"Is it such an astonishment that a woman who changed her mind could change it twice?...Well, yes, perhaps it is, for it has always been an astonishment and a humiliation to me."
Elizabeth to Ross ‘Warleggan’ (Internal Book 1 Chapter 3)
This essay explores the theme of Elizabeth's 'astonishment' and 'humiliation' within her interaction with the Ross and Demelza love story. This follows on from the last post ‘A False Impression?: Elizabeth’s Impulsive And Romantic Disclosure To Ross', where Elizabeth introduced the idea of this theme applying to her. As a brief recap that post focused on the scene in ‘Warleggan’ at the Trevaunance party in May 1792 when Elizabeth Poldark told Ross Poldark that some years ago, at a time that she did not clarify, she had discovered that she loved him ‘better’ than Francis. She went on to say that her change of mind in favour of him “…has always been an astonishment and a humiliation to me.” That last post explored this and found that Graham’s narrative elsewhere contradicted Elizabeth’s disclosure and suggested that in Elizabeth's vagueness she had given Ross a false impression. Indeed, while trawling through past scenes there was little evidence of a firm and ongoing narrative set by Winston Graham of Elizabeth having an ever present feeling of 'astonishment' and 'humiliation' concerning Ross from the period she implied she did, and based on what she seemed to present as some sudden 'epiphany of love' or a greater love for him than she had thought before. In fact, it was more the opposite! Elizabeth being in a state of humiliation over Ross was certainly not the case before the collapse of her marriage a year in to it, and perhaps for a while after. Neither was it narrated that she felt this way even up to, or up to just after the two year time jump in that first book. In fact, before Elizabeth and Francis's marital breakdown Winston Graham in the first edition of the first book wrote a scene of Elizabeth sighing happily and thinking that life was good to her. Elizabeth's thoughts on her life with her new baby and Francis were positive, but on Ross they were quite casual. At other places, following a feeling of being healed from her issues with Ross she was dismissive rather than humiliated in her thoughts over him, even referring in her thoughts to what they had had when he went to war, as ‘childish’. So Elizabeth's claim to Ross nine years later does not stack up as true against the narrative that Winston Graham laid out. However, that does not mean that Elizabeth escaped the theme of astonishment and humiliation completely. Despite the absence of an Elizabeth in the first instance consumed with astonishment and humiliation over the idea she gave of this sudden discovery or 'epiphany' of love for Ross, that is not to say that Elizabeth did not eventually still experience these emotions, essentially of humiliation. She did! But it was from different sources and with a different context. On examination, after the two year time jump this context was depicted as being centred on her 'disappointment' of how by then her life and marriage had gone downhill and this is something which can be picked up from the extra text in the first edition of the second book. However, this particular post is the first of four posts which explores why and how, through the examples of ten key scenes, Winston Graham was able to establish this theme of 'astonishment' and 'humiliation' against and felt by Elizabeth. For this series of posts this will be through her role as the antagonist interacting and seeking in many subtle ways, albeit failing, to frustrate the love story of Ross and Demelza for her own ends. This post is essentially the introduction to this exploration and to begin with, it is right to have an understanding of the nature of Elizabeth's emotional expression of 'astonishment' and 'humiliation'. Even if it was in a different context, it is important as Elizabeth herself introduced this as a concept and theme that applied to her, and as stated above Graham did actually apply it, though not in the way that Elizabeth had implied it was to Ross.
The Essence Of Astonishment & Humiliation
Humiliation:
The feeling of being ashamed or losing respect for yourself.
To reduce (someone) to a lower position in one's own eyes or others' eyes / to make (someone) ashamed or embarrassed.
To cause (a person) a painful loss of pride, self -respect, or dignity.
A Strong feeling of embarrassment or mortification. / Depriving one of self esteem / A State of disgrace or loss of self respect.
So in respect of 'humiliation' it is clear from the definitions around for this that this relates to feelings of being lowered, a loss of pride, shame, a loss of respect from others or of one's self and a lost of dignity. Naturally, from this is derived feelings or embarrassment, mortification and degradation.
Astonishment:
A feeling of great surprise and wonder. /A cause of amazement or wonder.
Overpowering wonder or surprise / amazement.
The feeling of being blown away and shocked by something.
