A Long Fatal Love Chase- Week 1 Chapters 1-3

[Rosemarie, Moderator]

"I tell you I cannot bear it! I shall do something desperate if this life is not changed soon. It gets worse and worse, and I often feel as if I'd gladly sell my soul for a year of freedom."

So begins the gothic romance A Long Fatal Love Chase.

In Chapter 1 we meet three characters, Rosamund, her grandfather, and the mysterious stranger, Tempest.
What are your first impressions? Are they typical characters for this type of novel?
How is the setting suitable for a sensation/gothic novel?

In Chapter 2 we discover more about the personalities of Rosamund and the mysterious Tempest.
Please comment on anything that relates to these two characters.

Is the scene with the "magic mirror" important?

What happens aboard the Circe?
Who is Ippolito?

What does this quote reveal to us about Tempest?

"So much has been written about remorse and despair that I sometimes think I should like a taste of them. I've tried almost all the other passions and sentiments and this would have the charm of novelty at least."

In Chapter 3 the plot takes a dramatic turn.
Tempest and the Grandfather spend every night gambling-what are they gambling for?
How does Rosamund leave her Grandfather's house?

Please comment on this quote by Tempest:
"Poor little Margaret, no hope for you when Faust and Mephistopheles are one."

[Deborah, Moderator]

I’ve enjoyed these first chapters. Lots of classical allusions in this book already. Interesting that a Tempest brings a storm and has a boat.

[Rosemarie, Moderator]

Even the name of the ship is evocative- the Circe. Has Rosamund been put under a spell?

[Deborah, Moderator]

Rosemarie wrote: "Even the name of the ship is evocative- the Circe. Has Rosamund been put under a spell?"

Yes I thought about that too. Plus the devil reference. This will be interesting. The book has been on my shelf for years, unread. I’m excited to be reading it.

[Rosemarie, Moderator]

I would have loved this book in high school. Tempest is such a perfect example of a hero of a gothic novel, complete with the scar on his forehead.

[Frances, Moderator]

A very exciting opening three chapters! I wonder how often there were actually young women confined to such an isolated location in the charge of a questionable guardian, given how often this occurs in novels.

It is hard to imagine, given what Rosamond says about her wish to leave and her disregard for proprieties, that she is not a willing participant in her "kidnapping", at least at this point. While she is clearly shocked and concerned when she realizes that marriage is not on offer, leaving on the Circe appears to have been the only real way that she could have carried out her threat to her Grandfather to abandon him, given their isolated location on an island.

Her personality as a daredevil-demonstrated by her walking around the parapet-and having done this frequently enough to become so proficient at it-should stand her in good stead on the adventures ahead.

[Rosemarie, Moderator]

I shuddered when I imagined her walking around the parapet, since I don't have a head for heights.

She has had such a limited contact with the outside world, that I wonder if she knows what's in store for her.
But then she is so smitten with Tempest that I think she won't even notice.

What does this say about Tempest-since he has basically kidnapped a young woman?

[Frances, Moderator]

For some reason Tempest is reminding me of the Count of Monte Cristo but that may change as I progress.

While I would initially say that he has essentially kidnapped her, is this one of those situations where her initial statements-she longs to leave, she cares little for society's opinion, she is free from conventional restraints and is daring-is somehow giving tacit permission for the kidnapping? The reader would judge her as a "bad girl" if she just left with him, so we can continue to see her as a "good girl" or heroine now because it wasn't her choice to leave with a man to whom she is not married.

[Rosemarie, Moderator]

That make sense.