I am loving OMF!! It was so amazing to read about what Mr. Rokesmith is doing. As is was confirmed that he was Harmon his next steps were selfless. Clearing Hexam & remaining a secretary for the Boffins' sake (allowing them to keep the money). I do hope he & Bella end up together but I wouldn't put it past Dickens to pair him with Lizzie. I admire Rokesmith for his choices which cannot be easy. To know that you are someone else but must play the part of a secretary...I cannot imagine.
I must also make some comments about the Wilfers. They are absolutely cracking me up. laughed so hard at the anniversary dinner. I think it's because I've been in those family situations before. It's that tense moment & RW is the only one who continually reminds everyone that mother isn't happy. He does it so subtly, "My dear, you don't seem to be enjoying yourself." I just LOVE it! The whole family would be so much fun to watch in a sitcom. I also think it's funny that Lavenia is making George pay for choosing Bella first but continues to keep him on the line.
Bella has also impressed me. She is still greedy but is aware of the sin in it. She sees herself as a "monster" and often a "beast" for having such monetary thoughts. And her talks with herself make me chuckle but also make me proud to "be her friend". She does understand. Then she becomes aware of the changes in Mr. Boffin. He is disappointing to many people; Bella, Rokesmith, Mrs. Boffin, & myself. He has decided that to have money, he must abide by the social constraints that come with it. He could be the exception to the rule but so far is becoming the norm. I was hoping he would stay the care free, loving man he originally was but it appears he will turn into a terrible man. The optimist in me sees him reverting to himself but the cynic in me believes he will remain a "tyrant".
I'm with you on Bella's transformation. I wonder would she have told off Mr. Boffin like this had she not been so changed. I am holding out hope, though, for Mr. Boffin. I wonder if Dickens was hinting at this when Boffin delivered the line about the left hand (commonly associated with evil) being hardly used? Or maybe this was just a random silly bit tossed in.
ReplyDeleteI'm DYING to see the BBC production of this novel. I purposely never watched it because I wanted to read the book again before I did. I have it on DVD and am thinking we need to have a Dickens party and all watch it together... don't know how long it is... but watching part might be worth it the last night of BH. Though I didn't plan on that, I imagine we could work it out! What do you think? Your mention of the hilarity of the dinner got me thinking...
ReplyDeleteI think that sounds like a great idea! It's always interesting to see what film makers do with literature. Most people prefer to read the book first and then watch the movie, but I've always looked at them as totally separate entities. It could be fun to have a movie night...even if only a clip in class. Maybe we could reserve a room on another night for those who would want to watch the entire film.
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