We crossed the Liffey in the ferryboat, paying our toll to be transported in the company of two labourers and a little Jew with a bag.
Just like how the kids are playing cowboys and Indians, the story feels like an adventure as the boys walk through Dublin streets and cross the river on a ferryboat.
Mahony began to play the Indian as soon as we were out of public sight. He chased a crowd of ragged girls, brandishing his unloaded catapult and, when two ragged boys began, out of chivalry, to fling stones at us, he proposed that we should charge them.
The narrator almost sounds wistful as he's recalling a time when he could still pretend to be make-believe characters.
Sometimes he used to put me through the responses of the Mass which he had made me learn by heart
I'm unsure whether Father Flynn saw the narrator as a good friend or just wanted to teach him about the church.
I wished to go in and look at him but I had not the courage to knock.
We still haven't learned the personal significance of Father Flynn to the narrator--how did they become close?
“It’s bad for children,” said old Cotter, “because their minds are so impressionable. When children see things like that, you know, it has an effect….”
Cotter reminds me of some old distant relative at a family gathering that's always telling you what to do.
I felt that his little beady black eyes were examining me but I would not satisfy him by looking up from my plate.
The narrator seems determined not to let Old Cotter get any reaction out of him, while Old Cotter seems like he's fishing for a response from the narrator.
No! No! No! It was impossible. Her hands clutched the iron in frenzy. Amid the seas she sent a cry of anguish!
Eveline's reaction reminds me of the ending to "Araby."
she found it a nice tidy little body.
The descriptions of Maria's physique almost make her seem...doll-like?
After the break-up at home
Foreboding some past conflict?
From Ballsbridge to the Pillar, twenty minutes; from the Pillar to Drumcondra, twenty minutes; and twenty minutes to buy the things. She would be there before eight.
Maria seems very meticulous at managing her time.
While he was sitting with her on the side of the bed Mary came to the door and said that the missus wanted to see him in the parlour.
Ties the sequence of events back to earlier in the story.
It was not altogether his fault that it had happened.
A lot of events are revealed after the fact from one of the characters' perspectives.
She was sure she would win.
The narrator is much more direct with characters' thoughts than in Araby, in which a lot of focus was on characters' actions.
MRS. MOONEY was a butcher’s daughter.
Non-media res
Not long before, when she had been laid up for a day, he had read her out a ghost story and made toast for her at the fire. Another day, when their mother was alive, they had all gone for a picnic to the Hill of Howth.
A large portion of the story seems to be memories and recollection.
marketing
I always get confused when I see this word and forget it just means to go to the market.
Her father was not so bad then
Eerie and ambiguous--what happened to him?
It fell over one side of her dress and caught the white border of a petticoat, just visible as she stood at ease.
The narrator's description clearly shows how they feel about her.
Gazing up into the darkness I saw myself as a creature driven and derided by vanity; and my eyes burned with anguish and anger.
What a conclusion. I think it stood out even more because, up until this point, the narrator never explicitly described his emotions.
When we met in the street the houses had grown sombre.
The houses, and the neighborhood in general, are being personified early on in the story.
But when I write of Robinson Crusoe, by the Lord it’s serious–and I request you to take it accordingly!
The novel begins with Betteredge referencing Robinson Crusoe, so the fact that it ends similarly is fitting.
The next day Mr. Godfrey Ablewhite rode over, with you, to Lady Verinder’s house. A few hours afterwards, Mr. Godfrey (as you yourself have told me) made a proposal of marriage to Miss Verinder.
The story now feels like different puzzle pieces are falling into place, since additional context is being given for earlier events.
The side turned up to the public view, presented the spectacle of a gentleman, possessed of considerable reputation as a speaker at charitable meetings, and endowed with administrative abilities, which he placed at the disposal of various Benevolent Societies, mostly of the female sort.
This description is similar to how Betteredge described Godfrey in the beginning of the story.
“For Heaven’s sake don’t mention it. I should be ruined if it was known.”
Mr. Bruff seems to consider himself above following somebody for something he needs.
I was sorely tempted to hint that he was now wronging her as she had wronged him.
It appears Ezra will indeed be responsible for reintroducing Rachel and Mr. Franklin.
And yet, knowing this, I cannot find it in my heart to disappoint her. I must try if I can discover some new arrangement, before post-time, which will allow me to say Yes to Miss Verinder, without damage to the service which I have bound myself to render to Mr. Franklin Blake.
