In a perfectly cool, young voice she said "I never really believed you were dead. I thought I loved francis better...And then I discovered my mistake.”
Elizabeth to Ross ‘Warleggan’ (Internal book 1 Chapter 3)
In
'Warleggan’ Elizabeth suggested to Ross Poldark at a party that long ago she had realised that she loved him
'better' than her husband Francis Poldark.
As with her quote above, she referred to herself as having discovered that she had made a 'mistake'. Elizabeth also also went on to give Ross the impression that this self discovery of hers had been an ongoing
'astonishment' and
'humiliation' to her afterwards.
However it was nine years beforehand, as Ross had recalled, where Elizabeth had told him
"I don't love you." Winston Graham had shared in real time that on that Easter Wednesday of 1784 Elizabeth also told Ross
"...Ross, ours was a boy-and-girl attachment. I was very fond of you......But you went away and I met Francis and with Francis it was different. I loved him..." This means that her disclosure at the Warleggan party was a reversal of what she had told Ross initially, and on the face of it this surprising disclosure looked like quite a personal, impulsive and self deprecating revelation from Elizabeth. This is especially since she was typically quite a guarded character. However, aside from the reworkings of her character in the most recent adaptation of Poldark, based on the original story in the books, the question of Elizabeth loving or not loving Ross has never been explicit and without question, in the way that the feeling of love has been between other characters in the story.
This post will therefore explore whether Elizabeth's disclosure to Ross was a truthful one or whether he was given a false impression.
Vague Timing!!!! A 'Quite Soon' Realisation?
Way back at the start of the Poldark story it was not just Elizabeth that gave Ross such a clear explanation of how she had connected and fell for Francis while he was away at war. So did Francis and Verity. Also looking back on Elizabeth's letters to him while he was away, Ross realised that actually in them from her,
'...there were hints of a slackening interest.' in him. On it's own this casts doubt on how strong Elizabeth's feeling of love for Ross was if at the time they did not feel that they overpowered her love for Francis. So when Elizabeth, as she claimed, did apparently realise she loved Ross better, this awakening or love epiphany should have been a significant moment or building feeling for her that she could pin down.
However, one thing that is noteworthy during this key 'Warleggan' scene was the vagueness in Elizabeth's response to Ross when he asked her when she had this discovery. She had replied
"Quite soon." Of course that is not very specific and a natural first thought and question from that could be: 'Soon after what?' Was it soon after Ross's return to Cornwall? Soon after she got married to Francis? Soon after Geoffrey Charles was born and her marriage to Francis had deteriorated? Soon after she realised she no longer loved Francis? Or was it soon after she realised Francis no longer loved her? In typical fashion Elizabeth was vague and there may be more to this.
Wishy Washy Vague Response From Elizabeth
Perhaps jumping to his own presumption about roughly when Elizabeth's
'Quite soon' timestamp must have been, it did so happen that Ross reminded Elizabeth that he had visited her after her marriage, at that Easter 1784, and that she had not said anything to him then about feeling some love for him. She had said quite the opposite. Elizabeth's response to Ross suggested that by then, a few months into her pregnancy with Geoffrey Charles, and for that reason, it would not have been right to tell him. As a side note it is interesting that Elizabeth's reason with this seems to relate to herself and her circumstances of being pregnant when Ross was single. There is a lot to consider as to why years later as a happily married man and she as an unhappily married woman, she thought it was appropriate to tell him at that point.
It could be argued that centring herself Elizabeth selfishly made this revelation to Ross in 'Warleggan' at this time because it best suited her then, even though by then it least suited Ross and as narrated by Graham only served to disturb his peace. It does the beg the question of how genuine and impulsive it was if the timing of the disclosure could be held back to a time where she felt comfortable to bring it up. But as to specific clarification of when she had had this self discovery of love for him, Elizabeth's response to Ross understandably had the effect of leading both Ross and the reader to presume that it must have been some time before the Easter meeting Ross had referred to. Indeed, if it was actually afterward then Elizabeth had not made an effort to clarify and redirect Ross onto the correct path. Instead, without being super clear Elizabeth went along with Ross's timestamp offering and in going with the flow Elizabeth allowed Ross to think
that she had realised she loved him better than Francis some where in the six month period before then. So that would be with in the first six months of her marriage.
