Question #2 Week Three: Sections VI – VII: Pages 303 – 416

Is Iris purely a pawn in a plan conceived by the men, or does she have reasons of her own for agreeing to marry Richard? In what ways does the marriage fulfill Iris's conception of herself and her approach to life?

Through the end of section VII, Iris seems to be a complete pawn in Richard's game. At this point, I really don't see Iris' father as a real player but perhaps that will change.

The older Iris certainly recognizes she made bad choices but doesn't take the opportunity to elaborate at key moments such as Richard's mea culpa about not telling her that her father had died. As Iris puts it, "I heard only certain words. Worry. Time. Ruined. Selfish. Forgive me. What could I say to that?".

At this point in the story, the young Iris is still clinging to her view of herself as the "good" sister watching out for Laura. She doesn't sound particularly resentful about her father leaving her no nest egg to make an escape from Richard possible. She sees her father's medals as noble gestures of self-sacrifice and supposes she is expected to live up to them. However, when Iris refutes Laura's outburst that "Richard killed father" she does admit feeling ashamed for sounding like Richard.

I will be interested to see what happens to Iris in her middle years to bring forward the more self-centered world view of her old age. I don't think the young Iris would not have attributed Coleridge's ancestral voices prophesying war to the fact that "ancestral voices never shut up, and they hate to be worng, and war is a sure thing, sooner or later."

She was a pawn, but I think the lure of Richard's money was a small draw as well. She was always looking at those fashion magazines while hating her shabby, unstylish clothes. She also had a self-imposed idolized image of her grandmother to live up to -- a woman who could put a house together stylishly, and that other people looked up to because of her money and what she did with it.

Good point pirate. I tend to skim the fashion and House Beautiful stuff but now do recall Laura making some comments about Iris' trousseau and Iris sharing with the reader her delight in it.

Iris is basically given away in marriage, as the two men worked it out behind her back. It actually reminded me of the way English and European royal families would marry their daughters and sisters off in order to build alliances. Does Iris really have any say in the matter, even after her father says it's her choice, when he says it after telling her that Richard's money will save the family from poverty and the business from going under?
I think Iris tried to make the best of it by keeping quiet, going along with Winifred in her choice of clothes, home decor, etc. Regardless of the time period and money involved, an 18 year-old is still a kid and more easily intimidated than an adult. I'm not finished with the book but at this point I believe that's why Richard married her.

I think Richard chose Iris because she was young and malleable. He presumed he would be able to control her through his sister and that she would develop into a proper society wife, which would help him with his political aspirations.

Up until this point, Iris had never made any statements regarding marriage or what her expectations were (although it clearly was not what she ended up with!). After all, she was hardly exposed to the outside world at all, much less to young marriageable men.

I think she felt like she was doing it to "save" the family and didn't believe she had a real choice (which she says to Laura when Laura objects to the marriage). Clearly this upheld her own image of herself as the long-suffering "responsible" sibling that makes sacrifices for the greater good of everyone.

I also think that Iris was a pawn. She was told that the decision was hers but that the entire family was hanging in the balance and depended on her to do the right thing. There was no real choice there.
--BJ