Maskelyne and M&D

[RICHARD ROMEO]

I would guess that old Nevil is, of the major charcters in M&D, the most 
opaque.  His musings on madness and his insecurities vis-a-vis Clive seem 
troubling to him and heartfelt to the reader.  On the other hand, there 
is no doubting the historical Maskelyne and his petty skirmishes with 
Harrison and his clock and his shameless thirst for prestige and climbing 
the corporate ladder.  Dixon, who will never be mistaken for a social 
climber unless it was into the parlors echoing female applause, sees 
jolly old Nevil for what he is--I think this is what all the friction is 
about between the two.  Mason, for all that we love about the guy, hates 
Maskelyne from jealousy--I cringe to think Mason really wants or wanted 
to be like well-connected Nevil but that seems the case.  His friction 
with NM is partly based on some intuitive competition on the part of 
Mason.  Couldn't one say, psychologically, Mason is really confronting 
his father, trying to prove his worth to him as a stargazer, his 
frustration with Maskelyne only adding fuel to that fire beneath his 
head.  Poor Charlie, he's lost the battle before it even began

thinking out loud...

Richard Romeo
Coordinator of Cooperating Collections
The Foundation Center-NYC
212-807-2417
rromeo at fdncenter.org