Journal entries are implicitly addressed back to the author themself. They are intended to hold the thoughts of the author and be read at a later time. As a result, I think Ezra is a more reliable narrator than the others.
Does it only mean that I feel the contrast between the frankly kind manner in which he has allowed me to become acquainted with him, and the merciless dislike and distrust with which I am met by other people?
There's something more intimate and human about reading a narrator's journal entries as opposed to their letters intended for an audience.
No earthly consideration would, at that moment, have shaken the resolution that was in me.
Mr. Franklin seems like a stubborn character, grounded firmly in his own convictions and beliefs.
“Mr. Bruff, the assistance I innocently rendered to the inquiry after the Diamond was an unpardoned offence, in Rachel’s mind, nearly a year since; and it remains an unpardoned offence still. I won’t accept that position! I am determined to find out the secret of her silence towards her mother, and her enmity towards me. If time, pains, and money can do it, I will lay my hand on the thief who took the Moonstone!”
This excerpt reminds me of a scene earlier in the story, when Rachel asked Mr. Franklin to stop smoking his cigar. He then adamantly refused to start smoking again when she asked him to.
the pang of remembrance lost its worst bitterness, little by little, as time, distance, and novelty interposed themselves more and more effectually between Rachel and me.
Even though this work is over 100 years old and the English language has evolved considerably since then, Mr. Franklin's meaning in this sentence comes across very clearly. Perhaps the sentence is relatable because it taps into a common human experience.
interpreted seriously one of his young mistress’s many satirical references to my foreign education; and has persuaded himself that he actually saw those French, German, and Italian sides to my character
It's interesting to read a reference to an earlier part of the story written by a completely different narrator. The subject and object (in this case, Mr. Franklin and Betteredge, respectively) have switched places.
By daybreak the next morning, I was on my way back to my own country.
He doesn't mention anything about how he feels about inheriting a great fortune. He just casually states the chain of events without expressing any emotion.
If that position was not a desperate one, it would be well worth his while to marry Miss Verinder for her income alone. If, on the other hand, he stood in urgent need of realising a large sum by a given time, then Lady Verinder’s Will would exactly meet the case, and would preserve her daughter from falling into a scoundrel’s hands.
Mr. Bruff outlines his thought process very clearly and explains the possible scenarios he's come up with in his head.
Her mother’s excellent sense, and my long experience, had combined to relieve her of all responsibility, and to guard her from all danger of becoming the victim in the future of some needy and unscrupulous man.
Seems like a long-winded way of saying Lady Verinder wasn't leaving Rachel with much because she didn't think she would be responsible enough to handle wealth.
The view she took of her position was so thoroughly sound and sensible, that I was relieved of all necessity for advising her.
Lady Verinder's logical, sensible personality matches Mr. Bruff's personality, from what we see in his writing.
Then, I was sent for at last, to take my client’s instructions on the subject of his will.
Mr. Bruff's job as a lawyer is evident in his writing style; he clearly states the claim he wants to make and provides evidence. This style was particularly evident when he was justifying why he is an appropriate narrator.
Everything was entered (thanks to my early training) day by day as it happened; and everything down to the smallest particular, shall be told here.
I didn't realize Miss Clack's description of her meticulous habits would later connect to her account of events.
As genuine documents they are sent to me–and as genuine documents I shall preserve them
Mr. Franklin's footnote, though perhaps intended to assuage our concerns about tampering with the narrative, still reveals that he's reading everything Miss Clack writes.
I am to recall the most intensely painful remembrances–and this done, I am to feel myself compensated by a new laceration, in the shape of Mr. Blake’s cheque.
Miss Clack seems to be very devout and pious, to the point where she minimizes her own self-worth.
If it had been possible to overlook such an event as the loss of a jewel worth twenty thousand pounds, I believe–with my lady’s opinion of her late brother, and her distrust of his birthday-gift–it would have been privately a relief to her to let the thieves get off with the Moonstone scot free.
It seems she's wise enough to understand that the Moonstone is not worth the trouble it brings. This observation reveals the direct tension she has with Miss Rachel, who is understandably more attracted to a large, expensive diamond.
As soon as Miss Rachel left him eyes to see with
Pretty clever line to poke fun at him.
