The Old Curiosity Club discussion
The Haunted Man
>
The Haunted Man - Part Two
date
newest »
newest »
Mod
your last posts have really given me food for thought. Up to now, I have never seen the people who helped but rather felt bitter at those who took out their smartphones to film. Maybe, I should reconsider my priorities with regard to what I see - although it is difficult.
Tristram wrote: "Johnny is indeed poor. I know it was played out for fun but the way those parents make him look after his sister, threatening him with love deprivation if anything should happen to her, is probably the best way of creating misery in his young soul and of ultimately making him hate his sister, ..."That's the same thing I thought, Tristram. I know there was not so much attention to children's psychology in those times (as Dickens is teaching us), but I wonder whether this behaviour was considered normal or Dickens exaggerated it on purpose to bring out Johnny goodness.
Mary Lou wrote: "I found a great new Dickens quote in this section: "...but for some trouble and sorrow we should never know half the good there is about us.”
The statement shows an enduring optimism..."
I love that statement too, Mary Loo. It's got some kind of soothing power.
Mod
Maybe, Dickens saw himself in Johnny and therefore dwelled so much on Johnny's responsibility for his younger sister. I once read that Dickens took it ill that he was made to work in the blacking factory whereas some of his siblings were still allowed to go to school and receive an education. In a way, this mirrors Johnny's situation.
Tristram wrote: "Maybe, Dickens saw himself in Johnny ..."Tristram, your post made me think that when I read David Copperfild, I was struck by the story and I went to look for some information about Dickens’s life. At that time I had no Internet. I don't remember much about the book anymore. It's time for a reread. :)
Mod
Mod
I thought your New Year's resolution was to not be so grumpy. Oh, and to give up smoking. :-)
Kim wrote: "I thought your New Year's resolution was to not be so grumpy. Oh, and to give up smoking..."Warning! Nag Alert!! Not to point fingers at anyone in particular (cough (Tristram) cough) but to all of you Curiosities out there who might smoke, I beg you PLEASE to quit. My husband's recent heart problems have been made significantly worse by an additional diagnosis of COPD brought on by forty years of smoking. In fact, we spent New Year's Eve in the ER and today he was transferred back to the hospital where he had his open heart surgery, because of pulmonary complications. I'm quite fond of all of you, and don't want you (and your families) to deal with what we're going through. I'm not looking for sympathy, so don't feel you have to express concern -- my husband is stable and getting good care now. But I truly do hope that maybe a few people will learn from his mistakes and save themselves a world of pain, fear, and expense.
Lecture over. (Blame Kim -- she brought it up!! :-) )
I too have enjoyed all these commentaries very much, and do not feel that I can add anything else at this point.Except maybe ... I do still feel that this novella is unique in Dickens's oeuvre, in being so unremittingly dark in its main story. The very amusing parts about the Tetterbys are the sort of delightful episodes we are used to Dickens inserting, to provide much-needed light relief, and diverting us until we are strong enough to bear the dramas and tragedies which may follow.
Here though, they seem too separate, and do not dispell my gloom. I feel the balance is not quite right for me, and I am desperate for a turnaround.
Oh, with regard to Dickens's state of mind at the time, in the previous thread I did quote a letter he had written to John Forster. There was a larger gap between these two final ones.
Mod
Warning! Nag Alert!! Not to point fingers at anyone in particular (cough (Tristram) cough) ..."
Oh Mary Lou, just last night I was wondering how your husband was doing. I'm praying for you, let us know how it is going. Oh, and I've been bugging Tristram about his pipe for years. It does no good. :-)
Mod
Mod
Yea!!!!!!
Mod
a) it was not for an indefinite but a definite time, e.g. I once did not smoke for a whole year, but when the last day of my period of abstention had passed, I went to my local tobacco shop and smoked my first pipe after 12 months there;
b) a bet was involved; betting rouses me out of lethargy and habit.
Hi, I'm new here. I joined not long ago and have been mainly reading your posts, but not submitting any. I was in the middle of "Barnaby Rudge" when I joined, but I took a break to read "Haunted Man" with you all. So glad I did!
Your discussions and insights have been a joy to read. So many of you have me nodding and smiling, but at the moment I want to echo others and say "thank you" to Mary Lou for some recent posts...
*A brief explanation of the origins of the "Moloch"
*Your pulling out the quote: "...but for some trouble and sorrow we should never know half the good there is about us.”
*Your saying: "I realize Johnny and Sally really have little to do with the main plot of Redlaw and his haunting. As usual, the little vignettes of a large, poor, but (generally) happy family have distracted me and captured my attention..." ------SAME!
*Your discussion of the boy who "went so wrong" and saying: Dickens is a master at illustrating the Human Condition. Our common hopes, dreams, fears, and sorrows are so beautifully illustrated in his stories."
The short time I've been here I've enjoyed that all of you -- though Dickens is beloved by you -- are willing to discuss the high and low points of his writing fairly and intelligently and, of course, affectionately. :-)
Welcome Cheryl! And thank you for such a lovely post. I'm sure you'll fit right in,and am looking forward to reading your insights and contributions :)
Mod
Welcome. Mary Lou is always a person who I look forward to reading as well.
Please join us as we enjoy the adventures of Mr Pickwick.
~ Cheryl ~ wrote: "Hi, I'm new here. I joined not long ago and have been mainly reading your posts, but not submitting any. I was in the middle of "Barnaby Rudge" when I joined, but I took a break to read "Haunted M..."
Thank you, Cheryl and Peter! I get so much from this group -- It's gratifying to hear that my contributions are adding a little something to the discourse. :-)
Mod
Welcome to our Club! Reading Dickens is a great treat in itself, but reading him with these Curiosities here, is an even greater one ;-)
Mod
Welcome, and I'm glad to meet you. Have fun while you're here, we do!
Mod
a) it was not for an indefinite but a definite time, e.g. I once did not smoke for a whole year, but when the last day of my p..."
I suppose if you want to hear me complaining to you about your smoking for the rest of our lives I'd do it your way too.
Mod
I know that I can get to Lent and through it with the box of tobacco I have left at home, because I just smoke on Mondays and Fridays (two pipes each) when I spent my lunchbreak at a coffeehouse. This is quite an heroic feat of self-denial but those two coffee-breaks without a pipe and without my weekly dose of Dickens would be unthinkable.
Hey hey - whoever suggested giving up Dickens for Lent? What an appalling thought!
Mod
The Old Curiosity Club
Books mentioned in this topic
Charles Dickens (other topics)The Mystery of Edwin Drood (other topics)
Charles Dickens (other topics)
Charles Dickens (other topics)
“The waste since then, the waste of life since then!”
“Bu..."
Thank you for this, Mary Lou. I’m on holiday with extended family, and we’re a big enough and tempestuous enough clan that there is always someone you worry about, and Dickens is a help because he doesn’t really let us cut corners, does he? So many haunted people in these books (and not just the ones with ghosts); for all the happy endings and the Millies, it’s never an over-rosy picture of humanity. And it can be a comfort to have a book that understands that.