Catholic Thought discussion
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Part 2, Chapters 6 thru 10
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I’m so glad we read “Apologia Pro Vita Sua” prior to this novel. This is what Newman refers to when he discusses a general distrust of Catholic priests. Thomas Fitzherbert remains a Catholic secretly, while also becoming a double agent for the Queen. He then sells out his own family. Of course, this creates great distrust amongst the public, so much so that even 200 years later, Newman is defending Catholicism and St. Alphonsus Liguori from the accusation of intentional dishonesty. Fascinating to read about the roots of this English attitude in a novel.
I am reading this book and it has caused so much food for thought. Taught me alot as well about how sinister Elizabeth I was in her treatment of Catholics.I am also reading Voyage of Mercy: The USS Jamestown, the Irish Famine, and the Remarkable Story of America's First Humanitarian Mission which describes the Irish Potato Famine.
I wish to share this relevant quote about one of the causes of the Famine:
"The Irish people’s almost universal dependence on the potato had as much to do with anti-Catholic bigotry as it did with the vegetable’s high yield per acre, its rich supply of vitamins and other nutrients, the minimal care it required during planting and growing, and the numerous ways it could be cooked and eaten."
"Crowned as William III, the new king introduced in 1695 the Penal Laws, which banned all public practices of the Roman Catholic religion, stripped the huge Catholic majority in Ireland of their wealth, position, homes, and estates, and rendered most Catholics penniless. Catholics were barred from purchasing land, Catholic schools were closed, churches were shuttered, and no Catholic could vote, hold office, practice law, serve in the army, or carry a sword or gun."
Thank you, Celia. You managed to pack so much important history in one post.
Frances wrote: "Thank you, Celia. You managed to pack so much important history in one post."You are SOOOO welcome.
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Manny wrote: "Very good point Celia. The conversion of England to Protestantism had many negative effects on her territory and nearby."TY Manny.
Back to the book - our book!!
Events in this section are so upsetting. Another man apostasizing and becoming a spy for the Queen? I am appalled but hope that I would not do the same.
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Kerstin wrote: "I think it is very hard to imagine what one would do under such circumstances. The pressure was very hard and the consequences dire. If you could ride it out under the radar that was one thing, but..."I agree 100% Kerstin. I feel blessed to be living now instead of then.
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“I will begin with the second first. It is of my son Robin: I wish to know what news you have of him. He hath not written to me this six months back. And I hear that letters sometimes come to you from him.”
Marjorie hesitated.
“He is very well, so far as I know,” she said.
“And when is he to be made priest?” he demanded sharply.
Marjorie drew a breath to give herself time; she knew that she must not answer this; and did not know how to say so with civility.
“If he has not told you himself, sir,” she said, “I cannot.”
The old man’s face twitched; but he kept his manners. “I understand you, mistress….” But then his wrath overcame him. “But he must understand he will have no mercy from me, if he comes my way. I am a magistrate, now, mistress, and—”
A thought like an inspiration came to the girl; and she interrupted; for she longed to penetrate this man’s armour.
“Perhaps that was why he did not tell you when he was to be made priest,” she said.
The other seemed taken aback.
“Why, but—”
“He did not wish to think that his father would be untrue to his new commission,” she said, trembling at her boldness and yet exultant too; and taking no pains to keep the irony out of her voice.
Again that fierce twitch of the features went over the other’s face; and he stared straight at her with narrowed eyes. Then a change again came over him; and he laughed, like barking, yet not all unkindly.
Let me break in here. We see now the significance of Mr. Audrey’s anger at his son in the early chapters. He is in an internal conflict. Expediency has convinced him that it would be best to convert to Protestantism, but he realizes his son is not one to follow expediency. And he realizes events may lead him to do something that will cause the harm or death of his own son. I don’t think any of the other characters in the novel struggle with this deep a psychological tension. Let’s continue with the passage.
“You are very shrewd, mistress. But I wonder what you will think of me when I tell you the second matter, since you will tell me no more of the first.”
He shifted his position in his chair, this time clasping both his hands together over the back.
“Well; it is this in a word,” he said: “It is that you had best look to yourself, mistress. My lord Shrewsbury even knows of it.”
“Of what, if you please?” asked the girl, hoping she had not turned white.
“Why, of the priests that come and go hereabouts! It is all known; and her Grace hath sent a message from the Council—”
“What has this to do with me?”
He laughed again.
“Well; let us take your neighbours at Padley. They will be in trouble if they do not look to their goings. Mr. FitzHerbert—”
But again she interrupted him. She was determined to know how much he knew. She had thought that she had been discreet enough, and that no news had leaked out of her own entertaining of priests; it was chiefly that discretion might be preserved that she had set her hands to the work at all. With Padley so near it was thought that less suspicion would be aroused. Her name had never yet come before the authorities, so far as she knew.
