Castle Rackrent by Maria Edgeworth
You know there's a part of me that thinks of Thady like that crazy old uncle or neighbor that everyone has in their life. You know the one, the one that always has a story about everything great and small and how they were there for it. Or at least they know someone who was. I only wish their stories were as loyal as the ones that we got from Thady.
Now we're presented with a family that start with perhaps the quintessential Irish hero king, Sir Patrick, and we have to suffer through the bumbling misfortunes of his ill begotten line until we reach the tragic end with Sir Condy, who many people view as Sir Patrick reborn. What can we learn from this family?
1. Don't let your wife buy all the crazy baubles and dresses that she's grown accustomed to when you know your family is broke (Thank you Sir Condy).
2. Never wed for money, especially when your wife and her family will always have more than most of your country in the last ten years (Thank you Sir Kit.)
3. The law, even when it's on your side, doesn't make up for living a good life full of enjoyment (Thank you Sir Murtagh).
Now these are by no means the only lessons that we can learn from the Rackrent family, they give us so many opportunities to look at them and go, I will not be that guy. Please don't be that guy...
I think though that some of the best lessons in Edgeworth's satire comes more from Thady himself and how he deals with his place in the world. Seriously it must have been a blessing for him in that span of ever shifting masters to know that his place was there at their sides, that his loyalty was perhaps the greatest asset that these lords would ever have at their disposal. Thady couldn't even make him think poorly of the Lords of the Rackrent clan, and could barely justify such thoughts about their ladies. In the end the Rackrents were more his children than his own son.
Oh Jason... Of all the ills that befell Castle Rackrent and her denizens I doubt there was any as painful or as unsuspected as Jason M'Quirk. In the face of so many generations of family service Jason's supposed betrayal of not only the Rackrent clan, but of his own father, is something that any observant reader could have told you was coming from early in the tale and yet Edgeworth still makes us feel the bitter sting of his actions. Thady points it out himself on page 106 when he speaks of Jason "I wondered, for the life of me, how he could harden himself to do it; but then he had been studying the law, and had made himself attorney Quirk;". If we look back on when Sir Murtagh was in charge, who was himself and attorney, there was little in the way of joy that we could connect to and even less in the way that his family existed. It was sad to say the least that Jason couldn't learn from this preceding character's losses.
And I'm not certain that it was Edgeworth's intention that we reviled the women of the Rackrents in the way that I ended up doing. There were few if any traits that I could find in them to connect with. Although I could understand Sir Murtagh's bride and her frugality, I had no respect for the manner that she dealt with those who rented from her husband. Then there was Sir Kit's Jewish wife, who even in devout faith wouldn't give up her cross, and yet was it really faith or was it her shrewd sense of money. I pitied her more than anything, however I pitied Kit as well for wedding such an unyielding woman. And then there was the quandary of Judy M'Quirk and Miss Isabella. I think in the end Condy would have been happier, and perhaps even better off if he had wed where his heart told him to, with Judy, but he trusted to chance and eventually was ruined by the one that wanted him the most. Seriously Isabella had to be one of the flightiest girls in the book, with a theatrical response for everything. Did that really work during that time? Because seriously if it did, I'm living in the long era. Still there is almost nothing to find to love about these women when all is said and done and I can only think that Edgeworth was making a commentary about the women themselves as well as their lordly husbands.
All of this though is just observation and conjecture, of which I am becoming quite fond of. Sadly enough my favorite character is one that we barely get to see, Sir Patrick, who even in death had a merry song to sing and who reminds us not to take the world to seriously.
"He that goes to bed, and goes to bed sober,
Falls as the leaves do, falls as the leaves do, and dies in October;
But he that goes to be , and goes to be mellow,
Lives as he ought to do, lives as he ought to do, and dies an honest fellow."
WS
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WS,
ReplyDeleteI like your discussion of women in this novel. In my own work on Edgeworth, I've noticed that she often doesn't have a lot of nice things to say about women. In her novel _The Absentee_, for instance, she's very critical of one Anglo-Irish character who exploits her tenants and bankrupts her family to impress her British friends. In _Belinda_ she presents us with another female character who literally becomes disfigured (probably by mercury poisoning!) by trying to make herself more beautiful. I wonder if Edgeworth is making some sort of commentary on the new sort of "purchase power" women have in this new imperial culture. If we think about it, imperialism at its core is to some extent based on "domestic" goods--sugar, tea, silk, cotton, etc. I sometimes wonder if Edgeworth is indicting her "sisters" and their roles in this new exploitative consumer culture? While the women in this novel are not always placed in the most flattering of lights, they do seem to have a lot of "power" in terms of money.
