Quote:
Originally Posted by fantasyfan
Helen, herself, strikes me in section 1 as a well developed character with a strength that has come from the suffering she underwent in part 2. Throughout the latter we see her developing a moral strength even as we see her girlish love change to bitterness.
The young Helen is far too sure of herself and her ability to reform Huntingdon. Thus she rejects the quite sensible advice (given the times) of her aunt in chapter 17.
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This is an expression of the human condition. People can and do make irrevocable mistakes when they're too young to comprehend the likely consequences. As a society, we've become somewhat better at trying to mitigate the effects; a poor marriage doesn't have to be for life and we no longer hang six-year olds for stealing, but there's no perfect insulation against poor judgment. And certainly, we grow more through adversity than we do through contentment. But some are broken, at that. Hattersley and Lowborough were able to triumph over their failings, but Arthur was not. It makes the attempt to dissipate young Arthur even more evil, as it would have taken away his own agency before he was in a position to exercise it.