pg 161: Why didn't you allow Lee to answer the questions from the police right after she was found? Did you know she was hiding something? Did you know WHAT she was hiding?
How did you cope with the loss of your sister and soon thereafter being responsible for raising her 12 year old daughter (your niece)?
I was very upset when my sister and brother-in-law died in the accident because I was so close to my sister growing up. Therefore, I knew that she would want me to care for her daughter (my niece), Lee. It was very difficult for Lee to deal with the loss of her parents, especially since no one could ever explain what happened to them. When meeting Lee at the airport in Scotland, I could tell that she was scared to leave America. She was even more upset about losing her parents. Despite Lee's anger and grief, I hope that I have provided her with strength and comfort. Oftentimes, I would provide Lee with opportunities to talk about how she was feeling. She would share memories of her parents. I knew exactly how she felt. My lifelong friend and neighbour, James Mackay and his wife helped me in raising Lee. I am grateful to have such supportive friends.
Did you really think that Vanessa would enjoy eating salty porridge, sliced fried black pudding and kippers?
Yes, I really think that Vanessa, Lee and everyone else would enjoy eating salty porridge, sliced fried black pudding and kippers. It is a traditional English/Scottish breakfast after all.
When I was growing up, We were grateful for the food we were given and did not reject a meal. As it is traditional, I was offering my traditional food as a sign of nurture and acceptance to everyone. I was sharing a part of myself.
I didn't allow Lee to answer questions from the police for many many reasons. Initially I was in shock and then I did not want her taken from me like many other family members I have lost.I also thought that she had been through enough trauma and that she needed to just be in kept by my side under close supervision, not wisked off to a police station. I could not chance causing her more distress or losing her to the police or media, people had there suspicions anyway.
Maggie did you not allow Lee to speak to the police for only those reasons or do you too, have experiences similar to Lee's and Vanessa's that you were not ready to deal with?
I took care of her because it was my job to. Who else would have if I did not? I can't imagine a better opportunity then to take care of a loved one. She is the closest thing I have to my sister. I just knew I had to and did...no questions asked.
The food was a family tradition and I felt that Lee should be grateful and proud of the food she was being given. Growing up, I we were not very wealthy, and for us poordige and kippers was like gold to us. I made that food with love, just like my family did.
Lee went through so much. I could not bare to have had her speak to the police, or anyone for that matter about what happened. Did I know some of what had happened in the back of my mind? Yes. Did I think other people may have suspected some things too? Yes. But, I just wanted Lee to not have to worry about anything more than she had already been through with the loss of her parents, especially; thereore, I would not allow the police to speak with her and felt that I was looking out for the best interest of my niece, whom I love with all my heart and would do anything for. She was my daughter now and it was my job to protect her, no one elses. So at the time, I felt the best thing to do was to keep her away from anymore stress in her life. Furthmore, do I understand where Lee and Vanessa are coming from in their experiences?...Maybe yes, maybe no.
OK- Now converse with each other on each of the questions from the perspective of the reader. Make sure you respond to each other's thinking in a discussion format.
OK- Now for next week please discuss with each other your response to the questions from the point of view of the reader. Please build on each other's ideas.
How did you cope with the loss of your sister and soon thereafter being responsible for raising her 12 year old daughter (your niece)?
I think it was must have been extremely difficult for Maggie to lose her sister in a tragic accident. It couldn’t have been much easier for her to deal with the loss when she needed to become both a mother and a father figure to her niece so abruptly. I think it was probably comforting to Maggie to have something of her sister’s to remind her of her sister and to be able to take care of her sister’s legacy. At the same time, she was inheriting a child that had no more parents, who would struggle with living in a new country and would disappear for two days while out on a boat on the Loch Ness. It seems that Maggie had a lot on her plate; this could have made her sister’s death more difficult, but it also may have made her sister’s loss easier because she was so focused on Lee that she didn’t have much time to grieve. I think she would say that, despite the circumstances leading to Lee coming to live with her, she will always be grateful for having had the opportunity to have such a close relationship with her. -Sylvia
Did you really think that Vanessa would enjoy eating salty porridge, sliced fried black pudding and kippers?
