Patrick and Albert, and a Lack of Respect.

On Monday, we briefly touched on the idea of few characters actually having “freedom” in the novel, with the excepting being (perhaps) Paddy. Everybody is always being bossed around or is doing something for someone else’s benefit, as long as they are being observed (and, considering most of this story revolves around dialogue, they are being observed almost constantly. But if they are not being watched by an authority figure, they won’t necessarily be doing their jobs. Paddy is a loner, no one (spare Kate) can understand him, so he kind of does his own thing – he’s seen sleeping in the middle of the day. We hinted at his lack of speech as being the key to this freedom, but I think there is another excepting: little Albert. Except he’s always being told what to do literally all the time. However, he still manages to be seen as the rebel in the piece, nobody can successfully defy him or tell him what to do – especially not those damn peacocks. He just says “Yes’m” and carries on with his plan of action. And Lil Albert gets to have an active part in the novel (we see him more than we see Paddy, at least). I don’t think it’s the lack of communication that gives these two characters freedom – I think it’s a lack of respect. They are both very low in the hierarchy of the castle – Paddy because he’s Irish and Albert because he’s young and seen as rebellious. But without anyone to respect them, they have no reason to do what would normally be expected of them – because everyone’s expectations are already so low.