I found this text to be the most interesting and my favorite reading of all the stories we have read up to this point in are readings. I was little disappointed with the fact that we don't know of Marah Rocke was wrong as Old Hurricane believed or innocent as Herbert Gresyon swore his life on. But as interesting as that was the most interesting aspect of the story I found was the setting of the whole story. As the story continued on the whole aspect of the trap door and all the different stories behind it fascinated me. Whether it was used to kill Indians to get land or as Old Hurricane said "was nothing more than a old cave that was used as a dry cellar". I was hoping that Cap and Pit-a-Pat would have explored it in more detail than the rather little investigating they did with the candle and the strap from her trunk. I was also disappointed by the fact that there were no more leads to the trap door when Cap searched for some. I would have loved for the story to continue going into detail with Cap and her curiosity with the trap door.
But the beginning of the text and going into detail with the setting by describing the likes of Hurricane Hall, Devils Run, and Devils Hoof. I felt as if the text really set the mood for the story and really established an intriguing and imaginative atmosphere that really left the reader pondering how all these settings will tie into the story later. I liked this a lot due to the fact that most authors during this time gave little attention to the setting, because they in no way wanted to take away from the moral lesson that they were tying into their story. But the fact that EDEN Southworth was willing to branch out and be different from the other authors was really groundbreaking for this time period.
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I agree that the beginning of this novel was a great introduction and the diction used by Southworth really allowed us to be "in" the characters world. I think Southworth was different in a plethora of ways and that was why I loved this story as well.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you that the setting was the most interesting aspect of the text. In all the other texts we have read the setting never seem to be a big aspect. I also like how Southworth took a completely different path from other 19th century writers and write this original book.
ReplyDeleteI share your fascination with the story about the trap door. I love how there were all these scary stories of its history with indians and how the offspring of the indians killed came back and sought their revenge. I just thought it added a little excitement to the story. I think it was very telling of Capitola's character when she was not afraid of the death surrounding the trap door's past. She said "I have been in too much deadly peril from the living ever to fear the dead!" Her past must have been very rough for her to feel this way.
ReplyDeleteI definitely agree with you about the beginning of the text and the descriptions leading up to the future story. The tone of the words evoked a specific mood from the reader, and even though It was not as common of a practice, I think that Southworth’s text is more powerful due to her setting and descriptions. With the setting not being a major focus in nineteenth century literature, I think The Hidden Hand was a refreshing change for our eyes.
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