While 'astonishment' normally refers to a 'surprise' with the idea of this perhaps often being a pleasant one, it is clear that the context in which Elizabeth used this word was as more of a darker, upsetting and unsettling surprise which was unwanted and related to a unexpected humiliating experience. Indeed, tied to her feeling of humiliation the kind of astonishment Elizabeth was implying to Ross in her comment to him at that party in 'Warleggan', and which seems to apply across her story arc, is best described by the one cited by Volcabulary.Com which refers to being shocked by something. For Elizabeth this was of something she did not quite foresee.
Singled Out? A Theme At Elizabeth's Long Term Expense
Naturally many characters experience astonishments and humiliations in the Poldark story. For instance, Demelza in the aftermath of Ross's infidelity with Elizabeth, and also how in distress and a temporary desire for vengeance against him she flirted dangerously with Captain McNeil, ended up in a scruffle with him and resorted to escaping the building from a window to make her way home. Caroline had felt humiliated at Dwight's no show for their elopement and that this was because he had prioritised seeing to Rosina Hoblyn's out of joint knee. However, these were humiliations for Demelza and Caroline that were relatively of the moment or a short period rather than ones which were life defining whereby they were left with a permanent blemish altering their destiny forever. Demelza's destiny was not altered. She did not lose Ross. In fact she was reconciled with Ross and overall enjoyed a loving fruitful marriage where fortunately for her she also never had to face McNeil again.
In respect of the example given of Demelza's time of astonishment and humiliation, one could even say that this in respect of Ross's infidelity was reversed or offset by the 'happy ending' which Winston Graham said the ending of the forth book was. Of that ending of reconciliation, Winston Graham had cited that this marked the point where the cycle of the Ross and Elizabeth relationship was broken and Ross discovered that it was Demelza that he really loved. In the end it was a win for Demelza! He understood her value to him then. Equally Caroline and Dwight reconciled, still got married in the end and he never prioritised his work over her again. While they like many other characters had upsets, highs, lows and losses in their lives, theirs were not marked by a series of humiliations, one after the other that left indelible marks on their lives and which hung over their heads following them throughout their story arc as if this were a persistent taunt. For them, there was no long term damage done by their personal humiliations of a moment or a period based on acts they did against others. Yet, as will be covered in this post and more to follow, this persistent and taunting cloud of humiliation seemed to be present and following Elizabeth in all stages of her life and in all her major relationships.
An 'Astonishing' Raw Deal For Elizabeth
It is understandable to wonder why a theme of astonishment and humiliation would be employed by Graham at Elizabeth's expense and what the purpose of it was. If there was no purpose then it would be quite frivolous, but the theme seems too pointed and intentional for this to be that. As well as this there is a consistency in how this theme is applied that runs not just in Elizabeth’s involvement in the Ross and Demelza’s love story but also in her other love stories with Francis and George. That then seems to demonstrate Graham’s commitment to the theme including how these relationships of Elizabeth's ended up not at all being love stories in the purest forms. For instance, both Francis and Ross fell out of love with Elizabeth so that they lost their desire and longing for her. The 'happy ending' that Winston Graham said he wrote at the end of the first four books seemed to be at Elizabeth's expense where she could be perceived to have been the biggest loser and this involved Ross declaring that his 'real and true love' was not for her but for Demelza. Winston Graham also commented on his story being one where Ross discovered this more definitely, specifically after 'having' Elizabeth. Then Graham did not even commit to saying that George truly loved Elizabeth via the narrator's voice. And while George was said to love Elizabeth as much as he was capable of love, that love story was a dud from the start since Elizabeth never ever loved him back. As well as that Elizabeth ended up tolerating a union with George who was a man that most readers would consider not just the worst of all three men in terms of character, but the near worst of most men in general or one that like Elizabeth thought would not have been expected to get her for a wife. And so in addition to there being no period of mutual love or even a belief on Elizabeth’s part of thinking that she loved George (as she did at least with Francis), she faced a difficult marriage for a number of reasons which included his nature and behaviour.
