Marrying Demelza- Ross’s Engaging And Vital Blessing (A Satisfying Decision)

 

"There was the theme I wanted to express, dealing with the Ross- Elizabeth-Francis triangle...Into it also had come the engaging and vital character Demelza, who by now was intent on altering the shape of the story."

Winston Graham -'Woman Magazine' 10th December 1977

This is a follow up to 'Marrying Demelza: The Engaging and Vital Character (Foiling Elizabeth- Saving Ross)'. That focused on Demelza's vital role in altering Ross's life. This involved Demelza unintentionally provoking him to change his life philosophy so he could move even more sharply forward in his journey of moving on from Elizabeth. It then also involved her foiling Elizabeth’s plan for some kind of romantic reconciliation with Ross. That was by Demelza causing Ross to see her as another option and as ‘the obvious way out’, while good timing also played a hand in this too. So as considered in that previous post Demelza probably saved Ross a lot of heartache from something messy and unlikely to work out with Elizabeth anyway. Of course, while Ross was a blessing to Demelza and she often had these thoughts of gratitude about this, this post now looks at how Graham seemed to push and emphasise a strong narrative of Demelza being drafted into the story as a blessing to Ross and was his saving grace. This included the way she continued to play both a vital and engaging role for him beyond their wedding day as his wife, and how she fundamentally brought to his life things that he had never experienced and which made him happy. It’s to be presumed that this for Ross was most likely happier than he would have been without Demelza and with someone quite unlike her. That includes Elizabeth. In doing so, like a true heroine this post essentially does celebrate how Demelza served as a character that continued to have a major transforming effect on Ross that carried through beyond their day of marriage and impacted quite favourably on his quality and enjoyment of life. 

A Judgment on Rape (A Case of Rape or not for Ross Poldark)

⚠ Content and moving images reference sexual violence.
 

On 9th May 1793 in the fourth book 'Warleggan' (Internal Book 3 Chapter 5), an incident between Ross Poldark and Elizabeth would end up being a significant life changing event in their lives and also in the lives of their respective spouses; Demelza, and Spouse-to-be George Warleggan. As covered in the previous essay 'Ross Poldark's Fall From Grace (A Thin Line Between Lust And Hate For Elizabeth), during the throws of an argument about Elizabeth's decision to marry George, Ross ignored Elizabeth's protests at his anger driven sexual advances and carried her to the bed. Graham did not write what happened thereafter. This means that though the reader is made aware that sexual intercourse did take place, with Winston's perceived silence on whether this was consensual or otherwise a rape, this has since been a controversial topic and much questioned incident in the saga. 

Setting aside the natural desire not to potentially think ill of the romantic hero, Ross Poldark, this post will serve as a judgment with a finding on that key question: 'Did Ross Poldark rape Elizabeth on the night of the ninth of May 1793?' To come to a finding which is non emotive and objective, the assessment for this will be split in four parts. Part 1 covers the  criteria and understanding of rape by Winston Graham and Ross. Part 2 and 3 cover respectively the evidence from Ross as the accused in this case, and from Elizabeth as the potential victim. This will be through their thoughts, statements and actions, as recorded in the relevant books of the saga. To conclude, part 4 will at the last set this against the evidence of which there is some from the two impartial witnesses being Winston Graham, the impartial narrator and Winston Graham, the author. 

Elizabeth And The Analogy Of The Key (To Unlock Ross's Love And Desire)

This post is a follow up to the previous one titled 'That Mysterious Unlocking Key-Demelza' which is inspired and framed around a particular passage in the second book 'Demelza'. This is where Graham wrote Ross's thoughts of gratitude for having Demelza as his wife. He was thinking of how she had a ‘mysterious way’ about her that like a key unlocked his attention and desire and love. That post looked at where the mystery arose from and how it was a unique blend of personality traits which made Demelza 'that key' for Ross. It also considered how Winston Graham set Demelza apart from other women as being able to fully command Ross's heart in this way. For instance, it addressed that, though Ross was quite taken by women such as Caroline Enys and Harriet Warleggan, they still did not have the elements to be ‘that key’ for him. While that previous post also hinted at Elizabeth’s potential to be an 'unlocking key' for Ross, it was promised that this should be explored more thoroughly. Therefore, this is the purpose of this post. However, this will say that despite Ross's self confessed ten year devotion for her, Elizabeth also did not have this ability of Demelza’s to be an 'unlocking key' for Ross in the long term and as the woman she had become.

Another Unlocking Key: Elizabeth?

'He was struck by the mystery of her personality ...that this hair and head and person of the young woman below it....meant more to him than any other because it made up in some mysterious way just that key which unlocked his attention and desire and love."

