Commonplace 149 George & His Uncle Paul PART TWO
So, Uncle Paul 'blotted his copy book'. This is an old English phrase to describe one who has forever tarnished something that was good - a copy book was where you practised your best writing. How did Paul fall so far from grace? We know George disliked his garrulous ways and love of dominating a social crowd; we can appreciate George didn't like being asked to lend him money that was a long time in being repaid. George was never one for wasting his time on friendships (even familial ones) that bored him or gave him no arena in which he could show off his love of literature and prodigious knowledge of Greek lyric poetry. However, he was one for making use of those who might have connections he could exploit (that list is very long!) or who could be put to good use on his behalf. We can include all his wives in that second category. And his minions, Collet and Orme. And his sisters.
So, what was the final straw that broke the camel's back? In Commonplace 146 we saw how George had to go cap in hand (this seems to be a post composed of adages and cliched sayings, but, as Nikola Tesla once said, 'The harness of waterfalls is the most economical method known for drawing power from the Sun' haha) to ask for a favour of Paul to secure Marianne aka Nell a place in the German Hospital when she needed it. But this bit of jobbery was a matter that made George beholden to a man he had no time for, and so his pride would have been a factor in resenting this bit of a helping hand. Whatever Paul's motives, he did something helpful, but it could be used against him. To be constantly reminded he was in some sort of moral indebtedness to someone he considered inferior would have irked George beyond belief. However, long before this, Paul fell out of favour with his pretentious, snobby nephew.
We only have George's word for how it unfolded. His Diaries were redacted (possibly as an ongoing process, but certainly done in depth in those last couple of years living with Gabrielle Fleury) and his letters reflect what he wanted the recipient to believe, and our man was adept at re-writing his own and everyone else's history - after all, he was a (fairly) creative writer. To get out of the relationship with his uncle required a very big rift and it had to be caused by Paul - it would have to leave George blameless. The Wakefield Gissings would need to know what happened and accept that there was no turning back, and the differences between him and his uncle were irreconcilable.
Two (related) things Paul did that George could use as an excuse to ditch the Rahardts - 1) Paul opened a grocery shop and tried to coax Marianne into working in it; 2) Paul made too many connections between the snippets of biography George - or Marianne - let slip, and had grown too inquisitive. And the conclusions he made reflected very badly on George.
We know from 'Born in Exile' how he felt about relatives opening embarrassing businesses near to over-sensitive snobby male protagonists - Godwin Peake's uncle was dealt summary shunning for such a crime. The potential for humiliation at having his wife work in a grocery shop would have almost finished George off - his play-acted Socialist credentials did not stretch to anything that plebeian. Then, there was the insult at Paul ever thinking this would be acceptable. And, yet... George had made the point on more than one occasion that Marianne was lonely and would benefit from socialising a bit more. She seems to have been quite normal in that respect - she made friends wherever she went and William Gissing, George's brother, got on well with her. But, George did not like her to mix with anyone who might be an influence - the sort of influence that might observe to her that her husband was not exactly a catch and was, in fact, going to be the death of her. Incidentally, George's Aunt Maria would have been working in the shop, so Marianne would have had her for company. So, obviously, Aunt Maria and Uncle Paul must have thought Nell was good enough to front their business. George's biographers overlook this fact. As with my observation that William's landlady would not have tolerated Nell under her roof (when she went to stay with George's brother in Wilmslow) if she had any shred of a doubt about her respectability. Paul and Maria Rahardt, who must have gotten to know Marianne/Nell well, had no qualms about offering her employment in a public position - and, if Marianne had a drink problem (as biographers insist), wouldn't the Rahardts have avoided her and wanted her as far away from their business as possible?
The shop was situated at 12, Upland Road, East Dulwich. We know George's opinion on the opening of the shop because he wrote about it in his letter to Algernon (June 7th 1880):
Rahardt has at length got his money from Germany, & taken a small provision shop. Thinks of giving up engineering. Hopes to open the place in a short time with a brass band, flags, &c a la Bonser & Rayment. It is to be called 'The Noted Little Provision Shop'. !!
Below is the site today - the dwelling on the right-hand corner is the refurbished shop once known as The Noted Little Provision Shop. You can see from number 16 (with the green painted frontage) how the place might have looked, back in 1880, when these would have been quite, if not totally, new.
George writes on:
So, Uncle Paul 'blotted his copy book'. This is an old English phrase to describe one who has forever tarnished something that was good - a copy book was where you practised your best writing. How did Paul fall so far from grace? We know George disliked his garrulous ways and love of dominating a social crowd; we can appreciate George didn't like being asked to lend him money that was a long time in being repaid. George was never one for wasting his time on friendships (even familial ones) that bored him or gave him no arena in which he could show off his love of literature and prodigious knowledge of Greek lyric poetry. However, he was one for making use of those who might have connections he could exploit (that list is very long!) or who could be put to good use on his behalf. We can include all his wives in that second category. And his minions, Collet and Orme. And his sisters.
