The Readers Review: Literature from 1714 to 1910 discussion
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The Last Man
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The Last Man - Week 5 (Vol III - Chapters I - VI)
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How is Lionel to be the last man when someone is there to read what he wrote (the narrator)?
The side plots about the preacher and the infighting seemed kind of pointless. Did you like them? The final part with Juliet made it kind of interesting, but I kind of felt it took up too much space.
Given Mary Shelley’s background, I’m surprised at how anti-woman this book is.
Does our knowledge that pretty much all the characters are going to die prevent us from getting attached to them? I don't think I've felt sad about any of the deaths.
Right, I also understood Idris to have died from prolonged stress and illnesses that were not the plague.
I also thought the traveling was kind of a bad idea, but I suppose they wanted to go somewhere with more food (longer growing seasons, more things that grow "on their own"). But seeing as the plague intensifies in hot weather, going south seems like a bad idea overall. It also seems as though they have an idea that they're going to die anyway and would rather do so in a nicer place.
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I agree. This made her seem more human and less of a caricature of the wicked witch.
How is Lionel to be the last man when someone is there to read what he wrote (the narrator)?
I thought Lionel was the narrator?
Given Mary Shelley’s background, I’m surprised at how anti-woman this book is.
Yes! The women are not fully developed... not that the rest of the characters are well developed either... but the women seem to be put there to further the story as opposed to telling a story about them. Even going back to Pardita, she was written I believe so the relationship between would further Raymond's story.
Mod
Right, and all the random insults that involve attributing feminine attributes to certain men. And Lionel exclaims something random and uncalled-for about women when he returns to Versailles and finds someone trying to kill Adrian. Seeing these things in a book by Mary Shelley is disappointing.
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I thought the whole idea of traveling in this kind of a pandemic, fully aware that pretty much everyone died, does not make much sense. There is no explanation given (better chance of survival etc) besides the idea that one has to go to places that are historically important to the British people. It’s also preposterous to think that, for whatever reason, the guys from the empire are going to be the last to survive. And doing all kinds of foolish things to prove how chivalrous they are, endangering other people in the pursuit of it (Idris dying). The countess is not a well developed character, her sudden change of heart is a bit surprising. It comes really a bit late and does not contribute much to the psychological issues involved here. As was mentioned several times, women get short shrift here. They adore their men and have not much of a life of their own.
This could have been a short novel about pandemics and human behavior, but it does not really live up to the task. Disappointing.
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The idea that the followers of a religious leader would immediately turn against him when he was shown to be a fraud is too simple. As we can see in several countries today, believers often double down on their faith, dismissing any evidence against the leader.
When Adrian and Lionel ride through London for the last time, they find the streets "grass-grown and desert". It made me think about what happened in our places during the lockdown, the grass in the streets and the clean waters. Many things in these chapters recalled the lockdown or our present situation and I was not comfortable with it. So now we know why Lionel will be the last man: he had the plague and recovered, and now he is immune. He was even better than before, he is full of energy, like a superhero, the plague functioning like a spider's bite.
I thought that Idris died because of tubercolosis: the red cheeks, the fever, the blood from the mouth...
I found not really believable the change in the Countess of Windsor.
"Could I give words to the many thoughts... I should fill volumes" (chapter five) Thank God he spared us.
I too wonder about the "last" man. Surely he is writing for someone?
And I am very sorry for the poor horse that dies in chapter six. It dies of exhaustion and is at once forgotten.
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Mod
Ah, that's a good point. Since these events are never really expanded upon or explained, I keep forgetting they happened.
The beginning of the last volume sees the best of humanity and the worst of it.
Lionel and Idris travel through a snowstorm to come to the aid of Lucy Martin but in their travels, Idris dies. Unless I missed it... the book did not indicate that she died from the plague. It appeared to me she died from stress and prolonged fear for her children, husband, and brother. How did you read this?
I found it interesting that after the death of Idris, the Countess reconciled with Lionel and asked for forgiveness. It's unfortunate that she couldn't bring herself to do this before her daughter died. What do you think Idris' perspective on this might have been?
A group of refugees lead by Lionel and Adrian leave England for Paris, France. I wondered why they did this. While the communication had slowed down, they knew the plague was widespread. They knew it had spread from the other countries in Europe, it was in America, etc. Why go through the trouble of traveling when it's apparent, obvious even, that they are not going to be able to escape the plague?
In France, there is a small number of survivors following a prophet who assures them the plague now has no power over them provided they follow him. Why is it always the politicians and religious leaders who stir the pot when there is a tragedy at hand?