I genuinely think that Maggie thought she served Vanessa a perfectly delicious, traditional breakfast and didn’t even consider that Vanessa might not like it. I would have liked to get the answer from Maggie, though, because if she said she did it just to see how Vanessa would react, then I’d know that Maggie had a playful personality. If she were to say that she had no idea Vanessa wouldn’t like it then I would conclude that Maggie lived a very isolated life, unaware of different cultures and tastes. I liked this question for that very reason – that it would give me a better read on Maggie’s personality. -Sylvia
Why didn't you allow Lee to answer the questions from the police right after she was found? Did you know she was hiding something? Did you know WHAT she was hiding?
I agree with Heather and Janice. First of all, the two of them (Maggie and Lee) had already suffered a great deal from losing Lee’s parents. I wouldn’t blame Maggie for being very protective of Lee and keeping the police from questioning her. Lee had been through so much and she was vulnerable. She was already having a tough time fitting into the place she now called home, she was definitely missing her parents and now she went through something Maggie considered traumatic while out on Loch Ness; of course Maggie wouldn’t want her to have an unpleasant experience with the police after all of that. At the same time, I have to wonder if something similar had happened to Maggie in the past. I wonder if she had the same experience that Lee, and later Vanessa, would come to have with Nessie. In that case, her motivation to keep Lee from talking to the police would have been to make sure Lee had the time to think and lock away what happened to her and not share it with anyone else. But I can’t help wondering why she would want it to be kept a secret. Was it because she knew the world wouldn’t believe her? Was it because she knew the world would believe it and Nessie would be in danger? Was it because she wanted to keep the experience exclusively to herself and Lee? I’m just not sure. -Sylvia
How did you cope with the loss of your sister and soon thereafter being responsible for raising her 12 year old daughter (your niece)?
I completely agree with Sylvia about how traumatic this situation must have been for Maggie. Not only did she lose her sister and brother-in-law in a horrible car accident, but she had to be the caretaker of their daughter. So,she had to be very strong for Lee and try not to show her emotions too much in front of her. I think she hoenstly just had to take it day by day and try her best for Lee. This would be hard for anybody to have to do.
Did you really think that Vanessa would enjoy eating salty porridge, sliced fried black pudding and kippers?
I also agree with Sylvia's idea that Maggie really thought Vanessa liked that terrible tasting food. To her it was simply a traditional Scottish meal and something she has cooked for many years in my opinion. I think that it showed me that she was a very oblivious character. She was a woman with a sweet soul and was a true genuine human being and so for her she was cooking that meal out of the goodness of her heart because she wanted to expose her to some traditional sottish cuisine and nothing more than that. SHe wanted to make Vanessa feel at home and welcomed by cooking her a good meal. -Janice
Why didn't you allow Lee to answer the questions from the police right after she was found? Did you know she was hiding something? Did you know WHAT she was hiding?
I definitely think that Maggie wanted to keep Lee from anymore stressa nd heartache since the poor girl had been through enough with the death of her parents. I do also agree with Sylvia and with our fourth question that I think Maggie had an encounter with Nessie just as Lee and Vanessa did. I think she didn't want Lee to answer questions from the poilce because she may have felt like she would have to get invloved and didn't want others to know her secret as well that she had an experience with Nessie. I think that she didn't want anyone to know about the true world that existed under the water and the magical being that was Nessie. I could be way off thrack but I really think Filtcroft wanted us to dig deep and think. -Janice
Everything that Maggie has done: taken care of her sister's daughter, shielded her from harm and upsetting questions from police, taken care of Vanessa years later.... I think these things show how strong, dependable and caring Maggie is. She is a strong character in the story, who I overlooked initially. I'm glad I was given the assignment to look at her more closely, otherwise I would have missed the opportunity to get to know a truly integral, supportive character to this novel. She supplies the support for the other characters to do and become what they need to. -Sylvia
When we were given this assignment and were given Maggie I though about it and was like but she is not major character in this book with much to her storyline. But, as we dug deep and came up with these questions for her, I really thought about it and realized just as you did Sylvia that she was a very strong character and a true survivor. She survived the heartache of losing her sister and having to raise her young niece and perhaps even survived through something more...Nessie?...The more I thought about how she didn't want Lee to answer questions and how she acted towards Vanessa after the "encounter" the more I realized what an intigueing character she was and without her in this story, there would have been a little something missing, a little less of a dynamic. -Janice
I bet Maggie would have a great story to tell - one that could be the subject of its own novel. I wonder if Jean Flitcroft has ever thought about that. I tend to think that most characters in novels are based, at least a little bit, on someone the author knows. I wonder if Jean knew someone like Maggie, maybe an aunt or something, who she used to develop Maggie's character? Sylvia
Did you really think that Vanessa would enjoy eating salty porridge, sliced fried black pudding and kippers?
