Quote:
Originally Posted by Bookworm_Girl
... I've just realized that the book is split roughly equal between Gilbert Letters Part 1 @ 25%, Helen Diary @ 50% and Gilbert Letters Part 2 @ 25%. I have been focused on the book as being about mostly Helen. However, with Gilbert narrating 1/2 of the book maybe his character has a greater significance (besides convenient narrator) than we realized.
When Gilbert starts writing to Halford at the beginning of the book, it's the 1840s and we get the impression that he is a gentleman. The tale that is told in Gilbert Letters Part 1 emphasizes the youth and immaturity of Gilbert, such as succumbing to the gossip of the community to falsely perceive "truth" and his terrible treatment of Lawrence and others. The tale that is told in Gilbert Letters Part 2 is about his growth in maturity and recognizing (mostly) the errors of his ways in Part 1. So, we are witnessing a transformation in Gilbert too between these 2 parts and that's what makes him worthy of marriage to Helen. In Part 1 you wouldn't have been convinced that Helen deserves him as a match, but in Part 2 it is more acceptable has he proves himself changed by developing a friendly relationship with Lawrence and respecting Helen's wishes to let her be. So this middle class farmer has a better character than the noble gentlemen in the stories. In that way he marries Helen and achieves a gentleman status like the impression we get in the beginning of the book.
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I noticed that split also,
Bookworm_Girl, though I must confess that I didn't see Gilbert transforming as much in the second set of letters as you did.
However, his hesitation over going to see Helen when he realised that she was very much landed gentry and way above him, was in his favour. Not because I think he was right to consider himself her inferior, but because he didn't want to seem to be chasing her for her money - which would of course become his by the laws of that time.
At least it meant that his younger brother was provided for, and fortunately his sister seems to have married happily, so all was well there. Phew!