Victorians! discussion

Last week was the halfway mark in our journey through Armadale, which I hope you are enjoying!

Ch. III - “The Brink of Discovery”

Mrs. Milroy lures Allan into searching out Mrs. Mandeville, Lydia’s reference, in order to expose the fraudulence of the reference. Allan falls into her trap. Allan takes the train to London with Pedgift, Jr. Also along for the ride is Lydia’s urgent letter to Mrs. Oldershaw. This letter, curiously enough, was delivered to the train by Mr. Bashwood, who seems strangely fascinated with Lydia. In London, Allan finds that Mrs. Mandeville has vanished with no forwarding address. Pedgift helps him locate Mrs. Oldershaw’s next location, but it looks sketchy and no one there has heard of Mrs. Mandeville. Pedgift promises to look into the two names on the building (one of which is Oldershaw) and Allan returns to the hotel.

Ch. IV - “Allan at Bay”

When Allan next meets with Pedgift, that glib lawyer seems very subdued.. He advises Allan to just drop the whole issue of Mrs. Mandeville and ask no more questions, but Allan insists on being told what Pedgift has discovered about the sketchy house. He deduces, from Pedgift’s information and from Lydia’s reluctance to reveal her past, that she is a fallen woman who has “stolen her way back to decent society and a reputable employment, by means of a false character” (345) and he determines that though he must end his relationship with her, he will not be the means of outing her to the neighborhood.

He writes to Mrs. Milroy that he has been detained in London, has been unable to meet with Mrs. Mandeville, and is unable to perform the service he promised. She immediately takes umbrage and threatens that she will involve her husband. Allan, who just wants to go sailing on his yacht, responds that he is sorry if he has offended her and it was not his intention. So, of course, Allan then gets a letter from Major Milroy. According to him, his wife has told him that Miss Gwilt may have been hired with a false reference, and that Allan knows all about it! He then demands to know whether Allan has any information about Miss Gwilt’s reference and if so, what does he know?

Allan tries to de-escalate by apologizing to the Major for any distress he has caused and for being unable to answer his questions. The Major’s answer is an indictment on Allan’s character: his refusal to answer the questions is cowardly since it casts aspersions on the lady without a shred of evidence offered to support them. He lectures Allan on his dishonorable behavior and tells him that he is now dead to the Milroy family. (JK–he didn’t really say that, but it is what he meant). This depresses Allan, but Mr. Brock writes that the yacht is being prepared for sailing, and he is restored to good spirits.

Then Pedgift, Sr. writes that everyone in the town has heard that Allan had refused to make any negative accusations about Lydia, and they now hate him even MORE, as impossible as that is to fathom. Lydia, upon being informed that Allan had refused to say anything negative about her, immediately resigned from her position and took a cheap apartment in town, her full-time job now being to defend her reputation from anyone who refuses to discuss it. Lydia is being compared to Joan of Arc in the newspaper and referenced in the Sunday sermon at church. In other words, Lydia has been embraced by the town and will probably be hired as a music teacher, while Allan will probably be pelted with eggs on his next visit. Pedgift makes it clear that he doesn’t trust Lydia and has his doubts about her. The letter ends with Pedgift telling him reluctantly that the townspeople are calling him a chicken for staying away.

That does it! Allan plans an immediate return to Thorpe-Ambrose. Meanwhile, Lydia telegraphs Mrs. Oldershaw that Allan is returning and she has not given up hope of marrying him. After all, she no longer has the prying eyes of the Milroy women or Midwinter to deal with, so it should be easy pickings now.

Ch. V - “Pedgift’s Remedy”

It turns out that Allan’s lawyer, Pedgift Sr., is famous for what they called “Pedgift’s Postscript,” which was the move where he appears to be leaving, having accepted defeat, but then turns back with the one argument that demolishes his opponent. He meets with Allan and suggests that Allan either name the person who put him up to seeking out Mrs. Mandeville or reveal Miss Gwilt to be a scheming adventuress. Allan refuses both. Before Allan can answer, he receives a letter from Lydia asking for a meeting with him. Pedgift thinks agreeing to it would be insanity, pointing out that Allan admits to having feelings for her, and once exposed to her beauty and cleverness, he would be completely in her power in no time. Pedgift feels very regretful that Lydia is a woman because what a lawyer she would have been if she were a man! He persuades Allan to refuse to meet her.

Pedgift then tells Allan that Lydia is the most deceitful, manipulative grifter he has come in contact with since his days working at Newgate Prison. He attributes Allan’s pity for her to his youth. Allan believes Lydia would never attempt to contact Allan again after his rejection; Pedgift predicts that she will try to force her way into Allan’s presence within twenty-four hours. Allan agrees to this test and Pedgift goes on to give Allan a tutorial on the powerful wiles of wicked women like Lydia. I think he actually enjoyed her visit because it gave him sentimental nostalgia for his days at Newgate. He reiterates that Lydia will try to see Allan, which he denies, but his words are still hanging in the air when the doorbell rings and it is her, proving Pedgift correct.