I too feel like this is what Maggie was offering as a way to show her hospitality. I can relate to this aspect of the story. I am married to a man who is of other ethnic decent and his parents sometimes cook things that are cooked "with love" and are traditional to their culture, but not of any interest to me. I realized early on in our relationship, that in offering me a personal piece of their culture through food, they were in fact welcoming me in. As unappealing as the food was I took a "no thank you helping" as to not offend them. I think MAggie was just offering acceptance through her food.
Maggie did you not allow Lee to speak to the police for only those reasons or do you too, have experiences similar to Lee's and Vanessa's that you were not ready to deal with?
I think that MAggie new more about what happened to Lee than she lead on to. I do think she felt a huge sense of protection over Lee but I feel that she new from first had experience what Lee and now Vanessa had gone through. I also wonder if she had a deep interest, respect and understanding for Nessie, the way Vanessa did?
How did you cope with the loss of your sister and soon thereafter being responsible for raising her 12 year old daughter (your niece)?
As many loving family members do, I feel she stepped up to the plate and did what she had to do. If you look at the composition of families over the course of history, it is only recently that families have become so separated. For years and still in many other countries, families live together and extended families remain very very close. I tend to feel this is the case for Maggie.
Why didn't you allow Lee to answer the questions from the police right after she was found? Did you know she was hiding something? Did you know WHAT she was hiding?
JUst like I previously posted. I think that MAggie knew more than people realized. I can imagine how she may have felt from a protective perspective. When something traumatic takes place, sometimes the police and always the media can blow things up and out of proportion even further. It is clear that Maggie not only may have known already what had happened, but was reacting in a motherly protective way to protect Lee and maybe Nessie as well.
Heather: I can completely see where you’re coming from with your husband’s family. Food is BIG in my family too, and it is really insulting when meals are prepared with such care, only to have the guest turn their nose to it. In light of that, I am glad Vanessa chose to pretend she ate the food instead of complaining about it. As for Maggie being protective towards Lee and Vanessa… I can see that, but I also think she’s being protective towards Nessie. If Maggie came to love and respect Nessie the way Vanessa had, then she would want to protect Nessie from the outside world, and people who might want to hurt her or take her away from her home to do experiments or something on her. She probably didn’t want Nessie to be treated cruelly, like some scientific experiment, when she felt that Nessie deserved to be treated with kid gloves. Do you agree? -Sylvia
Yes, I really thought that Vanessa was going to eat the salty porridge, sliced fried black pudding and kippers. Beening in Scotland were the culture is different do not have a choice. Eating their food is a way of being respectful and thankful for what you have in front of you. This can be an experience that it very rare to come by. Enjoy it and don't be ungraceful or rude.
It must of been a diifult moment for Maggie. Disappering for two days on a boat on the Loch Ness, she had alot on plate. Leaving without telling anyone, apparently she was not thinking about the consequences of her family left behind nor being alone in the Loch Ness. She was determine to find the answer about Nessie.
How did you cope with the loss of your sister and soon thereafter being responsible for raising her 12 year old daughter (your niece)?
I agree that Maggie believed that it was her responsibility to take care of Lee since she was her sister's child. As difficult as it was to lose her sister, I think that caring for Lee provided her with some comfort. Maggie probably felt happy that she was able to provide Lee with strength and comfort throughout her grieving process. In Lee's journal she mentions that she shared memories of her parents with Maggie. Clearly, Maggie played a significant role in Lee's life.
Did you really think that Vanessa would enjoy eating salty porridge, sliced fried black pudding and kippers?
I really think that Maggie would have expected that everyone else would enjoy eating salty porridge, sliced fried black pudding and kippers. Since it is a traditional English/Scottish breakfast, I think that Maggie felt proud to share this meal with her new guests. Food is an important aspect of culture.
Maggie really had a strong place in the story than we all first thought.
Heather and Sylvia I also completely agree about the whole food situation. We have all had times when things didn't taste that great but we had it anyways to spare loved one's feelings, just as Lee and Vanessa did to Maggie.