In terms of astonishments and humiliations, one cannot skip the assault Elizabeth experienced, ironically at the hands of the man who deemed her to be his first love and who other than this incident had shown himself to be an honourable man. Therefore it truly is 'astonishing' that Ross should have still done this to Elizabeth then, and astonishing that she had become pregnant and found herself in a circumstance of deceiving her second husband about paternity throughout her marriage to him. As the ‘apparent’ dream woman of the saga with it all in her hands at the start of the story, Elizabeth's story arc was dismal. Indeed, if life were a game for happiness, love, contentment and relative peace of mind, Elizabeth’s was a terrible humiliating defeat. This is especially considering her starting point, where she had it all to play and had been so sought after. But when Winston Graham came up with his story line and life plan for Elizabeth, she was handed an astonishingly raw deal by him and this theme served that goal and should not be explored further without first considering why this might have been the case.
Why? An Author's Malice?
"I shall be George's heart and soul, his faithful wife and faithful friend! Anything I can do against Ross. "
Elizabeth's thoughts after agreeing to marry George Warleggan 'Warleggan' (Internal Book 3 Chapter 10)
Speaking of George Warleggan, there are several moments when Winston Graham depicts him as being astonished and humiliated himself. It is helpful then to explore this for a bit to help understand why Elizabeth suffered similarly to George. While Elizabeth was never really a thoroughly engaging, vibrant and happy character, likewise, but more so, Winston Graham presented George as quite a miserable character too. As well as that George was a much more obviously unlikeable character. Of note, and as if creating sides, as was the case following the defection by Elizabeth from Ross to George primarily in her loyalties beforehand and within her marriage, just as extracted above Winston Graham narrated Elizabeth's thoughts swearing what was essentially an oath of allegiance to be George's faithful wife. This was to be even against Ross. But like Elizabeth, during the course of the saga George faced a similar taunt of humiliation that was defining and which he constantly battled against.
There were many occasions when Winston Graham directed the story so that George was left red faced, even if it did not show on his face. That includes Ross’s verbal rebuffs to him, Ross exposing George's cousin as a gambling cheat in front of gentle society, Ross embarrassing George with this and also beating George up in a tavern at a later date too. Then there was Ross avoiding a conviction craved for by George for plundering George’s goods boat, Ross out foxing him over the promissory note which the Warleggan's obtained with the hope of bankrupting Ross, Ross ‘having’ Elizabeth first, Ross beating George to become MP for Truro and many more humiliations against George which didn’t even involve Ross. Those include George marrying a second wife, Harriet Warleggan, who often dominated as if she was the one wearing the trousers in the marriage. In terms of crushing blows which were of significant meaning and implication to George, there is also the scene in 'The Twisted Sword' where in his desperation at his desire for a male heir, George had convinced himself he would get this, only to be told by the doctor that Harriet Warleggan had delivered not just one, but two girl! Twin girls!
Many readers may have smiled a wry smile feeling the scenario of George ending up with three daughters and no biological son to be an amusing jab at George by Winston Graham. This would be to deliver yet another blow or taunt to George for a matter that meant so much to him and which he would not be able to alter in his life. This is since Graham later wrote that Harriet refused to bear him any more children. So that twist of fate did leave an indelible mark on George's life and legacy. Given his fallout with Valentine and his lingering doubt over his paternity, the astonishment and upset to George was having no son to leave his empire to in order to maintain and carry on his family name, should his eldest daughter Ursula marry, as she was expected to.
To some extent George actually fared better than Elizabeth in recouping some losses from his own astonishing humiliations. For instance, he thought he scored a coup against Ross marrying Elizabeth and regarding losing his seat as an MP to Ross, he found a way later on to regain this. There were other little wins in the battles of his life which Winston Graham did not seem to have the grace to offer to Elizabeth following her humiliations. Nevertheless, alongside George's little wins it is noticeable that when Demelza and Ross experienced times of stress and even loss, this was often followed by a blessing, but otherwise these hard and sad times for them were used by Graham as an opportunity to demonstrate the power and beauty of their love in overcoming, recovery and the blessing of this in itself. However George's recovery were never quite as cleansing and he still never moved far off from a miserable and bitter existence or coming close to experiencing inner 'contentment' like Ross eventually did. Most would assume that there was indeed some author's relish by Winston Graham in the wicked twists of ridiculing fate that he bestowed on George with a lasting loss because George was such an obvious antagonist figure.
