Saturday, November 19, 2016

Chapter 8 -- no passion to hide; chapter 9 -- I must learn new ways



Chapter 8
Sir James Chettam tries to persuade Rector Cadwallader to talk Mr. Brooke into stopping the marriage of Casaubon and Dorothea. But the Rector doesn’t want to interfere. The narrator says, “His conscience was large and easy, like the rest of him: it did only what it could do without any trouble.”

Sir James knows he has lost his case. He decides to accept the situation and simply be friends with Dorothea. The chapter ends by observing that

he was gradually discovering the delight there is in frank kindness and companionship between a man and a woman who have no passion to hide or confess.


Chapter 9
Dorothea goes to the Casaubon house to see where she will be living. She liked the dark book shelves and the subdued colors of the drapes and carpet. But a feeling of sadness comes over her. There will not be much opportunity in this place for her to interact with the needy. She tried to be accepting: “Of course, my notions of usefulness must be narrow. I must learn new ways of helping people.”

They meet Casaubon’s cousin, Will Ladislaw.



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