I thought about that too Sylvia, if Jean knew someone like Maggie and based that character off of her. Filtcroft did a great job of really getting us to think about Maggie as more than a secondary character. I would have loved to learn more about her life, but making her life somewhat of a mytstery made me enjoy her character that much more in the end because I just kept thinking hmm what if...
I also agree with Heather and Jessica. Both Lee and Maggie had a diffult time when lee lost her parents. Lee had gone through so much that she was protecting Maggie from talking to the police. I beleive that something similar must of happen to her in the past. Now knowing that Vanessa went though the same with Nessie it makes sense. She might not want anyone to know about Nessie. To keep the experience or the encounter as a secret. If the police would find out, then Nessie would be in danger.
As I was reading the book I felt the same way. Filtcroft did an awesome job with the characters, specially with Maggie. Her life sounds like a mystery, this is what made me read over and over trying to figure her out. I was confused at the beginning, but then it became clear as I kept reading the story.
Yes, Sylvia I agree with you about Nessie being discover because of cruelty to animals, like scientific experiment. She really liked Nessie. She didn't want him hurt anyway. Vanessa wants to protect Nessie from the outside world. Vanessa must of the care and love for animals. After, her experience with Nessie, she discovered that Nessie was harmless. I also admired Vanessa pretending to eat the food , and she ate the whole thing.
Heather, I totally agree with you Maggie must know more than people had realized. When there are media, police, investigate etc. everything does go out of proportion. Therefore, being protective, nothing will happen to Nessie, and Lee. This is the the only way that the legacy of Nessie will continue without the outside world knowing.
Heather in my family we do not criticize food. It is against our culture and believes. We have to be graceful for what was/is given to us on that day. I am raising my boys to be the same way. Thank god that they respect and are very graceful. Criticism doesn't exist in our home or others.
pg 161: Why didn't you allow Lee to answer the questions from the police right after she was found? Did you know she was hiding something? Did you know WHAT she was hiding?
I think that Maggie didn't allow Lee to answer the questions from the police because she was in such shock and felt so protective of Lee. I agree with Janice and think that Maggie may have seen Nessie herself. Therefore she did not want to have to get involved with answering questions about her own experience.
Janice, I completely agree. Now that we have had the opportunity to surround and surmount Maggie as a character she seems to much more important. It would be interesting to hear things from her perspective.
As you have picked up on, I really loved Maggie as a character myself. She is strong, dependable, insightful, but above all deeply empathetic and that is very appealing. She doesn't need to say much and appears to understand things without explanation. Within an hour of meeting Vanessa, it is Maggie who is stroking her head (like a mother)when she cries, no doubt she did the same for Lee all those years ago. While Vanessa does not like Lee, she cannot but help liking Maggie and so the first link in their friendship forms that way. Maggie is very Scottish indeed, and as you point out would I think be quite surprised that nobody actually likes her food, although I sometimes wonder if she is being slightly playful with Vanessa myself when she says after she faints 'double rations then for you tomorrow lass.'
Another point is that Maggie is very motherly, but having no children of her own she would have put every bit of her love for her sister and for the child she couldn't have, into Lee. She would not let the police question her after she was found for fear of causing Lee more distress. Maggie was wise person and knew that sometimes its best to leave things alone, to give a situation time to sort itself. I think living beside the Loch all her life she knew well that Nessie was involved and trusted her. She speaks about the 'magic of the loch' and trusted the magic to do right by Lee.
The fact that both Lee and Vanessa felt compelled to lie about the bad Scottish food reflects well on them and shows a kindness that they have in common. Clearly they both care for Maggie and respect her deeply. The breakfast issue is the first time that they acknowledge something in common and it gives Vanessa a bit of a surprise. The wall of anger that she has built crumbles just a tiny bit.
How did you cope with the loss of your sister and soon thereafter being responsible for raising her 12 year old daughter (your niece)?
ReplyDeleteDid you really think that Vanessa would enjoy eating salty porridge, sliced fried black pudding and kippers?
ReplyDeletepg 161:
ReplyDeleteWhy didn't you allow Lee to answer the questions from the police right after she was found? Did you know she was hiding something? Did you know WHAT she was hiding?
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteHow did you cope with the loss of your sister and soon thereafter being responsible for raising her 12 year old daughter (your niece)?
