Maybe I'm just an old romantic at heart...
But I REALLY wish that Cynthia and Mr. Preston had ended up together. Am I crazy? Am I the only one who thinks this?
I WAS off netting butterflies!
The story line would have been FAR more interesting had Cynthia and the sinister, complex, and obsessed Preston ended up together. For one thing, the flighty Cythia would never have been bored and both of these characters were social climbers and self absorbed SELFISH. Preston would have given restless Cynthia deservedly tit for tat. GOOD!
Truth to tell, Cynthia's romantic life ended in an dull thud anticlimax.
She predictably bartered herself for money and position & her rich husband took the bait: her physical attraction. (Cynthia EVEN tells Molly her husband doesn't care that she is inconstant.
Preston not redeemable? Didn't Molly make clear "In his way, I think he loves you Cynthia", and when he returned the letters, "He must have been a better man than I thought." After all, Preston had remained loyal and turned down chances to marry grander and richer women than Cynthia.
There is no question that Cynthia strung Preston along and "used" him for mercenary and thoughtless ends. People on this board habitually whine that poor "Cynthia was only 15", but she was old enough to write Preston a packet of indiscreet love letters convincing him that she returned his passion and that they would be married. Be it 15 or 25 Cynthia's behavior changed not one jot. She learned ZERO lessons from her run in with Preston--she was STILL jilting men right and left till the end. What would women think if a man went around reneging on women like this--one after the other? Would they pity him if one of his "victims" called him on his promises?
Preston understandably had a real resentment of being used by people of Cynthia's class. When he discovered that he had been thrown over & taken for granted (very like Roger) he exerted revenge and he was intent on making the woman he loved stick to her bargain. Preston transparently had a chip on his shoulder from scene one and was bitter how his "betters" exploited and were condescending to men not of their class. Preston WAS impressed by Molly, however, and after their conversation returned the letters. By the way, at the time there was no reason for him to think that Molly would run to Lady Harriet and betray/expose Cynthia's "secret" to the world to rat on him. In fact, it is Preston who puts Molly's reputation to right by informing Lady Harriet of the truth of his relationship with Cynthia.
All's well that ends well. Arguably, Preston deserved to marry a woman with more stuff and ardor than Cynthia.
As an anti-hero Preston was no where near as rotten as Heathclift.
Thank you. I totally agree with what you said. I wrote earlier on this thread and while I didn't get flamed, I was strongly disagreed with. I wondered if no one had read the situation as I did. Yay.
"I see the people from the big jet plane. The woman looks Teutonic. She drinks a vodka tonic ... "
The story line would have been FAR more interesting had Cynthia and the sinister, complex, and obsessed Preston ended up together.
I agree! It's a pity they chose such a banal ending for her. If anything, if she had "rediscovered" her love for Preston, it would have redeemed her character somewhat.
On a shallow note, they just looked so good together...