Exploring the wrong things??

Helen Codrington of Emma Donoghue’s The Sealed letter is anything but faithful to husband Harry. Maybe this is because Helen would be described as the archetypal explorer. Helen is not content in her relationship with Harry and feels the need to become adventurous and explore a new relationship with Anderson.

Helen’s exploration could compare to today’s Brad Pitt. Brad Pitt also had a need for exploration outside of his marriage to Jennifer Aniston and moved on to have an affair with co-star Angelina Jolie. Helen is posed as an explorer because she values her freedom and likes to pursue new relationships.

“Well, yes: A little freedom does wonders.” (Donoghue, 68)

Helen loves to have her own freedom to fool around with, she enjoys staying out late and forgetting about her responsibilities as a mother, and a wife. She would much rather be exploring with Anderson around the city, with the street lights gleaming down the alleyways, to Helen this is more exciting than sitting at home in silence with Harry.

Helen’s best friend Fido plays the role of the Mentor throughout the story, she is Helen’s go-to girl and is always there to lend support and advice. Helen confides in Fido about her explorations, but Fido does not see fit to them.

 “For shame! You must have known this could only cause pain to both of you in the end. As a wife, as a mother.” (Donoghue, 41)

Fido constantly plays the mentor as she tries to convince her best friend which is right but, of course, the explorer in Helen disagrees and continues on with her behavior. Fido typically disproves of Helen’s decision but Fido loves and cherishes Helen more than anything and will not get upset with her decisions.  Fido is the best mentor for Helen because she mentors her very respectably with a calm attitude.

Harry Codrington is a character that the audience truly feels for, he makes your heart hurt of sadness as you feel major empathy towards him. Harry becomes alone after Helen explores a new relationship with Anderson, he loses his wife but he also loses his whole life. To harry his  family is everything.  Harry plays the role of the hero and the sage at the same time. Harry’s whole life is crumbling around him as he realizes Helen’s affair but, he stays calm and is the hero in his deteriorating family. Harry is the true hero to both his daughters and his wife because he stays strong and continues to care for them all after he is faced with the tragedy of infidelity.

“Doting mama rushes to her baby’s side, only three hours late.” (Donoghue, 94)

Harry is also portrayed as the sage because he urges for the truth, He wants to know where Helen has truly been and what has really been going on.  The sage constantly wants to be told the truth no matter the consequences, this is exactly how Harry is depicted.

I would compare the relationship between Helen and Harry to the archetypal symbol of a light. I see their relationship similar to a light because once the light was right and shining, the beginning of the lights life everything is uplifting. The beginning of their marriage was the same. The Codrington’s shared a love that they believed would not dim but, the explorer in Helen creates a different outcome. After a light runs its course of a few years it begins to flicker, just like Helen and Harry. Their relationship does not totally come to an end right away but, they know something is not right. Harry moves on to have his own bedroom and Helen begins to stay out later than usual avoiding his telegrams, these are signs of their relationship flickering. At the end of a light’s lifespan, the light completely burns out. There is no longer any light to be shone and everything dies out, just like the way the Codrington relationship is beginning to end in this second third of the novel. All their romance, trust, and love begin to completely burn out.

“ I thought I was choosing, I thought I loved him.” (Donoghue, 29)

The second third of this novels shows a different side of Henry, he is the true hero of the story trying to protect his family but also wanting to know the truth of it all, being the sage. Helen is also seen being the explorer but is exploring the wrong paths and making the wrong decisions that are mentored by her best friend and mentor Fido.

The Sealed letter

The novel I chose to study for my ISP project is The Sealed letter written by Emma Donoghue. The novel starts out by introducing some of the main characters, Fido and Helen Codrington. Helen Codrington is married to husband Harry Codrington, an admiral of the British Navy, together they have two daughters Nan and Nell. Harry and Helen’s relationship is anything but perfect, they struggle to get along with each other every day.

My perception of the relationship between Helen and Harry after the first portion of the novel is worrisome.  I found a quotation that states “He doesn’t mind having his own room; if anything he prefers it.” (Donoghue, 95). I believe that the narrator stating the fact that they have two separate bedrooms while married is a hint into the troubles of their marriage. If their marriage was seamless and going well most likely they would not be in two separate bedrooms. I also believe that since “He prefers” to be in his own bedroom away from her that is is in an unhappy relationship with Helen. Although Harry says he prefers to have his own bedroom I think that he is dying for affection from Helen, after reflecting on the fact that Helen and he do not share the same bedroom anymore Harry’s character is said to “ask his wife for daily and pleasant companionship.” (Donoghue,95).  After reading the statement about Harry and his want for companionship I started to build a perception of their relationship that leads me to feel bad for Harry because I view Helen as the culprit in why their relationship has turned inadequate. I reckon that Helen is the leading cause of their dullness in their relationship, I believe that she got bored and stopped pursuing him as she once had before. Helen begins to have an affair with a man that goes by the name Anderson, she frequently sneaks out of her home to visit him at her friend Fido’s home, a place that she sees as safe so that she can protect her marriage from ending in shambles. Helen has no intention of ending her marriage to Harry but, she does not want to end her flirtatious fling with Anderson either. Although her best friend Fido aids in providing Helen a place to run away to with Anderson she is not impressed with Helen’s decision to cheat on her husband. Fido tells Helen that “ Marriage is still the bedrock of society” (Donoghue, 29).  In this quotation Fido tells Helen that marriage is the fundamental and base of society, Fido is trying to implement the importance of keeping a good marriage on to Helen but, Helen neglects her thoughts and continues her relationship with Anderson.

 

In the future, i predict that Helen is going to end up being caught for her acts of adultery. I believe that eventually she will be caught in the lie and Harry will file for a divorce which will leave their nation to be appalled. Divorces in the 18th century were not heard of so, I think that this novel will chase the story of their divorce and it’s repercussions. I see the story going down a path of showing the way the country deals with the divorce.

  

 

When writing this novel I believe the author, Emma Donoghue wanted to reach out to an audience of women particularly a crowd that is a bit older than I am so probably late twenties and above. My thoughts are that the novel can relate to a more mature group of people because the content is a bit more mature. I am finding the novel to have an interesting context and story line but, a lot of the words used seem to be a lot more mature than what a high school student would normally read.  

After reading a third of the novel I have done some reflecting on the story and the way it relates to my personality. Personally, I have seen that I connect more with Helen’s friend Fido than I do with Helen, as I personally find cheating a terrible action. I believe that Helen is doing an act that will majorly hurt her whole family and will terribly upset her husband, Harry. Throughout my reading I realized that I am not terribly fond of Helen, most likely because I do not agree with her actions due to the effects they will have on others around her.