ReplyDeleteI was very upset when my sister and brother-in-law died in the accident because I was so close to my sister growing up. Therefore, I knew that she would want me to care for her daughter (my niece), Lee. It was very difficult for Lee to deal with the loss of her parents, especially since no one could ever explain what happened to them. When meeting Lee at the airport in Scotland, I could tell that she was scared to leave America. She was even more upset about losing her parents. Despite Lee's anger and grief, I hope that I have provided her with strength and comfort. Oftentimes, I would provide Lee with opportunities to talk about how she was feeling. She would share memories of her parents. I knew exactly how she felt. My lifelong friend and neighbour, James Mackay and his wife helped me in raising Lee. I am grateful to have such supportive friends.
Did you really think that Vanessa would enjoy eating salty porridge, sliced fried black pudding and kippers?
ReplyDeleteYes, I really think that Vanessa, Lee and everyone else would enjoy eating salty porridge, sliced fried black pudding and kippers. It is a traditional English/Scottish breakfast after all.
When I was growing up, We were grateful for the food we were given and did not reject a meal. As it is traditional, I was offering my traditional food as a sign of nurture and acceptance to everyone. I was sharing a part of myself.
ReplyDeleteI didn't allow Lee to answer questions from the police for many many reasons. Initially I was in shock and then I did not want her taken from me like many other family members I have lost.I also thought that she had been through enough trauma and that she needed to just be in kept by my side under close supervision, not wisked off to a police station. I could not chance causing her more distress or losing her to the police or media, people had there suspicions anyway.
ReplyDeleteMaggie did you not allow Lee to speak to the police for only those reasons or do you too, have experiences similar to Lee's and Vanessa's that you were not ready to deal with?
ReplyDeleteI took care of her because it was my job to. Who else would have if I did not? I can't imagine a better opportunity then to take care of a loved one. She is the closest thing I have to my sister. I just knew I had to and did...no questions asked.
ReplyDeleteThe food was a family tradition and I felt that Lee should be grateful and proud of the food she was being given. Growing up, I we were not very wealthy, and for us poordige and kippers was like gold to us. I made that food with love, just like my family did.
ReplyDelete(Janice)
Lee went through so much. I could not bare to have had her speak to the police, or anyone for that matter about what happened. Did I know some of what had happened in the back of my mind? Yes. Did I think other people may have suspected some things too? Yes. But, I just wanted Lee to not have to worry about anything more than she had already been through with the loss of her parents, especially; thereore, I would not allow the police to speak with her and felt that I was looking out for the best interest of my niece, whom I love with all my heart and would do anything for. She was my daughter now and it was my job to protect her, no one elses. So at the time, I felt the best thing to do was to keep her away from anymore stress in her life. Furthmore, do I understand where Lee and Vanessa are coming from in their experiences?...Maybe yes, maybe no.
ReplyDeleteOK- Now converse with each other on each of the questions from the perspective of the reader. Make sure you respond to each other's thinking in a discussion format.
ReplyDeleteOK- Now for next week please discuss with each other your response to the questions from the point of view of the reader. Please build on each other's ideas.
ReplyDeleteHow did you cope with the loss of your sister and soon thereafter being responsible for raising her 12 year old daughter (your niece)?
ReplyDeleteI think it was must have been extremely difficult for Maggie to lose her sister in a tragic accident. It couldn’t have been much easier for her to deal with the loss when she needed to become both a mother and a father figure to her niece so abruptly. I think it was probably comforting to Maggie to have something of her sister’s to remind her of her sister and to be able to take care of her sister’s legacy. At the same time, she was inheriting a child that had no more parents, who would struggle with living in a new country and would disappear for two days while out on a boat on the Loch Ness. It seems that Maggie had a lot on her plate; this could have made her sister’s death more difficult, but it also may have made her sister’s loss easier because she was so focused on Lee that she didn’t have much time to grieve. I think she would say that, despite the circumstances leading to Lee coming to live with her, she will always be grateful for having had the opportunity to have such a close relationship with her.
-Sylvia
Did you really think that Vanessa would enjoy eating salty porridge, sliced fried black pudding and kippers?