Miss Rachel received that proposal as she might, ten years since, have received a proposal to part her from a new doll.
I'm starting to think the Colonel knew Rachel would react this way, and he hoped the Diamond would lead to internal family conflict.
Indian diamond in the Indian cabinet
Seems to foreshadow an appearance from the three Indians...
their putting their heads together with other objects in view besides the ornamenting of a door.
I never realized how often people discussed sex and relationships through this roundabout language in the past.
Miss Rachel always went on a way of her own, sufficient for herself in the joys and sorrows of her life.
I can't tell if Betteredge's view of women is satire or just how people regularly thought about women back in the day.
when you wonder what this cruel nastiness means, you are told that it means a taste in my young master or my young mistress for natural history.
Is he alluding to an extreme lack of empathy among the gentility?
There are reasons for taking particular notice here of the occupation that amused them. You will find it has a bearing on something that is still to come.
The expository nature of the letter leads to very explicit foreshadowing in the narrative.
the way of an absurdity
The "absurdity" of Rosanna falling in love with Mr. Franklin seems to come down to differences in social / socioeconomic class.
these puzzling shifts and transformations in Mr. Franklin were due to the effect on him of his foreign training
Mr. Franklin's foreign education keeps being brought up. Will it be significant later in the story?
on the occasion of her daughter’s birthday
Gifting Rachel the diamond on her birthday makes the whole exchange seem like a revenge ploy.
The interest he took in the matter now, induced him to open the sealed instructions which had been deposited with the Diamond.
Mr. Blake seems driven by a cost-benefit mindset: he always considers how much effort is required of him and how he benefits.
The Colonel had dissipated the greater part of his fortune in his chemical investigations.
Maybe he was looking for a way to break the diamond's curse?
When we are not occupied in making machinery, we are (mentally speaking) the most slovenly people in the universe.”
Quite fitting for Betteredge's tendency to get sidetracked while telling a story.
I prefer trying to report Mr. Franklin’s discoveries, as nearly as may be, in Mr. Franklin’s own words.
Who would we consider the narrator in the following passage?
knowing the Colonel’s constitutional superiority to the restraints which govern gentlemen in general.
Sounds like an amusing euphemism for having a short temper.
But to give in, even when he was wrong, and had all society against him, was not the way of the Honourable John.
"Honourable John" must be a sarcastic nickname?
Not even my respect for you prevented me from–never mind
Is this the line Betteredge refers to in the next paragraph when he says Mr. Franklin kissed Penelope?
Your daughter promised to be a pretty girl, Betteredge, and she has kept her promise.
Was this a common expression back then? Betteredge wrote a similar statement about Mr. Franklin's height.
Rosanna Spearman gave herself airs
What does this phrase mean?
and not being of the sort that get up Companies in the City, and rob from thousands
An interesting aside from Betteredge revealing his disdain for "thieving" Companies--someone could hold a similar opinion today.
which I knew she would take kindly from me.
Betteredge seems quite full of himself.
She is a nice plump young lass, and it is customary with me to adopt that manner of showing that I personally approve of a girl.
Betteredge exhibits a very strange attitude towards women, making broad generalizations about them.
I found three mahogany-coloured Indians
Similar to the three who died earlier in the prologue?
I am asked to tell the story of the Diamond and, instead of that, I have been telling the story of my own self.
Is this story of Betteredge revealing of his self-centeredness and arrogance?
Lord! how little you must know of women, if you ask that. Of course she said, Yes.
Sounds like hubris
Economy–with a dash of love.
Succinct and amusing way to put it.
Sir John says, “My lady, the bailiff is pensioned liberally; and Gabriel Betteredge has got his place.”
I suppose this line shows how Sir John "wants to be managed?"
If you are curious to know what course I took under the circumstances
Interesting how Betteredge directly refers to the reader and thus presumably keeps the reader in mind while he writes.
don’t
doesn't?
I got to an open door, and saw the bodies of two Indians (by their dress, as I guessed, officers of the palace) lying across the entrance, dead.
Given the story is a murder mystery, would the letter-writer be considered an unreliable narrator.
He was very unfit, in my opinion, to perform the duty that had been entrusted to him.
The letter-writer's additional role as the narrator inherently makes the story biased, and we're forced to accept the bias as readers.