I find it really perplexing when trying to consider what Edgeworth's economic or political philosophy is. I also was thinking a similar thing to what Colleen says, Edgeworth is making some sort of commentary on the new sort of "purchase power" women have in this new imperial culture. If we think about it, imperialism at its core is to some extent based on "domestic" goods--sugar, tea, silk, cotton, etc.
ReplyDeleteHowever, I still don't know what to make of Jason. Edgeworth does seem to have this negative attitude towards "new exploitive consumer culture." However, the character Jason is shown to have success through his effort, education and opportunity. My first impression of Jason was that he is supposed to be seen as a somewhat heroic figure in breaking a cycle of a hierarchy (where wealth and land are only obtained through heredity and marriage). Jason literally works his way into an upper class.
However, after reading Celtic Dreamer's analysis, I realized that Jason's legitimate ownership is still disputed in the end and the story really doesn't have a specific resolution. Perhaps it does have more to do with the paradoxical question of who has the right to the land that has been under the control of colonialism for so long? Like I said in another post, it reminds me in similarity to the Israeli/Palestinian conflict only on two levels: One, is the between the British and Irish and the second is amongst the Irish and Anglo-Irish. The Irish are trying to form a unified national identity, but this proves to be an almost impossible feat because of how many diverse discourses make up Ireland. It seems to be a struggle with an idea of hybridity and no one being able to define what authenticity (what it means to be Irish) .
Hey WS,
ReplyDeleteFirst off I have to say that I found your list of three lessons learned to be absolutely, well…true, but also equally hilarious (Thank you Wicked Seraph)☺
One thing that I have to disagree with you on is your idea that Thady’s “loyalty was perhaps the greatest asset that these lords would ever have at their disposal.” From what I read, Thady’s actions, and more importantly inactions, were one of the main factors that led to the ruin of the Rackrent family. Either through him aiding his son in manipulating the bids on the Rackrent land so his Jason could purchase it, or by him standing idly by as the masters threw, and drank, away their fortune with one horrible action after another, I believe Thady to have played a major role in their downfall.
I really enjoyed your discussion of the Rackrent women in the novel. Like you, I did not see any of the women in a good light, but I did not so much dislike them, as I did pity them. Do not get me wrong they were not exactly agreeable, but you have to give them some slack especially considering who their husbands were!
Looking over all of the marriages I do not think you could say that any of the Rackrents married for love. Whether it was out of greed, which was the case of Sir Kit and led to the seven year “incarceration” of his young Jewish bride, or by the flip of a coin in the case of Sir Condy’s disastrous marriage, none of the couples could have been said to have had love for one another. The Rackrent women were all very different in their character, and I found that the only thing that they really had in common was their wealth.
I can't say that I agree with your interpretation of the women in Rackrent. As shrewd or frustrating they appear, I feel there are equally as many traits that can be admired. I would also keep in mind that we learn about these women, through Thady. And, Thady is not the most reliable or honest source (even the editor agrees) - "We none of us ever saw or heard her speak for seven years after that*" *-This part of the history of the Rackrent family can scarcely be thought credible; but in justice to honest Thady... I don't find Thady "honest" at all and believe honest was more of a title, like your honour. The masters of the Rackrent estate hardly showed honour.
ReplyDeleteAs for Sir Kit's wife, there was something about her stubbornness that I enjoyed. Kit made it no secret that he married her for money. Thady found her ignorance quite comical and who made a rude comment concerning her ethnicity- "she was a Jewish by all accounts, who are famous for their great riches." Kit was rude to her, cursing her while ill. He poked fun at her, and insulted her and her faith. Granted her cross was one of diamonds, but it was all she had and had every right to hold on to something that belonged to her. I think we should also remember how young a couple Sir Kit and his wife were.
While some of the actions and lifestyle choices are over-indulgent I think it serves as some kind of representation of class and outward appearances. Every "crazy baubles and dresses that she's grown accustomed to when you know your family is broke" wasn't done in secret. The men were just as bad for indulging their women...