So, what was the final straw that broke the camel's back? In Commonplace 146 we saw how George had to go cap in hand (this seems to be a post composed of adages and cliched sayings, but, as Nikola Tesla once said, 'The harness of waterfalls is the most economical method known for drawing power from the Sun' haha) to ask for a favour of Paul to secure Marianne aka Nell a place in the German Hospital when she needed it. But this bit of jobbery was a matter that made George beholden to a man he had no time for, and so his pride would have been a factor in resenting this bit of a helping hand. Whatever Paul's motives, he did something helpful, but it could be used against him. To be constantly reminded he was in some sort of moral indebtedness to someone he considered inferior would have irked George beyond belief. However, long before this, Paul fell out of favour with his pretentious, snobby nephew.
We only have George's word for how it unfolded. His Diaries were redacted (possibly as an ongoing process, but certainly done in depth in those last couple of years living with Gabrielle Fleury) and his letters reflect what he wanted the recipient to believe, and our man was adept at re-writing his own and everyone else's history - after all, he was a (fairly) creative writer. To get out of the relationship with his uncle required a very big rift and it had to be caused by Paul - it would have to leave George blameless. The Wakefield Gissings would need to know what happened and accept that there was no turning back, and the differences between him and his uncle were irreconcilable.
Two (related) things Paul did that George could use as an excuse to ditch the Rahardts - 1) Paul opened a grocery shop and tried to coax Marianne into working in it; 2) Paul made too many connections between the snippets of biography George - or Marianne - let slip, and had grown too inquisitive. And the conclusions he made reflected very badly on George.
Rahardt has at length got his money from Germany, & taken a small provision shop. Thinks of giving up engineering. Hopes to open the place in a short time with a brass band, flags, &c a la Bonser & Rayment. It is to be called 'The Noted Little Provision Shop'. !!
Below is the site today - the dwelling on the right-hand corner is the refurbished shop once known as The Noted Little Provision Shop. You can see from number 16 (with the green painted frontage) how the place might have looked, back in 1880, when these would have been quite, if not totally, new.
The shop was very close to Peckham Rye click,
then a very large area of open ground, now more of a park. But, in 1880, there
with extensive market gardens growing produce; some of the fruit and veg could
have been on sale in the shop. Peckham Rye is most famous for being the place
where William Blake saw a
tree filled with angels, bright angelic wings bespangling every bough like
stars. Nowadays, Peckham is most associated with
Trotters' Independent Traders, the business (if that be the term!) operated by
Del Boy and Dave aka Rodney Trotter of the BBC tv show 'Only Fools and Horses' click.
By June 23rd of 1880, George, ever the armchair psychiatrist, refers to Paul once more and declares in another letter to Algernon:
I enclose a paper which will explain itself. The man is gone completely mad, is trying to borrow £500 to buy the house he lives in, & tells us that everybody he passes in the street takes off his hat to him, because 'I look like a gentleman, you know'.
In July, he reports to Alg:
There have been visits to relatives, - visits which I grow to dread more & more, & which, I fear, will some day have to come to an end. The worst was to the Rahardts, who now live in Peckham Rye. They have opened their grocer's shop, & begin to fear that their capital will not suffice. I can see that there is constant quarrelling between them, & things seem likely to go from bad to worse. Altogether, we spent a very hateful afternoon there.
After the summer, Marianne's health requires in-patient care, and this is when Uncle Paul lends his helping hand. A letter of October 24th:
...Nell is now in the German Hospital, - about the best hospital in London.
On November 3rd, a long letter is sent to Algernon, and all the gory details are unveiled:
I will get rid of the annoying and disgusting matter of which I wish you to be informed. I think I told you that Rahardt exerted himself to get Nell into the Hospital. Well, I daresay you know how hateful it is to be indebted to a grossly vulgar person, & the result of this present business has shown me that I ought rather to have gone to any extremity than ask Reinhardt's assistance. I may say by way of preface that Nell & I both know (now) that the man has systematically calumniated us for a long time on every possible occasion, that he has tried his utmost to make us disagree, & that he very nearly succeeded by making Nell believe some time ago that he knew Bertz personally (of course a lie,) & that Bertz was a dissipated scoundrel whose companionship could only lead to the gallows! At present, he has taken advantage of Nell's removal to the Hospital, to make all the authorities there believe that I starve & beat her, (literally,) & to do his best to persuade Nell to go away from me & serve in the shop with Maria. You will ask in amazement what can be the cause of all this. We are at a loss to determine, unless it is perhaps that I some time ago refused to lend him £30 to set up in his business. Moreover, to silence these people's eternal impertinent questionings, Nell has told them that she had an Aunt in Manchester (of course non-existent) &, since then, Rahardt has done his utmost to discover this fictitious aunt's address, that he might write calumnies to her, & has even gone to the length of bribing a woman (who came to us to do coarse work) to hunt round the house in search of said address.
