Summer part 1
"But all that had happened to her within the last few weeks had stirred her to the sleeping depths. She had become absorbingly interesting to herself and everything that had to do with her past was illuminated by this sudden curiosity."
This quote stood out to me because it summed up all that was going on with Charity, and how she had this new curiosity about herself, and lots of new things to think about. First she is having Mr. Royall asking her to marry her, which to me is still so bazar. I know he was lonely, but I still don't really understand why he would marry the child he adopted? I know he wanted her to stay with him, but I still thought that part was really weird. Charity also gets a job as a librarian, and then also almost loses it. And she starts really falling for Harney. I think Harney has put a lot of good into Charity and made her have something interesting in her life, and something to look forward to. She is just beginning to to be curious about her past. She now has something to discover about herself, and where she came from. My cousins from my dad's side of the family were adopted, and when they found out, they were pretty shocked and wanted to know their story. They wanted to meet their parents, or at least see pictures and know what they were like. They were on a misson of discovering who they were and where they came from, like Charity.
"The signs of his liking were manifest enough; but it was hard to guess how much they meant, because his manner was so different from anything North Dormer had ever shown her."
This quote stuck with me because I think the relationship between Charity and Harney is pretty interesting. It reminded me of Seventeen Syllables with Rosie and Jesus. I also found their relationship interesting, and I couldn't quite figure out when I was reading it if they had feelings for each other or not. I felt the same way with this book. At first, I really did think a romance would spark between Charity and Harney. I thought that just the way they looked at each other showed some feelings, but then as I read on, I realized that it was true that there weren't any real signs of affection from Harney toward Charity. In this case, it seems like Charity is looking to be with Harney more than the other way around, but in Seventeen Syllables, I felt like Jesus was more of the pursuer. From what I have read so far, there is no romance between Charity and Harney yet, but I still feel like it will come. I think its interesting too how their relationship has a lot to do with Charity's relationship with Mr. Royall, and how jealous he is of her wanting to be with Harney more than him. When he was talking about how the whole town knew that Charity was over with Harney the night before, it made me think of Sula, and I thought their village in this book really reminded me of the Bottom in Sula. Both of these places knew everything about everyone, word got around fast, and they both talked about people being "watched."
This quote stood out to me because it summed up all that was going on with Charity, and how she had this new curiosity about herself, and lots of new things to think about. First she is having Mr. Royall asking her to marry her, which to me is still so bazar. I know he was lonely, but I still don't really understand why he would marry the child he adopted? I know he wanted her to stay with him, but I still thought that part was really weird. Charity also gets a job as a librarian, and then also almost loses it. And she starts really falling for Harney. I think Harney has put a lot of good into Charity and made her have something interesting in her life, and something to look forward to. She is just beginning to to be curious about her past. She now has something to discover about herself, and where she came from. My cousins from my dad's side of the family were adopted, and when they found out, they were pretty shocked and wanted to know their story. They wanted to meet their parents, or at least see pictures and know what they were like. They were on a misson of discovering who they were and where they came from, like Charity.
"The signs of his liking were manifest enough; but it was hard to guess how much they meant, because his manner was so different from anything North Dormer had ever shown her."
This quote stuck with me because I think the relationship between Charity and Harney is pretty interesting. It reminded me of Seventeen Syllables with Rosie and Jesus. I also found their relationship interesting, and I couldn't quite figure out when I was reading it if they had feelings for each other or not. I felt the same way with this book. At first, I really did think a romance would spark between Charity and Harney. I thought that just the way they looked at each other showed some feelings, but then as I read on, I realized that it was true that there weren't any real signs of affection from Harney toward Charity. In this case, it seems like Charity is looking to be with Harney more than the other way around, but in Seventeen Syllables, I felt like Jesus was more of the pursuer. From what I have read so far, there is no romance between Charity and Harney yet, but I still feel like it will come. I think its interesting too how their relationship has a lot to do with Charity's relationship with Mr. Royall, and how jealous he is of her wanting to be with Harney more than him. When he was talking about how the whole town knew that Charity was over with Harney the night before, it made me think of Sula, and I thought their village in this book really reminded me of the Bottom in Sula. Both of these places knew everything about everyone, word got around fast, and they both talked about people being "watched."
posted by Lori at 12:53 AM
2 Comments:
I agree with your comments about the connection between Summer and the other text that we have read. In a lot of the text that we have read the women have been watched and Summer is no exception. I agree that the relationship between Charity and Harney is hard to put a label on. Although he shows her affection(buying she gifts, taking her out, kissing) he doesn't listen to her and he doesn't take her seriously. When she wants to run away to the mountains she was so sure of her decision but after she talked to him, her plans changed. She says "I'll never go back there" and she says "No". I took that as he was saying " Oh yeah...thats what you think" because she clearly ends up back in Dormer.
I think that Harney has feelings for Charity but he wants to keep it under wraps so that she isn't views as a whore. Women and sexuality doesn't mix in the town of Dormer so if word got out it would look bad on Charity. I agree that at first I didn't think he cared too much for her but as time went by it became clear that he did.
Your first quote and explanation were really interesting. I spoke in my blog entry about how the opening line of the book really speaks to what you were referring to. Charity is first introduced as a character that is on the brink of womanhood and childhood. With her new experiences and feelings for Lucius, she is beginning to make realizations about the world she grew up in. As an outsider, I found it hard to watch as she married the man that had adopted her (I thought it was bizarre too!). I think that he ultimately saw her as a possession and that he didnt want to have to share her with anyone else. I too know people that are adopted, and I think that the thought of marrying their mom or dad that they have been raised by would absolutely disgust them. (As it did to me too!)
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