Dear Book Readers: I Have A Question

[JudyObscure]

Yes, I was raised Methodist and the story we heard in Sunday School was all about how cold, snobbish and superficial the Church of England had become until John Wesley and his brother tried to reform it with their "methods."  So it seemed appropriate to me to see the vicar running his church to suit George and  turning  up his nose at the, "dissenters."   I was just surprised to see Ross turn up his nose, too, although for different reasons,  since he usually defends the poor and down trodden. 

[nodorothyparker]

Well, Ross isn't particularly religious at all.  And the brothers are annoying, always making everything about their religion and attributing to God things that Ross knows he did actually do for them.

The show has maybe oversimplified Ross a bit in always making him the champion of the downtrodden the way it has.  He's fairly enlightened in that he does believe in fair treatment and fair wages, and he does see a lot of the hypocrisy and bad behavior and management of his own class.  But in the books, he also makes it clear that he doesn't wholeheartedly endorse the notions of equality that America has just fought a revolution over or the one ongoing across the channel in France.  There's a conversation in one of the books this season is based on where he's not much troubled by the fact that only propertied men like himself are allowed to vote in elections.  He's a complex sometimes contradictory creature like that.

[rebecca dewinter]

To book readers, what's the deal with Ross and Caroline?

I hear that in the books (I guess one of the books that's supposed to correspond with Season 4).. 

Spoiler

they almost have an affair or at least talk about how they both want to bang each other, but restrain themselves due to their friendships with Dwight and Demelza. It all seems very blase and like no big deal, so I wonder if they'll even have it on the show. It's weird how this series makes such a huge deal out of certain infidelities but then treat others like they're whatever. 

[Clawdette]

If I remember the Ross and Caroline interaction correctly, 

Spoiler

They acknowledge that they find each other attractive and in another time, maybe.  I didn't feel they were truly tempted but it's been a while since I read the book  

[Llywela]

Yeah, as Clawdette says,

Ross and Caroline have a very close friendship - there are ways in which they understand one another where neither Demelza nor Dwight can, they have a lot in common. And yes, they do at one point have a very frank conversation in which they admit that they are attracted to one another and could easily have an affair, and indeed many of their social peers would do just that in the same circumstances and think nothing of it, but they each love their respective spouse and care too much for the other's spouse to actually do such a thing.

But it would be a mistake to think that conversation is actually about the two of them seriously considering an affair, because it isn't. It is about Caroline making a very deliberate point to Ross, who is being a stubborn ass as usual. How the show will play it remains to be seen - they haven't done a great job in translating Caroline's book personality so far.

And yes, different infidelities are treated in different ways in the series - but that is actually very true to life, in which great inequalities (and hypocrisies) likewise exist. The nobility often bed-hopped and thought nothing of it so long as it was kept behind closed doors and between social equals - public indiscretion was another matter entirely.

 

[Neurochick]

I also think, 

Spoiler

at one point they share a kiss and Caroline was like, "interesting."  But they got that out of they system and that was basically that.