I agree that marriage was the most sensible step for her. She had a solid business and I’m sure there were many good men who would have been interested in that partnership. That’s where I DO fault Eleanor. So rash. She refused to listen to the good advice, warnings and pleadings from the people she loved and trusted most.
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On the subject of marriage–or not–what did you think of Alyson’s life choices? Eleanor notes at one point that Alyson had prospects, but spurned men who came calling. I had a sense that Alyson was in love with Eleanor, but maybe I’m reading with too much modern interpretation.
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I also felt that Allison was in love with Eleanor. I thought it was going to consummated in the aftermath of Jankin’s assumed death.
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I agree with most of the discussion here. I looked it up and the “Married Woman’s Property Act of 1870” in the UK gave women the right to own property and inherit property without it automatically becoming her husband’s property.
We are currently on a Viking River cruise so I haven’t been able to contribute much. I am glad that I read it, but was as frustrated as all get out about Eleanor getting married so often.
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I too thought Alyson loved Eleanor as more than godsib.
The word godsib caught my attention. So:
In medieval England, parents and godparents called each other “godsibs” (that is, “God siblings”). The only trace of this old Catholic English practice in modern English is the word gossip, presumably a reference to the propensity of close companions such as compadres to chat and gossip with one another.
Take a look at the etymology of the word gossip:
From Middle English godsybbe, godsib (“a close friend or relation, a confidant; a godparent”), from Old English godsibb (“godparent, sponsor”), equivalent to god + sib. Doubletof godsib.
Alyson certainly falls under both close friend and relation (godsib) and close companion with whom to chat and gossip.
Who knew that the word gossip derived from godsib?
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Put me in the camp that thinks Alyson probably loved Eleanor as more than a sister. I was kind of sorry that nothing ever came of it as she might have steadied Eleanor.
Eleanor was certainly a frustrating character! She really suffers from impulse control. And really until the very end there’s very little growth in her character and at that point I barely believe she’s capable of it. So sure she’s resourceful, and caring, but with this huge blind spot.
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I agree that Eleanor’s last two husbands are at best questionable choices but all she’s known, since age 12, is life as a married woman. The handsomeness of husband number four, Simon, and the youth of husband number five, Jankin, must have been tempting after having old old husbands numbers 1-3. Not having either under her control wouldn’t have occurred to her since it contradicted her previous experiences.
In truth, Simon had a reputation and Eleanor should have listened but Jankin didn’t, at least not one as abusive toward women.
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Hmm … I wonder if third husband Mervyn sensed Alyson’s love for Eleanor. And isn’t it interesting that Eleanor and Alyson could have a close relationship as godsibs with no one thinking twice but as a man Mervyn needed to be more circumspect. In fact, he needed to marry to stem gossip.
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For what it’s worth: I can’t “like” posts or edit posts. Is anyone else having trouble?
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That happened to me 2 days ago but it fixed itself!
ETA: I just recalled this. Right after the issue, my iPad crashed and I lost all my open tabs and had to log in again. Maybe that helped?
Tagging @CC_Jon
In the prologue, Eleanor describes herself:
… the imperfect child who grew into an imperfect woman – experienced, foolish and clever too – oft at the same time. Thrice broken, twice betrayed, once murdered, and once a murderer, who mended herself time after time and rose to live again in stories and in truth – mostly.
All this despite five bloody husbands.
All this, despite the damn Poet.
Her description strikes me as fairly accurate.
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Just tried exiting and then logging in again. Nope. I can add an emoji and reply to an individual post and the thread.
No liking someone’s post unless I add an emoji and no editing my posts (so please excuse errors).
Please take a look at: Maintenance scheduled for Friday September 30 - #14 by DadOfJerseyGirl Let me know over there if this is the problem you are seeing too.
Yes or at least it was. I have everything at the moment. I did for a brief time midday also but it went away again.
Now it’s back (but for how long?)
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I can’t like, edit, or reply to posts right now. I can add emojis though!
I meant I can’t reply to individual posts. Luckily, I can reply to the whole thread.
Please posts problems with the site in this thread: Maintenance scheduled for Friday September 30 - #14 by DadOfJerseyGirl
Now back to book discussions!
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Come to think of it, yes, I agree that Allyson was likely romantically in love and totally committed to Eleanor. She would have been a much better partner than the last 2 husbands but Eleanor was blind to it. She really enjoyed the more carnal side of marriage with the males.
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I want to go back to this because I think the book unravels a bit near the end.
First of all, after seeing Jankin with his new (battered) wife, Eleanor arranges to meet him privately in hopes of getting a financial payoff, even though she knows he is a sadistic murderer. This isn’t her typical poor judgement born of a powerful sex drive – it’s simply nuts and leads directly to Lowdy’s death.
And if that weren’t bad enough, these are the thoughts Eleanor has when Jankin shows up (p. 482): “God, he may be many things, this man I’d wed, but he was still bloody handsome”…his laugh was “still charming”…“I’d forgotten how very blue his eye was”…“The imperfection simply enhanced his looks.” UGH. He was a monster who violently murdered her dearest friend, and the truth is, his face would have aroused nothing but terror.
Secondly, Lowdy’s death throws Eleanor back into the path of Ordric, and suddenly he’s a gentleman saying things like, “Are you cold, mistress?” and she’s grateful for his company. Ordric tells her, “I know a decent person when I see one…You gave my Lowdy a proper life.” And then he gets all choked up. Please. This was the man who burned her house down, murdered one of the men in her household, permanently disabled the other, and also killed her hounds. Eleanor’s excuse is, “Someone like me took friends where we could.” As the saying goes, with friends like that, who needs enemies?
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