I too like the infant Dodds: even the less obviously appealing Rose (probably as I shared her love of books and mistrust of dogs). I think they are brilliantly portrayed and also very endearing. I first read RMF as a teenager, and then I especially liked Chas.
I wonder how much (if anything) Rose, Charles and Phoebe were actually told about the separation or their mother's death, let alone the living arrangements after their father re-marries.
"We're going to live with Granny for a while because Daddy has to work such long hours in Oxford," seems to me a likely line. Even today, when people are not sure whether they are separating for ever or not, they tend to try and fudge things for children- especially those as young as Fob. (Not endorsing this practice particularly, merely noting it.) Equally, adults routinely underestimate how aware children are of dissension (or violence) in the parental / adult relationships around them, so Rosemary Dodd probably thought her children were unaware of any tension.
I can also imagine Rose tearfully asking her mother if Daddy has died (because of his absence) and being re-assured he is alive and has just gone away for a while (shades of The Railway Children); and then the same phrase being used when her mother goes on holiday with her aunt. It is also quite possible, in fact, more than likely, that in the 1960s the children would not have even gone to the funeral(s)/memorial service(s). Putting all that together, it is not hard for Rose to ignore that she has been told that her mother is dead and instead tell herself / almost believe that she too has gone away and will return.
I think the comments Chas makes on the way back from the station and the breakfast scene still to come in Chapter 11 indicate that the infant Dodds have no idea what is happening to them. A more extreme version of the way the "lower decks" are oblivious to the changes which will ensue in their lives following Jon's death. I wonder if the Dodd children had even met Karen before they arrive at Trennels - there is no evidence that they have. She'd hardly have been taken to meet them in the Clavering household while Rosemary was alive or in the weeks following her death; nor, if Rosemary took them to Oxford to visit their father would Karen be around. I can't see Mrs Clavering taking them to visit their father and his new fiancee in Oxford shortly after burying both her daughters. There may be some Greek tragedy where this is required of a mother ...
Mrs Clavering's remark that Edwin is marrying for a housekeeper was, I hope, overheard by Chas, rather than directed to him (and I always wonder if it is part of Nicola's cautious hesitation about Mrs C.) and I shall put down to her own grief - for otherwise, it is malicious and unhelpful and proves Edwin was right that the Clavering household was driving wedges between Edwin and the children.
I see why it make literary sense to go straight from the Marlow (and our) first impression of Edwin to the wedding scene, but I would like to see that meeting of the children and Karen, and to read Mrs Marlow's letter to Geoff that night.
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timeasmymeasure
The infant Dodds' understanding of the events in their life
Date: 2014-11-29 11:31 pm (UTC)I wonder how much (if anything) Rose, Charles and Phoebe were actually told about the separation or their mother's death, let alone the living arrangements after their father re-marries.
"We're going to live with Granny for a while because Daddy has to work such long hours in Oxford," seems to me a likely line. Even today, when people are not sure whether they are separating for ever or not, they tend to try and fudge things for children- especially those as young as Fob. (Not endorsing this practice particularly, merely noting it.) Equally, adults routinely underestimate how aware children are of dissension (or violence) in the parental / adult relationships around them, so Rosemary Dodd probably thought her children were unaware of any tension.
I can also imagine Rose tearfully asking her mother if Daddy has died (because of his absence) and being re-assured he is alive and has just gone away for a while (shades of The Railway Children); and then the same phrase being used when her mother goes on holiday with her aunt. It is also quite possible, in fact, more than likely, that in the 1960s the children would not have even gone to the funeral(s)/memorial service(s). Putting all that together, it is not hard for Rose to ignore that she has been told that her mother is dead and instead tell herself / almost believe that she too has gone away and will return.
I think the comments Chas makes on the way back from the station and the breakfast scene still to come in Chapter 11 indicate that the infant Dodds have no idea what is happening to them. A more extreme version of the way the "lower decks" are oblivious to the changes which will ensue in their lives following Jon's death. I wonder if the Dodd children had even met Karen before they arrive at Trennels - there is no evidence that they have. She'd hardly have been taken to meet them in the Clavering household while Rosemary was alive or in the weeks following her death; nor, if Rosemary took them to Oxford to visit their father would Karen be around. I can't see Mrs Clavering taking them to visit their father and his new fiancee in Oxford shortly after burying both her daughters. There may be some Greek tragedy where this is required of a mother ...
Mrs Clavering's remark that Edwin is marrying for a housekeeper was, I hope, overheard by Chas, rather than directed to him (and I always wonder if it is part of Nicola's cautious hesitation about Mrs C.) and I shall put down to her own grief - for otherwise, it is malicious and unhelpful and proves Edwin was right that the Clavering household was driving wedges between Edwin and the children.
I see why it make literary sense to go straight from the Marlow (and our) first impression of Edwin to the wedding scene, but I would like to see that meeting of the children and Karen, and to read Mrs Marlow's letter to Geoff that night.