Ruiz de Burton, the author of Who Would Have Thought It, begins her novel explaining that in a world of good and proper people rogues are useful and necessary, or else they would ‘perish of sheer insanity”. The story progresses ironically as the real rogues, Mr.Hackwell and Mrs.Norval (to name a few), perceive the most-honourable and kind-hearted Dr. Norval as a “temporary whetstone” due to the lack of rogues in their community of ‘proper’ people. It is hard to believe that the purest man, in heart and mind, has been stamped as a writer of treason and even harder to believe that the same man once proposed to the conniving Mrs.Norval!!! Although Mrs.Norval is an unbelievably shrewd woman with a huge disregard for poor Lola’s feelings, she represents the common attitude towards non-whites. In modern day, Mrs.Norval may seem out of line with her crude words and selfish desires, however, her behavior was considered ‘normal’ when this book was written by Ruiz Burton and that the sympathetic Dr. Norval is the one whom is out of line during this time, regardless of his endless care and support for others.

Love is a strong force in this novel, inducing hearts to sway towards the good-as well as the bad. Ruiz de Barton describes in great detail the happiness and the love that surges through Dr.Norval’s body when Lola embraces him with all her love. Lola has a similar effect on Julian. Julian’s severely wounded state was became significantly better upon the arrival of Lola and his love for her only made him healthier. However, in Mrs.Norval’s case, her blinded love towards Mr.Hackwell causes her to act most selfishly in order to fulfill her own desires, such as forgetting about the physical state of her wounded son and disregarding her sister’s feelings about leaving Mr.Hackwell’s side. Although her jealousy is unreasonable and her actions intolerable, her wild emotions make her one of the most interesting characters of the novel.

Although Lola is mistreated by of Mrs.Norval and the rest of the community, she soon captures all the hearts of the purest and kindest people in the novel! I am excited to see how far Lola’s influences will extend.

I must admit that when I heard that our first novel was written in 1872 I was a little skeptical about whether or not I would like it. Generally, I do not enjoy historical writing; I have always preferred contemporary fiction with concepts that are translatable to my life and what I know. However this book has surprised me. While I do not love it nor would I choose to read it on my own, I do not find it a chore to read. sI actually might even enjoy it a little bit.
The first few pages were difficult to get through, but then as the drama ensued I began to think of it as a little telenovela. I have read a little bit of what others have blogged and I would have to agree that the characters are not very well developed and that the plot is a bit difficult to follow, however the melodrama is enough to keep me reading. While the novel is melodramatic it is also a very interesting commentary on the society in which Ruiz de Burton lived. I was most intrigued by the way she describes gender and power dynamics in the 19th century United States.
Ruiz de Burton exemplifies the way that women were perceived in that society by the comments made by male characters. Regardless of what the male characters say about women in that time, many of the female characters in the novel are strong and powerful women: Lavinia is a single woman of thirty-two who is a confident and capable of nursing. She is aware of how hard she works and she says this, however she still allows herself to be put down by Mr. Blower and she in turn also puts herself down. Mrs. Norval is a powerful and opinionated woman who demands respect and obedience, however she still allows Dr. Norval to make important decisions even if she does not agree with his choices. Ruiz de Burton offers an interesting look into the place of women in that society and how powerful men, such as the politicians with whom Lavinia and Mrs. Norval interact, perceive these women and shape their views of themselves.
Related to the gender dynamic illustrated in the novel is Ruiz de Burton’s commentary on reputation and power. She makes it very evident that one’s reputation is greatly affected by one’s political views, actions and friends or acquaintances. It is also clear that reputation is a big deciding factor for what advantages ares available to one in that society.
All in all I feel that this novel has done a good job of providing significant drama to keep me intrigued while also allowing me to learn a bit about 19th century society in the U.S. and the U.S. Civil War, topics about which I knew very little previously.

Hasta la seccion que nos ha tocado leer, el libro me parece entretenido y pobre Lola dios mio!! En la familia que le toco vivir. Este libro representa bien la mentalidad que habia en esos tiempos en Estados Unidos. Hay bastante racismo en todo el pais y mucha hipocresía, sobretodo departe de la señora Norval, la cual cumple el rol de la malvada madrastra. Esta a pesar de que se considera una abolicionista, lo cual quiere decir que esta en contra de la esclavitud, trata a Lola como si fuese una esclava y la desprecia. Luego, al darse cuenta de que esta niña tiene bastante dinero y joyas, esta interesada en apropiarse de ello y hacerse rica.

Gracias a dios, se encuentra el doctor Norval, el cual hace de buen samaritano. Este se encarga de Lola, ya que se lo prometio a su madre y esta dispuesto a cumplir su palabra. No es nada corrupto, se preocupa por Lola y tiene piedad de ella, cosa que probablemente no se veia mucho en ese tiempos y sobretodo hacia gente de color. El toma las decisiones de que hacer con el dinero que se les dio y quiere que Lola sea tratada como cualquier otro ser humano y no como un animal. Sin embargo, las tiene dificil ya que su esposa es lo opuesto a el. Hay un gran contraste entre estos dos personajes y uno se pregunta como el doctor Norval, un hombre puro y con buenas intenciones, se pudo haber casado con semajante mujer, una mujer ignorante, malvada e
hipócrita.

Hola clase,

Ruiz de Burton, author of the novel, Who Would Have Thought It?, introduces through the character Rev. Mr. Hackwell, her notion that the world is in need of rogues and social delinquents in order to prevent “the good and proper people of this world…from perish[ing] of sheer inanity” (R. de Burton, pg. 9). Throughout this book, the author’s idea of the necessity of rogues becomes an all encompassing theme; one which at times is quite ironic and satirical.

