MDDM Ch. 72 Dixon and the slave driver
jbor
jbor at bigpond.com
Fri Aug 23 21:17:28 CDT 2002
Otto wrote:
>>
>>> accurately
>>> interpreted
>>
>
> Thanks, Rob.
You're welcome, Otto.
The other connection which is interesting here is the incident (408-9) where
Mason falls off his horse in Ch. 40. Riding back to the Harlands' "thro' the
Jerseys" Mason's passage is blocked by a group of Quaker "boys" tumbling out
of the Meeting House "as if the D---l had been with them". Mason writes: "I
gave the Horse a light blow on the Head with my Whip which brought him to
the ground as if shot dead."
Mason writes two versions of the incident: a "Foul Copy" which implies that
the Quakers and *their* (i.e. "ye Devil") both enjoyed his misfortune; and
the less slanderous or blasphemous "Fair Cop[y]" of the incident for the
Proprietors. And the parlour crew offer their various interpretations.
I see a connection with the way Dixon's horse ("Rebel, old gal") nuzzles her
nose into the red jacket, where the whip is concealed, and also with the way
that Dixon, in his anger and impetuosity, whips the slave-driver "from the
Back, like a Beast" (699.3), as he phrases it.
I think Dixon had certainly forgotten himself in the street, on a number of
counts, and that it is noteworthy that this "moment of Equine curiosity"
(699.35) is what brings him to his senses again, makes him suddenly aware
of, almost perhaps ashamed of (though that might be too strong a word), but
certainly determined never to boast of, what he had done.
best
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