The Readers Review: Literature from 1714 to 1910 discussion
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The Vicar of Wakefield
The Vicar of Wakefield
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The Vicar of Wakefield:Week 3: May 18-24: Chapters 20-27.
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Dickens did read Goldsmith, although he drew from his own life for scenes in debtor's prison.
I also thought of Job! Though I seem to remember that Job at least struggled with his lot, while nothing seems to disturb the serenity and faith of our pious vicar. I find him almost annoyingly cheerful and optimistic!George's adventures were fairly amusing, especially the part about the usefulness of the Greek language, and other scholarly knowledge, for earning your bread. I hope he'll succeed in his most recent endeavour, but it seems obvious that Thornhill only helped him to clear his way to Miss Wilmot. And to have a hold on the vicar as well. He certainly is showing his true colours now.
I am glad we met Olivia again, though all these coincidences make the story quite unbelievable. However, I read somewhere that Victorian readers expected such coincidences, see also Jane Eyre et al.
Chapter xxvii was excellent and, I feel, almost too serious for this book. I personally find it very diffiult to say when Goldsmith is serious and when he is making fun of his contemporaries and society. Is the vicar in his desire to reform the prisoners a naive idealist or a visionary reformer? I struggle to get a feeling for Goldsmith's intentions.
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Job does indeed seem at least one of the inspirations for this novel-I was trying to picture what the outbuilding that the family moved into when their house burned down would be like, but this of course becomes moot when they are hauled off to town/prison.
Surprising that Thornhill would be so heavy-handed with his tenant-the Vicar was clearly well-loved by his parish so Thornhill's actions will certainly further damage his reputation/standing, although that perhaps doesn't signify much to him.
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For me, I’m not really enjoying the novel much: it’s too far-fetched. I liken it to a children’s book. The Vicar always seems to be giving his last pennies away, on the next day he’s either taking lodgings in an inn or hiring a horse. It’s pennies from heaven I suppose!
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My feelings on the book:Frances wrote: "My particular reason for wanting to read this was that this was felt to be a novel that a lot of our favourite authors would have read and presumably enjoyed,."
Robin P wrote: "The tone is very uneven - sometimes comic, sometimes tragic, often melodramatic."
Lindenblatt wrote: "I struggle to get a feeling for Goldsmith's intentions"
Lori wrote: " I just suspended my belief and enjoyed the drama. . . I have a better opinion of the vicar in this section than I did in the first section."
So, I'm managing to enjoy it somewhat. But I did have low expectations and, like Frances, am glad that unlike so many other 18th Century novels "that this is quite a short novel..."
Well, I am enjoying the novel describing the antics of the vicar and his family. The scenes in it are reminiscent of many other novels of this period and earlier, such as Moll Flanders, The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling and Joseph Andrews. The book it reminds me of most is ‘Amelia,’ Henry Fielding's last novel, published in 1851, which is probably my favourite Fielding novel.
In Amelia, the debtors prison also looms large, as do the themes of poverty and corruption/betrayal. Goldsmith was an important writer and he did influence many Victorian novelists who are often quoted as saying that he was one of their favourites.
What loomed large in this section was the absolute arrogance of Thornhill who almost laughed at the vicar when stating that he will still visit Olivia now and again as her lover even when married to Miss Arnold. Also, Thornhill’s absolute power over his ‘underlings’ was shown by the way he had the vicar thrown into jail just for defending his daughter’s honour. I have to applaud Goldsmith for highlighting the despicable, unfeeling and abusive ways of those often lauded eighteenth century gentry/aristocrats.
The other main theme for me was, as has been mentioned, the vicar’s charity in welcoming his ‘ruined’ daughter back into the fold. He even had to convince her mother that it was the right thing to do. So often such women were banished to live in remote cottages on the moors etc. or abandoned to walk the streets, further continuing the downwards spiral of their lives. Being a vicar, we wouldn’t have expected the Rev. Primrose to do that but his forgiveness was all embracing. However, I think he went too far in forgiving Thornhill.
In the prison when he was delivering his ‘lectures’ I imagined a warm glow of kindness somehow acting as a shield against everything thrown at him, the same shield that he attempted to throw around his family.
My one hope for this novel is that somehow the vicar manages to stop Thornhill from his further rampages through the womankind of his county (and beyond.)
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I agree that Goldsmith does well at describing some of the abuses and inequities inherent in the current state of society-so much of people's lot was determined by the goodness or not of their so-called betters. I would love to see an article or research on what effect if any novels/fiction had on bringing about legal and societal changes-we often think of Dickens as being in the forefront of this but clearly Goldsmith had much to say on the current state of the law and behaviour of some aristocrats, and I wonder what if any difference it might have made in later reforms.
I’m also reminded of Job. It’s interesting reading 18th century novels and seeing how the novel as an art form developed. This story is not Dickens, Trollope, or Eliot, but it does have fully fledged characters including an intriguing villain.
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He also sent George off to sea so they he could marry Arabella, even though she is still in love with George.
We haven't heard from Mr. Burchell for a while either. I wonder what he's up to?
I'm enjoying this more than some of the other 18th century novels I've read, especially The Female Quixote by Charlotte Lennox.
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The Readers Review: Literature from 1714 to 1910
Books mentioned in this topic
The Female Quixote (other topics)Moll Flanders (other topics)
The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling (other topics)
Joseph Andrews (other topics)
Ch. 20 treats us to George's adventures upon leaving home to make his fortune, including receiving assistance from Squire Thornhill (who also turns out to be a close friend and neighbour of the Arnolds).
Ch.21 begins with Thornhill's arrival at the home of the Arnolds where he expresses surprise at Olivia being still missing. George later leaves to return to London to take up his army commission, and the Vicar departs to return home. Once on the road, Primrose stops at an inn for the night where he finds Olivia and learns the truth, that her seducer was Thornhill and not Burchell.
Ch. 22 finds the Vicar heading home on his own to prepare the way for Olivia's reception and to tell of her disgrace, only to find his house in flames, their belongings mostly destroyed, and his arm is severely burned on his rescuing the younger children.
Ch. 23 finds the family in further reduced circumstances, living in an outbuilding and receiving charity from those around them, and they learn that Thornhill is to marry Miss Arnold (who we remember was betrothed to George and stlll appears fond of him).
Ch. 24 finds the Vicar calling Thornhill to task for his abuse and trickery of Olivia, and Thornhill responds by evicting them from the land and calling in their debts, resulting in the arrest of the Vicar.
Ch. 25 finds the family taken to town where the Vicar is thrown in prison, the rest of the family can only afford a small residence now so the boys are sent to live with their father in the prison.
Chs.. 26 and 27 find the Vicar settling into life at the prison, and deciding with some success to reform the other inmates, and also set up a work scheme by which they could earn a little income. He also meets the man who previously cheated him and his son, and this man appears willing to help the family.
1. Were there passages which you found particularly amusing or poignant?
2. There is a suggestion that George's early time in London, trying to make his living by writing, was similar to Goldsmith's own early years there. What is your sense of Goldsmith's opinion of education, philosophy, and other intellectual pursuits?
3. We discussed in last week's section how society in general would view Thornhill's actions-how will they view his treatment of Olivia vs Olivia herself if that story becomes known?
4. The Primrose family's time in jail is somewhat reminiscent of that of Dickens and/or his character David Copperfield. What was your sense of the role and state of prisons at the time?
Please share your thoughts on our novel so far.