#ii. ｢ morwenna chynoweth. ｣

[dramatispcrsonae]

                “  well? what happened? i want all the details!  ”    her young friend had barely taken a seat when the eager questions began. caroline had never been the patient sort, and she saw no reason to begin now -- certainly not when she thought there might be something worth hearing... there were rumors  ( or, perhaps more accurately, there was information gleaned from demelza ) that a certain blacksmith might be occupying more than a few of the girl’s thoughts. caroline certainly hoped so. apart from the delightful impropriety of it, she could not deny the perverse impulse in her own nature that found her rooting for anyone who thumbed their nose at the more stifling rules of convention. she offered morwenna a smile.    “  i’m afraid i shall not be satisfied until i know everything...  ”

                                          @soaringstill​ gets a generated starter!

[multimentium]

... ❀  ;; @hearkenedsouls. |       (  Morwenna  and  Dwight.  )

              Completely exhausted from the long traumatic birth, Morwenna wanted nothing more than to fall asleep and hoped she would never wake up. But Dwight’s kind smile towards her stirred her from the beginnings of sleep, yet it would not be returned for he moved to hand the babe to her and she realised she felt nothing.

[oetravia]

Okay, I  saw the comment above on a YouTube video and...wow.

Buckle in because I am about to rant.

If you can’t read it from the picture, the comment says:

Morwenna was very nasty towards Ossie. She always had very ugly words and just treated him like trash upon the first acquaintance.

I’ll start with their first meeting in the show. George, and Elizabeth, introduce her to Osborne not only to advance themselves socially, but also to punish her for attending Clowance’s christening. 

Already off to a very inauspicious start.

‘Our cousin, Miss Chynoweth. The Reverend Osborne Whitworth.’

‘Shall we assail the gavotte, Miss Chynoweth?’

‘Oh! I hope you’ll excuse me, Sir; I’m not fond of dancing.’

‘That can only be because your partners thus far have lacked expertise. Allow a master to initiate you in the pleasures.’

Morwenna is immediately at a disadvantage in this situation. She’s a young, inexperienced girl who probably never expected to have to negotiate this sort of social ritual; she’s from an impoverished branch of the already impoverished family tree. 

Even so, she’s as polite as possible, follows social conventions, all while subtly attempting to reject Osborne as gently as possible. He doesn’t take no for an answer, and even manages to sneak a double entendre into his invitation. You can feel Morwenna’s discomfort, and you can certainly see it when she looks for Elizabeth for help and guidance (and finds none). 

She is doing everything right by the standards of the time. 

In the books it’s worse. George has pretty much made up his mind about Osborne as a suitor when the first Mrs Whitworth has barely been dead a week. 

Completely unbeknownst to Morwenna, when she does first meet Osborne, George is trying to figure out which of the men he’s considering would be the best match. Unfortunately for Morwenna, Osborne is one of the suitors she pays attention to, however innocently:

As for Mowenna, she saw this tall, loud-voiced, affected young clergyman as only a partner to step with on the floor and listen to afterwards. She was enjoying the dance and the unexpected attentions of a number of young men. But it was a superficial enjoyment, as her whole existence in Truro had been this Christmas time. 

She’s a young girl enjoying a party, as any young girl has the right to do. She’s enjoying real male attention for the first time, and it must be quite overwhelming to someone like Morwenna; the eldest daughter of a dean from an impoverished family. Still, her thoughts are constantly on Drake, and her inability to reconcile her very strong feelings for him with the reality of her position and duty.

Point being, she’s polite enough to Osborne, even if her heart isn’t really in it. Which is unfortunate for her, because George Warleggan is in charge of her future...

George went some way to be pleasant to Ossie Whitworth, and before he left invited him to call on them in the new year in Truro. Somehow, in the course of the casual conversation, the name of Miss Chynoweth happened to occur, and the Reverend Osborne, whose sensibilities were not entirely dulled by his conceit, raised an eyebrow. He knew better than to pursue the subject as this juncture, but the seed had been planted.

It’s all organised before Morwenna hears anything about it, before she’s really had a chance to speak to Osborne properly in any capacity. 

It was clear from Morwenna’s face in the flickering candlelight that the news was indeed a shock to her, and not, as George predicted, a pleasant shock.

[shortened for brevity, relevancy, and clarity]

Morwenna just stood there silently weeping.

‘Come, my dear,’ Elizabeth said, impatience creeping into her voice, not because she felt impatient but to hide the sympathy that she felt she should not show.

Morwenna said at last: ‘I do not care for him; how can he care for me? We have exchanged as much intimate talker together as would two whist players of an afternoon. What can he know of me or I of him?’

‘He knows enough to wish to make you his wife.’

‘But I do not wish to be his wife! I do not wish to be anyone’s wife as  yet. Have I not pleased you? Are you displeased with my behaviour as governess to Geoffrey Charles?’

She doesn’t stand a chance, George has already made his decision, so when the two finally interact again, she’s at a terrible disadvantage, and very miserable. Imagine being 19 and told you are to marry a man you don’t love or even really know anything about (all whilst being in love with someone else).

Their second meeting iis slightly different. Morwenna remains polite, but  much more proactive in trying to discourage Osborne’s interest in her (if she can’t change George’s mind, she can try to change Osborne’s).

 She listens to him politely, but makes their lack of similar interests very clear.

‘Do you play whist?’

‘Not at all.’

She doesn’t enjoy dancing, she doesn’t play whist. They have nothing in common, any sensible person would see they’re incompatible people. Not Osborne.

‘...To comfort me as only a wife can. And now I know my sentiments are returned.’

‘I’m not at all sure they are returned.’

‘Your hesitancy does you credit.’

Her discomfort is incredibly clear. She’s still polite, up to the moment she pulls her hand away when he kisses it.

The conversation is much the same in the book, with this extra insight into Morwenna’s thoughts:

Being a modest girl, in whom further modesty had been instilled as a Christian virtue by both her father and her mother, she found herself complimented against her will by his proposal; and although she was adamantly against it, she racked her brains as to how she could convince Ossie that she was not for him, without hurting his feelings.

It didn’t work.

So where this idea that Morwenna is rude to Osborne comes from is beyond me. She goes out of her way to be polite to him regardless of her own feelings and discomfort throughout the ‘courtship’.

Besides, even if Morwenna had used ugly words or ‘treated him like trash’ would that have given Osborne the right to use and abuse her in the way he did right from their wedding night? Absolutely not.

[cptnpoldark]

tag drop #2

[challengeborne]

tag drop #2 

[multimentium]

... ❀ ;; @proud-is-my-funeral-pall. |       (  Morwenna  and  Hugh.  )

              Palms spread evenly over her large pregnant stomach, she heaved a large breath of fresh air into needed lungs. Morwenna had managed to escape the gathering within, complaining of aches and a dull rumble of sickness. The Whitworth had expected the small courtyard outside to be empty but instead found another.

“Apologies, sir, I meant not to disturb you...”