What is a teacher like Jasper Ramrige to do with his young student, Cuthbert Orton, described by author John Trevena as "the boy who defied authority" and in whom "burnt some stuff too hot to meddle with, something incomprehensible and unpleasant"? Trevena's novel Bracken, first published in 1910, answers that question by following the lifelong relationship between the elderly professor and his strangely gifted pupil. Jasper is inextricably drawn to observing Orton's affairs with various women, the last of which occurs in a ...
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What is a teacher like Jasper Ramrige to do with his young student, Cuthbert Orton, described by author John Trevena as "the boy who defied authority" and in whom "burnt some stuff too hot to meddle with, something incomprehensible and unpleasant"? Trevena's novel Bracken, first published in 1910, answers that question by following the lifelong relationship between the elderly professor and his strangely gifted pupil. Jasper is inextricably drawn to observing Orton's affairs with various women, the last of which occurs in a rural English village called Summerland. Margaret Vipont, the only daughter of widower Theodore Vipont, is a shy and awkward girl who falls for the foreign and charismatic Orton. His power over her mind causes Margaret to be transformed into a disturbing and dangerous character that Orton cannot control. While the drastic change in her behavior appears to have been caused by metaphysical forces of Orton's choosing, Margaret is a case study in multiple personality disorder. None of the characters in the village know what to do about her mental illness, not even Claud Yalland, a middle-aged struggling poet who has romantic leanings towards her. Yalland is also in love with the natural world and is a polar opposite to the ugliness of Orton's mysterious life. Can Yalland or any one else rescue Margaret from her association with Orton? How will Jasper face his final dilemma when forced to choose between Orton and another person's happiness? Does Orton come to regret his actions? There are lighter moments in this psychological thriller as well. Trevena includes a few of his characteristic scenes of domestic life in a small village on the English moor and poetically describes the natural wonders of the moor. However, Bracken is chiefly concerned with exploring the fundamental question of to what extent should a teacher be responsible for the actions of his students. Only the final pages of the novel will reveal how Jasper Ramrige answers it. This edition includes detailed notes relating to the many historical, literary, Biblical and geographic references in the book.
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