(over)analysis+of+names+part+III

As soon as I saw the name "Hastings" I instantly thought of the Battle of Hastings (1066), in which William the Conquerer defeated Harold and ended the era of the Saxon kings. In this context, I determined that Marlow is the conqueree and Ms. Hardcastle is the conquerer. Here's my reasoning. Marlow speaks nervously, stuttering and stammering, while in her presence. But when Ms. Hardcastle and him will get together (and you know they will), Marlow will cease to be so nervous and his speech will change, just as the Norman invasion changed the English Language.

Furthermore, Hastings the person is like a mediator between the two, who will eventually become one couple. This reflects, in a way, how Hastings was the neutral place where two armies met, paving the way for a norman-saxxon england. And Ms. Hardcastle? Well, love is difficult sometimes. As difficult as storming a CASTLE with HARD walls. 1201824340

I think that Marlow is acting so nervous because he has such a closed mind about Miss Hardcastle. I think he just assumes ahead of time that he will have no interest in her and, therefore, he is sloppy in the way that he persues her. He probably assumes that she will not want him if he acts modest and shy and that would be good for him because he is so uninterested. But then when he finally looks at her and realizes how beautiful she is, he is more than willing to talk to her, he even hits on her and tries to kiss her. I agree that in the end they will be together but I think that we will be in for a fun and interesting story before this is all over.1201884194

Well, it definitely turned out to be an interesting story, and although I find it difficult to believe that Hastings' name has any reference to the Battle of Hastings, it is an interesting theory. However, I don't think that Hastings had all that much to do with the Ms. Hardcastle/Marlow relationship; it was mostly Ms. Hardcastle's doing, matched with the added bonus of her father's approval. Also, we learn that, for some reason, Marlow has a problem speaking to ladies of his own social class, and that is why he is so shy at first before she changes herself into a temporary barmaid. But back to the names... I'm not sure that Ms. Hardcastle's name analysis is accurate either, because she lets down the walls of her social class so that Marlow will like her. Her walls may be hard, but the castle's doors are easy to open. 1203048788

I think you are going a //little// too far with the name Hastings, although I think it does have significance. When I read Hastings, I think haste. And he clearly wants to make a hasty departure from the Hardcastle household. He is willing to leave the inheritance behind just to get away quickly. He could wait until Tony comes of age and rejects his mother's wishes, but he wants to get it over with now. I think this is more accurate because it deals with Hastings himself rather than the Marlow/Kate relationship.

Also, I don't know whether I agree that your Hardcastle interpretation works for Kate. The Hardcastle is Mr. Hardcastle, so I think the name is more applicable to him. Ms. Hardcastle would associate better with Kate. At the same time, I see your point. All of the Hardcastle's have some hardness about them. The hardheadness of Mr. and Ms. become apparent on page 28 "HARDCASTLE: But depend on't I'm in the right. MISS HARCASTLE: And depnd on't I'm not much in the wrong." And Mrs. Hardcastle? Well, its awfully hard to get anything past the fortifications she has built around her brain.

As for Marlow, I am not sure. The only connection I can find is to a Christopher Marlowe. He was a playwright considered to be the best before Shakespeare. The association that I see is that he was considered a double-agent. He theoretically spied on Queen Elizabeth. Marlow is two-faced also; he treats nobles with the utmost respect and the common man with contempt. But this is a stretch. I just can't find anything better. 1203119905

Oh my, John. I really am amazed by your uncanny ability to drag in seemingly the most unrelated things to English class :) I can definitely see where you came to your conclusions, but considering that you know way more about history than anyone I've ever met in my life, I'm not sure that those connections were exactly where Goldsmith was going when he was creating these characters. I tend to agree more with TRu when it comes to the idea of Hastings tryting to hurry things along in "haste". I think that Occam's Razor applies here--the simplest explanation is usually the right one. Using simplistic connections in the names would help to create the correct imagery in the reader's head. 1203121381

I am not so sure about the significance of the names, but I will comment on what kkr brought up concerning Marlow relating to women. While reading the play, I found it quite peculiar that Marlow had two completely opposite natures. In the beginning, Hardcastle tells his daughter Kate that Marlow is "one of the most bashful and reserved young fellows in all the world" (p. 8 in my edition). Kate then responds with reluctance: she is turned off by the word "reserved." She prefers a more bold man.

We all know that Marlow alluded to the fact early on that he was not comfortable with women of his own class, or rather, he prefers those of a lower social standing: "I don't know that I was ever familiarly acquainted with a single modest women--except my mother--But among females of another class, you know--" (19). Thus, it made sense to me when Marlow was acting sheepish around Kate/Miss Hardcastle, who was clearly a classy young woman. It certainly did not help that Marlow was against the idea of marrying a woman he just met as well (20).

Marlow surprised me, indeed. He was bold and rude to Hardcastle right off the bat when he got to the inn. He had his awkward encounter with Kate, and then proceeded to brag about his many women to Kate the "bar-maid." Marlow was by far my favorite character because he kept me entertained at all times!

In the end, I am glad about how everything turned out for Marlow. He must have felt embarrassed for acting the way in which he did, but at least he found quite a woman in Kate. 1203167780