OK, I put off writing about this chapter for about an hour, because I have no idea how to describe it. It was crazy.
First of all, I should say that I like Araminta here. She's reasonably assertive but not a jerk, she doesn't lose her head, and she keeps her mouth shut under provocation. While I suspect that she is secretly in love with Jason, she's not being foolish about it. Sadly, it's safe to predict that Araminta will become much more emotional and foolish before the book is over.
Araminta's new job is a bad one: she's taking care of a fairly helpless woman for three hours every morning. Not totally helpless, given that she manages to eat a box of chocolates, but pretty incapable of doing anything for herself. Araminta's employer is over-the-top Victorian, refusing to let Araminta leave on time, and grumbling when Araminta wants to take her day off.
Mr Smith has gone around the bend as well. He and Alice continue to be extravagant, and he won't even hear of Alice getting a job. Happily, Araminta realizes how foolish her father is. After he looks mournful about "the sorrow your selfishness causes me", Araminta sails past it: "Father, you sound like someone in a Victorian novel. Have some more pudding?" (p. 88)
But the craziest, most Victorian, most Betts-at-her-wackiest character is Jason. Araminta comes out of work on Saturday to find Jason waiting in the Rolls for her. He'd rung up the agency to find out where she was, and why this didn't ring alarm bells for the agency's or in Araminta's head, I don't know.
Jason takes Araminta out to lunch, orders for her (even though they're not eating anywhere formal at all), and then responds to Araminta's description of her job with: "Of course you cannot go back to that dreadful woman. I'll see the agency and arrange for you to leave as from today." (p. 96). An aghast Araminta protests this, on the grounds that she needs the money, but he keeps on going.
He asks her not to interrupt, and then tells her that he has decided to marry. He wants someone to come home to at the end of the day; he's not in love, he makes clear, but he'll settle for second-best. Sensible Araminta asks why he is telling her this, and he responds: "I considered it right to explain my feelings before I ask you to marry me, Araminta" (p. 97). She protests that he doesn't know anything about her (which is essentially true - and though Araminta doesn't know it, it has only been a week since he considered marrying anyone at all, let alone her).
He goes on to insist (Jason's word, not mine) that regardless of whether she decides to marry him, Araminta must give up her dreadful that day. That hour! And so he does, and now Araminta is unemployed. She says goodbye to him thus: "Thank you for my lovely lunch, and thank you for proposing to me. Shall I write and let you know?" (p. 99). And then she asks the vicar for advice - much more sound than the Betts heroine (can't remember who) who asks the Betts hero for advice about what to do about the Betts hero.
In case it's not clear, I like Araminta - she's so sensible in the face of melodrama! Sadly, I expect she'll say yes to the proposal in the next chapter, and become a typical Betts lovefool in the chapters to follow. So: a moment of silence for the sensible Araminta!
Showing posts with label marriage of convenience. Show all posts
Showing posts with label marriage of convenience. Show all posts
Thursday, December 20, 2007
Thursday, August 23, 2007
plots
So. I've just finished blogging about the first Betts on my list, so now it's time for me to work out names for the various plots. All Else Confusion is certainly the basic marriage of convenience. There's the slight twist that Jake doesn't realize he's in love with Annis straight away, and Annis has at least a chance of happiness with Matt, but that's it. The marriage of convenience nearly always has at least one of them in love from the get-go, it always features a shopping spree (though there's one book, which I might be misremembering, in which the hero pretends he's poor. It sounds so unlikely for a Betts that I'll assume I'm wrong for the moment).
There's also the helpless woman plot, in which the hero finds the heroine a series of jobs - or, occasionally, she finds them herself - and despite living almost hand-to-mouth, she spends most of her surplus income on jersey dresses and two-piece outfits. That comes in handy when the hero falls in love with her, of course, but it's hardly a sound financial strategy. Of course, because she's of good family, she rarely takes a job as a maid - though that does happen. And she never goes off to get training, or live on the dole for a while until she is trained for a career. Or go to university - Betts heroines are never, ever university girls. Occasionally, the heroine has her own business - I'm reminded of a Betts heroine who owns a teashop and never makes any money, which makes her a suitable candidate for rescue by the hero.
