Patrick

[blonde222.livejournal.com]

I was rereading the Attic Term (courtesy of frankie_ecap, thank you PH) and came across a passage which has always confused me.

I'm talking about the first conversation we witness between Patrick and Claudie.  In which, she asks him if he is sleeping with his girlfriend, and he vociferously denies having any desire to, on the grounds he is "terribly backward". At which point she offers to initiate him... and he says: "Well, since you ask, because I think it should only be with someone you - care for, or - okay - if it's paid for."

Firstly would anyone like to comment on this conversation in general - for example, is he saying he doesn't think of Ginty in that way (bad luck, Ginja) or is it he just doesn't want to talk about it with Claudie? And also, what's with the "paid for" comment? He can't possibly be saying that the only alternatives are marriage or prostitution???

Comments

[anstruther.livejournal.com]

D'you know, I can almost imagine a conversation taking place a couple of years before Attic Term between Patrick and his parents where Mr. Merrick says earnestly that sex should only be with people you love/are married to and Mrs. Merrick adds a "unless of course you're paying for it" rider. It would seem rather in keeping with the "thank goodness I needn't avoid Fridays for dinner parties any more" attitude!

And unless Patrick was a remarkably pretty sixteen year old (a very Paris to Ginty's Helen), I've also always been a bit surprised that Claudie chooses to make a play for him rather than for Mr. Merrick. Ok, Mr. Merrick is married, but in terms of bad manners, surely seducing your hosts' teenage son is as bad as making a move on the father? Always supposing she didn't in fact make a play for both...?!

Sorry - returning to the topic, I agree that if you analyse the sentence he appears to be saying sex is acceptable if paid for but I'm going to give my ickle idealistic Patrick the benefit of the doubt and plump for him making a bit of a muddle of compensating mid-sentence for having expressed a statement he knows Claudie will think naive. (he wants to impress her, she's SO going to get her wicked way!)

[ex-ajhalluk585.livejournal.com]

I think there was some speculation (round about the time prestonuk was writing Admiral Nicola Marlow's DNB entry, with input from a few of us) that the "Claudie Scandal" may have put paid to Mr Merrick's Parliamentary career. Though perhaps he gets a better class of woman throwing themselves at his head?

But I'm sure I'm not the only one who wonders what Mr Merrick does for sex (with "not Helena, for sure" floating around in the mix of ideas).

[anstruther.livejournal.com]

*grins appreciatively* I'd love to read the Admiral Nicola Marlow DNB entry and about the Claudie Scandal. I can't find it on trennels or on prestonuk's journal, do you by any chance have a link you could post?

Many thanks in advance...

[coughingbear]

Just noticed this while catching up on old trennels discussion - the ODNB entry for Nicola is here.