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Flight of the Heron read-along: Part V chapters 3-4
But till my last moments my words are the same: there'll never be peace until Jamie comes hame...
The penultimate week of the read-along, and in these chapters we are still very Jacobite.
Next week we will, sadly, read Part V Chapter 5 and the Epilogue.
The penultimate week of the read-along, and in these chapters we are still very Jacobite.
Next week we will, sadly, read Part V Chapter 5 and the Epilogue.
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Part IV, Chapter V:
- With regards to Ewen's distrust of the Earl of Loudoun, I wonder how much of it is ancient clan animosity (fwiw, the Camerons were no angels and were noted as cattle thieves) and how much of it is remembrance of more recent events involving the Campbells, such as the 1692 Glen Coe massacre, which saw Scottish government forces, which was led by a Campbell and involved members of the clan, murder a number of Glen Coe MacDonalds, allegedly for failing to swear allegiance to William and Mary. Apparently, during the Uprising Prince Charles invoked the memory of the massacre by publishing in a newspaper contemporary documents concerning the affair.
- Captain Greening — I know
- Ewen crying on finding out that Lochiel escaped is such a poignant moment. I do wonder how much his tears are for Lochiel, and how much they are for everything he has himself endured. I wouldn't be surprised if even he himself doesn't know where that line lies.
Chapter VI:
- Keith is back to being complicit in war crimes, and generally being a bit of Byronic hero (although there's an argument to be made that he is somewhat of a deconstruction). I find it very interesting how he distances the man he is as a soldier from the man he is with Ewen: I think there's a strong argument to be made that at some point during his childhood, Keith tried to mould himself into someone he was not, someone who his mother and others could love, perhaps, which eventually became Windham the soldier instead of Keith the man. I feel that we get a hint of this in the line “[...]Lord Orkney, who, when Keith was a mere boy, had promised the pair of colours in the Royal Scots which had saved his mother so much trouble and expense — and had deprived him of any choice in the matter of regiment." Sure, he was denied a choice with regards to what regiment he joined, but to me there is also the subtle implication that he was denied a choice in what path he took in life, both by the expectations of his family, as well as presumably financial pressures. The Wi/yndham family historically were landowners in Somerset and Norfolk, but Keith's father being a military man implies to me that he was a second or third son, if not an outright distant relation, and therefore not in line for inheriting land. The fact that Keith makes no mention of owning an ancestral home, or of owning any land at all, would support this theory. While he evidently has money (the guineas he leaves for Ewen in exchange for the stolen clothes amount to about £500 today) it would seem that he isn't extremely wealthy either, given that he is 30 or 31 when he attains the rank of major, something that would have likely occurred earlier had he been a man of significant means.
- With regards to Keith the man, however, I find it interesting how Broster seems to use language to differentiate between the two sides of him: “The shelf has an uncommonly sobering effect upon a hot-tempered and ambitious man, and it did not require two months of it to bring reflection to Major Windham. [...] The first fruit of this new prudence had been Keith’s abstention, not only from writing to Ewen Cameron, but even from sending him a direct message.” I would be interested in exploring further how Broster uses names as signifiers of something else going on; I certainly feel for Keith that the use of 'Captain/Major Windham' is significant, whether from his own POV or that of others'. Gur zbfg cbvtanag hfr vf, bs pbhefr, uvf svany zbzragf nyvir, jurer Rjra, qrfcvgr pnyyvat uvz 'Jvaqunz', guvaxf bs uvz nf 'Xrvgu'.
- On an unrelated note, Keith's ability to single out any attractive man, such as Captain Ferrers, in his immediate vicinity amuses me greatly.
- With that in mind, however, his complete inability to understand his attraction to Ewen is fascinating. He is willing to sacrifice a tremendous amount for Ewen, yet he cannot understand why it is he is doing so. The interaction between Keith and Cumberland is perhaps one of my favourite moments of the whole series, and I desperately would like to see it in a (good) modern adaptation where we could have the non-bowlderised invectives. “...After that the storm was loosed on Keith, and a flood of most unprincely invective it was. The names he was called, however, passed him by without really wounding him much. They were nothing compared to those he would have called himself had he sold Ardroy’s life as the price of his own advancement.” Oh Keith, you numpty. That's love.
...this post has gotten rather long. I'll post this, and continue in another comment.
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Keith's ability to single out any attractive man, such as Captain Ferrers, in his immediate vicinity amuses me greatly.
Oh, lol, I hadn't thought of that!
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With regards to Captain Ferrers, I find Keith's appreciation of the captain's good looks amusing mostly because it makes reading Keith as straight incredibly difficult. To wit, I don't know if he describes Alison in such glowing terms as he does Captain Ferrers, or Ewen.
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And yes, good point about Ferrers ("elegant" and "exquisite"). To me it's pretty much impossible to read Keith as straight, but I do see him as being attracted to women as well. Here are his thoughts about Alison: Who was this pretty Miss Grant with the blue fillet in her dark hair—a kinswoman? If she was the future mistress of the house, young Cameron had good taste. So, to be just, had the lady. Heh. Then there's Lydia, whom he apparently cared about enough to be hurt at her betrayal.
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And yes, agreed with regards to reading Keith. I rather belligerently read almost every character I come across as bisexual until proven otherwise, which is why it was pleasant surprise to see Keith taking note of the attractive qualities of both men and women. While of course there's the argument to be made that it's partly to do with the omniscient narrator, I find that explanation less entertaining than Keith simply having an eye for attractive persons in his immediate area.
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Good notes on Captain Greening.
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Good points about Glencoe and Greening's potential background and motivations. Aww, I love the idea of learning that Lochiel escaped being the moment that releases the emotional floodgates, as it were, and lets Ewen cry over his own sufferings as well. Poor Ewen.
Very interesting thoughts on Keith's emotional separation of himself into 'Captain/Major Windham' and 'Keith', and the hints of how his backstory might have contributed to that. Poor Keith. (And all this is very interesting in view of my never-quite-managed idea of convincingly writing a story where Keith actually gives up his military/Hanoverian allegience—hmm, thoughts).
Hehe, good point also about Keith and Ferrers! I noticed someone nominated Keith/Ferrers for Chocolate Box, which intrigued me. And I also love Keith's ability to act on feelings he doesn't understand.
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I will be writing that, actually! : D But in the context of my Keith/Ewen/Alison longfic, which I know isn't your jam. But I'd love to read your take on it, as well.
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I hope you do eventually write your take on it, as well! : )
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At the risk of telling tales out of school,
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