Free Will in the Face of Duty

It is often thought that proper education will lead to intelligence while intelligence leads to free thought and thus free will. Geraldine, while not properly educated, has made herself familiar with books and become quite smart.  Various characters, such as Bethel and Desmond, praise her mind while simultaneously praising her beauty.  So it is thought that Geraldine, as intelligent as she is said to be, would possess free will and fight to retain her free will and free thought.  However, Geraldine is a product of her environment and has been raised by her parents to fulfill a certain duty: be a proper wife.  A proper wife in Desmond is shown to have spaniel-like affection for her husband, an unquestioning obedience when her husband commands something, and children to tend to.  In other words, a proper wife is one who is domestic. Geraldine, as previously discussed in class, is bound by her sense of duty and loses her free will as a result.

The first people who take Geraldine's free will from her are her parents.  Being the same people who taught Geraldine her sense of duty, it appears appropriate when they marry her off to Verney "merely because it was the will of the family" while at the same time providing Geraldine with a chance to honor her sense of duty as a proper wife (295).  Even as Verney becomes abusive, we discussed that Geraldine still remains due to a sense of duty - a thought which becomes all the more evident in the newest section read.

Previously, Verney tries to prostitute his wife to a nobleman and Geraldine quickly makes excuses in order to avoid that fate.  Now, Geraldine escapes to Bath where Bethel in a desperate attempt to figure out what she is going to do.  At this point, Geraldine is regaining some of her free will and thought as she rebels against her sense of duty by refuting her husband's demands.  While the reader and characters such as Fanny and Desmond might be cheering for Geraldine and her new found freedom, characters like her mother and husband send scolding letters that remind Geraldine of her place as a wife.  Her mother's letter in particular is something to pay attention to as she addresses Geraldine as "Daughter Verney" and mocks Geraldine's love for books by quoting a famous author who supports the idea of a wife being "seemliest and safest" with her husband (290-291).  These scolding letters serve to reawaken Geraldine's sense of duty, even if she dreads returning to her husband.

Already acting like she is returning to her own execution, Geraldine becomes defensive to Bethel questioning her return to Verney by saying "Because, it is my duty" (304).  She explains her reasoning that a judge will be more likely to hear from a woman who is honoring her duty as a wife than one who has run, but it appears as though Geraldine is choosing an option that will win her the favor of society than allow her to be happy.  As Geraldine leaves to return to Verney, Fanny is the next one to speak of duty and how the falls one must take in order to honor it "ought . . . to dissolve all ties of duty" (308).  Fanny is the voice of reason at the point, one that few will actually listen to as she is overcome with emotion - a thing thought to show women are less likely to have logical thoughts.  Yet Fanny brings up a true concern when it comes to marriage of this time.  Geraldine, a women stuck in a loveless marriage, must give up all of her free will in order to honor her duty and if she wishes to remain in society's graces.

Although this article talks about attitudes toward and expectations of women in the 19th century, these ideals were around during the late 18th century as well.  It's worth taking a look at as it outlines the stereotypes of both men and women during this time, most of which are prevalent within Desmond and contribute to why Geraldine behaves the way she does and how women are portrayed in general.

Discussion Questions:

• As stated above, Geraldine follows the duty of being a proper wife.  What other types of duty are found in the novel?

• What other characters in the novel show a potential for/have free will? How, if at all, is this free will squandered by a sense of duty?