Silly Mistake Or Opportunistic Change Of Heart?
The issue of the true timing of Elizabeth's self discovery or this epiphany of love for him might seem a minor issue but it is of some significance for a number of reasons. For instance, if the reason for Elizabeth's vagueness was because actually there was not really a moment or time when she suddenly realised she loved him after all.
In that case it could then be that the disclosure Elizabeth made was an impulsive embellishment in the moment in order to provoke Ross to react to her by showing some romantic interest in her. If that was so and there was never really a specific moment of this love epiphany then it would be the reason for flaky vague comments from Elizabeth. This is especially if she just ended up taking Ross's lead in the conversation. Or there is significance if the timing of the supposed love epiphany was perhaps much later than she had implied.
If the truth was that Elizabeth did feel she had had this realisation of love for Ross but only after her marriage problems, when she fell out of love with Francis or when Ross had gotten married and she then saw him happy with Demelza, then her change of mind would look less genuine because of that timing. So if there really was this love epiphany, the timing of it could draw in questions on whether her initial decision to reject Ross for Francis was a silly and regrettable 'mistake' or otherwise whether it wasn't and it therefore looked like a renewed interest in Ross later on that was only because by then things had not gone her way in her marriage. In that case Ross as a source of admiration and love might then have suddenly been more appealing to Elizabeth who was more in need of this. But of course, in any case Elizabeth would love Ross better than Francis at a time in her marriage when she had fallen out of love with Francis. That might not suggest a real and true love but instead a diversion to a second best option.
Not Entirely Honesty - Not Entirely The Right Impression
'If she had been given to self-questioning, she would have admitted that she had not been entirely honest with him (Ross)....'
Graham's narration of Elizabeth's claim of loyalty to Ross 'Warleggan' (internal book ? Chapter?)
Of course Elizabeth would want to give Ross the impression that worked with the idea of her choosing and thinking she loved Francis more, as being just a
'silly mistake'. Therefore as an obvious mistake that she had realised
'quite soon' after, that this was something that Ross could then forgive her for more easily.
But also if this
'quite soon' timing was actually not quite the case then the vagueness would have meant that she could feel like she was still not actually lying to Ross.
It should not be forgotten that Elizabeth had a history of being economical with her words so as to give the 'wrong impression' to someone. This was whilst technically not lying. The most obvious example was her choice of words swearing on the bible to George. What she said was true about not giving herself willingly to Ross but it was to give George an impression that was not true about Valentine's paternity and that there had been no sexual intercourse with Ross, when there had been. It is true that in that scenario Elizabeth was dishonest by omission while under the duress of desperation, but there were other times she spoke with selfish dishonesty when there was no duress or desperation. For instance, what about when Elizabeth implied that she was inviting Demelza for a second Christmas at Trenwith as a thank you for saving Geoffrey Charles when it was really to see Ross and pursue her ascendancy over him in place of Demelza? Also, in her widowhood she had conversations with Ross implying that "Loyalty's not all on one side, Ross, nor ever has been." Again, there she had sought to give Ross an impression that was not true in respect of her loyalty to him over George. This was while Elizabeth withheld information from Ross on her relationship and dealings with George which she knew Ross would disapprove of or knew would not look so loyal. But as well as Graham narrating that Elizabeth in her unquestioning self had been dishonest, Graham also explained her motive saying that it was because 'Perhaps more than anything else at present she wanted Ross's approval for herself.'
