#im so Henry winter

[artemisiasescape]

Spent my valentines over-caffeinated, underfed, rereading The Song of Achilles, and starting De Profundis. Also dressed up nice and went to see the symphony. #whowantme

[spokenforr]

I feel like nobody talks that much about the greek class' homelife or backstory, etc etc that much? I don't see anything about Francis' mother giving birth to him young and how people often mistake them as siblings, the fact that Camilla and Charles fought over a tape measure because their uncle felt bad for them (and also their grandparents and their real parents!? nobody says anything !!!), the fact that Henry's mother cared for him so much (maybe there were posts about it, but i've only seen one so far, briefly mentioned), how Bun has 4 brothers and how his dad made all of them fend for themselves (and also how because Bun had 4 brothers, he could easily pinpoint people's insecurities and weaknesses, and irritate them. also since he's more social due to his family, he knows how to befriend others and isnt isolated like most of the greek class !!), and also that RICHARD. The character telling the whole thing, has been abused by his dad and neglected by his mum??

This isn't a complaint, I just seriously want to see those long ahh paragraphs about their homelives and shortcomings and how that effects them and stuff !! I. AM. INTERESTED.

please please give me posts about them if I hacen't seen it... Just a crumb....🙏

[cupids-fiction]

she henry on my winter till i bacchanal

[ccuniculusmolestus]

no i dont think richard was "not smart enough" for the greek class. but lets not pretend his monetary status is what kept him from fitting in. Bunny was not rich, despite his illusion of wealth/big rich guy persona and his 'friends' knew this. Even the twins weren't well off, lol. Only Francis and Henry were wealthy.

The reason richard never became a core part of the group (unless absolutely necessary) was simply this: he was boring. he was a voyeur whose sole purpose was bearing witness to something greater than himself (nnnot really. all these guys were kind of pathetic and swept up in the tides of their delusions.)

that is part of the tragedy of richard and his entire story: he wanted, so badly, to be a part of this group, this other-worldly phenomenon that could never really accept him. he got swallowed whole and spit right back out by the very people he had built up to be these divine beings of perfection. He becomes doomed to forever feel the grief of a rejection so in-his-face and the only closure he gets is some fantasy he forces in a foggy dream.

[makingyoufeels1ck]

do you guys ever think about how after henry died francis probably had to go to the countryhouse all by himself to get the things henry left there over the weekends to send it back to his mom in st. louis or is that just me

[observinghenrywinter]

[mysticaldistancing]

About Richard's feelings and the ending (kinda)

(I just finished TSH and has some unhinged thoughts that I can't keep to myself.. anyway—)

I strongly believe that Richard never 'loves' Camilla.

Sure, he romanticize her to the max. But to whom would he not in that group? Well, Camilla is the worst one because Richard thought he loves her. One might say "Wasn't he all jealous & stuff?" Thing is, he didn't specify to whom. It's between the two of them, for sure. People will immediately assume it's the girl. Though, considering the way Richard felt such odd, wild rage towards Camilla to the point he say those (yk what,) nasty things. Arguably, you wouldn't do that to the person you wholeheartedly love & worship; except if the person you actually love loved that person, you'd wish all the bad things to them, won't you?

Remember the way he almost cry when talked to Henry in the garden out of desperation, and now compared it to the way he react to Camilla out of desperation. He even felt pleasure upon hurting her feelings! He didn't even think of hurting Henry's whatsoever. Richard couldn't care less that Charles abused her (and instead fantasized those horrible, horrible things.)

The way he pondered to himself, not a single hateful blame placed on Henry, he feels bound to obey, perhaps reluctantly,

And,

He only remembered Camilla when she was around, but Henry? every single damn occasion. And I mean it, I don't want to attach too many media because of how much simple things bring him back to him. Fine, one example.

The way he said, just a second after proposing to the woman he supposedly love, "I loved him, too," and Camilla herself replied "I know you did." And the 'love' here is in the context of romantic love. I hope it makes it clear that Camilla actually awares (!!!), which meant that one time in the past, Henry told her something, at least.

the person he sees the most in the hospital when everything else was a blur? Henry.

It was also beyond me that Henry's understanding of Richard is heavily overlooked by the fandom. People argue if Henry really did care for Richard or that he simply used Richard. Then again, there's a hint of truth in both statement.

I looked at him. There was so much I wanted to ask him, so much I wanted to say; but somehow I knew there wasn’t time and even if there was, that it was all, somehow, beside the point.

“Are you happy here?” I said at last.

He considered this for a moment. “Not particularly,” he said.

“But you’re not very happy where you are, either.”

