Cranford, Ch I-IX
‘It is very pleasant dining with a bachelor,’ said Miss Matty, softly, as we settled ourselves in the counting-house. ‘I only hope it is not improper; so many pleasant things are!”
I suppose this passage depicts the Victorian mentality to avoid outright pleasure for the sake of social conventions. In this section, Miss Matty is being offered to fill the tobacco pipe by Mr Holbrook. I hate how petty Victorians can be about such things. Just pack the damn pipe. Maybe he’ll ask to marry you. Ugh. I hate this book.
I’m not really sure how to respond. I read the first nine chapters and did not get much satisfaction out of it. I think the main image Gaskell is trying to depict is how people tried to present themselves as more dignified than they really are, which is of course, a common occurrence in our society, too. In many cases, the ladies seem to abhor certain things about the “lower classes”, such as those “engaged in that ‘horrid cotton trade’ (Pg 75) or those of merchant-class origin. I don’t see why that is something looked down upon…the money has to come from somewhere.
I did learn that forks used to have two tines instead of four, and this is a way to distinguish older households from newer ones.
This book is boring and I don’t like it. Nothing happens, and the interesting male characters keep dying for one reason or another. The Captain died and Mr Holbrook died mysteriously. The women don’t do anything except play cards and complain and eat. They’re kind of like my aunts. But I don’t think I have learned anything new about Victorian domestic society
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