Dishonesty Via Vagueness For a Hard done by Victim Edit
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So Elizabeth was very capable, not of lying and giving the wrong impression for a greater good, but doing this for approval and admiration. And this approval and admiration is certainly what Elizabeth wanted from Ross in this
'Warleggan' conversation where
the 'quite soon' silly mistake notion created a more sorrowful hard done by narrative which would be more likely to pull at Ross's heart to feel a sense of regret of an unfortunate missed opportunity for what could then be seen as star crossed lovers. Ross would probably have been less inclined for that outlook if the truth looked more like he was more of that second option to Elizabeth because things went badly for her in her marriage. That is why
dishonesty in vagueness would have worked in Elizabeth's interests in relation to her goal with Ross.
In light of the above the true timing of any self discovery of this love epiphany by Elizabeth is therefore also important for how the reader regards Elizabeth. It is about whether she is viewed as a victim of a 'silly mistake' and circumstance based on pure and genuine emotions and love for Ross, or otherwise a later change of mind based on more superficial emotions, such as ego and vanity based on entitlement and opportunism. With Elizabeth's knack for carefully choosing her words and in selfish deception giving a different impression from the real truth, one can wonder why the truth would need to be so carefully worded in this Warleggan disclosure if it indeed was the truth. Why if Elizabeth really did have this epiphany of love for Ross and it was the bane and upset of her life thereafter was she not specific when he asked about when this was? Why was this if at the same time she was appealing to him that it had been such a defining moment for her? Elizabeth's vagueness along with everything else to follow does seem to casts doubt on her claim.
Elizabeth: A Unique Case Or No Case
With the truth of Elizabeth's vague disclosure being questionable it is interesting that she stands out from the norm where Graham was able to depict other characters that knew and felt love for their suitors. For instance, when it came to Demelza Graham made it clear that before her father sought to take her back to Illugan she was in love with Ross. He wrote that she feared leaving Nampara and that one reason was because she adored Ross. In
'The Black Moon' Demelza told Drake that she loved Ross before she married him and in
'Bella Poldark' Graham narrated that Demelza thought of how she had loved Ross before she was seventeen.
Unlike with Elizabeth Graham had made it clear when Demelza fell for Ross and he did the same even making it also super clear when Ross fell for Demelza. This was right down to the exact day being 6th August 1787. Then, in the romances of Verity and Blamey, Dwight and Caroline, Drake and Morwenna and Clowance and Stephen,
there was a clear period where these romantic couples fell in love and then when they declared this too each other or where they had thoughts about their love. For instance with Jeremy Poldark and Cuby Trevanion. Graham documented that while Jeremy fell in love with her at first sight, several books later in
'The Loving Cup' Cuby had a moment where he broke her and she decided she wanted to be with him then later explained that she agreed to their elopement because as Cuby said to Jeremy
"...I think I must love you, Jeremy." But in respect of Elizabeth with Ross, where Graham ensured Ross's love of her was well documented at the start of the story,
there remained a mystery and question mark over Elizabeth's love of Ross or the exact nature of her feeling for him. Yet there were not these question marks over the love felt by the other female characters and when this came about. It is therefore reasonable to be sceptical about Elizabeth and her disclosure where she implied to Ross that she did have a love of him and in fact it was long held over many years.
Lost Love Is Pain: Where Was Elizabeth's?
“Is it such an astonishment that a woman who changed her mind once 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)
Doubt over Elizabeth's love epiphany does not just arise from Elizabeth not being more specific when asked about when she had this. Nor is it also that Graham did not himself narrate when exactly this was or better still somehow confirm the truth of Elizabeth's love for Ross generally (like he did so clearly and explicitly for the other romantic couples).
It was also the way Elizabeth acted that was very out of sync with how a woman might typically act living so long loving someone that was apart from them. She had told Ross when making this disclosure that her love epiphany had always been
"..an astonishment and a humiliation.." to her and so implied it had caused her pain. But by Elizabeth's account, that long period of feeling this way would have been up to an eight and a half years period by the time of the
'Warleggan' disclosure scene. That is nearly a decade! Is it believable that over that period of time Elizabeth could contain such a powerful emotion of love for another man and manage to contain this inwardly when by her account it caused her to feel humiliation? If so would this not be in her thoughts a lot of the time and cause some inner feelings of devastation, separation distress and pain?