Allan still refuses to expose her or have her watched, and Pedgift is leaving when he turns back with a postscript.

Ch. VI - “Pedgift’s Postscript”

Pedgift turns out to have had a powerful weapon in his arsenal the whole time–Miss Milroy. He tells Allan that Miss Milroy confided in him that before Miss Gwilt left the cottage, she had made it clear that she considered her pupil to be responsible for Allan’s sudden interest in her past and that she had set the whole debacle in motion. Lydia had also threatened her. Allan is in a quandary: he doesn’t want to ruin Lydia, but he also does not believe Miss Milroy to be lying. He finally agrees to have Miss Gwilt watched in order to protect Miss Milroy. Pedgift leaves, satisfied with having found a compromise with a very obstinate client. He sets off for an appointment with a lady?

Ch. VII - “The Martyrdom of Miss Gwilt”

Mr. Bashwood is walking in the poorer section of town and meets up with Miss Gwilt. She is aware of being followed and is actually using Mr. Bashwood as a spy. He is head-over-heels in love with her and anxious to obey her every command. She lures Allan’s spy into getting too close and then confronts him. She is unafraid of him but turns into a timid, trembling creature when Midwinter suddenly appears, returning home from his walkabout. Midwinter chases off the detective and escorts Lydia home. She invites him in for tea, which is very shocking–a single woman being alone with a man! Inside, she fills him in with her version of what has been happening. According to her, she and Allan are both the innocent victims of Miss Milroy’s ambition to become Mrs. Armadale. In fact, Lydia has no interest in marrying someone as empty-headed as Allan no matter how rich he is (yeah, right)! The meaning of this chapter title becomes apparent as she presents herself as the long-suffering victim, working Midwinter like a banjo at an Ozark hoedown (I got that from a movie). I love the alliteration in this description of her allurement: “all the Siren-invitations that seduce the sense–a subtle suggestiveness in her silence, and a sexual sorcery in her smile” (383).

After he leaves, convinced that Lydia is mistaken in Allan, she begins to question herself and her own feelings for Midwinter. She writes to Mrs. Undershaw, promising her that either Midwinter would get her admitted to Thorpe-Ambrose or the two men would quarrel and she could insinuate herself as peacekeeper. She goes to bed, determined to learn more about him. Midwinter arrives at the house and hears servants discussing the shadowing of Miss Gwilt, and this shakes his belief in his friend. He retires without waking Allan, needing time to process.

Ch. VIII - “She Comes Between Them”

Allan is trying to reconnect with Miss Milroy but hasn’t managed to do so. He and Midwinter reunite, but the constraint between them quickly becomes apparent. Midwinter is reluctant to hear any explanations from Allan for his involvement in the loss of her position, but he flames into anger when Allan admits to having her spied upon. He refuses to entertain the idea that there could be any justification for such an action and it becomes clear that he bought her helpless female act. Allan comes across as the sensible one here since Midwinter refuses to listen to him at all. Allan finally becomes angry, as well, and it ends with Midwinter breaking the statue and the dream is once again fulfilled. This freaks Midwinter out and he has a servant help him out of the room, and Allan breaks down in tears, feeling abandoned by his dearest friend.

Ch. IX - “She Knows the Truth”

Mr. Bashwood writes to Lydia as her spy and informs her that after their quarrel, Midwinter dashed off into the rain, and Allan did, as well, but his intent was to offer Miss Milroy shelter. Mr. Bashwood reports that they appeared to make up in the drawing room. He overhears enough to convince him that Miss Milroy has forgiven Allan for straying and that he has gotten over his infatuation with Miss Gwilt. Mrs. Overshaw writes to Lydia, demanding updates and issuing reminders of her financial power over the younger woman, threatening to have her arrested. Lydia responds, “Go ahead, you’ll be doing me a favor.” Mrs. Oldershaw apologizes.

Mr. Bashwood writes again to tell Lydia that Allan, affected by Midwinter’s disgust, ordered the spying on her to stop. He also refused all of Pedgift’s subsequent suggestions, causing Pedgift to wash his hands of Allan and resign as his legal counsel. Before he left, Pedgift spots Mr. Bashwood listening at the window and seems to find Bashwood’s interest in her amusing. Lydia writes to Mrs. Undershaw about the continuing fallout from Allan’s London trip. Midwinter has left Allan “forever” as a result of their quarrel, and he goes on to explain what that means in his usual dramatic fashion: he must “never breathe the same air with that man” again; he must “put the mountains and the sea” between them. He admits to being unable to tear himself away from her, his first and last love. Lydia waits for him to visit her and finally has to go out and intercept him in the street. She leads him to a deserted copse and there he confesses his love but is still reluctant to tell her anything about his past or his cryptic statements about Allan. She finally confesses her love and kisses him in an attempt to get him to talk, but it is only when she threatens to leave that he opens up and tells her the story, including his real name! Lydia’s letter ends with her toying with Mrs. Oldershaw, speculating on whether to share his story with her or not.

