Monday, March 29, 2010

Responsibility

Because nearly everyone in this story dies, and Henry probably dies in spirit, could you lay responsibility in any one place here? More than one place?
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5 comments:

Erin said...

I think there's definitely shared responsibility. Miss Channing and Mr. Reed knew what they were getting into, knew people were going to get hurt. And I didn't like the way they each seemed to be using Henry as a confidant or sometimes as a chaperon during their outings. There was something odd about them involving Henry so much in their relationship. On the other hand, at the end they were trying to do the right thing. Miss Channing was going to leave, and Mr. Reed was going to return to his wife. They'd already done harm, of course, but things might have worked out in some way, if Henry hadn't pushed Mrs. Reed over the edge.

I can't blame Henry, really, because he was just a dumb teenager and didn't understand how complicated adult relationships and feelings can be.

9:30 AM, March 30, 2010
kc said...

My impression is that it was just a big mess with no clear villain (which is kind of the genius of the book because that's how life often seems to work — we all contribute smaller wrongdoings along the way until we end up with one massive wrongdoing that doesn't have a single author). Henry took a lot of private blame unto himself, but he also reviled the prosecutor for the all-too-human thirst for finding a single person to blame and punish. It wouldn't do to say, "Well, it was just one of those things."

I like what Erin says about not really being able to blame Henry, even though he was the proximate cause of Mrs. Reed coming unhinged and going on her deadly rampage. As Erin suggests, in his self-centered youthfulness, he surely thought that his comment would make Mrs. Reed pack up and move and be sad for a awhile until she found a new man. He probably had no idea how emotionally fragile she was at that moment and how she could snap. (On the other hand, though, he didn't try to save her either once she was drowning ...)

11:50 AM, March 31, 2010
cl said...

I also thought Miss Channing and Mr. Reed played a greater role in the tragedy -- not about the adultery so much as what you say, Erin, about involving Henry so much. It was inappropriate to use him as an alibi for their get-togethers or to share so much with him at times. In that respect of his feelings of culpability as an adult, I think he should have eventually concluded that these were two adults in love, and that can provoke some irresponsible choices, even among teachers.

I was bothered, too, about Henry's mother wanting to stir the pot after Mrs. Reed's death. The investigation might have taken off regardless, but she bore a lot of ill will to Miss Channing that was out of proportion, I would think, to the monstrous thing Mrs. Reed did. Then again, both the mores of the time/place and her knowledge of Mrs. Reed's first disastrous relationship may have been her wanting to atone that on her behalf. (Did you get the idea that Alice might have been the daughter of Mrs. Reed's first paramour?)

KC, I forgot about the prosecutor. Yes, at least Henry was cynical enough in the matter to realize a press whore was pushing this to the limit. And I like, too, your notion of several authors at work in the tragedy, all blind to the mechanics of the whole.

Oh, but can I blame Mr. Reed a little more, even though he isn't a Skip? I KNEW he would commit suicide. KNEW it! Leaving Miss Channing and the others to pick up the mess.

5:24 PM, March 31, 2010
kc said...

"even among teachers," you say!

I love that, cl.

Also, on the idea of their involving Henry so much ... I think maybe the author was trying to avoid that charge by creating "good reasons" for Henry to have so much contact with them. He was the headmaster's son, so he was frequently sent to look in on Miss Channing. His "servant girl" was taking reading lessons from her so he often walked her there. Mr. Reed was crippled and really needed someone to help him finish the boat. Henry's distance from boys his own age, because of his father's position, naturally placed him more in adult company. If Henry were just some random boy with no actual reasons to be so much in their company, I think the author would have bigger issues on his hands.

Also, I got the sense that Miss Channing and Mr. Reed were real no-bullshit kind of people and probably didn't alter their conversation and behavior much from an adult audience to a kid audience. If anything, they probably felt a greater affinity for the freshness, open-mindedness and world-wonder of young people. Still, I agree that Mr. Reed could have been more careful with what he said around Henry! He probably never imagined that Henry would actually try to play the hero and deliver a happy ending to him.

9:16 AM, April 01, 2010
Erin said...

No, I agree they couldn't have known that Henry would take things into his own hands. But it just seemed so inappropriate for teachers to bring some kid along on their romantic encounters. But yeah, I think the author made an effort to make it seem natural because of Henry's situation.

9:08 PM, April 05, 2010

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