Sometimes the helpless woman plot is combined with the marriage of convenience, or with the fabulously over-the-top ungrateful family (exemplified in the book where her selfish sister doses some babies with sleeping pills so she can go to a fashion show, if memory serves me correctly). The ungrateful family plot is where one is most likely to find a Betts heroine doing work that's "below her station", such as cleaning houses, because she works and works just so her family can buy chocolates. Extravagantly. More rarely, the Betts heroine is the older sister and caretaker of her siblings.
The inappropriate fiancee plot is a favorite as well. The heroines rarely have interesting fiancees (they tend to be dull but worthy), but the hero's fiancee is nearly always thin, attractively dressed, selfish and mean. They make for interesting reading - I'm speaking on the Betts scale of interesting, of course. Funnily enough, the Betts heroines can be just as catty as the mean fiancees when provoked, but the hero always realizes the sterling worth of the heroine and persuades the fiancee to break the engagement. Often, she finds solace in the arms of an American - rich Americans, or overly friendly ones, are the only people from the States who ever show up in the books.
The medical plot can be combined with the inappropriate fiancee plot or the ungrateful family plot (as in the example with the sleeping pills above), but basically it's your doctor-nurse cliche. They work in the same medical setting, and through a series of dramatic events they realize they're right for each other,
There's also the helpless woman plot, in which the hero finds the heroine a series of jobs - or, occasionally, she finds them herself - and despite living almost hand-to-mouth, she spends most of her surplus income on jersey dresses and two-piece outfits. That comes in handy when the hero falls in love with her, of course, but it's hardly a sound financial strategy. Of course, because she's of good family, she rarely takes a job as a maid - though that does happen. And she never goes off to get training, or live on the dole for a while until she is trained for a career. Or go to university - Betts heroines are never, ever university girls. Occasionally, the heroine has her own business - I'm reminded of a Betts heroine who owns a teashop and never makes any money, which makes her a suitable candidate for rescue by the hero.
Sometimes the helpless woman plot is combined with the marriage of convenience, or with the fabulously over-the-top ungrateful family (exemplified in the book where her selfish sister doses some babies with sleeping pills so she can go to a fashion show, if memory serves me correctly). The ungrateful family plot is where one is most likely to find a Betts heroine doing work that's "below her station", such as cleaning houses, because she works and works just so her family can buy chocolates. Extravagantly. More rarely, the Betts heroine is the older sister and caretaker of her siblings.
The inappropriate fiancee plot is a favorite as well. The heroines rarely have interesting fiancees (they tend to be dull but worthy), but the hero's fiancee is nearly always thin, attractively dressed, selfish and mean. They make for interesting reading - I'm speaking on the Betts scale of interesting, of course. Funnily enough, the Betts heroines can be just as catty as the mean fiancees when provoked, but the hero always realizes the sterling worth of the heroine and persuades the fiancee to break the engagement. Often, she finds solace in the arms of an American - rich Americans, or overly friendly ones, are the only people from the States who ever show up in the books.
The medical plot can be combined with the inappropriate fiancee plot or the ungrateful family plot (as in the example with the sleeping pills above), but basically it's your doctor-nurse cliche. They work in the same medical setting, and through a series of dramatic events they realize they're right for each other,
All Else Confusion, chapter 9
It's the last chapter - yippee! It's hard to remember that this book is 25 years old - but even in other times, Jake's attitudes would have been disturbing. Jake leaves Annis at her parents' house while he goes overseas, and doesn't tell her where he is going or when he'll be back. So when Annis decides to chase him down to tell him she loves him, she has to find out his whereabouts from his secretary (who, natch, is surprised that Annis doesn't know). So Annis flies off to Naples, tells Jake that she loves him and finds out that (of course) he's in love with her, and they decide to have a proper honeymoon in Naples.
I don't think I'll be this happy to see chapter 9 in every Betts. This is one of my least favorites, because Annis is more of a doormat than usual - well, she's probably average on that score, but he walks all over her more often.
I'm done! This is, by the way, the marriage of convenience plot. It's slightly unusual - Annis flying off to Naples is atypical, as is Jake being a businessman and not a doctor, but Betts couldn't write exactly the same book over and over again, could she?
I don't think I'll be this happy to see chapter 9 in every Betts. This is one of my least favorites, because Annis is more of a doormat than usual - well, she's probably average on that score, but he walks all over her more often.
I'm done! This is, by the way, the marriage of convenience plot. It's slightly unusual - Annis flying off to Naples is atypical, as is Jake being a businessman and not a doctor, but Betts couldn't write exactly the same book over and over again, could she?
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