Victorians! discussion

Cynthia’s secret is finally revealed and while one can sympathise since it was her mother’s neglect and self-centredness that caused the problem, her own selfishness when having Molly help get her out of the situation in not considering how it might possibly affect Molly can certainly be held against her.

The instalment opens with Cynthia being told of Mr Gibson’s generosity and taking up Mr Kirkpatrick’s invitation. To Molly’s delight, Mrs Gibson will accompany her for a week which means a much-deserved break from her presence giving Molly some precious time with her father and freedom from Mrs Gibson’s impositions.

This sadly becomes the last peaceful time for Molly (at least for the present) since with Cynthia’s return, Molly finally become privy to her secret. One can’t really blame her for the situation she became trapped in for self-absorbed Mrs Gibson/Clare doesn’t care to think of others’ needs or comforts, happy to leave her daughter on her own as long as she is invited to grand houses, and not bothered that she might need money for her needs as Mrs Gibson does for hers. While as Molly sensibly points out Mr Gibson can easily deal with Mr Preston, Cynthia’s fear of losing his good opinion turns into a curse of sorts for Molly who manages to deal with Mr Preston in a rather clever way but is unable to escape town gossip which a few misunderstandings have given rise to and multiplies beyond handling.

The Miss Brownings, well-intentioned though they may be have proved equally willing to read the most scandalous motives into any situation previously too, and while seemingly unwilling initially are quite quick to believe the worst of Molly (not just her conduct but that she will necessarily lie when asked). Now Mr Gibson has been made aware of this gossip but with all the promises she has made to Cynthia, will Molly be able to clear her name?

Meanwhile Osborne Hamley, ill again, has entrusted more of his secret to Molly as well giving her the address of his wife and child. Is his illness really something serious as Mr Gibson seemed to fear? How will the Squire react to this and his secret when he does become aware of it?

The burdens on poor Molly are too many and with her honest and straightforward nature, all the need for secrecy and clandestine dealings is telling on her. Meanwhile, though Cynthia appreciates what Molly’s done for her, her feeling (as is her nature generally) doesn’t run to deep and she is happy to escape Hollingford when the occasion arises, leaving Molly to deal with the last of the unpleasant tasks.

Molly
Molly once again proves herself to be a sensible and worthy young woman not only in how she deals with Mr Preston but also in the advice she gives to Cynthia. But being soft hearted and emotional, she gives in to Cynthia’s wishes for secrecy to her own disadvantage.

She is now the custodian of more than one secret, one that can bring much harm to herself more than the other but for someone of her nature, this is a hard weight to bear.

Cynthia
Cynthia is a hard character to judge with in that on the one hand she is sympathetic and given how she’s been brought up (or left to grow) by Mrs Gibson/Clare who clearly is equally, may be far shallower and incapable of any real feeling, one can’t fault her for her own inability to love deeply or getting herself into the situation she did. Her regard for Molly and Mr Gibson is genuine and much more than Mrs Gibson is capable of and she knows (unlike her mother) that she isn’t ‘good’ nor can become so now because of her past (though this is debatable). But she is also selfish, easily shifting her own problems onto Molly and not giving any thought to what the latter might have to bear. Likewise is her attitude to Roger who she might respect but whom she’s more or less using for some mental sense of escape from Mr Preston.

Gossip
As in every small town (and even big) gossip might well be the lifeblood of Hollingford with the ladies especially (though also some gentleman) carelessly creating and spreading it, quick to think the worst of its subjects, perhaps lacking the sense to see their true nature. In Molly’s case, circumstances indeed didn’t favour her (Mrs Goodenough walking into the shop at just the wrong moment or the incident with the water or indeed Mr Sheepshanks appearing at yet another inopportune time) and that set tongues rolling. Now she will have to pay the price for helping Cynthia though one hopes things are resolved fast.