— The Secret History, Donna Tartt

(Ever wondered what Henry whispered to Camilla? My guts is saying that, it has something to do with Richard, don't you think? and in the last moment Henry said "I love you," strangely enough, to no one specifically. Perhaps, what he whispered to her, was for her. And the second one? You tell me.

This one is a reach, don't know, don't quote me on that really.)

Here's a bonus anyway. I wonder why no one talked about this.

Super domestic. "The first thing," he said. I can't emphasize this enough that these two are mutually obsessed with each other.

[nerdrooikat]

drabbles about the deer imagery in The Secret History (specifically in relation 2 Camilla) because her becoming a deer/believing that she did stuck in my mind (although this post will mostly take Camilla and the other's recollection of events to be as they recount it – if i examine it in it's effect as an incorrect account, that would be in a separate post)

Obviously there's, on a meta level, an irony to it – Camilla and Charles are named to make fun of the Princess Diana scandal that was happening at the time, and so ironically Camilla transforms into an animal sacred to Diana.

There's also a parallel that I think could be interesting to make between Camilla and Taygete, who for anyone unfamiliar, was turned into a deer by Artemis to protect her from Zeus' sexual advances. Although I think that what happened in the Bacchae was concensual sexually, I think it could possible be indicative in Camilla's narrative role as the "wanted"/"desired" one within the greek class – by Charles, Henry, Richard (although he wasnt there) and even Francis, although he wants to be her more so than actually wanting her.

Additionally, outside of how it actually functions within the story, her transformation into a creature associated so closely with innocence, especially in relation to Diana/Artemis' virginity, might perhaps be tied to Richards view of her as this "pure" and "virginal" person – obviously we know this is far from the truth, and he himself learns this later, but I think it definitely ties into this flawed angelic idea of her he so covets.

I think this interpretation ties into the myth of Actaeon (in terms of "deer transformation myths") although its very interesting to me that they different at key points – Camilla, the "virginual" character, is the one transformed, rather than the sexual transgressor (Charles) or the one who introduces miasma (Henry). But, like Actaeon, she is pursued and hunted – which, another key point – Actaeon is pursued and killed by his own hunting dogs, and Charles returns from the ritual with a bite mark, perhaps tying him into the myth thurther?

[moonys-chocolate28]

henry pookie ily but i CANNOT keep defending ur actions

[smol-soop-spoon]

imagine being the guy who supposedly inspired Henry's character and discovering thousands of complete strangers on the internet are violently thirsting over your fictional alter ego

[idkjustlemmedrownlikerab]

Yk what is my Roman Empire?? I have multiple and here r a few :

The Noble and Most Ancient House of Black

The 1990 Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum heist

What tf did Henry whisper in Camilla's ear, the moment before he shot himself towards the end of The Secret History?

The gays and sapphics throughout history (and how some historians try their hardest to justify it as friendship)

The Trojan War (I will always wonder why people blame and hate Helen when she was the victim!?)

The opposites attract couples (like solangelo, starchaser, helnik etc. where they r two puzzle pieces, so different but somehow they fit together perfectly)

I'm sure I have many many more but that's it for now I might update this later

[super-nova5045]

rip coriolanus snow you would've unfortunately fucking loved henry winter

[shiveringfrogspawn]

Richard this is why you weren’t invited to run from the law with them

[g4rdens0fb4bylon]

do you ever think about how Richard talked about Camilla and the only thing that comes to your mind afterwards is that sound from tiktok that goes like "you're beautiful" "thank you. but what else?" "what else?" BECAUSE I DO. I FUCKING DO THATS LITERALLY THE ONLY THING HE EVER SAID ABOUT HER AND THEN HE ASKS HER TO MARRY HIM??? BE SO FR RN— AND HE SAYS HE FEELS LIKE ORPHEUS SAYING GOODBYE TO HER FIR THE VERY LAST TIME— LIKE DONT YOU EVEN DARE TO DO MY MAN ORPHEUS DIRTY LIKE THAT YOU NEVER LOVED HER IM SO CRAZY ABOUT THAT AND WHY LIKE WHY AND HOW HAVE WE ALL FORGOTTEN ABOUT WHEN HE LITERALLY SAID HE WANTS TO RAPE HER OR WHEN HE SAID HE LIKES TO SEE HER SUFFER SEVERAL TIMES LIKE— OMG IM LITERALLY GOING CRAZY LIKE WHY IS NOONE TALKING ABOUT HIM LIKE, HE REALLY IS JUST A MAN IN THIS ESSAY I WILL—

[ccuniculusmolestus]

If his first name is Henry and his surname starts with W and he’s rich and he’s charming and if you’re blond and naive and petulant and not very bright: RUN for your LIFE

[itstwoamandimcursingyourname]

Listen, when Richard said Henry and Camilla were Pluto and Persephone that that was the shit.