Hello! I hope you don’t mind me popping into your asks to enquire about your take on an excerpt from TC that I’ve been trying to wrap my head around. The bit in question is the scene at the party, with Bim talking about “The (late) Odell”, and Ralph’s reaction compared to Laurie’s reaction.
My reading from Ralph’s perspective is pretty straightforward (although please do tell me if I’m way off the mark); he’s spoken to Alec about Laurie, probably confided in him about school, his feelings, Dunkirk etc etc. Alec has then (without permission) told Bim, and now Bim has - very publicly - given the game away and Ralph is angry.
It’s Laurie’s reaction, though, that I can’t get my head around. Is he just being oblivious x 100000 again? He seems to think that Bim using the term ‘The Odell’ is a joke, for starters. Then he thinks that Ralph’s reaction is because he has sussed that Alec and Bim were gossiping about him on the landing. But previous to that it’s stated that “…something rather odd was happening; Bim had taken a step backwards, wide-eyed, and was staring at him with awe.”. If Alec had just finished gossiping about him on the landing then why would Bim be so surprised at seeing Laurie on walking into the room? I adore Laurie, and find his cluelessness utterly charming, but surely even he must’ve had a small inkling of what this was about, surely?
So I was really just interested in what your reading of the whole exchange was and if you had similar/different thoughts. It’s one oft those passages that I go back to time and again, because it reveals so much in so few words and I adore it.
P.S love your blog! Am currently undergoing a Charioteer renaissance of sorts - hence the new fanfics etc, but am also really interested in hearing other people’s interpretations of the book, because there are bits that I am perpetually confused about - despite having read the book multiples times over 20 years. Thank youuu 💕🤗
Hello fellow TC fan, it’s lovely to hear from you and thank you for your kind words about my blog 💗 It came about by accident and it was a revelation to find so much brilliant and lively discussion about the book to feed it! Long may your Charioteer renaissance continue!
Now, this is a great ask. I think I get what you are saying, but let me know if I am answering the wrong thing. I did spend a lot of time pondering this incident, and you’ve given me some more ideas.....
So the first part, I take this as the moment that Alec and Ralph have that blip in their relationship which pervades the whole book. I assume it’s what Alec is alluding to when he says "You see, there's been a slight misunderstanding between Ralph and me just recently, which it won't be easy for me to clear up.” I’ve always taken it that it wasn’t Alec who told Bim about Laurie, it was Bunny, who got it from Ralph’s diary. Right at the end, Alec mentions it again and there are strong hints this is the incident he is talking about.
The thing that used to get me was that by the time Bim arrives, everyone knows that has happened, so it always seemed very telling that Ralph should immediately assume it was Alec.
But....what you say about Bim being genuinely surprised goes against that argument. It’s much more likely he knows about Laurie from another source (and also knows much more detail than the other partygoers) which points to the Bunny connection, because, as you say, he seems genuinely surprised.
And oblivious Laurie strikes again!!! I also adore the way she packs so much in, and I particularly like the way she conveys that highly relatable feeling of just knowing something really embarrassing has happened (and in Laurie’s case he is the focus of it) but not being in a position to work out exactly what it was, and of course nobody will tell you because it is so awkward! I suppose there is the added bonus of Laurie being hoodwinked in just the same way as Ralph was. Is he being impossibly oblivious? I suppose his extreme modesty (a quality Alec identifies as perfect for Ralph’s soul-mate) is a plausible explanation. He probably genuinely can’t imagine there would be this level of fuss over him. Is it fair to expect him to work everything out? I don’t know. But I suppose the really interesting aspect is that he just assumes people are mostly acting in bad faith or just idiots which is quite funny, and a flaw in his character that will get him into trouble.
I’ve just realised something! Ralph’s reaction to Alec, assuming he has betrayed him because he can’t possibly imagine another explanation is an exact parallel of the way Laurie blames Ralph at the end, because he can’t imagine another explanation. Mary even says, “He knew that this would have seemed to him really the voice of an innocent person, if any other explanation were possible, if his informant had been anybody in the world but one.” And what is the connection between them both? Well, it’s Bunny of course!
So, what do you think? Have I made any more sense of it?