ReplyDeleteI genuinely think that Maggie thought she served Vanessa a perfectly delicious, traditional breakfast and didn’t even consider that Vanessa might not like it. I would have liked to get the answer from Maggie, though, because if she said she did it just to see how Vanessa would react, then I’d know that Maggie had a playful personality. If she were to say that she had no idea Vanessa wouldn’t like it then I would conclude that Maggie lived a very isolated life, unaware of different cultures and tastes. I liked this question for that very reason – that it would give me a better read on Maggie’s personality. -Sylvia
Why didn't you allow Lee to answer the questions from the police right after she was found? Did you know she was hiding something? Did you know WHAT she was hiding?
ReplyDeleteI agree with Heather and Janice. First of all, the two of them (Maggie and Lee) had already suffered a great deal from losing Lee’s parents. I wouldn’t blame Maggie for being very protective of Lee and keeping the police from questioning her. Lee had been through so much and she was vulnerable. She was already having a tough time fitting into the place she now called home, she was definitely missing her parents and now she went through something Maggie considered traumatic while out on Loch Ness; of course Maggie wouldn’t want her to have an unpleasant experience with the police after all of that.
At the same time, I have to wonder if something similar had happened to Maggie in the past. I wonder if she had the same experience that Lee, and later Vanessa, would come to have with Nessie. In that case, her motivation to keep Lee from talking to the police would have been to make sure Lee had the time to think and lock away what happened to her and not share it with anyone else. But I can’t help wondering why she would want it to be kept a secret. Was it because she knew the world wouldn’t believe her? Was it because she knew the world would believe it and Nessie would be in danger? Was it because she wanted to keep the experience exclusively to herself and Lee? I’m just not sure. -Sylvia
How did you cope with the loss of your sister and soon thereafter being responsible for raising her 12 year old daughter (your niece)?
ReplyDeleteI completely agree with Sylvia about how traumatic this situation must have been for Maggie. Not only did she lose her sister and brother-in-law in a horrible car accident, but she had to be the caretaker of their daughter. So,she had to be very strong for Lee and try not to show her emotions too much in front of her. I think she hoenstly just had to take it day by day and try her best for Lee. This would be hard for anybody to have to do.
-Janice
Did you really think that Vanessa would enjoy eating salty porridge, sliced fried black pudding and kippers?
ReplyDeleteI also agree with Sylvia's idea that Maggie really thought Vanessa liked that terrible tasting food. To her it was simply a traditional Scottish meal and something she has cooked for many years in my opinion. I think that it showed me that she was a very oblivious character. She was a woman with a sweet soul and was a true genuine human being and so for her she was cooking that meal out of the goodness of her heart because she wanted to expose her to some traditional sottish cuisine and nothing more than that. SHe wanted to make Vanessa feel at home and welcomed by cooking her a good meal.
-Janice
Why didn't you allow Lee to answer the questions from the police right after she was found? Did you know she was hiding something? Did you know WHAT she was hiding?
ReplyDeleteI definitely think that Maggie wanted to keep Lee from anymore stressa nd heartache since the poor girl had been through enough with the death of her parents. I do also agree with Sylvia and with our fourth question that I think Maggie had an encounter with Nessie just as Lee and Vanessa did. I think she didn't want Lee to answer questions from the poilce because she may have felt like she would have to get invloved and didn't want others to know her secret as well that she had an experience with Nessie. I think that she didn't want anyone to know about the true world that existed under the water and the magical being that was Nessie. I could be way off thrack but I really think Filtcroft wanted us to dig deep and think.
-Janice
Everything that Maggie has done: taken care of her sister's daughter, shielded her from harm and upsetting questions from police, taken care of Vanessa years later.... I think these things show how strong, dependable and caring Maggie is. She is a strong character in the story, who I overlooked initially. I'm glad I was given the assignment to look at her more closely, otherwise I would have missed the opportunity to get to know a truly integral, supportive character to this novel. She supplies the support for the other characters to do and become what they need to. -Sylvia
ReplyDeleteWhen we were given this assignment and were given Maggie I though about it and was like but she is not major character in this book with much to her storyline. But, as we dug deep and came up with these questions for her, I really thought about it and realized just as you did Sylvia that she was a very strong character and a true survivor. She survived the heartache of losing her sister and having to raise her young niece and perhaps even survived through something more...Nessie?...The more I thought about how she didn't want Lee to answer questions and how she acted towards Vanessa after the "encounter" the more I realized what an intigueing character she was and without her in this story, there would have been a little something missing, a little less of a dynamic.
