tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30395167.post7378939758924362357..comments2023-08-15T07:41:19.933-05:00Comments on <center>Slaves of Golconda</center>: Jamaica Inn: A Guest PostQuillhillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07601080339912553168noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30395167.post-23636607001655698902014-02-06T18:00:31.549-06:002014-02-06T18:00:31.549-06:00I completely agree with you that the gender ambigu...I completely agree with you that the gender ambiguities remain even with Mary's decision, and that's one of the things I like about the book. It reaches a satisfying conclusion without settling the characters into stereotyped places. Interesting point about Helston. This hadn't struck me as a problem as I read, but I think you're right. For me, it makes the ending even more satisfying, as she rejects the (false) paradise and heads in the other direction. Perhaps on some level she knows that Helston won't be what she hoped for and that's why she doesn't go there? But yes, that could be signaled more strongly in the text.Rebecca H.https://www.blogger.com/profile/10825532162727473112noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30395167.post-21119474479756377252014-02-06T18:00:16.926-06:002014-02-06T18:00:16.926-06:00This comment has been removed by the author.Rebecca H.https://www.blogger.com/profile/10825532162727473112noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30395167.post-5536249878009500422014-02-06T09:19:54.672-06:002014-02-06T09:19:54.672-06:00I like what you say about Helston. I wasn't so...I like what you say about Helston. I wasn't so convinced by Mary's dream of farming on her own there either. Farming is hard work and I never got the impression that she actually did much of it before her mother died. But I suppose compared to Jamaica Inn Helston did seem like paradise even though it definitely was not.Stefaniehttp://somanybooksblog.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30395167.post-40181820317793290752014-01-30T18:18:32.432-06:002014-01-30T18:18:32.432-06:00I am no expert at literature and do not feel up to...I am no expert at literature and do not feel up to commenting on most of what Dorian has said, but as to Mary's former home being so wonderful--"there is no place like home." No matter how tarnished it is, the place where we were brought up (as long as our childhood was fairly normal)is remembered with quite a polishing job done to it by our minds. It isn't until we return, having moved away, that we realize most of its flaws. How many times have you been shocked to return to a childhood haunt, to see just how grubby it really is? And yet, at age 55, those childhood places are the ones that I still live in as an adult in my nightly dreams. The fact that Mary's thoughts of her mother are all located there too just adds to the power of the place. I think that this aspect of the story was very realistic.LauraChttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17967327592468257519noreply@blogger.com