The title of this chapter is a little confusing to me. Apparently a miner forty niner is an individual who took part in the California Gold Rush. I suppose this could tie in with the fact that the general area of Cape Breton in which the Pipers are living is a mining community. I think the mentioning of this adds to the attitude of James: he believes that everyone in his town is backwards or uninformed, almost as if they've been living underground in the mines. However, that is just my interpretation.
In this chapter, Kathleen is characterized in depth. She is a certain "wonder-child," a phrase that James would probably be the first to describe her with, had it been in the go-to vocabulary in 1900. A superb analogy is made, which compares Kathleen to a miner's gold: "It was a moment of equal parts anxiety and awe. like the striking of a wide seam of gold. The prospector sinks to his knees-he's only been looking for coal. Ata gush of oil he'd hoot, baptize himself and buy the drinks. But the sight of gold is different. He observes a moment's silence. Then he raises, eyes watering. How to get it properly out of the Earth? How to not get robbed in the meantime?" (MacDonald 36). James has only been looking for oil with his first child. Like the man he is, he expected greatness. However, the greatness he finds in Kathleen is almost otherworldly; completely unexpected. The reader can just picture James and Kathleen by their piano, as James sits in anxiety and awe, waiting to hear the first perfect note sung by his daughter. In true James fashion, he doesn't consider her a human being equal to him; just a product or commodity that needs to be extracted and tampered with for his benefit. It also interests me that he doesn't want anyone to "rob" him of his "gold". I have a feeling he wants Kathleen all to himself.
Indeed, the relationship between James and Kathleen is an interesting one. Maternia and Kathleen are often compared in a way in which a mother and daughter should not be compared: "Maternia played, Kathleen turned seven" (MacDonald 37). Almost everything they do is pitted up against each other. When the James and Kathleen walk through town together, MacDonald ensures that "Together turned heads" (MacDonald 38). Would it not be more appropriate for a romantic couple to turn heads? James has a history of choosing younger women (Maternia herself was only thirteen,) so the reader can only assume where his relationship with Kathleen will go.
Maternia herself has lost control of her life. She has become almost robotic and her free will has been broken under James's rule. Maternia's responses become almost automatic. When James tells her that she is too fat: "Maternia looked at James from afar and said, 'Okay'"(MacDonald 37) The reader has a hard time deciding if Maternia puts up with James because she is scared of him, because she loves him, or because her self esteem is so pathetic at this point that she agrees with him. Personally, I think its a combination of all three factors. Maternia is also struggling internally with her own non-love for her child. Unlike most mothers, she has feelings of resentment and apathy for Kathleen. I find it interesting that the author added this element. She thinks aloud: "Maternia rocked the child and felt sad-was that closer to love?" (MacDonald 39) We can see Maternia's own demons progress in this chapter.
Towards the end of the chapter, Kathleen and James decide to destroy the scarecrow on their property, seemingly because Kathleen is scared of it. I think this symbolizes how Kathleen and James are turning on Maternia, as the scarecrow is wearing Maternia's clothes.
This book just keeps getting darker and darker. I love it!
Interesting Vocabulary:
-Adagio (piano-speak for music in slow tempo)
-Acciaccantura (piano-speak for an inferior note played at the same time as a normal note to give depth)
-Appoggiatura (piano-speak for a note played just before a normal note)
-Perishable
-Mephistophelize (Possible allusion to the German folklore tale of Mephistopheles, the devil who collects damned souls. In this usage, "Enough mechandise to mephistophelize a miner's wife" (MacDonald 38) could the author be suggesting that the sheer amount of worldly good in the said store could turn the a miner's wife into a stealing devil? I'm not sure, as it is kind of strange that she would be referring to a German folktale.)
-Magnate (A term exclusive to being a rich businessman involved in oil.)
-Immaculate
-Twigged to ("To catch on to" An interesting choice of vocabulary, considering Maternia is as fragile as a twig.
-Preternatural (Outside of what is considered "normal." Like this whole family, for instance.)
-Botany
-Ablutions (Perhaps another allusion? An ablution, in the traditional Christian sense is a bathing that "purifies" the receiver. Here, Kathleen is taking a regular old bath, but of course, considering all the religious implications of this story, it is described as such.)
-Deciphered
-Teetotaller (Someone who abstained from the use of alcohol-often for religious reasons. It is not surprised that James doesn't drink. He seems like the type of person that would not enjoy being drunk and therefore not in control of himself. James has a bit of a thing for control, evidently.)
-Perishable
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