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A review by jay_sy
Wives and Daughters by Elizabeth Gaskell
hopeful
lighthearted
sad
medium-paced
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.5
Wives and Daughters by Elizabeth Gaskell is about Molly Gibson, her father, the local doctor, and her new stepmother and stepsister.
Thoughts while reading:
-The beginning of the book is meandering, but it’s also rather charming and quite enjoyable. I really like Molly and her relationship with her father, Mr. Gibson, even if his views on how to raise a daughter cause me to raise my eyebrows.
-The humour really resonates with me. It was cute that Mr. Gibson thought his daughter should somehow instinctively recognize plaid patterns because he was from Scotland
-it's kind of fascinating how quickly Mr Gibson and Mrs Kirkpatrick decided to get married. I certainly don't trust Mrs kirkpatrick's motives so far, and I worry for Molly since Mrs Kirkpatrick doesn't particularly like young girls and even send her own daughter away for schooling
-some more she is involved in their lives, the less I like the now Mrs Gibson. She puts on pretty sounding voices and manners but she is so selfish
-because of how Mrs Gibson behaves, I was concerned about Molly's meeting with Cynthia. However, Cynthia is quite a fascinating character, openly admitting that she isn't good and freely speaking her mind
-it's sad how the expectations of the Hamleys has caused so much conflict within the family, with everyone expecting Osborne to do great things while expecting next to nothing from Roger. And once the Lady Hanley dies, there's so much misunderstanding between the Squire and Osborne
-I love how multifaceted the characters are. It would be so easy to fall into the evil stepmother trope, but while Mrs Gibson is still not very likable, neither is she a complete villain, and she at least tries to treat Molly and her own daughter fairly
-it's interesting when Mr Gibson starts to see the cracks in Mrs Gibson's facade, and that her morals don't exactly align with his, and I'm very interested to see how that develops
-I feel so bad for the trouble that Cynthia has got to Molly into. I don't dislike Cynthia. All through the story, she's honest about the sort of person she is. But I hate to see Molly coming into harm, and I have to admit that when her father confronted her, it was a painful scene and I'm so glad that he believed her and that their love prevailed
-The pacing of the beginning of the book is quite relaxed. I loved getting lost in the world that the author has immersed us in. But by the 70% mark, I couldn’t put it down and read it through until the end. I was aware that Gaskell died before the novel was finished but I really wish I could have seen the final chapter. Nevertheless, I loved the book, I loved the characters, I was swept away by it.
This was a wonderful read. Even during the beginning of the book when it had a slower pace, I was absorbed by the surroundings and the characters. Furthermore, I loved reading about the characters' relationships to each other and all the complexities it entailed. As long as it was, I felt as if I could have read another 50 chapters and enjoyed them just as much. I would give this a 4.5 out of 5 for being an absolutely lovely read with deep and fascinating characters
Thoughts while reading:
-The beginning of the book is meandering, but it’s also rather charming and quite enjoyable. I really like Molly and her relationship with her father, Mr. Gibson, even if his views on how to raise a daughter cause me to raise my eyebrows.
-The humour really resonates with me. It was cute that Mr. Gibson thought his daughter should somehow instinctively recognize plaid patterns because he was from Scotland
-it's kind of fascinating how quickly Mr Gibson and Mrs Kirkpatrick decided to get married. I certainly don't trust Mrs kirkpatrick's motives so far, and I worry for Molly since Mrs Kirkpatrick doesn't particularly like young girls and even send her own daughter away for schooling
-some more she is involved in their lives, the less I like the now Mrs Gibson. She puts on pretty sounding voices and manners but she is so selfish
-because of how Mrs Gibson behaves, I was concerned about Molly's meeting with Cynthia. However, Cynthia is quite a fascinating character, openly admitting that she isn't good and freely speaking her mind
-it's sad how the expectations of the Hamleys has caused so much conflict within the family, with everyone expecting Osborne to do great things while expecting next to nothing from Roger. And once the Lady Hanley dies, there's so much misunderstanding between the Squire and Osborne
-I love how multifaceted the characters are. It would be so easy to fall into the evil stepmother trope, but while Mrs Gibson is still not very likable, neither is she a complete villain, and she at least tries to treat Molly and her own daughter fairly
-it's interesting when Mr Gibson starts to see the cracks in Mrs Gibson's facade, and that her morals don't exactly align with his, and I'm very interested to see how that develops
-I feel so bad for the trouble that Cynthia has got to Molly into. I don't dislike Cynthia. All through the story, she's honest about the sort of person she is. But I hate to see Molly coming into harm, and I have to admit that when her father confronted her, it was a painful scene and I'm so glad that he believed her and that their love prevailed
-The pacing of the beginning of the book is quite relaxed. I loved getting lost in the world that the author has immersed us in. But by the 70% mark, I couldn’t put it down and read it through until the end. I was aware that Gaskell died before the novel was finished but I really wish I could have seen the final chapter. Nevertheless, I loved the book, I loved the characters, I was swept away by it.
This was a wonderful read. Even during the beginning of the book when it had a slower pace, I was absorbed by the surroundings and the characters. Furthermore, I loved reading about the characters' relationships to each other and all the complexities it entailed. As long as it was, I felt as if I could have read another 50 chapters and enjoyed them just as much. I would give this a 4.5 out of 5 for being an absolutely lovely read with deep and fascinating characters