Narration of Ross's thoughts on Demelza 'Demelza' (internal book 1 chapter 10)

This is ‘the key passage’ that this post and the last one is based around. It is from chapter 10 of the first internal book of 'Demelza'. This invokes the imagery of a key that unlocks something special, as it confirmed that Demelza did this for Ross. However, since many keys are not designed to open one lock, the imagery of a key is also synonymous with being ‘The One’. The emphasis being on the word 'one' in 'one key'. So that is 'one key' out of many that is unique, as the key serves as 'the only key' that can open a particular padlock, front door, treasure chest or in this case Ross’s full heart and soul. That 'one' key is designed to be perfectly in tune and fitted to that one lock. Ross’s lock. 

Poldark True Story Vs Adaption Fiction (Pt3 -Did Ross Settle For Second Best Choosing Demelza Over Elizabeth?)

There is no requirement that an adaption of a book to a movie or to a series must be 100% faithful to that book. In the case of the true story of Poldark written by Winston Graham, it is indeed noticeable that a different slant was given to the love story of Ross and Demelza and to Elizabeth's position within that in the most recent television adaption of Poldark (which commenced in 2015 and stopped in 2019). This was even after the climax where Ross quite unromantically took Elizabeth to bed by force. But as this series of posts considers whether Ross Poldark 'settled' for Demelza, it should be noted that in contrast to the adaption fiction, Winston Graham was clear in clarifying a narrative that can be distinguished from the narrative that was taken up in the latest adaption. This is his statement in his capacity as the story’s author that it was this experience, 'That May Incident' with Elizabeth that caused Ross to 'discover' that it was Demelza that he 'really' loved. (See image below: Article  Winston Graham Goes A Second Round, 'Opelousas- Daily World' newspaper dated 25th June 1978)  The differing stance of the adaption, how this was done and the impact this has on the perception of whether Ross settled for less with Demelza, is the focus of this particular post.

A Subliminal Narrative Revision

Adaption fiction not based on the true Poldark Story

The post to follow this one will focus on Ross subconsciously feeling that Demelza was the woman he wanted and loved more than any other woman. Hence more than Elizabeth! This is because there are bits of the story which serve as a foretelling that Ross would always choose Demelza over Elizabeth. This is because he loved her more authentically. However the discussion here is on how the Poldark series adaption did not necessarily support those foretellings in the books, but instead may have purposefully or inadvertently steered some viewers to think that, save for the unfinished business of Valentine, that there was also unfinished business in Ross's mind of an ongoing and romantic longing for Elizabeth after 'That May Incident'. This then can feed the idea for those viewers that contrary to Winston Graham’s statement there was indeed a loss to Ross in all this and that in his mind Demelza was and still remained his second best love even after this incident. 

Absence Of A Devastated Heart- Elizabeth Compared (Pt2 A Lacking Instinct Of Love For Ross Poldark)

The previous and part one of this post titled 'The Distant And Cheating Heart Of Elizabeth' covers Elizabeth's loving instinct when she was separated from Ross before the written story began. They were each other's first love and they had promised to marry when he returned to her from war. What was apparent was that during this separation from Ross, Elizabeth's loving instinct was lacking. Rather than absence making her heart grow fonder and her faithfully waiting for Ross, the opposite happened. Instead, she didn't wait for Ross and she formed a new attachment with his cousin, Francis Poldark. As narrated by Graham in the first edition of the first book, as well as Ross realising through her letters to him that Elizabeth had felt a 'slackening' interest in him while he was away, just as she later told him several times, their love to her was just a 'childish' thing and their romance had just been a 'boy and girl attachment'. This in a sense explains the lack of a loving impulse by her towards Ross at that point in the story, and most likely towards him thereafter. 

Theme of The Separated Lovers

What is also apparent is that the separated lover's theme was one that Graham replicated not just in Elizabeth and Ross's story but several times in his saga in the love stories of other characters. These were characters whose love for their suitor was written so that this love would never be in question to the reader. It so happened that in those stories there were elements of devastation that both of the lovers suffered as a result of their separation from each other. Another manifestation of the loving instinct for these couples was that during the separations they pined for each other, were concerned for the other and often even deteriorated in looks, health and mental well being until they were reunited with each other. It is clear to conclude that in this separated lover's theme and storyline Graham singled Elizabeth out as not suffering from a distraught and devastated heart in Ross's absence, and on his return. This supports the suspicion that equally, unlike the others where they loved and were moved by a feeling of love, Elizabeth did not truly love Ross in that way and therefore was not moved by this level of feeling either.

Elizabeth's Loving Instinct Compared. - A Different Mindset

Comparison can be a great teacher of a 'likely truth' as it is often the case that a significance can be found in commonality or differentiation. Therefore in this post, concepts and themes in Elizabeth's actions and thoughts on Ross (as set out in the previous post), will be set against those in the love stories of characters such as Verity, Caroline, Morwenna, Drake, Clowance and Jeremy. This is because they all had similar dilemmas to Elizabeth in their love stories but she acted differently to them. It's a fair consideration that she went against the grain because her feeling and the impulse this would stimulate was not the same as with the other characters and did not even compare really. 

