It's been a long, long time since I participated in one of Heidi's Inklings link-ups on her blog Along the Brandywine, but I'm hoping to be part of the fun again.
This month, Heidi invites us to share a party scene from a book or movie. I'm choosing to share a bit from a memorable party scene in The Blue Castle by L. M. Montgomery.
As a bit of context, this party takes place in remote, rural Canada in the 1920s. Valancy Stirling grew up in a repressive, snobby family in a small town and has only heard vague rumors about the dances "up back" in the wild regions far from town. But her employer has been hired to play his fiddle for the dance and invites her to attend, and she decides it's time to attend a party again after years of being convinced she's too much of an old maid. So, off she goes, and here's what happens (but shortened a bit here and there because it's kind of a long passage):
At first, the dance was quiet enough, and Valancy was amused and entertained. She even danced twice herself, with a couple of nice 'up back' boys who danced beautifully and told her she did, too...
The big room was decorated with pine and fir boughs, and lighted by Chinese lanterns. The floor was waxed, and Roaring Abel's fiddle, purring under his skilled touch, worked magic. The 'up back' girls were pretty and prettily dressed. Valancy thought it the nicest party she had ever attended.
By eleven o'clock she had changed her mind. A new crowd had arrived -- a crowd unmistakably drunk. Whiskey began to circulate freely. Very soon almost all the men were partly drunk... The room grew noisy and reeking. Quarrels started up here and there... The girls, swung rudely in the dances, became dishevelled and tawdry. Valancy, alone in her corner, was feeling disgusted and repentant. Why had she ever come to such a place? Freedom and independence were all very well, but one should not be a little fool... Her head was aching -- she was sick of the whole thing. But what could she do? She must stay to the end. Abel could not leave till then. And that would probably be not till three or four in the morning.
The new influx of boys had left the girls far in the minority and partners were scarce. Valancy was pestered with invitations to dance. She refused them all shortly, and some of her refusals were not well taken. There were muttered oaths and sullen looks. Across the room she saw a group of the strangers talking together and glancing meaningly at her. What were they plotting?
It was at this moment that she saw Barney Snaith looking in over the heads of the crowds at the doorway. Valancy had two distinct convictions -- one was that she was quite safe no; the other was that this was why she had wanted to come to the dance. It had been such an absurd hope that she had not recognised it before, but now she knew she had come because of the possibility that Barney might be there, too. She thought that perhaps she ought to be ashamed for this, but she wasn't. After her feeling of relief her next feeling was one of annoyance with Barney for coming there unshaved. Surely he might have enough self-respect to groom himself up decently when he went to a party. There he was, bareheaded, bristly-chinned, in his old trousers and his blue homespun shirt. Not even a coat. Valancy could have shaken him in her anger. No wonder people believed everything bad of him.
It's a pretty big turning point in a book filled with turning points -- Valancy realizing she wanted to go to a party only because she might see Barney Snaith, the local "bad boy" that no one "decent" associates with because a) he drives a constantly-breaking-down car, b) he goes for drives in said car with no hat on, and c) no one knows where or how he gets enough money to live on. Absolute scoundrel, obviously. But very kind to people who don't stick their noses up at him, as Valancy has recently learned.
I think the most telling thing, though Valancy doesn't recognize it at the time, is that she feels angry that Barney seems to have no self-respect. It's almost like she feels the need to protect him from the spiteful thoughts of others, and she's upset because he's just giving them more reasons to judge him unfairly. It's a first step toward Valancy understanding her own heart, even if she doesn't realize it quite yet.
There's a bit more to the party scene, but I won't share it here so that anyone who hasn't read The Blue Castle yet will have some fun surprises in this chapter yet :-)
Heidi is actually the person who convinced me to read The Blue Castle in the first place. Friends kept talking about it, and she is the one who finally convinced me to check it out from the library. And now it's one of my top favorite books of all time!
Have you read The Blue Castle? If so, do you remember this scene? If not, what are you waiting for?
