Posted by Elaine on August 07, 1998 at 19:25:49:
In Reply to: Re: Duncan-Admirer of Colonists/A posted by Vita on August 07, 1998 at 18:34:38:
" Dear Elaine,
: you wrote: "... He-Who-Created-Alice says she is emotionally weak. That is why he has her doing the things she does and reacting the way she does. And with purpose!"
: Just for the fun of it... since the thread seems to be
: 'what if':
: what if Alice had survived the leap off the cliffs, found by Hawkeye and Cora and Ching, nursed back to health...and by virtue of having gained strength before the instant of her leap, she had grown up to be a woman of courage and wisdom?"
Vita,
A what if plot? Alright.
We'll grant Alice a stay of death. She survives the fall. She is found and nursed back to health.
However, by what virtue did she gain strength prior to her leap? By chucking it all and saying, "I can't go on!"? I can't give her the strength before leap part, but, because she endured the battering of the cliffs she may yet prove to be a stronger girl IF she is able to learn from her experiences. Or she could turn out to be a Dr. Mary patient, unable to cope with the loss of both her father and Uncas. We'll just have to wait and see how this Alice turns out.
" Then you made an interesting point, which might be another 'what if' thread,
: "...Think about this ..if I said Duncan was probably an admirer of the colonists' independent streak and would have said so off duty? "
: Actually, we wouldn't be too far fetched to imagine Duncan, provided he had survived the bar-b-q, though how, is tough to figure since it was a clear day with nary a cloud in the sky to make us hope for a sudden outpour of rain from the heavens... so let's say the Hurons got sidetracked for whatever reason and Hawkeye somehow saved him... I think right from the beginning, Duncan, though a stiff-upper-lip, is presented as a man of honor. He has courage, talks back to his superior officer re. British Law Making the World England, etc. Then it is again clear that he gets to respect Hawkeye and his Twosome, and it is quite possible if had spent some time with them and the colonists... yes, being a man of honor who gets the opportunity to get acquainted with opinions other than his own... he might have even been one of those who witnessed the 1776 Signing... "
What?!!!! The Loyalist, pro-English Rule, professional Redcoat turned dastardly rebel?!!! Oooh, I don't know. Yes, a man of honor, but so were many Tories. And when it came down to it, Duncan was quite willing to lie in order that English interests were served. Courageous ... without a doubt. His chiding of his superior was due to Duncan's opinion that Webb was NOT serving England's interest nor following her policy. He was motivated, then, by his staunch adherence to English law and supremacy.
Had he lived? .... There is no doubt that he came to respect Hawkeye, but it was due to Hawk's personal honor and courage, not for his independent tendencies or "seditious politics." Even had he lived with and become acquainted with the colonists, it does not stand to reason he would have joined the "rebellion." He was a loyal subject of the crown, through and through. Now, if he had somehow been caught in a scandalous circumstance or lost his English holdings .... or if he was forced to read Thomas Paine over and over again, then maybe he could have told Georgie Washington, "King George can burn in hell. We'll go back and dig our graves behind the Potomac!"
It would have taken a lot of changes in circumstance to alter Duncan and sway him to the rebel cause, I think.
Elaine