“But what has all this to do with me, sir?” she asked sharply. “It is true that I do not go to church, and that I pay my fines when they are demanded: Are there new laws, then, against the old faith?”
She spoke with something of real bitterness. It was genuine enough; her only art lay in her not concealing it; for she was determined to press her question home. And, in his shrewd, compelling face, she read her answer even before his words gave it.
“Well, mistress; it was not of you that I meant to speak—so much as of your friends. They are your friends, not mine. And as your friends, I thought it to be a kindly action to send them an advertisement. If they are not careful, there will be trouble.”
“At Padley?”
“At Padley, or elsewhere. It is the persons that fall under the law, not places!”
“But, sir, you are a magistrate; and—”
He sprang up, his face aflame with real wrath.
“Yes, mistress; I am a magistrate: the commission hath come at last, after six months’ waiting. But I was friend to the FitzHerberts before ever I was a magistrate, and—”
Then she understood; and her heart went out to him. She, too, stood up, catching at the table with a hiss of pain as she threw her weight on the bruised foot. He made a movement towards her; but she waved him aside.
“I beg your pardon, Mr. Audrey, with all my heart. I had thought that you meant harm, perhaps, to my friends and me. But now I see—”
“Not a word more! not a word more!” he cried harshly, with a desperate kind of gesture. “I shall do my duty none the less when the time comes—”
“Sir!” she cried out suddenly. “For God’s sake do not speak of duty—there is another duty greater than that. Mr. Audrey—”
He wheeled away from her, with a movement she could not interpret. It might be uncontrolled anger or misery, equally. And her heart went out to him in one great flood.
“Mr. Audrey. It is not too late. Your son Robin—” Then he wheeled again; and his face was distorted with emotion.
“Yes, my son Robin! my son Robin!… How dare you speak of him to me?… Yes; that is it—my son Robin—my son Robin!”
He dropped into the chair again, and his face fell upon his clasped hands.
(pp. 147-149, Aeterna Press. Kindle Edition)
And so you can see how Benson is striving for that psychological depth. The twitch of his face earlier in the passage, the uncontrolled anger, the desperate gesture, the collapsing into the chair and clasping his face are attempts to dramatize his internal conflict. Unfortunately for me it comes across melodramatic, and rather unartful. I find Benson to be masterly at plotting and pacing, masterly at descriptions, masterly at heightening suspense, and masterly at bringing abstract ideas into conflict in a narrative, but I don’t find character psychological depth to be his forte. His characters are rather flat, even the protagonists, and when he attempts depth it’s a little amateurish. I think I mentioned similar when we read his Lord of the World novel. But don’t get me wrong; I still think this is a fine novel.
One summer evening, Marjorie and her maid ride down to Padley, the property of the FitzHerberts. She meets with Mr. John FitzHerbert, his son Thomas, his son’s wife, and the family’s patriarch, old Sir Thomas. Joining them is a young man named Hugh Owen, who delivers a letter of introduction, He is a young carpenter who is skilled at constructing hiding places within homes. He constructs a hiding hole for future priests at Padley. On the next day, he constructs an extraordinary hiding closet that can fit two at Marjorie’s home.
Another year passes and Alice Babington has moved in with Marjorie since Anthony Babington is away. They hear news of more priests being executed. On a chance encounter Marjorie and Alice meet Mr. Audrey, and in the shock of the moment Marjorie falls off her horse and hurts her foot. Mr. Audrey helps her to his home and while there has a private conversation with her about Robin being a priest and about a threat to her friends the FitzHerberts.
Shortly there is news that Mr. Thomas FitzHerbert has been imprisoned and that Topcliffe had come to Derby to personally prosecute Thomas. Marjorie, Alice, and Mrs. FitzHerbert learn the details of Thomas’s imprisonment. Marjorie employs a lawyers, William Bassett and John Biddell, to defend Thomas and investigate the situation. Bassett, a kinsman of Thomas, is confident that Thomas will not betray his fellow Catholics.
Marjorie and Mrs. Thomas are told they can visit Thomas in the prison. They are allowed into Thomas’s jail room where they see he is gaunt and disheveled. Thomas implores his wife to pay the jailer a bribe to ease his conditions. When Mrs. Thomas leaves to do so, Thomas, alone with Marjorie, tells her he cannot bear it any longer in jail.
A fortnight later, Biddell visits Marjorie to tell her he has heard rumors of Thomas giving in to Topcliffe and apostatizing. He has heard rumors that Thomas will sell Padley to Topcliffe in exchange for his freedom and his cooperation against the Catholics. Marjorie will not believe it without evidence. Biddell sends his clerk to snoop at Topcliffe’s home where he is able to copy a document showing Thomas will sell Padley to Topcliffe and become a spy for the Queen.