Now, if readers can presume that Winston Graham did not like George as a character and subjected him to these wicked outcomes with relish because of some sense of disapproval of him, then perhaps that is a similar basis for his approach and motive in also targeting Elizabeth's character with that persistent theme of 'astonishment' and 'humiliation' in the way that she was. In addition Elizabeth seemed to suffer without the same bounce back as George and certainly not the more glorious ones of Ross and Demelza. But the idea that Elizabeth would declare herself the 'faithful wife' to such a man as George Warleggan, and further more follow through with this sometimes with some zeal, was a choice by Winston Graham. It might give an idea of Graham's overall view and mindset of Elizabeth that he would cast her as so morally fluid and questionable in her willingness to have supported many of George's not so altruistic schemes. Instead they had self interest at their core and often at the expense of unkindness to others who were close to them. In many ways Winston Graham's story arc for Elizabeth whereby he cast her as a viable partner with a man like George provided a counter where it looked as if this pairing were a contrast as the antagonist coupling versus the coupling of Ross and Demelza as the saga's hero and heroine.
A Motive Of Disapproval For Un-niceness
Indeed, looking more specifically at Winston Graham's mindset on Elizabeth, perhaps her coupling with George in the end was indeed an indication of where he placed Elizabeth with regards to her moral conviction and her fluidity with this. This is especially against her comparator Harriet Warleggan who had a similar upbringing to Elizabeth but was more repulsed by and challenging of George's unkindness to others. Whereas Elizabeth was less so unless it specifically impacted her or how she would be viewed. Perhaps it was on purpose that Winston Graham used Harriet to do away with the suggestion that Elizabeth had 'no choice' but to support George and his wickedness and instead demonstrated through Harriet that a woman with moral conviction and some wifely influence could do so if they really wished to.
Winston Graham actually did address his bottom line on Elizabeth's character when he once told the Radio Times magazine in 1977 quite explicitly that she was "....not a very nice character...." Graham also gave a television interview where he stated that Elizabeth was a character that "...divided the families..’ and was the "..point of conflict..." In light of his other comment on her about her un-niceness, it is unlikely that he felt she was the blameless innocent in that legacy and with that outlook in his mind Winston Graham may not have been so unwilling to sacrifice Elizabeth to this theme of 'astonishment' and 'humiliation'.
.GIF)
While some readers (or particularly watchers of the television series where Elizabeth's character was heavily revised) may find Winston Graham's comments on Elizabeth's character to be unfair, perhaps due to how the subtle revisions in the adaptions might shape their own view of her, these remarks by him nevertheless confirm the author's critical view on her. Of course this does then make the question of Elizabeth's niceness or lack of this a topic to be further explored separately, but on this topic, in respect of the theme explored, it suggests Graham was motivated in this against her by disapproval, and specifically disapproval of her character. This is likely in respect of Elizabeth's character and also the things she did and thought. Thus, this may indeed have caused Winston Graham either consciously or unconsciously to impose this consistent theme against Elizabeth as some kind of literary karmic justice to 'address and redress her ill intent' and his view of her 'un-niceness' while also ensuring that this in the short or long term was not allowed to prosper. This is just as Graham often did with George Warleggan, even if there was more humour with the delivery there. Certainly there was something about Winston Graham's writing and hints that he dropped along the way that suggests he was tuned in to the concept of 'poetic justice' and this was explored in the post 'Nine Lives, Nine Deaths' and would be in the posts on each death to follow.
Naturally, part of Winston Graham's disapproval which seems to have motivated his theme against Elizabeth stems from her having been an agitator to the love story of Ross and Demelza and that these two characters were ones that Graham did include as being among his four named favourites. However, as to the issue of niceness, there seemed to be another aspect highlighting that Graham was keyed into the moral behaviour of the characters and how this influenced where matters led for them. For instance, it is noticeable in the 10 key scenes to be highlighted over the course of these four post, that most of them have an element of behaviour or an attitude by Elizabeth that the average person could easily recognise as one to be disapproved of. Therefore. perhaps as moral umpire as well as author/narrator, Winston Graham may have had additional satisfaction in redressing this poor behaviour or ill intent through the theme explored here. And it seems that while delivering a redressing of his point of disapproval in an exuberant way in respect of George, who equally was a far more exuberant character to match, equally Winston Graham delivered this on most occasions in a subtle manner in respect of Elizabeth since this matched how she in contrast was quite discreet and far more subtle in her behaviour as an agitator.