Absence Of A Devastated Heart
As covered in the post
'The Absence Of A Devastated Heart (Elizabeth Compared)' the likes of Caroline, Dwight, Morwenna, Drake, Verity, Clowance, Stephen Carrington, Jeremy and Cuby struggled with great sadness and even depression when separated from their true love. This was even when there was another sometimes decent and likeable alternative suitor on the scene. For Drake this was Rosina. For Caroline who Ross noticed had physically and emotionally withered when separated from Dwight, this was Lord Coniston. For Jeremy it was his girlfriend from Belgium, Lisa Dupont and for Clowance it was Tom Guilford and Lord Edward. Even Sam who had used his religion as his rock had many years of sadness and loss when Emma Tregirls rejected him.
Yet despite being capable of conveying this in the story for these characters, Graham's storytelling did not have a narrative of Elizabeth experiencing separation depression. Indeed it was the case that as a further blow to Elizabeth's credibility, this and
her claim of an eight year period of astonishment and humiliation relating to her love epiphany, is actually completely undermined by Graham's narration. In line with her unquestioning dishonesty, from this there is an even stronger case that
Elizabeth's disclosure to Ross was just a false impression given to him rather than the honest truth.
Winston Graham Debunks Elizabeth's Romantic Disclosure!
'Her feeling for Ross had never quite been definable to herself and there was some grain of perverseness which took pleasure in seeing the other side.'
Narration on Elizabeth whilst George complains about Ross's character ‘Warleggan’ (Internal book 1 Chapter 3)
While Elizabeth presented Ross with an idea that she had been certain of a love of him for the last eight and a half years, on the other hand
Graham's narration of Elizabeth's mindset on Ross suggested the complete opposite. Graham instead was consistent in presenting Elizabeth as a
'changeable woman' who could never really make up her mind and who did not really commit to a feeling on Ross, let alone a full blown love of him. Ironically, when George visited Elizabeth about postponing their wedding date and he suggested she was not a changeable woman, in her own mind she seemed to question this as if she had indeed been a changeable woman.
It is not solid ground to feel confident that Elizabeth had a genuine unquestionable love for Ross over that length of time when even she questioned her own consistency. However, irrespective of that Graham as the omnipresent narrator thoroughly undermined Elizabeth's claim of loving Ross more than Francis when a year into their marriage, following an argument on Geoffrey Charles's Christening day, Graham narrated that Francis
'...was wrong in being jealous of Ross.' Of course, if Elizabeth did love Ross better and further to that it was an astonishment and humiliation to her ever since, then of course Francis was not wrong to be jealous.
Graham's narration therefore heavily contradicts the idea that Elizabeth had this love of Ross that she implied had caused her a long running pain.
No Pain With Undefined Feeling For Ross
Graham went on to provide narration which further undermined and contradicted the
'impression' Elizabeth had given to Ross. This was during a scene in May 1792 with Elizabeth and George weeks before the
'Warleggan' party scene she had with Ross. In it George was irritated at his belief in Elizabeth's affection for Ross and sought to convince her of Ross's negative qualities. Graham then narrated not only that Elizabeth's
'...feeling for Ross had never quite been definable to herself...' but that she also perversely enjoyed George's character assassination attempt on him.
So while some readers may take the view that Elizabeth's feelings on Ross were withheld from the reader, the truth is that they were not. Elizabeth herself did not quite know how she felt about him and that alone suggests that whatever she felt was not love. Either way as an alternative to having her love epiphany
'quite soon' at the start of the book, it is also hardly believable that after nearly nine years of deliberation time, that it was only in the few weeks between her meeting with George and the party that Elizabeth then realised she loved Ross better. Instead if Elizabeth still at that time could not define her feelings for Ross after so long, it is unlikely that she had the epiphany just before or at the party. So did this love epiphany that Elizabeth suggested she experienced happen at all? Also, moving on to another point, it is true that
if there was any more doubt that Elizabeth's disclosure to Ross was not true, then this can be found in looking at her claim of an eight year period of astonishment and humiliation based on this apparent love epiphany. Once again the narrative does not support this at all.
