The last chapter of the second of the triple-decker: a chapter of unusual courting. Marian turns out to be a good strategist overall. There is some satisfaction in witnessing her delighting in her own power over Jasper.
Jasper’s talk about his desire to have easy access to material wealth, the freedom to travel, etc., ends with rather a striking line—“to feel when I enter a room that people regard me with some curiosity”: it’s not pure fame, not pure status, but something rather complex.
Marian and Jasper, in one sense, understand each other very well. They understand each other so well that there seems to be no space left for illusion. And yet Marian still deludes herself into loving Jasper.
Join us on December 13 for a virtual discussion of New Grub Street with Yiyun Li.
Deft Marian and guileless Jasper manage a scene that reveals the romantic in me, and (almost) clears the air for a short time of foreboding.
"... she wished to be wooed in a less off-hand fashion before confessing what was in her heart." And Marian made that happen.
"That Jasper was of cold temperament she had often feared... it seemed as if he knew no word of language which would have called such joyous response from her expectant soul."
But Marian pulled that language from Jasper in the end, and - "It was her first complete escape from the world of intellectual routine, her first taste of life."
I feel the need to read a murder mystery to put myself back in balance :)
Jasper is a bit chilling in this Chapter. Jasper to his male friend Whelpdale in Chapter 22: "I haven't much faith in marrying for love, as you know." Chapter 24 to Marian (rather woodenly I think, and following news of her inheritance): "Love is a very old and common thing, and I believe I love you in the old and common way. I think you beautiful, you seem to me womanly in the best sense, full of charm and sweetness." Are these reconcilable? Which is the real Jasper?
A notable thing about this chapter is that it is almost entirely in Marian's point of view. I think the only exception is telling us about an emotional reaction within Jasper when he touches Marian's hand. So Jasper really is quite opaque to us as he repeatedly tells Marian he loves her and makes a premature proposal of marriage.