A Theme That Backs The Heroine
Certainly in contrast to George and Elizabeth, as set out in ‘Marrying Demelza: Ross’s Engaging And Vital Blessing’ Winston Graham described Demelza as the ‘engaging and vital character that was intent on altering the course of the story.' Demelza was a character that was not an exact copy but was inspired by Winston Graham's own beloved wife. He adorned Demelza with other positive credentials as the saga's 'heroine' in various interviews and also in his short story 'Meeting Demelza'. In light of that Graham may then have been of the mindset that meant that spanning a thirty three year period, that overall Demelza would achieve happiness, love, contentment and peace of mind on the basis that it was deserved. Hence, in 'Meeting Demelza' Winston Graham gave away and confirmed his viewed that Demelza had been 'successful' in her life. The significance is that Graham was purposeful that unlike Elizabeth's trajectory he planned and believed that Demelza's overall outcomes would be good in the grand scheme of a life that could not be complete fairytale. Indeed, most readers will see that she, Demelza, who rose in the ranks to become 'Lady Poldark', did not have a life which was defined by shocks and humiliations where her character was disrespected and diminished and where she was left with a depleted soul and where love, joy and progress was not in greater measure. There is little doubt that this is linked to his respect and love of the character and his believe that she was 'good'.
A Theme That Exposes A Resilient Love Story
Essentially Winston Graham backed Demelza and in the theme that this post explores it seemed that he specifically choose to do so over Elizabeth and therefore at Elizabeth's expense. Indeed, it seems that Graham, most likely from his love of her character, thought Demelza along with Ross were characters worthy of admiration and success in the end. Supposing that he thought Demelza was the better woman for Ross and specifically that Elizabeth was neither a nice (as he thought her not to be) or a good woman for Ross, Winston Graham crafted a narrative where in addition to Demelza achieving success through this, quite sardonically Demelza would also be a beneficiary of the theme that worked against Elizabeth. As we go through the 10 key scenes, that in fact seems to also be a major part of the 'astonishment' that Elizabeth experienced when she interacted with the Ross and Demelza love story. It was the added insult and the extra sting in the tail to much of the humiliation Elizabeth felt, or which the reader could perceive on her behalf. Understandably as with his approach with George, one might wonder whether this was to the author's relish and gratification.
A Theme that Elizabeth Was Not Really A Powerful Threat To The Love Story
Whatever the case it is also clear that in backing Demelza, Winston Graham was backing the Ross and Demelza love story. It can be perceived that Elizabeth was a threat to Ross and Demelza's love but in fact through this theme Winston Graham ridiculed that idea because particularly after Ross fell in love with Demelza, each of the 10 key scenes to be explore here and in upcoming posts, where the theme against Elizabeth was employed, saw their love story empowered. Sometimes that was by Elizabeth's behaviour which provoked this or by the contrast she provided. Essentially it managed to withstanding any threat that Elizabeth was thought to pose and that in itself is a message about the resilience of the Ross and Demelza love story. Instead Elizabeth and this threat that she was supposed to represented were diminished at each turn through her interactions with the love story. And so, the theme exposed that Elizabeth was not the threat that she was anticipated to be and the Ross and Demelza love story was indestructible and would be so despite Elizabeth and even all the other things that were thrown in it's path.
The Sting In the Tail To Elizabeth Of This Purposeful Theme
The concept of this extra sting in the tail in this theme against Elizabeth, which is one linking her humiliation with Demelza's triumph, is important and therefore not a frivolous inclusion for Graham's story. It is clear that Winston Graham engineered the story arc so that Ross as the saga's hero veered onto a path that brought him together with Demelza and irrespective of Elizabeth and her efforts kept him together with her as Graham said she was a girl Ross picked up at a fair and who grew ‘....into a pretty woman who would eventually become the heroine.’ Winston Graham -'Woman Magazine' 10th December 1977 However, and quite ironically, the separate path Ross had from Elizabeth was initiated by Elizabeth herself at the start of the story when she lost interest in him while he was at war and decided she loved and would marry Francis. From there onwards, after the collapse of Elizabeth's marriage following the birth of Geoffrey Charles and her obsession with him to the expense of her investment and interest in marital love, it is again really quite clear to see the combination of Elizabeth interacting with, or even passively provoking Ross for his admiration and a renewal of his romantic interest in her.
