not in the role he had seen in his future. This chapter persuades me that he really does love Sylvia. It is evident from when it appears he has come from, from the way he struggles and holds the thoughts of Sylvia foremost in his mind, and how we learn of the ribbon he has on his hat. To me, that adds up to a man who has good intentions towards Sylvia and does love her.

Now, Philip is revealed further in this chapter as well. I did not expect him to get into a brawl with the press gang but I expected something… Perhaps Philip did do what I expected. By doing nothing, and weighing the need to convey Charley’s message to Sylvia, and deciding to take no affirmative action, we see Philip the ‘business man’ making a business decision. Would it be a stretch too far to think that as Philip weighed his response to Charley’s plight, he considered his gift of the ribbon to Sylvia which he now finds on Charley’s hat as proof of Sylvia’s unworthiness and thus a reason to both neglect Charley’s request to him and to come up with a way to punish Sylvia?

The coin broken into two parts takes on a deeper symbolic meaning. Broken love? Broken promises? Duality of a character?

In Philip’s actions —or lack of — we have seen a side of his character I dreaded clearly revealed. Will Philip now punish Sylvia? Will he wait until he returns from London? What is Philip capable of?