The Contradiction: A Good Happy life While Astonished And Humiliated?
'...she and Francis had lived an extravagant care-free life.....She turned over quietly in the bed and sighed happily. Poor Charles. But life was good to her.'
Elizabeth's thoughts on the evening of Geoffrey Charles's christening 'Ross Poldark' first edition (Internal book 1 Chapter 21 pt 2)
While Elizabeth gave Ross the impression that she realised she had a greater love for him in her early pregnancy and thereafter felt an astonishment and humiliation,
narrative and observations from other characters do not support Elizabeth's claim to Ross. Early in Elizabeth's pregnancy and two days before that Easter visit of Ross to her, the first edition of the second book
'Demelza' included Verity's recollection of Elizabeth and Francis at that party two days before as looking
'...quite newly married and flushed and happy....' With Graham showing Elizabeth there with Francis in spirits she said herself was
'boisterous', the depiction as corroborated by Verity was of a woman happy in her marriage. It is the case however that Elizabeth was narrated as having mixed motives for wanting to see and speak to Ross when he turned up at Trenwith two days later. Graham narrated that this included
'the liking, the affection, the feminine curiosity, the piqued prided' which merged into something stronger to keep out something. This
'something stronger' could be mistaken for love but with Graham's later narration in
'Warleggan' when Elizabeth met with George, Graham really does debunks that theory with his confirmation that Elizabeth's feeling for Ross had never been
'definable' to her before then. This is just like the
'something stronger' was not quite or at all clarified.
The Absence Of Humiliation: Elizabeth Most Happy And Most Content
Whatever the case, Graham's narration goes on to contradict any idea that Elizabeth was living in the knowledge of a defined feeling of love for Ross that left her living a feeling of humiliation and pain from this. For instance, the extracted text at the top of this section is from a scene eight months after Ross's Easter visit on Geoffrey Charles' Christening day. But here once again Graham presented Elizabeth as feeling happy in her life with Francis and excited about resuming her social life with him as well as with becoming mistress of Trenwith when Uncle Charles passed. In the first edition of the second book Graham narrated that this night had been the
'peak of her happiness' and that it was only
'from that day, from that evening, contentment had slowly receded...' 'Demelza' first edition (Internal book 1 Chapter 6) Graham went on to narrate that for Elizabeth her happiness had dipped not because of anything to do with Ross or perhaps due to a pain reignited in her from seeing him again that day, but because of her 'quarrel' with Francis that night.
Otherwise, despite what she led Ross to believe, before then Elizabeth had been at her most happiest and content with no suggestion of her feeling any element of devastation, loss, shame or disrespect from not being with the man she apparently really loved. Then moving on the narration goes on further to show that Elizabeth was feeling far from humiliated and not at all pained over a secret love of Ross.
Elizabeth: Healed Not humiliated Over Ross
'Her quarrel with Ross had long since healed....She had seen nothing of him and was very sorry for him...'
Elizabeth's thoughts on the evening of Geoffrey Charles's christening 'Ross Poldark' first edition (Internal book 1 Chapter 21 pt 2)
For a woman who was supposed to be astonished and humiliated over still loving her 'first love' Elizabeth showed very little emotional turmoil over this during the period she claimed to Ross she had felt this. But in addition to her not showing this at seeing Ross after so long on that Christening day,
Graham also did not narrate her feeling this or any humiliation either. It was the opposite! As with the extract above
Graham wrote that Elizabeth felt 'healed' from her quarrel with Ross. Contrary to the impression Elizabeth gave Ross of
'always' feeling an astonishment and humiliation, the feeling of healing speaks of a woman who if not necessarily feeling that her business with Ross was completely finished,
she certainly was not in a place of feeling upset or loss about him either. Yet if what Elizabeth claimed and the impression she gave Ross was true about how she felt, one would expect some sadness. But there was not even this. With Elizabeth feeling sorry for Ross and not feeling sorry for herself, that suggests that from her perspective any humiliation at that period of time would be from Ross not from her. That is why Elizabeth was clearly sympathising with him.