Having made her choice for Francis (which she stated on a number of occasions was based on feeling she loved him better, rather than parental pressure), and despite the subtlety of her approach, there was a self serving and destructive agenda to Elizabeth's intentions in respect of Ross after his marriage to Demelza. With the message Graham voiced mainly through Ross and even through Elizabeth in her 'Dear Ross' letter, there was marital unfaithfulness by Elizabeth in thought as well as in (sexual) deed by Ross. Hence, there is no doubt that Elizabeth at times took on the spirit of a homewrecker despite her subtle execution. Of course, this was not 'nice behaviour' and in particular it was a disrespect to Demelza as well as to Ross since it would serve to disrupt what she was jealous of, this being a happy marriage and also to disturb Ross's peace. Presumably Winston Graham disapproved, and motivated by disapproval did not want to see this rewarded. Thus this was a redress to the ill intent. But also, this may explain why alongside that, Graham still seemed to profile Demelza quite subtly as having winning and compelling appeal to Ross and that she was the unexpected underdog that on a deeper inspection was actually always the frontrunner over Elizabeth.
Bolstering Up The Ross And Demelza Love Story: Elizabeth's Inadvertent Help
"It's the story of a man who is deprived of the woman he loves, then discovers once he has her, that he is really in love with his wife."
Winston Graham
Perhaps it is unnoticed also by many readers, but it is evident that as well as Elizabeth being minimised and usurped by Demelza within the Ross and Demelza love story, the extra sting in the tail was that Graham seemed to build their love story up through having Elizabeth inadvertently and ironically bolstering it up. This marries up with Graham's postcard description that indicates that when Ross had the ultimate interaction with Elizabeth, (which was sexual intercourse), this caused him to feel less for her and amplified his feeling for Demelza who despite the hurt from this infidelity, therefore and essentially triumphed from this interaction. From this Winston Graham established as a reoccurring narrative and a subtle but sharp theme where even before that night with Elizabeth, that she, Elizabeth, was being greatly minimised, undermined and usurped by Demelza at various points before this climax. Indeed, it was actually long before and after Ross's night with Elizabeth that Demelza was elevated at every turn and at Elizabeth's cost. This can be seen in the way that following other significant developments or incidents between Ross and Elizabeth, Elizabeth would at times do something to further her cause with Ross but that only inadvertently pushed Ross and Demelza together. At these times Ross would end up reacting either inwardly or outwardly by further committing to, choosing or reaffirming his love of Demelza instead. Then at the same time Ross was depicted as questioning and having doubts about his love of Elizabeth. This is the essence of the theme against Elizabeth because for instance, through this, as with the Merriam-Webster Dictionary definition of humiliation, Elizabeth was being lowered in her standing with Ross and in the narrative generally, and this was mortifying or embarrassing for her and on her behalf.
The first of the ten key scenes which demonstrated this theme at an introductory level is one where Elizabeth's 'astonishment' and 'humiliation' is not felt by her per se in the scene. However her influence and effect on Ross in the scene contributes to this theme as part of its legacy and looking back one can see the theme being at play. Via Winston Graham's story telling the scene shows how Elizabeth and her approach (which could be disapproved of), played a part in the developments that eventually served to work against her. Although this would be to a grander scale as the story progressed.
1. "Send her (Demelza) back" (But he didn't!)
"I should send her back. It would be safer even if you had her father's permission. You know how hard people are judged."
Elizabeth to Ross 'Ross Poldark' (Internal book 1 Chapter 7 Pt2)
It was definitely a stark choice of Winston Graham that he brought Elizabeth's character in at an early stage to interact with the Ross and Demelza love story. This was quite literally the next day after Ross had met Demelza for the first time. Without her knowing the significance it was to the extent that Elizabeth ended up having the chance to give Ross advice as to whether Demelza stayed in his life or not. That day after Easter Tuesday 1784 Ross had visited Trenwith to get legal advice from Uncle Charles about the legality of keeping Demelza as a kitchen maid without her father's permission. With Charles out of the house Ross ended up seeing Elizabeth instead. After some small talk, such as about the Easter Monday Truro ball that they had both attended, Graham ensured that Ross would mentioned his reason for calling for Charles and therefore his predicament with Demelza. As set out in the full quote from her above, Elizabeth advised Ross to "send her back".