ReplyDelete-Janice
I bet Maggie would have a great story to tell - one that could be the subject of its own novel. I wonder if Jean Flitcroft has ever thought about that. I tend to think that most characters in novels are based, at least a little bit, on someone the author knows. I wonder if Jean knew someone like Maggie, maybe an aunt or something, who she used to develop Maggie's character? Sylvia
ReplyDeleteDid you really think that Vanessa would enjoy eating salty porridge, sliced fried black pudding and kippers?
ReplyDeleteI too feel like this is what Maggie was offering as a way to show her hospitality. I can relate to this aspect of the story. I am married to a man who is of other ethnic decent and his parents sometimes cook things that are cooked "with love" and are traditional to their culture, but not of any interest to me. I realized early on in our relationship, that in offering me a personal piece of their culture through food, they were in fact welcoming me in. As unappealing as the food was I took a "no thank you helping" as to not offend them. I think MAggie was just offering acceptance through her food.
Maggie did you not allow Lee to speak to the police for only those reasons or do you too, have experiences similar to Lee's and Vanessa's that you were not ready to deal with?
ReplyDeleteI think that MAggie new more about what happened to Lee than she lead on to. I do think she felt a huge sense of protection over Lee but I feel that she new from first had experience what Lee and now Vanessa had gone through. I also wonder if she had a deep interest, respect and understanding for Nessie, the way Vanessa did?
How did you cope with the loss of your sister and soon thereafter being responsible for raising her 12 year old daughter (your niece)?
ReplyDeleteAs many loving family members do, I feel she stepped up to the plate and did what she had to do. If you look at the composition of families over the course of history, it is only recently that families have become so separated. For years and still in many other countries, families live together and extended families remain very very close. I tend to feel this is the case for Maggie.
Why didn't you allow Lee to answer the questions from the police right after she was found? Did you know she was hiding something? Did you know WHAT she was hiding?
ReplyDeleteJUst like I previously posted. I think that MAggie knew more than people realized. I can imagine how she may have felt from a protective perspective. When something traumatic takes place, sometimes the police and always the media can blow things up and out of proportion even further. It is clear that Maggie not only may have known already what had happened, but was reacting in a motherly protective way to protect Lee and maybe Nessie as well.
Heather: I can completely see where you’re coming from with your husband’s family. Food is BIG in my family too, and it is really insulting when meals are prepared with such care, only to have the guest turn their nose to it. In light of that, I am glad Vanessa chose to pretend she ate the food instead of complaining about it.
ReplyDeleteAs for Maggie being protective towards Lee and Vanessa… I can see that, but I also think she’s being protective towards Nessie. If Maggie came to love and respect Nessie the way Vanessa had, then she would want to protect Nessie from the outside world, and people who might want to hurt her or take her away from her home to do experiments or something on her. She probably didn’t want Nessie to be treated cruelly, like some scientific experiment, when she felt that Nessie deserved to be treated with kid gloves. Do you agree? -Sylvia
Yes, I really thought that Vanessa was going to eat the salty porridge, sliced fried black pudding and kippers. Beening in Scotland were the culture is different do not have a choice. Eating their food is a way of being respectful and thankful for what you have in front of you. This can be an experience that it very rare to come by. Enjoy it and don't be ungraceful or rude.
ReplyDeleteIt must of been a diifult moment for Maggie. Disappering for two days on a boat on the Loch Ness, she had alot on plate. Leaving without telling anyone, apparently she was not thinking about the consequences of her family left behind nor being alone in the Loch Ness. She was determine to find the answer about Nessie.
ReplyDeleteHow did you cope with the loss of your sister and soon thereafter being responsible for raising her 12 year old daughter (your niece)?
ReplyDeleteI agree that Maggie believed that it was her responsibility to take care of Lee since she was her sister's child. As difficult as it was to lose her sister, I think that caring for Lee provided her with some comfort. Maggie probably felt happy that she was able to provide Lee with strength and comfort throughout her grieving process. In Lee's journal she mentions that she shared memories of her parents with Maggie. Clearly, Maggie played a significant role in Lee's life.
Did you really think that Vanessa would enjoy eating salty porridge, sliced fried black pudding and kippers?
ReplyDeleteI really think that Maggie would have expected that everyone else would enjoy eating salty porridge, sliced fried black pudding and kippers. Since it is a traditional English/Scottish breakfast, I think that Maggie felt proud to share this meal with her new guests. Food is an important aspect of culture.
