I'm not completely done with the first reading yet but so far, Arabella is completely ridiculous. She is so out of touch with reality and I can not take her or this story seriously at all. The only one that seems to have any sort of sense is her father (and that's not saying much since he is trying to make her marry her cousin.) Arabella is stuck in some sort of fantasy world where she thinks of herself as a heroine in a romance novel. I literally laughed every time she thought a man would kill himself or in her words "commit some very extravagant actions" because of her. The first man mentioned, Mr. Hervey really could have cared less about her but she was convinced that he was stricken with illness because she refused him. In comparison to Pamela Arabella is even more ridiculous. At least Pamela had some sense of reality. Arabella creates these fantastic stories in her head and she just appears crazy to other people. Her maid Lucy is of no help because she listens to Arabella and justifies everything she says. I have no idea why Glanville is so in love with her. She is absolutely crazy and has no sense of reality or how the world works. I can't wait until she is put in a real world situation outside of her house. Her reaction to people's behaviors and manners in the real world should be quite interesting.
I don't understand how one person can be so full of themselves. Arabella is vein to the point of insanity. She thinks everyone loves her and that her own beauty is so captivating that it can drive many men to the point of suicide. This woman is highly delusional. However, since she has never had any real interaction with people other than with her father and her servants, I guess she can't really be blamed for behaving in this manner. From the books she reads, this is really all she knows. I really hope she gains an understanding of how the world functions outside of her own home.
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I really got a kick out of her perception of herself through the eyes of others. Every time a male character was introduced I was waiting for her imagination to run wild. I questioned why Glanville would be in love with her also. The only concrete answer provided in the text was that any of the men thought that she was so extraordinarily beautiful that they overlooked her kookiness. Reflecting on it a little further he probably likes that she is unusual because he is conditioned to knowing and liking normal.
ReplyDeleteIt does seem weird that after doing my presentation on the rise of the novel, we're still reading nearly complete fiction. At least Evelina got into situations that weren't completely ridiculous that she could get herself out of, but Arabella is clueless. It's so fairy-tale-esque yet a lot of what I am reading is that people are growing a bit bored with her. And Glanville is probably in love with her because she's beautiful and "virtuous" - which in this case of course means she doesn't know anything. At all. Except for her books. It worked out for Belle... oh, wait, that was a fairy tale too...
ReplyDeleteI had the same reaction as you at the beginning. I am now a little more open to accept the fact that she can't help it. She thinks that all women (except servants) have their own set of adventures- all of them drive someone or other to suicide. She is far from mean spirited- just sooooo clueless that it is sometimes painful.
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