Saturday, May 24, 2008
Robbins
William Robbins was an intriguing character. I had the sense that the author really grappled with his personality and its presentation. He's the character who first sprung to mind when I read Erin's "We're all worthy" post, in terms of people being complex and neither wholly good nor evil. What did you think of him? Why do you think the author chose to have him not just have a sexual relationship with Philomena but to be deeply in love with her?
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3 comments:
Yes, exactly. This is a bad guy, really. But he has this incredible tenderness for Philomena and their children. I think the author chose to include that aspect because we're all kind of used to the idea of slaveholders having sex with their female slaves and conceiving children with them. But it's not a romantic situation. The slave woman is a piece of property for the master to use for his pleasure as he chooses. Robbins is interesting because he clearly does think of the slaves as property, (he even tells Henry that masters MUST think of them that way to maintain the system), but it all goes out the window when it comes to Philomena.
What, exactly, were the "storms" he experienced?
I had the same question. At first I thought maybe seizures, but he was able to remain standing or on his horse. It was like he just blacked out for a minute. Strange.
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