Let's stop and consider this. Paul, no longer 'Uncle Paul' is being described now as some sort of adversary making outrageous claims and insulting George at every turn. But... what if all or some of what Paul claimed, is true? We know he was probably physically abusive to Marianne and once quipped that stair carpet rods make good weapons for use on a woman. HG wells told his son that George beat his first wife. What if Marianne has shared some of her experience of abuse with Maria, who in her own marriage, according to George, was on the receiving end of violence? And what if Maria mentions it to Paul? Or is it Paul getting revenge for being turned down for a loan - which seems unlikely. And, whatever is going on does not include Marianne, so Paul seems to be on good terms with her. Would Paul have helped with the German Hospital admission if he genuinely bore a grudge? Perhaps he wanted that Manchester address in order to tell Marianne's aunt how badly she was being treated. And, telling the Hospital authorities that Marianne was being badly treated - well, she will have been examined on admission and any injuries or marks on her from bruising would have been recorded. Maybe they did find something and George was covering his tracks in case Mrs Gissing, his mother, ever found out about it via the wider family network.
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| Mural at Goose Green (not the Falkland Islands one!) commemorating William Blake's vision. |
Well, since Nell has returned home , the man's gossip & slander to both of us has been so intolerable, that I yesterday wrote him a letter, saying that we were very grateful to him for what he had done, (NB I paid him all his expense long ago,) but that I feared he was pursuing the best course to make my wife ill again, as she was in constant distress & agitation at things he kept telling her. I begged that these matters might never be touched on again, My letter was perfectly friendly and polite (I think you can believe that,) but tonight I receive this reply 'Sir! In answer to your insulting letter, I have only to inform you that I & my family will keep in Peckham, & you & your wife will keep in Islington - Paul Rahardt.' - And he encloses my open letter!!
Well, there, is the whole matter. Whether he will persuade Paddington people to taboo us remains to be seen. In any case I think you will agree with me that the rupture is a great relief, for I cannot blame myself in the least in the matter; & really the man is such an intolerable vulgarian & (I think I may add,) scoundrel, that I knew the connection must somehow cease. I only regret much that he helped Nell into the Hospital.
Well, what is true here? It sounds as if Paul has got wind of George's criminal past and wants to uncover the secret life he had in Manchester. So, it is ironic George refers to him as a scoundrel!
Then, he goes on ranting:
You will be amused to hear that the man vilifies Mother & you constantly to all his acquaintances because you won't write letters to them, - a most laudable abstinence on your part. I have told you all this for two reasons; first. because I think you will be rather glad to avoid even the appearance of intimacy with the Rahardts when you come to London; next because I should not be in the least surprised if he were impudent enough to write to you or Mother the blackguardisms he has been circulating here. I rather think I should like you to read all this to Mother.
And we see how George has taken over everyone else's right to make their own mind up on the subject. Which is very typical of our man when in the face of opposition or when he feels weak - he rallies others to his point of view, robbing them of an unbiased account with which to make up their own minds. Algernon is being used to disseminate George's position to the Wakefield set, with no chance they will ever know otherwise. The need to control others' perceptions of him and his doings are at the core of his Diaries and Letters, and we see it here beginning what will become a lifelong pattern of reacting to any form of opposition with character assassination and his 'poor me' mentality.
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| 1960 First edition cover |
This was a time of change for George. This letter also contains news he has a new-found interest in Positivism, and that he is about to start social climbing with the help of the Frederic Harrisons. Bertz, his man-wife, is undertaking the London Matric (presumably in order to find employment in the
government or as a teacher), and Nell has at last been given a diagnosis - Scrofula.
He ends the letter with this manifesto, vis-à-vis his commitment to writing:
He ends the letter with this manifesto, vis-à-vis his commitment to writing:
I mean to bring home to people the ghastly condition (material, mental and moral,) of our poor classes, to show the hideous injustice of our whole system of society, to give light upon the plan of altering it, &, above all, to preach an enthusiasm for just and high ideals in this age of unmitigated egotism & 'shop'. I shall never write a book which does not keep all these ends in view.
What can we make of this clarion call? To paraphrase the Divine One aka Oscar Wilde, when commenting on the death of Little Nell (she of The Old Curiosity Shop): One would have to have a heart of stone not to laugh.
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