(Hope you don't mind, but I'm recycling an old comment from the sister comm in LJ since I didn't have time to reread these chapters this weekend.)
I'm not sure we're supposed to like Maurice by this point, but perhaps feel somewhat sorry for him. Despite the fact that there's a path clearly laid out for him, Maurice instinctively knew that he was different and thus tried his darnedest to be utterly mediocre and became all the more obnoxious for it. (The more average he tried to be, the more disconnected he felt from the world. Probably because he didn't particularly like himself.) It seemed to me that the servants likened Maurice's snobbery to maturity. The way he was practically doted upon by all but Kitty, it was really just feeding into this behavior because it became expected of him. No wonder the boy sought out frankness. It's possibly due to George that he would later treat the hired help with at least a modicum of respect.
I was rather curious about the George thing. Mrs Hall says that Howell found him too old, yet Howell says that the boy wished to improve himself. Did Howell tell her that to avoid offense? Perhaps George left on Howell's urging to improve, having outgrown his position. The boy probably couldn't make a decent life for himself with the wages of a garden boy anyway. Or (if I were to really read into it) perhaps this was Howell's way of severing the boys' connection to ensure that Maurice didn't make any... unconventional attachments now that he's on his way to becoming the man of the family. Wasn't it considered improper for the classes to mingle? (Perhaps George was like Alec in that he couldn't seem to remember his place in society as well as Howell would like. Hmm...)
And Maurice being afraid of the dark... He tries so hard to live up to expectations of becoming a man in his father's stead and yet behind closed doors he's still so innocent. Just a child.
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Date: 2009-05-26 12:38 pm (UTC)I'm not sure we're supposed to like Maurice by this point, but perhaps feel somewhat sorry for him. Despite the fact that there's a path clearly laid out for him, Maurice instinctively knew that he was different and thus tried his darnedest to be utterly mediocre and became all the more obnoxious for it. (The more average he tried to be, the more disconnected he felt from the world. Probably because he didn't particularly like himself.) It seemed to me that the servants likened Maurice's snobbery to maturity. The way he was practically doted upon by all but Kitty, it was really just feeding into this behavior because it became expected of him. No wonder the boy sought out frankness. It's possibly due to George that he would later treat the hired help with at least a modicum of respect.
I was rather curious about the George thing. Mrs Hall says that Howell found him too old, yet Howell says that the boy wished to improve himself. Did Howell tell her that to avoid offense? Perhaps George left on Howell's urging to improve, having outgrown his position. The boy probably couldn't make a decent life for himself with the wages of a garden boy anyway. Or (if I were to really read into it) perhaps this was Howell's way of severing the boys' connection to ensure that Maurice didn't make any... unconventional attachments now that he's on his way to becoming the man of the family. Wasn't it considered improper for the classes to mingle? (Perhaps George was like Alec in that he couldn't seem to remember his place in society as well as Howell would like. Hmm...)
And Maurice being afraid of the dark... He tries so hard to live up to expectations of becoming a man in his father's stead and yet behind closed doors he's still so innocent. Just a child.