Irritating secondary characters
Mar. 11th, 2006 10:34 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
jmc_bksJust finished a 2003 HH, The Scout, by Lynna Banning, an American historical set in 1860. The Weldon sisters are heading westward to Oregon from Ohio. Their father set them out on the journey, and made older sister Constance promise to follow through when he fell ill. Father dead, Constance and Nettie went west. The hero, Major John Montgomery, appears on the scene as an escort for their wagon train, which is being led by an incompetent guide who has never been west before. John is widowered (is that a real word?) and still dealing with his grief for his wife, Falling Star, a Sioux woman who was killed in a botched raid.
The love story between Constance and John was fairly good, and the travel west was an integral part of the story, not wallpaper. But the secondary character, Nettie, killed the book for me. She was spoiled, self-centered, unthinking and unlikeable. Midway through the book, Constance discovered that Nettie was pregnant, by her father's married clerk, which was why they had to leave Ohio. Nettie intentionally set out to trap John into marriage -- she announced to his commanding officer that he had gotten her pregnant when he had no relationship with her at all, and despite the fact that he was interested in her sister. Her thinking was that she needed him so she should have him, and he was as good as any other man, so why not? I could deal with the fact that she was utterly selfish, but I felt like John and Constance facilitated her. Constance was her enabler, always picking up the slack, always letting her behavior go without correction, etc. Watching the two of them let the brat ruin their lives ruined the book for me. Yes, they got their happy ending eventually, but I would have respected them as characters more if either Constance or John had put their foot down, spanked Nettie until she couldn't sit down comfortably, and then moved on.
Unrelated to the book: it is in the 60s, heading toward 70 degrees out! In March! Keep in mind, we've had freak snow storms into April. But still, it feels like spring. I'm going to go sit outside and enjoy the sunshine.
The love story between Constance and John was fairly good, and the travel west was an integral part of the story, not wallpaper. But the secondary character, Nettie, killed the book for me. She was spoiled, self-centered, unthinking and unlikeable. Midway through the book, Constance discovered that Nettie was pregnant, by her father's married clerk, which was why they had to leave Ohio. Nettie intentionally set out to trap John into marriage -- she announced to his commanding officer that he had gotten her pregnant when he had no relationship with her at all, and despite the fact that he was interested in her sister. Her thinking was that she needed him so she should have him, and he was as good as any other man, so why not? I could deal with the fact that she was utterly selfish, but I felt like John and Constance facilitated her. Constance was her enabler, always picking up the slack, always letting her behavior go without correction, etc. Watching the two of them let the brat ruin their lives ruined the book for me. Yes, they got their happy ending eventually, but I would have respected them as characters more if either Constance or John had put their foot down, spanked Nettie until she couldn't sit down comfortably, and then moved on.
Unrelated to the book: it is in the 60s, heading toward 70 degrees out! In March! Keep in mind, we've had freak snow storms into April. But still, it feels like spring. I'm going to go sit outside and enjoy the sunshine.