I never saw him when we forded the river; when we planted the English flag in the first breach; when we crossed the ditch beyond; and, fighting every inch of our way, entered the town.
Would this be an instance of anaphora? What a way to call someone a coward.
The private difference between my cousin and me took its rise in a great public event in which we were both concerned–the storming of Seringapatam, under General Baird, on the 4th of May, 1799.
The letter format of the story creates a very expository tone, which is quite fitting for a detective story.
And when her next partner bumped her into the fat man and he said, “Pardon,” she smiled at him more radiantly than ever. She didn’t even recognise him again.
The ending to this story is almost an anti-climax. After the old man's harsh words and Leila's reaction to them, I expected the ending to turn out bitter. But Leila seems to be in pure bliss at the ball.
What would father say when he found out? For he was bound to find out sooner or later. He always did. “Buried. You two girls had me buried!”
This detail sheds such a unique light on her father's personality, and it also shows that Josephine is thoughtful of her father's intentions even after his death.
It was their own fault; they had asked her.
I don't think I've read many stories with a dual third-person narrator. The focus of the story seems quite balanced between Constantia and Josephine.
Josephine had replied to them all, and twenty-three times when she came to “We miss our dear father so much” she had broken down
Mansfield is really good at making readers infer events that have occurred in the story. From the in media res introduction to the immediate dialogue, we're thrown into the story quickly, but she leaves clues like the black clothes and letters to show the girls' father passed away.
she frowned fiercely at the dark and said “Remember” terribly sternly.
Remember what? Sounds like very ominous foreshadowing.
Hobbies couldn’t pay for the town house and the seaside bungalow, and their horses, and their golf, and the sixty-guinea gramophone in the music-room for them to dance to.
Beyond mentioning these materialistic rewards, he doesn't really describe how they made him feel. Did he become happier after buying all these things?
And then Charlotte and the girls were always at him
Mansfield likes to bring in characters without introduction, forcing us to piece things together afterward.
Mr. Neave
The name "Mr. Neave" conveys a feeling of middle age.
And he was a long time comparing his programme, which looked black with names, with hers. It seemed to give him so much trouble that Leila was ashamed.
I'm still a little confused by the purpose of programmes.
Strange faces smiled at Leila
Mansfield often dehumanizes characters, referring to them as "voices" or "faces."
Sheridan girls and their brother
Returning characters!
William couldn’t help a grim smile as he thought of Isabel’s horror if she knew the full extent of his sentimentality.
This doesn't sound like a great thing to say about a relationship.
If they hadn’t gone to that studio party at Moira Morrison’s
Perhaps the event that helped shape the "new Isabel?"
And he saw the kiddies handing the boxes round—they were awfully generous little chaps—while Isabel’s precious friends didn’t hesitate to help themselves...
Amusing to think of the kids sharing their candy with Isabel's friends.
She tugged at it—tried to break the stupid little thing—it wouldn’t break.
Great detail to show her personality.
But the worst of it was having her little brother, who was only twelve, with us.
So it seems the mother entrusted the narrator with her son so she could go gamble, only to entrust her with her daughter as well?
pink-and-white marble with orange-trees outside the doors in gold-and-black tubs.
Colorful description again!
Even her little feet looked as though they scorned to carry her down the steps to us.
I just realized that the narrator and even Mrs. Raddick have refused to mention her daughter by name, several paragraphs into the story. Looking at how the narrator emphasized "she" earlier, the narrator must have a lot of disdain for her.
“Would you—do you care to come to tea with—us?”
So far, I've had some trouble following the sequence of events and which character a given speaker is addressing. I had to reread to understand that the narrator is asking Mrs. Raddick's daughter to join tea. Also, wasn't the daughter a bit further away from Mrs. Raddick and the narrator?
green satin dress
Mansfield seems to use color and clothing frequently to describe characters. The story also started with Mrs. Raddick's daughter's "blue dress" and "blue, blue eyes."
Jose loved giving orders to the servants, and they loved obeying her.
So far, class differences have been made very explicit in the narrative and dialogue--Laura and her family, the family's servants, and the workmen are very clearly defined.
she always felt she could do it so much better than anybody else.
Interesting insight into her personality
Forget I am your mother. Treat me as an honoured guest.”
Shows that her children have a certain level of maturity. Seems like could be a coming-of-age story?