Maggie really had a strong place in the story than we all first thought.
ReplyDeleteHeather and Sylvia I also completely agree about the whole food situation. We have all had times when things didn't taste that great but we had it anyways to spare loved one's feelings, just as Lee and Vanessa did to Maggie.
I thought about that too Sylvia, if Jean knew someone like Maggie and based that character off of her. Filtcroft did a great job of really getting us to think about Maggie as more than a secondary character. I would have loved to learn more about her life, but making her life somewhat of a mytstery made me enjoy her character that much more in the end because I just kept thinking hmm what if...
Janice
I also agree with Heather and Jessica. Both Lee and Maggie had a diffult time when lee lost her parents. Lee had gone through so much that she was protecting Maggie from talking to the police. I beleive that something similar must of happen to her in the past. Now knowing that Vanessa went though the same with Nessie it makes sense. She might not want anyone to know about Nessie. To keep the experience or the encounter as a secret. If the police would find out, then Nessie would be in danger.
ReplyDeleteAs I was reading the book I felt the same way. Filtcroft did an awesome job with the characters, specially with Maggie. Her life sounds like a mystery, this is what made me read over and over trying to figure her out. I was confused at the beginning, but then it became clear as I kept reading the story.
ReplyDeleteYes, Sylvia I agree with you about Nessie being discover because of cruelty to animals, like scientific experiment. She really liked Nessie. She didn't want him hurt anyway. Vanessa wants to protect Nessie from the outside world. Vanessa must of the care and love for animals. After, her experience with Nessie, she discovered that Nessie was harmless.
ReplyDeleteI also admired Vanessa pretending to eat the food , and she ate the whole thing.
Heather, I totally agree with you Maggie must know more than people had realized. When there are media, police, investigate etc. everything does go out of proportion. Therefore, being protective, nothing will happen to Nessie, and Lee. This is the the only way that the legacy of Nessie will continue without the outside world knowing.
ReplyDeleteHeather in my family we do not criticize food. It is against our culture and believes. We have to be graceful for what was/is given to us on that day. I am raising my boys to be the same way. Thank god that they respect and are very graceful. Criticism doesn't exist in our home or others.
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ReplyDeleteWhy didn't you allow Lee to answer the questions from the police right after she was found? Did you know she was hiding something? Did you know WHAT she was hiding?
I think that Maggie didn't allow Lee to answer the questions from the police because she was in such shock and felt so protective of Lee. I agree with Janice and think that Maggie may have seen Nessie herself. Therefore she did not want to have to get involved with answering questions about her own experience.
Janice, I completely agree. Now that we have had the opportunity to surround and surmount Maggie as a character she seems to much more important. It would be interesting to hear things from her perspective.
ReplyDeleteAs you have picked up on, I really loved Maggie as a character myself. She is strong, dependable, insightful, but above all deeply empathetic and that is very appealing. She doesn't need to say much and appears to understand things without explanation. Within an hour of meeting Vanessa, it is Maggie who is stroking her head (like a mother)when she cries, no doubt she did the same for Lee all those years ago. While Vanessa does not like Lee, she cannot but help liking Maggie and so the first link in their friendship forms that way. Maggie is very Scottish indeed, and as you point out would I think be quite surprised that nobody actually likes her food, although I sometimes wonder if she is being slightly playful with Vanessa myself when she says after she faints 'double rations then for you tomorrow lass.'
ReplyDeleteAnother point is that Maggie is very motherly, but having no children of her own she would have put every bit of her love for her sister and for the child she couldn't have, into Lee. She would not let the police question her after she was found for fear of causing Lee more distress. Maggie was wise person and knew that sometimes its best to leave things alone, to give a situation time to sort itself. I think living beside the Loch all her life she knew well that Nessie was involved and trusted her. She speaks about the 'magic of the loch' and trusted the magic to do right by Lee.
ReplyDeleteThe fact that both Lee and Vanessa felt compelled to lie about the bad Scottish food reflects well on them and shows a kindness that they have in common. Clearly they both care for Maggie and respect her deeply. The breakfast issue is the first time that they acknowledge something in common and it gives Vanessa a bit of a surprise. The wall of anger that she has built crumbles just a tiny bit.
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