Of course this all just makes Elizabeth's Warleggan disclosure look false because the pain that she had claimed to have from her love epiphany was absent from the story narrative at that point. In addition to this, going forward there was something about Elizabeth's attitude and outlook on Ross that did not suggest at all that she was humiliated based on a deep love of him.
Blasé Over A Childish Naïve Connection
Graham wrote in the first edition of
'Ross Poldark' that Elizabeth casually considered what her life with Ross would have been like if she married him. However if she was truly humiliated about Ross being the one she so surely loved and lost, and if this feeling had stayed with her, then she surely would not have been so casual in her thoughts on this. One would expect as an aspect of her upset that Elizabeth had come to a conclusion that life with him as the man she loved much better would have been amazing and beautifully romantic and happy. The true dream. However Graham did not write Elizabeth coming to any such conclusion of a more preferable life with Ross.
In fact generally there was nothing in the narrative of Elizabeth's emotions to validate and evidence a long held feeling of humiliation related to loving and losing Ross. Any whiff of humiliation was later in the story and so not
"quite soon" at all. This was associated with her nose being out of joint when Ross was moving on with and then loving Demelza
. Instead E
lizabeth was again quite casual or otherwise belittling of Ross in her reflections of his return to Cornwall in the first edition of the next book
'Demelza'. For instance where Graham wrote in the sixth chapter that Elizabeth was thinking back to Ross's return from war
'..like the re-emergence of someone dead.' She continued with that thought that his return was
'..to remind her of her childish promise...' This reflection does seem to be not only devoid of any feeling of humiliation pertaining to having more love for Ross than Francis (who at this stage she now no longer loved by then), but
Elizabeth seemed a little irritated by the inconvenience of his return. She was also totally dismissive of there being any love of Ross to take seriously at all. With these thoughts being in the second book in 1788 after the birth of Clowance this was well after Elizabeth's 'quite soon' Epiphany of love for Ross. To be precise it would have been around four years after it and there is not a whiff of astonishment and humiliation in her thoughts at all.
Elizabeth: Liar Liar! Dismissive & Irritated, Not Humiliated
Elizabeth's irritation, dismissiveness over Ross return to Cornwall and her lack of humiliation that she by then realised she loved him better than Francis is echoed in Graham's further narrative on Elizabeth's reflections about the
'childish' promises she and Ross had made each other to be together and marry on his return from war. She thought that
'They were both very young then, both very much in earnest, both rather naïve.' So, while Elizabeth implied to Ross that she had been astonished and humiliated in this period of time, this actually appears to instead be a woman whose reflections actually made light of her feelings for Ross at that time. Actually Elizabeth considered that the feelings she and Ross had had for each other then were misplaced and lacking in substance such as against a deep mature adult love.
It therefore makes sense that Elizabeth did not really present as being humiliated over the loss of a love that her attitude suggested she did not even see as real mature love. Her thoughts here were consistent here with her initial description four years earlier at that Easter 1784 meeting where she told Ross she was fond of him and theirs was a boy-girl attachment.
So there is indeed a clear mismatch between the impression Elizabeth gave Ross in her 'Warleggan disclosure' and her thoughts on their love four years before that she herself had prefaced as 'childish'. Elizabeth at the Warleggan party of 1792 had given Ross the wrong impression of how she felt back then in 1784 and 1788 and up to weeks before the party in her discussion with George.
In none of those scenes across the years did Elizabeth present as feeling humiliated about an apparent 'mistake' she made over loving Ross in the six month window from October/November of 1783 when Ross returned to Cornwall and she married Francis. This must lead to the view that Elizabeth was significantly misleading Ross at the Warleggan party.
