Our Mutual Friend (OMF) 1-7

BEFORE YOU BEGIN:

I would like to apologize for my organization of thoughts.  I have made several random notes on the reading and in blogging I want to simply journal them as I write them.  Of course, this doesn’t present the material in an organized fashion.  My apologies!

PART I:

Confusion presented itself as I read through Part I.  The characters came at me and fast.  While there are often characters with ties to others, I find myself confusing myself with how they are connected.  My hope is that in continuing the reading this confusion will begin to subside.

Family and connections:

• One overlapping theme I noticed in the first part is that of family and connections.  Connection is a vague term but it doesn’t limit itself to only family ties.  I meet a variety of characters and am given an introduction to their place in London and its surrounding area.

• Gaffer and Riderhood have a falling out in the beginning of the book which later has an effect on Lizzie’s life.  It is unclear at this juncture what they do for a living.  It’s clear they work at night and often on the river but it isn’t until later that I am made aware of their partnership.

• Making the connections: I am introduced to the Veneerings who are introduced via a mutual friend to Twemlow.  At this juncture, I am introduced to Lady Tippins and the attorney of Harmon.  It is then that I find out that Harmon was found in the river by Gaffer and was promised to Bella, R.W’s daughter.  R.W. works for Veneering. 

• I am made very aware of the complicated nature of the story line.  In its complication however, I am also left wondering what’s going to happen next and who it’s going to happen to?  At this moment, I see quite a bit of overlap in the characters but am waiting on more. 

PART II:

Education, money, and one’s place in society:

• RW’s family longs for money.  Bella makes her desires for wealth quite clear, “I want money – want it dreadfully.  I hate to be poor.”  Bella’s mother does her financial part for the family by teaching.  RW wants to take care of his daughters by marrying them.  Possessing daughters can be quite stressful at this time.  To take care of them requires a husband who can provide for her since they are not considered a valuable source of family income.  This puts quite a bit of pressure on a father.  RW is the master of the house and his wife reminds him of that on several occasions during this our encounter with the family as she says, “You are master here, R.W”.  This seems quite ironic however.  He is characterized as quite shy at work.  In fact, no one knows his first name unless they are a close friend.  This dynamic proves interesting for a “master” of a household.

• Poor Lizzie.  She loves a father who is kind to her but hits her brother.  She then makes a sacrifice so that her brother can leave for an education.  Of course, Charley, her best friend and tutor, must leave the house and never return.  She is now stuck without someone to help her continue her learning and with an angry dad.  I am the Hollywood optimist and am hoping things work out well for both children.  I can see them reuniting later in the work after a lifetime of struggles.  But here in the work the father disowns the son for choosing an education over the family.  Was an education such a bad thing during this time or was the father simply afraid of losing control of his only son?

• Wegg’s relationship with Boffin is based on education.  While I find it strange that Boffin is so connected to his wooden stick, it’s admirable that he’s searching for someone to educate him on the value of his current inheritance.

RANDOM COMMENTS:

• I am doing my best as I’m reading to make connections with the characters and the “mutual friend”.  I find myself working too hard to do this and begin confusing myself.  It then hit me that maybe the “friend” isn’t a character at all.  What if the “friend” is London or education or fate or greed or money or some other concept?  If this is the case, I am going to be disappointed at myself for trying to tie all these characters to a human “friend”.  Is anyone else having trouble with their connections?  Maybe I am alone in my endeavors.

• Dinner with the Veneerings was extremely awkward.  In my notes I wrote, “awkward, high school drama, all about who you know and not who you like.”  Those were my exact thoughts as I read this interaction.  It reminded me of a time in high school when it was about being in the “cool, popular” group even if you didn’t like any of those people.  It just looked good to be associated with them.  Take, for example, the Veneerings.  They name the Podsnaps to be the Godparents of their baby but Podsnap didn't even know who they were when he first walked in the door.  It seems to be all about playing politics.

• One character I am extremely intrigued, confused by is that of Lady Tippins.  It is somewhat troubling to me that she adores nursery rhymes but has multiple lovers.  I am left wanting more background on her character and am left wondering what her place is?

• RW’s daughters were a breath of fresh air.  As I read this portion, my notes said, “sisterly dispute and cat fight”.  Having a sister myself, I could relate to their interactions with one another.  It was quite comical and a relief to know that there did exist childish family arguments during the Victorian period but more importantly, that Dickens chose to write about them.  This put a smile on my face.

• Wegg’s encounter with the, as I call him, Bone Collector.  I read this section and played an episode of CSI in my head.  Of course, my episode was much more graphic and dramatic than Dickens’.  I think this proves the influence television can have on a reader or the influence literature can have on television.  I’m not sure which but I could at least picture a one legged man sitting in a dark room with a creepy Bone Collector.  I am left wanting to know what happens to Wegg?  Does he end up as one of the “Bone Collector’s” specimens?

CHARACTERS WITH WRITER’S CONNECTIONS:

One thing I noticed as I read was some potential autobiographical connections to our writer.

• Bella’s mother has a school = Dickens’ mother begins a school to help with the family finances

• Charley’s dad disowns him for wanting an education = Dickens’ mother doesn’t disown him but doesn’t want him in school

• Lizzie makes sacrifices for her brother Charley = Dickens makes sacrifices to help and support his siblings and their families