It is no secret that the true rogues of “this world”, the one pertaining to that of R. de Burton’s work, consist of but are definitely not limited to Rev. Mr. Hackwell, Mr. Hammerhard, and the infamous Mrs. Norval. However the irony is that all the characters, save Lola, Julian, Lavina and perhaps a couple of others, view Dr. Norval as their token rogue, regardless of the fact that he goes to extraordinary lengths to help his family, friends and even his country. I think the author is illustrating the point that although there are good people in this world with true and pure motives, there will always be others who will try to suppress their efforts, and destroy the good because we live in a corrupted world where truth and purity are hard to come by.

Let me leave this topic now and move to that of Mrs. Norval and her “roguish” type character. This lady, if we can even call her that, fits the definition of a rogue in that she is dishonest, immoral and mischievous (Oxford dictionary) but contradicts the notion of a rogue in that she fits in with almost everyone around her. (In my opinion this is because the majority of characters in this book could be described as rogues!) An example of her immorality and dishonesty can be found on pg. 134. When she learns that Mr. Hackwell is in the hospital she connives a plan to be able to see her new love. Even though Emma and Lavvy are taking care of him quite capably on their own, Mrs. Norval decides that she needs to be there for Emma’s sake, who though an adult, is considered by Mrs. Norval to be an orphan. It is ironic that in order to see Mr. Hackwell, Mrs. Norval uses the excuse that she needs to take care of this “orphan girl” yet she despises caring for Lola, the orphan entrusted to her care.

stay tuned for more…

How can one not pity poor Lola? From her birth to page 145, she is trapped living a life in which she has no control. She is held captive and prisoner from her birth by a native tribe in Colorado and then “saved” from those savages and brought to the United States to be eaten alive by New England’s finest, Mrs. Norval (I think I might prefer the tribe but Ruiz de Burton never went into too much detail about life prior to Dr. Norval). Lola soon becomes the central victim of gossip, deceitful greed and ruthless plans for wealth what with her boxes of gold and dyed black skin. Every measure is taken to ensure her complete and utter unhappiness.

Who would have thought…..that the bookstore would run out of Ruiz de Burton’s book?

In this first section of the book, Maria Amparo Ruiz de Burton paints a portrait of a seemingly elitist New England family, whose members are exposed to a foreigner, Lola, and need to accept her in their family. Ruiz de Burton creates a sharp contrast between Mrs. Norval and Dr. Norval, leading the reader to ponder why he would marry such an ignorant and miserable woman, as he appears to be more open minded and clearly educated. It is important to mention, though, that the Doctor seemed to have been similar in thought to Mrs. Norval before his travels, highlighting an important lesson that it is unrealistic to have unbiased thoughts towards something different if we have not experienced it. In this case, the experience of traveling and being exposed to Lola’s culture has showed Dr. Norval that others are not that different at all. For the time period in which this is set, this is quite an accomplishment for the Doctor.
The contrast created between the characters, which is mostly achieved through dialog between them, is an effective way to convey the thoughts of the characters while advancing the plot of the story. Mrs. Norval’s words around a group of characters often create seemingly very awkward situations. However, it is apparant that she believes that her life is ideal and thinks highly of herself, even though she simply lives on a pedestal and fails to explore things outside her own little world. This thought process leads her to be stereotypical and ignorant.
I find the short chapter format to lack efficiency in this book so far. The author is not trying to make the plot seem fast paced, or provide a juxtaposition between characters or settings. Therefore the plot seems a bit broken and the exploration of stories and characters seem to be lacking in depth.
For the upcoming section of the book, it will be interesting to see the inclusion of religion, especially with the upbringing that is wished for Lola, while Mrs. Norval attempts to mold Lola into something she believes to be ideal. So far, the writing has been cleaver, and I look forward to finding out more about the story.

As I scratched the surface of the pink book, it revealed a brilliant shine similar to na Hala’s rough pebbles. The story seems to occur on different levels, the surface story being the lives of the Norvals, their adopted Spanish child and the people around them. Gossip surrounds the adoption of Lola. Some link the increasing acquisition of the Norval’s wealth to the possibility that Lola directed them to gold. Reverend Hackwell contributes to more talk about the family through his sermons.

The novel is filled with all sorts of communication. Perhaps it is the author’s conscious choice that the story begins with a conversation between Reverend Hackwell and Reverend Hammerhead. But perhaps the unspoken should be given more attention to what is said.

Dr. Norval had asked Lebrun to transcribe the final words of Lola’s Mother. The letter gets lost and ends up in the dead-letter office. Isaac, Dr. Norval’s brother-in-law, stumbles upon the letter and decides to keep it.

A series of questions surrounded the disappearance of the letter in my head. It is almost too coincidental that a series of Isaac’s misfortunes ultimately leads to his discovery of the letter. At certain times, the author also makes her presence known for the second time by writing “[w]e will give a whole chapter to her patriotism in due” (69) despite the novel being written from a third person’s perspective.

The close proximity between the association between omnipotence of the narrator and God makes the author’s interventions almost seem miraculous. Perhaps it mirrors confusion. Is it the parent’s decision to choose the religion for the child?
The brilliance of the novel is seen through underlying layers of questions as such. Because of Lola’s dark complexion, Mrs. Norval automatically assumes that she is only either of African or Indian descent. She does not take into account any other race that falls in the non-white category nor is she interested in finding out. But perhaps the bigger question is that of class. Does social standing (defined by wealth) matter more than race or gender? Mrs. Norval was willing to be Lola’s servant after seeing the gold, diamond and opals. She even entertained the idea of being Lola’s mother-in-law. Perhaps on the same level, Dr. Norval thinks class is the bigger discrimination as well. He says that through Lola’s wealth, the color of her skin will melt and she will find a suitable husband.