Week Two: I Capture the Castle CBBC

Past discussions:
Week One, Chapters 1-5

Welcome to Week Two of Cool Bloggers Book Club (CBBC) for I Capture the Castle by Dodie Smith. This week we'll be discussing chapters 6-10.

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What happened in these chapters?

The entire family goes to Scoatney for dinner, although there's an awkward moment where Thomas and Stephen were spying and having to get invited into the house. There's some concern about how they're all going to be dressed appropriately, but they figure it all out. Cassandra is struggling with her feelings about Stephen. Mrs. Fox-Cotton offers to photograph Stephen; Neil gives Thomas a ham. Father keeps going to London with no explanation. Simon sends Cassandra chocolate and a new journal after Cassandra lets him try to read from her journal. Father invites the Cottons to dinner - they don't have food or furniture - and Topaz gets upset, but they figure it out. Culminates when Simon proposes to Rose, she makes him shave his beard off (!), and Neil is upset and calls Rose a gold digger.

J's copy of the book, complete with her bookmark of deadlines.

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Hat mentions (why hats?):

Neil didn't - he winked at me once and said: "Your sister'll be wearing that drink as a hat any minute." (Chapter 9, page 151)

Nicole (and Rex) show of her copy of the book.

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Lines of note:

"...I tried to buy one of his lions but he wouldn't sell."
"What did you want a lion for?" I asked.
"Oh, they were kind of cute," he said vaguely. (Chapter 7, page 98)

This exchange made me laugh so hard.

Yesterday was the first of May. I love the special days of the year - St. Valentine's, Hallowe'en; Midsummer Eve most of all. A May Day that feels as it sounds is rare and, when I leaned out of the bedroom window watching the moat ruffled into sparkles by a warm breeze, I was as happy as I have ever been in my life. I knew it was going to be a lucky day. (Chapter 9, page 136)

Last week Diane talked about how while this family has no money, they have a lot of leisure time. I guess we all have that balance - when I was out of work, I didn't have money, but I had time to do things that were important to me. I wonder if that's why Cassandra can be so happy about things when their lives are clearly Very Hard. 

"Well, he wasn't with Mrs. Cotton, anyway," I said, "because he was at the British Museum."
"As if that proves anything," said Topaz, gloomily. "People do nothing but use it for assignations - I met him there myself once, in the mummy room." (Chapter 9, page 157)

Another moment that made me laugh. The mummy room is sooo sexy. 

Jacquie shows off her book. I've never seen that cover before!

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Things I looked up:

larch wood (Chapter 7, page 107) - larches are a particular type of deciduous conifer

"Ah, but you're the insidious type - Jane Eyre with a touch of Becky Sharp." (Chapter 8, page 111) - I know who Jane Eyre is, but I had to look up Becky Sharp. According to Wikipedia, Rebecca "Becky" Sharp, later describing herself as Rebecca, Lady Crawley, is the main protagonist of William Makepeace Thackeray's 1847–48 novel Vanity Fair. She is presented as a cynical social climber who uses her charms to fascinate and seduce upper-class men. 

"And Cassandra's a Reynolds, of course - the little girl with the mousetrap." (Chapter 8, page 121) - Girl with a Mousetrap by Joshua Reynolds, oil on canvas

burnous (Chapter 8, page 128) - a long, loose hooded cloak worn by Arabs

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Questions to ponder (as always, feel free to answer as many or few of these as you'd like - talk about what you want to talk about!):

For those of you who are new to this book, what do you think is about to happen?

I'm interested in the role of art in this book. There are lots of mentions of books, some fictional (Jacob Wrestling), some real (Jane Eyre, Vanity Fair, Home Chat, Pride and Prejudice), as well as mention of artists and art. Do you think this is a statement about economic class or is this an indication of how much all people of the time would have been aware of art? 

"Doesn't he attract you at all? At your age I couldn't have resisted him for a minute - not looks like that. And it's more than looks, of course."
"Oh, I know he has a splendid character," I said.
"That wasn't when I meant," said Topaz, laughing. 

What did she mean? Is it just that Stephen is so into Cassandra? I feel like I was missing something here.

What do you think is the real relationship between the Cotton brothers like? They didn't grow up together, but they do seem to get along. What is the dynamic really like, do you suppose?

What's your scavenger hunt word for next week?

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Homework for you:

Scavenger hunt! I want you all to pick a word that you're going to look for in next week's reading. I do this with the word "hat." Pick a common word and see how often it appears in the text - e.g., dog, orange, skirt, table, vault, etc. - and then report back next week. Bonus points if you tell us in the comments this week what your word will be. I, obviously, will be looking for the word hat.

My library copy of the book. I was visiting my mother at my sister's house over the weekend and this is my sister's seven-month-old pomsky puppy Rocket. He made reading challenging. 

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Upcoming CBBC schedule:

August 19: Chapters 11-14
August 26: Chapters 15-16
September 2: Wrap-up