Elizabeth's gave the
'send her back' advice to Ross despite him stating that Demelza
"..had been ill treated by her father." Certainly, and as a side note, it was here at such an early stage in the story that the difference and personality mismatch between Elizabeth and Ross could be picked out. Typically Elizabeth's response lacked compassion and it lacked a second thought for the abused girl in the way that Verity might have given this. Ross in the first edition text had told Elizabeth that the girl
"...was afraid to go home." Yet Elizabeth had no curiosity or interest in questions on the abuse or the impact of this on
'the girl' and
Elizabeth indicated that she would still give this advice even if the girl's father gave permission. So her position was under no circumstances should Ross help and take this girl out of her abusive situation. Why? Instead, as an early indication of the vanity and superficiality that coated what looked to be gentle manners and ladylike demureness from Elizabeth this exposed the first and thin layer of Elizabeth's morality where her priority was focused on image consciousness. This was such as how things would look to others and placing the greater importance on avoiding being judged by them than of exercising compassion. Perhaps this is where Winston Graham injected in the scene the attitude from Elizabeth that lay beneath the surface the thing to be disapproved of.
Though the reader might not have picked up on anything untoward at this stage in this scene, it set the tone for what might come of Elizabeth's natural humanity and sympathises. Indeed, as Elizabeth's character was fleshed out thereafter, readers would see that she was never one to go very much out of her way for the sake of humanity and sympathy. This is especially if it might prove a hindrance, in principle.
Morwenna suffered this later in the story as Elizabeth's chose to set aside any sympathy she had for her to aid George's quest for social advancement. However, and fortunately for the abused girl (Demelza), in contrast Ross as the saga's hero was prepared to exercise his humanity and sympathy to her benefit and to be proactive against injustice and unkindness. This was even if it meant challenging authority.
Aside from Elizabeth's dismissiveness over the abused girl's welfare, the significance of this scene at Trenwith and how it adds retrospectively to the narrative of Elizabeth's humiliation is that ultimately, not only did Ross not follow Elizabeth's advice but quite sardonically Graham created a narrative where in her typical but subtly antagonistic behaviour, Elizabeth had eventually wound Ross up so much that this ended up causing Ross to fight harder to keep Demelza with him when he returned home to find her father at Nampara demanding his daughter's return.
The Provocation- Provoked To Fight For Demelza
Elizabeth's approach dealing with Ross's natural upset as they spoke for the first time during this Trenwith meeting of her breach of their informal but personal marriage promise, and her marriage to his cousin, was covered in
'Just a Boy And Girl Attachment'. Elizabeth did not maintain a level of tolerance for Ross's hurt as she really was due to give him but in the end was quite self focused in her defensiveness. In the extended scene of the first edition text Elizabeth was
'indignant' of Ross and his release of emotion explaining his hurt feelings. She told him not to speak and to
"Please go" because she had seemingly expected that he would not ever hold her to account and share how her significant betrayal while he was at war for two and a half years, had impacted him. She eventually suggested that given his behaviour they could not be friends and they could not see each other again as if he was the one that had done wrong or was doing wrong in revealing his pain for the first time. In light of that Winston Graham wrote that she left Ross feeling
'an ashen desolation, an emptiness, and contempt for himself.' But Graham made it clear that it gave Ross extra zeal when he returned to find Tom Carne at his house demanding Demelza's return. Fired up from his argument with Elizabeth he now relished the chance to fight Tom. Winston Graham wrote
'This, he realised, was just what he wanted this morning, he wanted it more than anything.'
So it transpired that Ross's interaction with Elizabeth had led to him leaving Trenwith raging with anger and upset and spoiling for a fight. Even though Ross was outraged at Tom's parental abuse of Demelza in any case, perhaps in a better mood he may have been more open to negotiation with Tom. Graham showed that this was a possibility later in Demelza's time at Trenwith when Ross thought she had made up with her father and that it might be better for her to return. But at this time, not having even gotten confirmation from Charles that it was legal for him to keep Demelza, had it not been for Elizabeth's antagonism, this might have also softened his stance with Tom out of uncertainty about having the law on his side. But thanks to Elizabeth and her approach with Ross where Winston Graham had also described that seeing her 'A black desire rose in him to smash the (her) composure.', he was now feeling particularly argumentative and had a difficult attitude with Tom from the start that would not budge. Following his visit seeing Elizabeth he wanted a fight more than ever. From the narrative there is little doubt that this had made him more bull-headed and obstinate with Thomas Carne.
If the reader was not clear or quite believing of Elizabeth's influence being at play in Ross's fight for Demelza, then Graham made sure to intersperse Ross playing back her hurtfully dismissive words to him in his head, mid fight. This included the flashback...
