This was how Mr. Jarndyce came to know Esther and he felt obligated to take her under his care since it is in his nature to do so, or was it because of something more than just that?. Further through their conversation he said "I saw my ward oftener than she same and I always knew she was beloved useful and happy. she repays me twenty-thousand-fold, and twenty more to that, every hour in every day!" speaking about Esther in which she replied "And oftener still she blesses the Guardian who is a Father to her!" The word Father is key here because of the way that Mr. Jarndyce reacts to it as soon as he hears it. It's as if it stirred him or caught him by surprise because "At the word Father" Esther "saw his former trouble come into his face. He subdued it before but it was gone in an instant; but it had been there, and it had come so swiftly upon my words that I felt as if they had given him a shock" It seems like Jarndyce asked himself in his head "does she know?"
The way Mr. Jarndyce acted was strange, and I'm gonna put it out there, maybe he is her father? And maybe he doesn't want her to know just yet. I say I would rather want him to be her father than other potential parents such as Nemo; because for starters Nemo is dead and Jarndyce is not. I would also say that Esther and Mr. Jarndyce have one thing in common, and that's dealing with emotions. Mr. Jarndyce has to go into the Growlery in order to deal with them if not he runs away and as for Esther, she has trouble dealing with them when it comes to her own feelings. I hope all you agree because we all know that Esther doesn't exactly share every detail about herself when she feels self-conscious.
So that's what I have to say on that, and as for a potential Mother for Esther, I say it may not be Lady Dedlock but the possibility is still out there. We just have to find out as we read on.
I agree with Felipe alot on this topic of Esther and her father. I thought so to, in my post I also discussed how I felt that Esther and Mr. Jarndyce are related. Even if in the next few chapters we don't find out that Mr. Jarndyce is Esther's father I believe that he is though RELATED to Esther in some way.
ReplyDeleteOne question I'll throw in here: what difference would it make if Jarndyce is related or not? Think about it: if Dickens's point is that we are all connected, does it matter if we are literally related? Do family connections matter more?
ReplyDeleteAnd prepare yourself for the entrance of one of the weirdest families in all of literature: the Smallweeds... I can't wait to hear what you have to say about them!
I will go out on a limb here and say that perhaps John Jarndyce likes Esther, ina not so guardianly way. His connection to her is somewhat ambiguous at this point, but I think he is definately hiding something from her. As for the Smallweeds, they are quite strange. I think that we can contrast Judy Smallweed with Charley Neckett. Both of these young females have adult personas, but Charley has that persona because she was forced to grow up after her parents passed away. Judy, on the other hand, was born an adult, and does nothing with her "adulthood" other than master how to reprimand Charley. It is very interesting that Dickens contrasts these two characters and even puts them in the same home.
ReplyDeleteOn John as Esther's father:
ReplyDeleteThe argument seems valid enough, but I feel weird about it. John is such a good guardian that it'd be weird for him not to come out and say he is her father. What would have been the purpose of him sending her off and then taking her in later, without telling her their true connection? Though to play devil's advocate to myself, it was said that he has trouble with emotions.
If he is the "baby daddy", and we didn't have Maury to prove it, I'd argue that John and Esther are so alike, and he may feel guilty at the word of "father" due to some reason he was forced to give her up and miss out on her childhood or his inability to be a true father with the capacity to give emotion versus a guardian who isn't expected to be so affectionate.
But part of me feels like maybe there is something else there that unsettles him about the word, like maybe how he is truly connected to her or whether he feels more youthful than the connotation of seniority that comes with the age associated with fathers.
And for Judy and Charley: I really see where you're coming from. I totally feel like Judy represents a person maturing too fast without life lessons and limits: they seem well taken care of but undisciplined in caring in the Smallweed House. Charley, through circumstance, has limits and responsibility, to care for her siblings, and so she doesn't abuse others in any way because she lives in a world of supporting others for the greater good.
ReplyDeleteIf I'm going to get nerdy, it's like Marvel's Spider-Man. Uncle Ben always tells Peter while growing up that "With Great Power Comes Great Responsibility". And when teenage, spider-irradiated Peter Parker allows a burglar to pass him because he's mad at the person the burglar robbed, and his Uncle is later killed by the same burglar, it makes him realize he has to be responsible because every little thing counts.
And with that, he has to balance a life of paying for school by himself, helping his now-widowed Aunt keep her house, helping his friends in need as Peter, and helping the city as Spider-Man, and all of it constantly reminds him to stay humble and to support others for the greater good.
When you look at a DC Superhero named Booster Gold, he was a character who was born in the future (25th century), was a star football player, and then messed up and became a nobody. He finds a "superhero museum" that glorified the heroes of our time and, believe it or not, had working replicas or originals of superhero equipment. As a janitor he had access to them and one night made a costume, stole the special equipment, and found a time machine in the same exhibit that took him to the past and allowed him to be a hero.
Instead of trying to change the future for the better he wastes his time trying to seek fame and only becomes a B-list hero. Later he was used in a story showing that he was preventing disasters he knew would happen, but only to gain popularity (he'd have his camera nearby) and to help gain more sponsors, who he could give stock market advice to.
Both heroes have the capability to do good, but one, without the life lessons and only with the powers, wastes it on petty things.
Judy has all this supposed maturity and knowledge but no wisdom to help foster her capacity to do good: she wastes it on petty lashings out on Charley and bad goals. Charley sticks through it all, having wisdom, and tries to do good by her siblings and her friends, and is all the better for it.
Sorry, that was a huge digression...
I like this discussion -- Sarah's insight that Jarndyce might have not-so-guardianly feelings and Masoud's reference to Jarndyce as a "baby daddy," perhaps the first in what must be at least a million references to Jarndyce! I like the superhero analogy. Do you think Dickens's point is trending toward the idea of a superhero (Esther saves the world!) or away from it (we all have to play a part because we are all connected)?
ReplyDeleteI don't think John Jarndyce is Esther's father because if that was the case, why wouldn't he tell her by now. Why keep the secret and make the poor girl suffer for so long. I also kind of wished Nemo wasn't Esther's potential father either but it seems like he could be it. Nemo had a bad past where he had an illegitimate child with a woman, and that is probably why he was hiding from everyone and was lonely.
ReplyDeleteI don't think John Jarndyce is Eshter's father, that would be too boring. I would rather Nemo, because it just makes things more interesting.
ReplyDeleteAgreed, and it would explain Lady Dedlocks interest in Nemo and her obvious distress about the news of his death???
ReplyDelete