"No good deed goes unpunished" is certainly an old saw that applies to Mollie. She is a wonderful person, loyal to a fault but also capable of anger when unjust gossip about Cynthia or herself comes to her attention. She is very tolerant of Mrs. Gibson, even when that selfish, pretentious woman tortures her with comments on her dress, hair, manners, whereabouts (honestly, I would have had a real hissy fit at the woman long before now!). She loves Roger so much that she puts aside her own love to honor his love for Cynthia. Really a good person. Until I read these chapters, I also had a certain regard for Cynthia, but that is fast disappearing. That she got herself in a bad situation with Mr. Preston is understandable; she was very young, neglected by her mother, and in desperate need of a friend. But now she has a friend, in fact a real sister, in Molly, and she is using that sweet friend to solve the problems she made while she goes merrily off to London. Probably due to her mother's influence, she has learned to use people to get her way, and now poor Molly will have even more trouble in her life. I sincerely hope that Molly comes clean when Mr. Gibson confronts her about the gossip, but she probably won't break her promise to Cynthia. That will then present Cynthia with a choice: own up to what she has done and accept the consequences or betray Molly in a devastating way.

’ "As if the poor girl who has been led away into deceit already would scruple much at going on in falsehood," was Miss Browning's remark on this last speech of Mr. Gibson's; but she had discretion enough not to make it until he was well out of hearing.

What a cruel slander on Molly’s character by Miss Browning, something which couldn’t be any further from the truth. Thankfully the reader knows how wrong Miss Browning was and how in fact her description was much more attributable to Cynthia.

As I have grown older it is a sad fact that I have encountered more and more Cynthias and less and less Mollys (both men and women), with the Cynthias all admitting that they have faults ( hasn’t everyone they say) and yet using that confession to continue their faulty existence to please themselves and generally antagonise others. The Mollys are seen as insipid and boring and certainly not the type anyone wants to read about in novels. How unjust ( rant over.)

And yet in the encounters between Molly, Cynthia and Mr. Preston, Molly’s character shines out like a beacon in the way she uses her belief in what is right to tackle a very difficult situation. I loved this paragraph describing Mr. Preston’s reaction to Molly’s demand for the letters and her threat to expose him to Lady Harriet.

’ …….and he wondered how she, the girl standing before him, had been clever enough to find it out. He forgot himself for an instant in admiration of her. There she stood, frightened, yet brave, not letting go her hold on what she meant to do, even when things seemed most against her; and besides, there was something that struck him most of all perhaps, and which shows the kind of man he was—he perceived that Molly was as unconscious that he was a young man, and she a young woman, as if she had been a pure angel of heaven.’

Cynthia’s (very modern) admission that she needs everyone to love and admire her has left her relying too much on others with not enough self resilience to fully right any wrongs she has perpetrated. Her continual leaning on others makes her a burden, something that even Mr. Preston had recognised.

’ And he asked himself why he was such a confounded fool as to go on hankering after a penniless girl, who was as fickle as the wind? The answer was silly enough, logically; but forcible in fact. Cynthia was Cynthia, and not Venus herself could have been her substitute.’

Poor Roger would also end up with Cynthia as a ball and chain no doubt, maybe more than that because her indiscretions seem part of her character rather than something she might grow out of.

Now Molly has been left with the debris of Cynthia’s misdemeanours whilst she pleasures herself in London, being a little grateful for Molly’s help but even more grateful to be miles away from a horrible mess she created. Cynthia might be thriving in 1820s London but I think she would be equally at home there in the 2020s.

Nancy wrote: ""No good deed goes unpunished" is certainly an old saw that applies to Mollie. She is a wonderful person, loyal to a fault but also capable of anger when unjust gossip about Cynthia or herself come..."

I hope she confides in her father too, Nancy. I think it was a sensible suggestion to start with but sadly, she gave in to Cynthia.

Trev wrote: "’ "As if the poor girl who has been led away into deceit already would scruple much at going on in falsehood," was Miss Browning's remark on this last speech of Mr. Gibson's; but she had discretion..."

I agree on your observation on Cynthias vs Mollys in real life Trev, but honestly (and not meaning it as an excuse) I don't think the Cynthias can help being as they are--they seemed to be wired that way perhaps because of their early life experiences, perhaps because change requires more of an effort than they're willing to make...after all, it's easy being the helpless pretty thing who knows no better. Who knows? But I'm also glad that there are at least those few Mollys around still.