"I don't love you," Graham narrated that '
Elizabeth had said:...' to Ross earlier. He then wrote that mid fight Ross continued to think
'...well, that was straight; discarded like a rusty ornament; thrown aside: Women;...' Also, during his fighting which followed his night with Margaret and taking to the bottle most nights, Ross thought about how he had just previously and recently attempted to deal with Elizabeth's betrayal and rejection by
'Seeking the squalid he had found the squalid; drink and whores. God, what a solution! This was better.' That seemed to disgust and taunt him and he instead seemed to relish the fight as a better way of helping to get over the hurt Elizabeth caused which then now included the fresh blow of their conversation. Also, after winning the fight Graham wrote of Ross that
'...his general feeling was one of vigorous, exhausted satisfaction, as if the fight had drained ugly humours out of him.'
The Sting
So for the reader the
'astonishment' and
'humiliation' for Elizabeth's character in this scene is really in how this laid an ironic foundation that later worked against Elizabeth. Her intervention in influencing Ross to send Demelza away back to Iluggan and the arms of a domestically abusive father failed and can be disapproved of in so far as her flippant manner belied a lack of consideration for the abused girl.
Since Demelza was yet a bud on the horizon that would become Elizabeth's obstacle in her future intentions with Ross, the significance would be felt more strongly by Elizabeth some years later as the story progressed. But apart from Ross ignoring her advice Elizabeth's intolerant attitude with Ross was another thing to be at least lightly critical and disapproving of considering that for nearly two and a half years of letter writing, as Ross had told her, he thought of no other woman and thought they were both staying true to their promise while he dealt with the horrors of war.
But quite sardonically is the jibe that Elizabeth's shirty attitude with Ross gave Ross the extra zeal, motivation and energy not just to fight what was a hard fight for Demelza but to successfully 'win' her. That then means that in a wicked twist of fate to her, that Elizabeth then had some input in Demelza remaining in Ross's life to become the very girl who would become Ross's wife and be a future obstacle to her. So here, ever so subtly Elizabeth played her role in bolstering up the Ross and Demelza love story and helping to secure Demelza with Ross only to as a consequence find herself in a one-way competition with her years later to gain ascendancy of Ross. And even this would be a one way competition that with some astonishment Elizabeth would ultimately lose against the abused girl would at this point was just a bud on the horizon. It is in retrospect that the astonishing irony and backfiring impact that Elizabeth's behaviour had can be seen as contributing to the painful loss of pride and status as the woman believed to be the dream woman for Ross and of the saga. Therefore it is part of the humiliation Elizabeth would experience of which readers could perceive in the tracks of her story arch retrospectively, simply because Ross did not send Demelza back after all and did quite the opposite, in part due to Elizabeth.
The next post 'Demelza- Elizabeth's Gauche But Powerful Obstacle' will cover the points of astonishments and humiliations for Elizabeth in three scenes as she watches Demelza as the bud that was previously on the horizon get in the way of her fresh desire to recapture Ross's interest. heart and to be his first priority. In these scene the astonishment and humiliation would be more apparent to her in the moment.
Other Blogs That May Be Of Interest
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While some readers (or particularly watchers of the television series where Elizabeth's character was heavily revised) may find Winston Graham's comments on Elizabeth's character to be unfair, perhaps due to how the subtle revisions in the adaptions might shape their own view of her, these remarks by him nevertheless confirm the author's critical view on her. Of course this does then make the question of Elizabeth's niceness or lack of this a topic to be further explored separately, but on this topic, in respect of the theme explored, it suggests Graham was motivated in this against her by disapproval, and specifically disapproval of her character. This is likely in respect of Elizabeth's character and also the things she did and thought. Thus, this may indeed have caused Winston Graham either consciously or unconsciously to impose this consistent theme against Elizabeth as some kind of literary karmic justice to 'address and redress her ill intent' and his view of her 'un-niceness' while also ensuring that this in the short or long term was not allowed to prosper. This is just as Graham often did with George Warleggan, even if there was more humour with the delivery there. Certainly there was something about Winston Graham's writing and hints that he dropped along the way that suggests he was tuned in to the concept of 'poetic justice' and this was explored in the post 'Nine Lives, Nine Deaths' and would be in the posts on each death to follow..GIF)
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