Book Discussion: Chapters 1-4

[queen_ypolita]

Chapters 1-4

The first four chapters cover about four years of Maurice's life, from his last days at prep school to the end of his years at Sunnington, his public school; from the age of "fourteen and three quarters" to "nearly nineteen". Both schools are his father's old schools, and the point of Maurice following his path in life in the footsteps of his father is made several times in these four short chapters. These chapters establish Maurice as an average person who isn't particularly intelligent or perceptive, one who would go through his life doing all the conventional things and feel perfectly content about his lot if he ever thought about it. It's this ordinariness that makes him reasonably successful at Sunnington: he's tolerably well liked, becomes a prefect and member of the first fifteen and get the prize for a Greek oration that it's not particularly good but thought worth rewarding nonetheless.

But underneath all the ordinariness is something waiting to be awakened, most clearly manifest in the dream he has in Chapter 3, a dream about a friend that he'll one day have. The dream isn't clear and he doesn't quite understand it but the feeling of longing is strong enough to make the dream feel very real. The other significant dream he has is about George the garden boy who left, and whose leaving made Maurice sadder than he could understand.

But to go back to Chapter 1 for a moment, and Mr Ducie's goodbye talk. Maurice's incomprehension at nearly fifteen over Mr Ducie's talk about sex may feel a bit old-fashioned to modern readers but it seems to me it's more a question of disconnect between his own experiences and what Mr Ducie is trying to say, particularly if Maurice is a late developer which is possible in the light of a line in Chapter 3 "As soon as his body developed he became obscene" which, in its context, is clearly not happening until he's at Sunnington. In some ways, it seems he does understand what Mr Ducie is explaining, it just doesn't mean anything to him at that age. Or what do you think?

Chapter 4 offers a small clue for fixing the novel to a particular historical timeline with the mention of Hague Conference, the second international peace conference held in The Hague from mid-June until mid-October 1907.

Over to you now! Here's a couple of questions if you're stuck for ideas what to say:

• Does Maurice's ordinariness make him likeable in these early chapters, or does he come across to you, as he does to Dr Barry in Ch2, that he's asleep all his life and hence useless?


• What do you think about the dreams?


• Why had the Halls considered moving when the church was built? (Ch2)

* * *
into_the_greenwood will open the discussion for Chapters 5-8 on Sunday 31 May. For the full schedule, see this post.

Comments

[sweet_fallacy]

(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.

[into_the_greenwood]

I think you've got a good point there. I see a young, confused human being trying to make the best of things. And yes, if he knows he's different but really doesn't have the tools to deal with that, I can see him trying his utmost to just be as 'normal' as he possibly can. I think he muddled along, taking his cues from his peers, not thinking about anything at all, and just being in a terrible muddle about things.

I wonder about who was telling the truth with the George leaving business. I can see Maurice's mother avoiding the truth and, if Howell is correct, George left to 'better himself', it's not exactly complementary to the Halls, is it? They must be, logically, 'lesser' which wouldn't please Mrs Hall overly much.

But poor bloody Maurice - the only person he actually liked has gone. Just like that, with no way of finding him again. In a situation like that, I imagine Maurice would tamp down his emotions even further, and be determined not to think or feel too much from then on.

food for thought

[sweet_fallacy]

Huh, I had never thought to consider that it could have been Mrs Hall lying about George's dismissal. I guess I had always felt that she wouldn't want to deprive her son of anything, but if she thought it was best for Maurice... well, that would be another matter.

Maurice would tamp down his emotions even further
Precisely.

[queen_ypolita]

(The more average he tried to be, the more disconnected he felt from the world. Probably because he didn't particularly like himself.)
This is a very good point and does explain a lot.