Flight of the Heron read-along: Part IV chapters 1-2

[regshoe]

Lots of drama in this week's chapters...!

Next week we'll continue with Part IV chapters 3 and 4.

Comments

[regshoe]

Epigraph notes: The epigraph to Part IV is from 'Stanzas Written on Battersea Bridge during a Southwesterly Gale', by Hilaire Belloc, published in Sonnets and Verse (1923). Unlike the previous epigraphs, this one has no particular Jacobite or Highland connection—but I think these lines are a very good encapsulation of the sort of situation Broster likes to create in her books.

These chapters contain my second favourite Ewen/Keith line—which is to say, my second favourite line—in the whole book, so I'd just like to appreciate it:

Did he then think the ties between them so close when they were only . . . What were they then? Was it really only philanthropy, as Keith had assured himself a few hours ago, which had sent him back to the shieling that night? It was certainly not philanthropy which was driving him to Fort Augustus now.

<3

I love all the weather in these two chapters, from that chilling Highland mist at the beginning to the torrential rain later on. The weather here right now is rather wild, and it seems an appropriate moment to be reading these descriptions!

Keith begins chapter 1 by wavering again in his feelings for Ewen and his opinions of his own side; he seems rather easily influenced, or perhaps he scared himself off by his 'fit of philanthropy' and is trying to bring things back to safe, cynical normality. Even so, he still seems rather naive, with his thoughts of trying to use his influence with the Duke of Cumberland to help Ewen. For such a cynic, Keith certainly seems reluctant to think as badly of other people as they deserve—Guthrie, too, as he's shocked by the extent of Guthrie's cruelty to Ewen (and his malice towards Keith himself—although he was unaware of the motive for that until Paton tells him). Later, he himself thinks he 'could not have guessed' just how badly his own side would behave—upon which the omniscient narrator immediately points out some historical examples of how it's only going to get worse. I think there may be a point being made in here.

Nf sbe Xrvgu orvat n qrprag naq pbzcnffvbangr crefba va trareny, ur hajvggvatyl frnyf uvf bja sngr jura ur ceriragf Znpxnl sebz fgnoovat gur fhccbfrqyl qrnq Ynpuyna. :(

Oh dear, well, the honourable tangle is really working itself out now, isn't it... Poor Keith, listening to Paton's recital of Guthrie's cruelties, 'miserably', 'his hand over his eyes'. But poor Ewen! There's something terribly affecting about seeing him at a remove in Paton's narration, proud and defiant, as loyal to Lochiel as ever, and even showing the same loyalty to Keith—at first... :( And, honestly, poor Paton. I like that he asked news of Ewen at Fort Augustus—what a good guy.

I'm terribly amused by the bit where Keith thinks 'there can't POSSIBLY be anyone as awful as Guthrie at Fort Augustus', and then immediately gets to Fort Augustus and meets Captain Greening. No, Keith, I'm afraid there are more thoroughly unpleasant characters than you imagine in your cynicism.

And from then on it's one long string of Keith being horrified and indignant and terribly, terribly caring about Ewen and not caring at all what he says and does as he tries to help him. I think it helps when he doesn't have a chance to think about things and get into a muddle, as E. M. Forster might put it, and I love him in the second half of chapter 2, being a beautiful 'bonfire' of righteous fury to Lord Loudon. Even a serious threat to his own position finds him 'too passionately indignant to care', and when Lord Loudon actually arrests him it 'only inflamed Keith Windham’s rage'. Keith 'Certainly Not Philanthropy' Windham is at his best here, and I am cheering him on. <3

[cahn]

A "fit of philanthropy," eh? Ha!

But oh noooooo it is even as I foresaw (well, I mean, it was foreshadowed like whoa, of course) and oh noooooo poor Keith (you should have toooooold him Keith!) and I hope Ewen continues to have faith in him and doesn't really think that Keith was trying to finagle information out of him :((((((

(Also awww Lt Paton, he's still the best and I adore how he is all "I'm totally sick and also I have to go write a letter, um, yeah, right this minute it's super urgent" when he thinks Keith is perfidious)

But also Keith, man, I know you're upset but you're going nowhere good with this! Ahhhhh! (For the first time I'm going to be reading ahead -- I make myself write the comment before reading further, but I'm writing the comment mid-week and plunging ahead because omg! Keith!)

[Before posting -- I did read the two chapters after, so I'm a week ahead now! -- and V thrff V qvqa'g trg Rjra abg oryvrivat gung Xrvgu unq orgenlrq uvz, ohg ng yrnfg ur oryvrirq Xrvgu jura ur rkcynvarq uvzfrys naq qvqa'g xrrc guvaxvat gung, naq Ybpuvry unfa'g orra gnxra rvgure, fb Rjra qvqa'g orgenl uvz, jurj! <3 ]

[luzula]

Very satisfying chapters! And sets up so well for the even more satisfying chapters that come next. First off, I really like the weather descriptions--the wind and rain feel so real.

And Keith may consider himself a cynic, but I really don't think he actually is one. Even from the start, he clearly has principles that a true cynic would not have (well, depending on how you interpret the word). He has managed to create a distance to his actual feelings, and reasserts that distance after leaving Ewen in the hut, perhaps because somehow he doesn't consider that to be part of his real life, the life he's supposed to have as a military professional? But it doesn't take much for his feelings to break through again... And as I've noted before, this sort of thing is just fannish catnip to me. That scene with Keith in front of Loudoun, just throwing everything to the wind. ♥

I don't know what to make of Captain Greening's feminine looks/manner? It makes me a little uncomfortable, I guess, that the only man we see who is described this way is a villain. Then again, the other villains are all manly men.

In other news, I've written up some of my recent research reading about female Jacobites here. Enjoy!

[killclaudio]

Oh nooo, poor Keith! The guy just can't catch a break. I love that the narrative has been at such pains to present him as a man who has nothing but his career, with a broken engagement behind him and a distant relationship with his mother. It makes the sight of him throwing it all over for his relationship with Ewen that much more affecting.

And god, this was a tragic misunderstanding to rival any romance novel. Broster is really good at constructing situations for maximum drama while still being totally believable, and the result is so much fun. When I first saw that the title of the section is 'Your debtor, Ewen Cameron', I thought it was going to be all about Ewen being grateful to Keith for saving his life, so the actual plot was a surprise, lol. But I guess that reconciliation is coming up (eventually), and I'm looking forward to it.

Two more meetings left, right? I'm worried about how it's going to end, what with the dire tones of the prophesy, and I was also curious about the attempted assassination at the start of the chapter. Broster wouldn't shove that in for no reason, so it's going to come back to bite Keith eventually. But he couldn't get in trouble for killing a man who was about to stab him? I'm biting my nails!

[friendofthejabberwock]

Keith's cynicism vs. his optimism is really interesting. It's like he wants to be the cynic, and that's what his experience has mostly shown him, but he still can't shake the underlying assumption of good intentions. It seems like when he has time to think he's more likely to be cynical, but when he's all in a flurry about something he reverts back to thinking that People Are Well-Behaved, and then after a certain point he doesn't really care at all (because too passionately indignant.)

The exception that I can think of to the above, of course, would be when he was first captured by Ewen, but in that case he had... rather strong preconceptions, lol!

I tend to be very sensitive to secondhand embarrassment, and so oh god that whole conversation with Paton. Kudos to Broster for making me really care about her characters, though! And I do wish all the best for Paton (and hopefully an imminent transfer away from Guthrie. Neither of them deserve the other.)