Things are heating up! We’re dealing with ruined reputations, threats of revenge, unrequited love, reconnections, broken friendships, and manipulation on an epic scale! Did you pick up on all the breadcrumbs in Lydia’s final letter to Mrs. Oldershaw? We are given lots of clues into her past relationships with men in her reactions to Midwinter. We can also see that her frozen heart may be thawing a bit! Emo Midwinter has a lot of scope for his drama this week. Can you feel how tortured he is? Please share your thoughts!

Hurrah, we finally got to see Lydia in action! It was great to see at first hand how manipulative she can be and how quickly she can change her behaviour and draw people in. I loved how she confronted the spy and threw his hat in the ditch! Then was immediately acting timid and frightened when Midwinter turned up. She is obviously very skilled at this, and does seem to have a magnetic power over every man she encounters.

I must admit I have a tiny bit of sympathy for Allan (even though he’s still annoying) – he has got himself into a complete tangle through his naivety, and when he tries to behave honourably by not breaking his promise or casting aspersions on Lydia without proof, this only makes people turn against him even more. I also felt for him when Midwinter refuses his hand – although I loved that scene and the argument between Allan and Midwinter. Collins is great at dialogue.

I enjoyed this section – it feels like the action really ramped up.

Lorna wrote: "Hurrah, we finally got to see Lydia in action! It was great to see at first hand how manipulative she can be and how quickly she can change her behaviour and draw people in. . . She is obviously very skilled at this, and does seem to have a magnetic power over every man she encounters."

I am glad that "we finally got to see Lydia in action!" Collins does have a lazy tendency to tell rather than show so I appreciated the scene with Midwinter. However, despite that, I did feel during this section, that the extent of Lydia's magnetic powers felt a bit absurd. We have three gentleman who spent time slavishly worshipping her: Alan, Midwinter and Bradshaw. Bradshaw's worship shows that it isn't just the young and inexperienced subject to this worship. ( I anticipate Alan still naive at age 50 - his fault seems to be a result of a complete lack of what I call "street smarts" that I anticipate being a life-long affliction). I'm finding it hard to believe the extent all three give up any sense of right or wrong to please. Despite getting his lawyer's advice, I think Allan ultimately only snaps out of this slavish enchantment trance because he realizes he has a less strenuous alternative target in Miss Milroy.

Lorna wrote: "I must admit I have a tiny bit of sympathy for Allan (even though he’s still annoying) .."

Good for you. I'm not there yet and still feeling that Allan is so annoying that I don't worry about his fate. I'm trying to build up some sympathy for him as I thinking I will enjoy the book more if I do. But as of now, I'm leaning toward the best ending being more like the movies "Body Heat" of "Wild Things" with the femme fatale(Lydia) relaxing on the Riviera or someplace similar with the estate money and the men she leaves behind either dead, disgraced or befuddled.

Brian E wrote: "I'm leaning toward the best ending being more like the movies "Body Heat" of "Wild Things" with the femme fatale(Lydia) relaxing on the Riviera or someplace similar with the estate money and the men she leaves behind either dead, disgraced or befuddled."

Ha ha, well I would also be happy with that ending! I did say it was only a TINY bit of sympathy - he really is phenomenally irritating. I'm still enjoying the book, as I always do with Collins, but you make a good point that it might be even more enjoyable if I liked Allan more. I can't believe it was Collins' intention to alienate readers from one of his central characters but perhaps the Victorians reacted differently to him. I know contemporary reviewers were shocked by Lydia but I wonder what they made of Allan...

In the Week 5 reading, the fate vs. free will theme seems particularly ramped up and personified in Allan’s and Midwinter’s characters. Allan has always acted impulsively (which could be seen as the ultimate exercise of free will), but seems to be becoming a bit more thoughtful, at least sticking to his principles to keep promises and avoid harming others even to his own detriment. He listens to and understands his lawyer’s advice, but asserts his free will by choosing to ignore it to do what he thinks is right, illustrating the limitations in control free will gives him over his own life. He may make many questionable decisions, but at least he is trying. Midwinter, on the other hand, giving in to fate, seems to just give up and run away whenever things get difficult. He won’t listen to more than one side of the story about Lydia. He abandons Allan without even hearing him out and gives in to his lust for Lydia telling himself, “What is to be, will be,” abdicating any responsibility for his actions. It seems to me that Allan may be slowly learning about how manipulative people can be, while Midwinter just closes himself off or runs away (though at the end of this week’s reading he seems to have finally opened himself up to the worst possible confidant).