"I wonder how Nicola feels about Lawrie's triumph, given that Nicola prefers acting to singing, but has been repeatedly told she was never quite right as the Shepherd Boy and so on."
The one bit of dialogue which never quite works for me is Nicola asking Miranda, "What did you think of Lawrie?" Is she looking for the reassurance that Lawrie wan't better than her (slightly uncharacteristic)? In which case she certainly doesn't get it, but neither words nor author's view of her response shows she minds Miranda being clear on this point. Is it a way of showing the reader that Lawrie really is an actress with special talent? On top of Patrick and Rowan's responses and Mrs Merrick and Grandmother, we need Miranda putting honesty before Nicola's feelings?
And yet, Nicola isn't shown to mind this at all (which figures, she is always indulgent of Lawrie, partly to circumvent the fuss there'd be otherwise and partly because she's Lawrie. Was Nicola relieved to be relieved of the Shepherd Boy for something she will shine at? Or does she look for Miranda's view to reassure herself that in spite of the forthcoming blood for breakfast, it was all worth it: not just for themselves as participants, but the audience as a performance or even act of worship?
rose_and_lizard gives Helen Bagshaw her chance in the great, canon-esque Term of Duty (”http://rose-and-lizard.livejournal.com/23147.html”) . Run, and find out!
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timeasmymeasure
Nicola on Lawrie's triumph (and Helen Bagshaw)
Date: 2014-09-20 07:33 am (UTC)The one bit of dialogue which never quite works for me is Nicola asking Miranda, "What did you think of Lawrie?" Is she looking for the reassurance that Lawrie wan't better than her (slightly uncharacteristic)? In which case she certainly doesn't get it, but neither words nor author's view of her response shows she minds Miranda being clear on this point. Is it a way of showing the reader that Lawrie really is an actress with special talent? On top of Patrick and Rowan's responses and Mrs Merrick and Grandmother, we need Miranda putting honesty before Nicola's feelings?
And yet, Nicola isn't shown to mind this at all (which figures, she is always indulgent of Lawrie, partly to circumvent the fuss there'd be otherwise and partly because she's Lawrie. Was Nicola relieved to be relieved of the Shepherd Boy for something she will shine at? Or does she look for Miranda's view to reassure herself that in spite of the forthcoming blood for breakfast, it was all worth it: not just for themselves as participants, but the audience as a performance or even act of worship?