Well here we are on week 6 of the TC re-read, the wait is over - Alec is here!!! I would love to hear all your thoughts on TC Alec and his place in the book 💖
Hello hello! Answering this 2 months late, as one does :)
Oh, Alec. I love him so much. I ship Ralph/Laurie, of course, but I have a soft spot for Ralph/Alec (and Ralph/Bunny, but that's another discussion).
I think it's so lovely that they're exes but still close? Ralph came to his birthday! He brought a present! He's fiercely protective of Alec and hates what Sandy puts him through!
Alec suffers so much!!!! Obviously it's very important to the plot that Ralph thinks Alec betrayed him, and that Alec doesn't challenge that accusation/belief, but omg. It pains me so much. Just use your words, Alec! Tell him the truth!!!
And yet, even after this, Ralph is still looking out for Alec!
"You're talking to me now" and the earlier "He's not feeling half as ill as I'd like to make him" are soooo hot.
Sorry, this is turning into a Ralph manifesto. I just want to highlight how much I love that they still care about each other, even though they're no longer together. Alec looks out for Ralph, too! He doesn't want Laurie to hurt Ralph the way others have in the past.
Also, Alec "hates soft thinking on the one hand and intolerance on the other" Deacon? Delicious.
Okay, also, Ralph nearly gave up the sea for Alec. Do you know how amazing that is??? Ralph Lanyon, choosing to give up the sea for someone, before the choice is taken from him and he's forced to give it up? Sure, it didn't work out between them, but that means Alec is quite something.
AND ANOTHER THING Alec is the only person Ralph told about Odell's death (and presumably his infatuation with Odell). That definitely means something, and speaks to Alec's character (and how much Ralph cares about him).
Also, I love Alec's speech about homosexuality in chapter 8. "I'm not prepared to accept a standard which puts the whole of my emotional life on the plane of immorality" and "I'm not a criminal. I'm prepared to go to some bit of trouble, if necessary, to make that point" are great. It's just banger after banger in Bunny's rooms.
And then!!! And then!!! Alec swooping in to save the day at the very end! Rocking up in chapter 16 to metaphorically smack some sense into Laurie and straighten out the whole misunderstanding! Of course it wasn't Ralph who Andrew struck, it was Bunny, don't be a fool Laurie, and how dare you have a row with Ralph about it! Go fix this at once! Here's a pass, we'll say you've got an ill family member! He's so tired and exasperated in that chapter, and he's so done with Laurie's shit.