Diana - Tenant ch 26-31

The more I read of Anne Bronte's writing, the more I realize her skill with words. I found some beautiful metaphors in this section. "he [Arthur] knows he is my sun, but when he chooses to withhold his light, he would have my sky to be all darkness; he cannot bear that I should have a moon to mitigate the deprivation" (219). Speaking of the chance that her son may die, Helen says, "the bud, though plucked, would not be withered, only transplanted to a fitter soil to ripen and blow beneath a brighter sun" (228).

Huntingdon's shallow, self-absorbed character is fully revealed in his shocking statement about his son: "Helen, I shall positively that little wretch, if you worship it so madly! You are absolutely infatuated about it" (229). I should hope so - she's the boy's mother. Considering the infant mortality rate of the era, she'll do well to keep him alive past his fifth birthday. I also noted that both of them refer to the baby quite often as "it." I heard somewhere (perhaps we discussed it in class) that people tried not to get too attached to their children because the mortality rate was so high.

The introduction of Mr. Hargrave in these chapters offers a marked contrast to Arthur. Hargrave is everything Arthur is not. When Hargrave meets Helen in the park, he soon comments, "What a sweet evening this is!" Arthur never takes note of the weather or nature, while Helen often does. Then, when Hargrave ends his conversation with Helen, he rides over to Rachel and takes the baby. He looks at the boy fondly, then kisses him. Helen's heart softens toward him, and mine does too. Why couldn't she have waited to marry Milicent's brother instead of rushing headlong into the relationship with Arthur?