MovieChat Forums > Tilly Trotter (1999) Discussion > Cookson oddity (SPOILERS)

Cookson oddity (SPOILERS)

posted 8 years ago by strangebedfellows
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The only Cookson adaptation I have seen that condones adultery. Most males guilty of sexual sin in her books are usually subject to amputation and or death - and this was illustrated in this story. What amused me was the villains definition of "courting", apparently in rural geordieland this is accomplished by netting and raping your would be sweetheart !! Also there seemed to be no judicial presence in these parts - because no long arm of the law turned up in response to complaints of rape and murder. One man was stabbed to death and there was no questions asked let alone any enquiries made!! I know this was probably turn of the century stuff, but still, there had to be some legal recourse even way back then. Another oddity, it was my understanding that on marriage a wife became her husbands property along with any assets she may have - she could not divorce him, but he could divorce her - this would be especially true of men with some wealth and power. In this story the wife left him, took the children and demanded an allowance even though she was seeing another man. I don't think this would have been possible in this era. And I love the way that "Sir" says of Lady Myton "She ruined my life - don't let her ruin yours" !!! It only took one to tango then did it? To top it all off, she sees her long term desire making love to another woman and she suddenly realises she doesn't love him after all and promptly hops into her still married employers bed !! The End.
The end indeed !!

[–] mea-cadwell 7 years ago

I don't find all of these to be "oddities" at all.

At that time (the beginning of the Victorian era) most places did not have any policing. If an area had any policing the richer estates would pay for it. (Trivia, the London didn't have a police force until 1829.) However, the local folk would speculate and question and possibly create a vigilante team to try to catch a criminal (think of the pitchfork/torch carrying people from Frankenstein). Anyway, in this case, a lot of people disliked the guy so they probably felt thankful that someone killed him and didn't ask too many questions about it.

As for "courting" many cultures in the world have had something similar to this. It's called "bride kidnapping". If the bride's relatives don't get to her on time she will be raped and required to marry the kidnapper. It is still going on in some places.

As for the divorced part, I was also confused. At that time divorce was rare and very costly. The man would normally get everything and the woman left in disgrace. Perhaps they had a prenup written up. It was not unheard of to do that at that time and there have been prenups for over 2000 years so this could be a possibility.

Then you said, "In this story the wife left him, took the children and demanded an allowance even though she was seeing another man." She didn't start seeing anyone for quite some time after she left her husband.

Tilly had probably been questioning her yearning for the farmer for awhile, especially since she knew he was married. Love/lust/puppy love can cool with time. She said she had been wife in all but name to "Sir" for a long time which can cause familiarity and feelings to develop. After she cried over the farmer she finally realized she had lost her love for the farmer and developed those feelings for "Sir". Not so immediate after all.

It did irk me that she got into bed with her employer though. It went against her morality and I don't think it fit her at all. I could see her beginning to hold his hand more often and gazing into his eyes for a long while before she ever decided to jump into his bed...especially after a life of being pursued by men. Just didn't seem like her.

[–] strangebedfellows 7 years ago

Thank you for responding. Your points are interesting and well taken.