The Blue Castle Book Club Chapter 37
Give LMM a posthumous prize for best comedy writing. But boooy, I do feel for Valancy.
I didn't mention it in my post yesterday but I wondered how Valancy got to Deerwood. We're only told she took a motor boat to the mainland but not how she got from there to Dr Trent's--presumably she walked but it must have been quite a trek (there were no buses, I take it). Now we know. She walked. I like the little detail of the passing car with the singing passengers; the choice of the song being too, of course.
I'd tell Valancy that she had not 'trapped Barney into marriage', but obviously I'm not there. The author has some sort of obsession with the phrase. I will not mention that book again. I will not mention that book again. I WILL NOT MENTION THAT BOOK AGAIN. (Not till the next chapter. Or the one after it.)
And divorce was so hard to get in Ontario. So expensive. And Barney was poor.
Hang on, was he not supposed to be a thief or?
With life, fear had come back into her heart. Sickening fear. Fear of what Barney would think. Would say. Fear of the future that must be lived without him. Fear of her insulted, repudiated clan.
Have you forgotten John Foster, Valancy? Remember John Foster.
There's some outstanding prose here. Draught from a divine cup. Spoiled, smirched, defaced. Beautiful death, sordid life. However I can't say I agree with it. Valancy, though, can't think any other way, I suppose. (Whatever happens now, I still think she should look back at that year with gratitude. She lived it. *shrug*)
All that mattered now was that Barney must somehow be made to believe she had not consciously tricked him.
There she goes again with that phrasing. Stop it, stop it, stop IT, stopitttttt.
What follows is one of the most comical writings I've ever come across. Everything about it--the shiny 'Vere de Vere' car, the haughty chauffeur in livery, the comically dressed comical man, it is so deliciously, beautifully, absurdly funny.
What I remember from reading this book for the first time--as I said before, this would've been be more than two decades ago--is being surprised. Dr Redfern is actually real? You see, I thought he was a made up figure, like Mr Clean or something (in my country he's Mr Proper). I know products are named after people who create them, but with the way he was described, I thought he was a mascot. Just. Comical, you know.
“Yes, I understand Bernie’s been calling himself Snaith."
Oh please, no, I can handle Barney, I got used to the name and can't imagine him being anything else. But not Bernie, please NO.
Bernard Snaith Redfern—that’s him.
And so we have the identity of our romantic hero. No Bluebeard or jailbird or fugitive, but the son of Dr Redfern.
"Miss, you can tell me how to get over to that island?"
"Nobody seems to be home there. I’ve done some waving and yelling. Henry, there, wouldn’t yell. He’s a one-job man. But old Doc Redfern can yell with the best of them yet, and ain’t above doing it. Raised nothing but a couple of crows. Guess Bernie’s out for the day."
Three cheers for Henry the chauffeur! I'm adding him to the list of quiet heroes.
Can you imagine the comical figure of Dr Redfern waving and yelling? Helloooooo, is anyone there? Some of you talented people, please make a fanart of it. Please PLEASE.
In the back of her mind the aforesaid little imp was jeeringly repeating a silly old proverb, “It never rains but it pours.”
The little imp has long left the back of your mind, Valancy. It's taken over the narrative.
Hi there, Mr Imp. Welcome to the book club, sit down, have a cup of tea.
And then Valancy says, uhm actually, I'm his wife and Dr Redfern takes off his hat and mops his brow with a YELLOW handkerchief, Lucy MAUD you're killing me. (I'm avoiding quoting too much from the chapter as the recap is long enough as it is.)
“Excuse me,” said Dr. Redfern. “This is a bit of a shock.”
“Shocks seem to be in the air this morning.” The imp said this out loud before Valancy could prevent it.
A biscuit with your tea, Mr Imp?
Come to think of it, they all could do with a cup of tea (I've been living in England for too long lol). Especially poor Henry.
He might have let me know. I’d have got acquainted with my daughter-in-law before this if he had. But I’m glad to meet you now, my dear—very glad. You look like a sensible young woman.
This is quite nice, actually? The Stirling types would interrogate her about her pedigree, but he's just like. You're okay.
"They were all after him, of course. Wanted his money? Eh? Didn’t like the pills and the bitters but liked the dollars. Eh? Wanted to dip their pretty little fingers in old Doc’s millions. Eh?”
Oh goody, let's not do this, please. Please not that 'gold digger' shit, please, nononono.
Okay I will just fly through the rest as this is getting too long.
So we have the reason for Barney's baggage with money and why he went away. Valancy thought of all sorts of scenarios, joked about Bluebeard's brides--yet it never occurred to her that he might have had an unhappy love affair. It didn't occur to me either, so I'm not the one to talk. (Maybe if I had read the book older, it would have, simply due to having had more experience with both life and reading books.)
Future warning for Chapter 42. You will not like what I will have to say, so just keep that in mind. There will be no villainisation of Ethel from me.
I should say something with regards to the lack of data protection, but I suppose it didn't exist then (not the way we know it now) and anyway, these people all know each other. Of course it was easy for someone like Dr Redfern to trace his son from the purchase of the necklace.
Some pretty decent sherlocking there, though, I give him that.
Valancy was fingering her necklace. She was wearing fifteen thousand dollars around her neck. And she had worried lest Barney had paid fifteen dollars for it and couldn’t afford it. Suddenly she laughed in Dr. Redfern’s face.
“Excuse me. It’s so—amusing,” said poor Valancy.
“Did Ethel Traverse ever marry?” queried Valancy irrelevantly.
Valancy. Honey. Barney has not seen her for ELEVEN years. His father here just literally accepted you as his wife, without interrogating you about your grandmother's maiden name, and even trusts you enough to ask you to get him to come back to civilisation. He is rather tactless, but that goes with his personality. But he's also like, well, you look alright, my daughter in law, come to Montreal.
Her old insecurity is back with a vengeance.
It's so funny that Dr Redfern suffers with rheumatism. Get him and Stickles together.
He was rather dreadful and loud—and—and—dreadful. But there was something about him she liked.
Could it be bc he was authentic? Her old life was filled with fakeness and performativity of the Stirling clan. Her breaking away from them came from gaining the courage to be herself. The people she was drawn to--Abel, Cissy and Barney--were not afraid to be themselves. Abel gives no fucks, Cissy rejected her baby daddy's proposal bc she knew he didn't love her, she chose a ruined reputation over living a lie. And Barney, of course, living on his own terms. Dr Redfern doesn't pretend--he is ridiculous but that is how he is.
She stood briefly like a faded flower bitten by frost, by the hearth, looking down on the white ashes of the last fire that had blazed in the Blue Castle.
Sad, but beautifully written.
“At any rate,” she thought wearily, “Barney isn’t poor. He will be able to afford a divorce. Quite nicely.”
Yes but. Maybe you should get that rolling pin ready. Where the hell is he?
PS: I hope Henry had a nice cup of tea upon his return to Port Lawrence.
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