Women's Classic Literature Enthusiasts discussion

The Downfall

Apologies for falling behind, my baby has been sick.

This section starts with Tom returning home from school. Mr T has lost his case against Wacomb and has become ill (I think it sounds like he has had a stroke).

Mrs Tulliber is primarily concerned about losing all her pretty things and calls upon her family for help and looks to 17 year old Tom for solutions. Although I can understand a mother's need to feed,clothe and shelter her family; Mrs T really frustrates me. Her primary concern is possessions and the opinions of others. She does not seem toworryanout her husband's health, Tom's youth orMaggie's fears. Mrs T has never needed to work or to plan and has relied primarily on her appearance and family name. This is most evident when she goes to see Waycomb.

Reading about these mid-19th century folks and their values , customs, virtues and vices, etc., in the intervals in my rather hectic 21st century life when I immerse myself in TMOTF, has made me feel like I'm inhabiting two parallel universes. Damn if lawyers, pugnacious men, smug members of "well-to-do" families, avaricious, not-so-holy holy men, and "little women" such as Lisa just described aren't the same now as they were then! Plus ça change, c'est la me^me chose