Fatherhood in the Forest

[tabouli.livejournal.com]

Reading through people's comments on the last post, I found myself musing on the fathers depicted in the Marlow series. Even though none of them play a major role, there's quite a range.

The omniabsent Commander Marlow seems the kind of father who sees putting an expensively framed cabinet portrait of the family in his room as a substitute for taking leave to see them (see also Nicola's preference for a photo of Giles' ship and Nelson over photos of her family members?), but otherwise appears a friendly, no-nonsense sort of fellow. You have to smile at his pragmatic military preference for Nicola's crew cut in Falconer's Lure.

Arguably the most negative depiction of a father in the series is Mr Hopkins. When Berenice proclaims Meg's tormented family life to the masses, Meg shifts from being a workaholic nonentity to a disturbing reflection of her father's abuse, reinforced by his brief, dour cameo near the end of The Cricket Term (in which Forest hints that he also abuses his wife). On the subject of pastoral care at Kingscote, it's faintly reassuring that the school did attempt to intervene on Meg's behalf, even though it didn't succeed.

Mr West is warm and engaging; Mr Merrick is wry and genial, and seems to have a pretty healthy relationship with his son, where Patrick respects the boundaries he sets and wants his approval without fearing him. Our fleeting glimpse of Mr Todd suggests to me a conservative pillar of community type who indulges and secretly enjoys the eccentricities of his wife. Then, of course, there's Edwin, who is the only father whose parenting we see centre stage in the series.

There was a very interesting discussion of Edwin on Girl's Own in 1998 or so, which revealed a divide among Forest fans. Some would have happily had him locked up for the riding crop scene; others agreed that this was appalling behaviour, but allowed him more leeway. He is certainly a stern and authoritarian parent, though when he see him he is under a lot of stress and seems used to being the disciplinarian half of the parental team: see Rose's appeal to Mrs Marlow when he pushes her to stop reading and go outside. I'm not sure what I think of him as a parent, but he's certainly an interesting and complex character.

What do other people think about Edwin, and Forest fathers in general?

Comments

[ankaret.livejournal.com]

Yes, I can sort of see Edwin being paralysed by the emotional blast - he seems to be someone who generally is competent, and puts a high value on competence, which makes him a lot more likely to be knocked sideways by life-shattering events than the likes of Lawrie who live on close terms with their emotions and are therefore used to being knocked sideways.

I see the whole riding crop thing as Edwin having sat on his own temper for so long (though it definitely leaks out around the sides and terrifies Rose and to a lesser extent Chas) that when it does get loose it gets loose in a much more cataclysmic way than he or anyone else expected.

[widgetfox.livejournal.com]

I'd agree with that. I think the anger comes from two places - rage as part of his grief, and the anger that an emotionally repressed man would feel about losing control of his household and immediate environment, in a circumstance where he is socially required to show politeness and gratitude.

[ankaret.livejournal.com]

I hadn't thought of the 'losing his place as head of the household' thing, but yes, I can see how stressful it must have been for him finding himself suddenly on a level with the likes of Peter. Not, of course, that that in any way excuses him.