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close to the announcement of the new marriage (‘seven months had scarcely passed since we had lost our mother’ -in fact, it was closer to a year); the rapid deterioration in her father’s health over the time he spent at Buckland Cottage with Caroline Bowles during his marriage year: on his return ‘from Buckland’ after his continental trip in 1838, ‘my Aunt Lovell and Betty were shocked at his appearance ... they never saw one so broken down, so aged in the time’; finally, and surely traumatically, when her father returned to Keswick with his new wife, he completely failed to recognise his daughter: ‘My Father did not know me -he asked me to shew him the way to his Study -and twice shortly after his return, he looked me full in the face &c asked me, who I was -’. Consciously or unconsciously, the daughter quite clearly holds the new wife entirely responsible for all of these sad events connected with her father. One can imagine the shock the new Mrs Southey would have received on arrival at Greta Hall at the end of August, 1839, to such a hostile reception. Brought up as an only child in comfortable circumstances, having lived since her mother’s death some 20 years earlier with only herself to please, she was ill-prepared for a situation demanding the utmost tact and patience in dealing with the wounded feelings of a young woman in Kate’s situation. She and Kate both had to adjust as best they could to the increasingly unavoidable reality of Robert Southey’s mental incapacity. At a fairly early stage, Kate con fronted her by declaring: ‘the truth is Mrs Southey you have married an old man, &c do not choose to allow i t ... -she replied “ God forgive you for that speech Miss Southey” -(KS). That Kate was right would not have helped matters. Later, Kate reports:
DOI link for close to the announcement of the new marriage (‘seven months had scarcely passed since we had lost our mother’ -in fact, it was closer to a year); the rapid deterioration in her father’s health over the time he spent at Buckland Cottage with Caroline Bowles during his marriage year: on his return ‘from Buckland’ after his continental trip in 1838, ‘my Aunt Lovell and Betty were shocked at his appearance ... they never saw one so broken down, so aged in the time’; finally, and surely traumatically, when her father returned to Keswick with his new wife, he completely failed to recognise his daughter: ‘My Father did not know me -he asked me to shew him the way to his Study -and twice shortly after his return, he looked me full in the face &c asked me, who I was -’. Consciously or unconsciously, the daughter quite clearly holds the new wife entirely responsible for all of these sad events connected with her father. One can imagine the shock the new Mrs Southey would have received on arrival at Greta Hall at the end of August, 1839, to such a hostile reception. Brought up as an only child in comfortable circumstances, having lived since her mother’s death some 20 years earlier with only herself to please, she was ill-prepared for a situation demanding the utmost tact and patience in dealing with the wounded feelings of a young woman in Kate’s situation. She and Kate both had to adjust as best they could to the increasingly unavoidable reality of Robert Southey’s mental incapacity. At a fairly early stage, Kate con fronted her by declaring: ‘the truth is Mrs Southey you have married an old man, &c do not choose to allow i t ... -she replied “ God forgive you for that speech Miss Southey” -(KS). That Kate was right would not have helped matters. Later, Kate reports:
close to the announcement of the new marriage (‘seven months had scarcely passed since we had lost our mother’ -in fact, it was closer to a year); the rapid deterioration in her father’s health over the time he spent at Buckland Cottage with Caroline Bowles during his marriage year: on his return ‘from Buckland’ after his continental trip in 1838, ‘my Aunt Lovell and Betty were shocked at his appearance ... they never saw one so broken down, so aged in the time’; finally, and surely traumatically, when her father returned to Keswick with his new wife, he completely failed to recognise his daughter: ‘My Father did not know me -he asked me to shew him the way to his Study -and twice shortly after his return, he looked me full in the face &c asked me, who I was -’. Consciously or unconsciously, the daughter quite clearly holds the new wife entirely responsible for all of these sad events connected with her father. One can imagine the shock the new Mrs Southey would have received on arrival at Greta Hall at the end of August, 1839, to such a hostile reception. Brought up as an only child in comfortable circumstances, having lived since her mother’s death some 20 years earlier with only herself to please, she was ill-prepared for a situation demanding the utmost tact and patience in dealing with the wounded feelings of a young woman in Kate’s situation. She and Kate both had to adjust as best they could to the increasingly unavoidable reality of Robert Southey’s mental incapacity. At a fairly early stage, Kate con fronted her by declaring: ‘the truth is Mrs Southey you have married an old man, &c do not choose to allow i t ... -she replied “ God forgive you for that speech Miss Southey” -(KS). That Kate was right would not have helped matters. Later, Kate reports:
ABSTRACT