Although comparisons with other characters might not be a perfect and definitive indication of a fact or this 'likely truth',  as referred above, it can certainly be a revealing and worthy consideration if the outcome consistently goes so far against the norm for how the loving instinct would normally manifest itself. The fact that in respect of Ross, Elizabeth consistently failed to act as if she followed the natural impulse of love or had thoughts akin to this, strongly suggests that this is because she had a completely different mindset and feeling from the other male and female characters that did truly love. 

The Defection And Possession Of Elizabeth (Ross Poldark Vs George Warleggan Pt3)

This is the third post in the series covering the feud between Ross and George and in the main it covers and takes us up to the end of the fourth book 'Warleggan'. The main theme here is George successfully tempting the disloyalty of Francis and Elizabeth towards Ross in favour of him, and Ross's violent reaction to this. Indeed the theme establishes that disloyalty was somewhat of an Achilles heel to Ross and that whilst disloyalty by his friends could evoke violence from Ross, on the other hand his own loyalty towards his friends could equally bring Ross to violence against George in defence of them. As will be addressed below it did for Francis and Demelza. Also just like with the last post in the Ross vs George series, ('Encroachment And Plans to Kill A Cat') there is still a theme of encroachment in this post too as George makes the ultimate move with this with Ross's 'greatest friend' Elizabeth and through this also an encroachment of the Poldark ancestral home. However it is also the case that in some significant way, and to Elizabeth's dishonour (and very much his own!) Ross returned the favour by quite literally taking by force George's new 'possession' of Elizabeth before later then making a significant turnaround in this feud and trying to reach out to George in peace.

Spotlight on Elizabeth 

Along with George, Elizabeth particularly gets a spotlight in this post because she is regarded as some sort of a 'prize' to be gained in the feud. She would be the potential prize wife to George and as the idealised 'ideal woman' who was Ross's first love, in some way her friendship was important to him and something he wrongfully expected came with some loyalty towards him if faced with a choice between him and George. The defection of Elizabeth's loyalty from Ross to George cannot be ignored as it is the trigger to the climax of the love triangles and ultimately paved the way for resolution in the all important Ross and Demelza love story. Although it did however continue the misery in the stories of George and Elizabeth.

Poldark: Nine Lives Nine Deaths

"You see, in a play one knows virtue is going to be triumphant..." 

Caroline Enys nee' Penvenen (Warleggan)

Except for the third there is at least one death in every book of the earlier set of seven books in the Poldark saga. In 'The Angry Tide' there are as many as five deaths including Sarah Enys, Mr Nathaniel Pearce, Reverend Osbourne Whitworth, Monk Adderly and Elizabeth Warleggan. So death is definitely a prominent feature of the Poldark story across all the books. 

Winston Graham wrote some very compelling and vivid passages for many of the death scenes in the story. Very often they were interwoven with themes, metaphors and concepts that tied together with others scattered across the story and which were particular to the character. This post is the prelude to a series of blogs which will look at 'The nine big deaths of Poldark'. Rather than the deaths written for the sub plots these will be the nine deaths that are of particular significance to the Ross and Demelza story in regards to their love and life story together. These include the deaths of Julia Poldark, Francis  Poldark, Agatha Poldark, Hugh Armitage, Monk Adderly, Elizabeth Warleggan, Jeremy Poldark, Stephen Carrington and the last death of the saga Valentine Warleggan. This series will look at the cause of each death and the themes that arise out of them together with the significance on the Ross and Demelza story. Also there can be no avoidance of the crucial question which is 'why?'.  'What was the reason for the death?'  This is in terms of the reason in respect of the story. That will be a matter that is of particular interest.

 

Two Reasons To Kill The Character 

Indeed when thinking of the death of a major character in a story this can naturally induce the thought of 'why did this character have to die?'  There can be sadness if it is a much loved character or a feeling of relief or satisfaction if the character was villainous, in some way unpleasant, an irritant or an agitator that frustrated the lives of others. Just like an antagonist would typically do. Of course, whatever the reader’s thoughts, the answer to why the character was made to die will always lie with the author. But even without an explicit running commentary from the author himself (in this case), it is not always so difficult to make an attempt to work out the author’s reasoning for writing a particular death in the story. This is even if they're reasons that the reader may not approve of or may actually resent. Winston Graham's style of writing aids this mission because it's often packed with such meaning which supports a particular and sometimes obvious theme for each of his characters and of the overall story. However, aside from this generally, and definitely, if taking a traditional literary approach, there are two main reasons for a character's death and the upcoming blog posts covering each of the nine character's death will look at what the author may have had in mind for each of the deaths he wrote.