Also, thereafter and later in the book ('Demelza'), reference is made to Elizabeth masking her disappointments when at the Truro ball where Demelza came out into society for the first time. But it is notable that these disappointments of Elizabeth's were stated by Graham's narration as being about her failed marriage and then being about Demelza's blossoming and success. It was as if those two issues were was the source of Elizabeth's humiliation while there was no reference to her disappointment being related to loving and not having Ross.
An Agenda for Admiration and It's Bait
'Admiration such as he brought was rare enough in the life she led. She knew it was her due, and the knowledge made it all the harder to be without.'
Narration on Elizabeth thoughts on George 'Jeremy Poldark' (Internal Book 1 Chapter 4)
So with Graham's narration suggesting that even up to weeks before her 'Warleggan disclosure' to Ross, Elizabeth's feeling for him was not definable to her, that she had not been astonished and humiliated for years about loving him and that actually she made light of their connection as stemming from childishness and naivety, it would be fair to conclude that Elizabeth, as she had been at other times, was 'not entirely honest' with Ross again and had Indeed given Ross a false impression. That then leads on to the question of 'why she would do this?'. The answer to this is easy to deduce because as well as presenting Elizabeth as a changeable woman, Graham also presented her as one who loved admiration. The extract above clarified that Elizabeth actually found it hard to be without that. It is probably no surprise that Elizabeth happened to give her false impression in her disclosure to Ross just after she observed Ross interacting with Caroline Penvenen who Elizabeth acknowledged was beautiful. It is not a likely coincidence that it was then that Elizabeth prodded Ross on whether he thought that '...what the eye doesn't admire the heart doesn't desire?' Clearly admiration and specifically Ross's admiration of her was in Elizabeth's mind in that moment and it seems she sought to claim back his attention and admiration directed at Caroline, and to redirect it to herself. So with this it seemed that what at first may have seemed like a self deprecating comment from Elizabeth, was actually a moment of internal desperation where Elizabeth was triggered to impulsively throw a fishing line with bait on it, in order to fish for Ross's admiration. Though Elizabeth could not back up her disclosure of this epiphany of love of Ross with specific detail when asked for this, that bait which was designed to cause a stirring and longing in Ross for her, was this surprising out of the blue revelation along with her flirty dialogue to Ross that ensued.
Indeed Ross's reaction to Elizabeth's 'bait' was something she was waiting on even after the end of the party and on her way home. Graham narrated that 'Elizabeth was keyed up with what she had said and nervous as to the result...' Indeed while Elizabeth, contrary to her claim, had not really felt a feeling of astonishment and humiliation "quite soon" from the start of the book concerning Ross, it is in moments like these where in her role as Ross's antagonist a long running theme of astonishment and humiliation in Elizabeth's life can actually be found. It was just not in the way she implied. It actually did run in many ways through all her relationships. So the upcoming post will cover the ten significant points of astonishment and humiliation that Elizabeth's character did experience as she interacted and made moves that backfired on her specifically within the Ross and Demelza love story. Then to document this theme that Graham weaved all around her narrative arch, so that she essentially seemed doomed and fated to this, a later post will cover the astonishment and humiliation she faced in her other relationships such as with Francis and George.
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So Elizabeth was very capable, not of lying and giving the wrong impression for a greater good, but doing this for approval and admiration. And this approval and admiration is certainly what Elizabeth wanted from Ross in this 'Warleggan' conversation where the 'quite soon' silly mistake notion created a more sorrowful hard done by narrative which would be more likely to pull at Ross's heart to feel a sense of regret of an unfortunate missed opportunity for what could then be seen as star crossed lovers. Ross would probably have been less inclined for that outlook if the truth looked more like he was more of that second option to Elizabeth because things went badly for her in her marriage. That is why dishonesty in vagueness would have worked in Elizabeth's interests in relation to her goal with Ross. .GIF)
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