One of the things that struck me while reading The Hidden Hand was the crazy coincidences and chance meetings that take place. Old Hurricane just happened to be called to the deathbed of Granny Grewell, who in her past just happened to end up taking care of Capitola, who just happened to be good friends with Herbert Graceson, who just happened to be Old Hurricane's nephew. And Herbert Graceson just happen to refer to a "poor widow" who took care of him who just happened to be Old Hurricane's abandoned wife, Marah Rocke. I promise I'm going to stop saying the words "just happened to" but I could go on and on about the how intricately all the relationships are interrelated. It makes you wonder why Southworth would want to interrelate the characters so much. To a point it makes the story interesting and keeps readers attention, but the coincidences almost reach a ridiculous level.
The plot involves many coincidences as well that move the story along. It’s very odd that out of all the little children in New York it was Capitola dressed as a boy that helped Old Hurricane with his bag. Then it is very strange that Old Hurricane goes to the police station “to set the police upon the search” (173) for Capitola the same day at the same time that Capitola was picked up for wearing boy’s clothing. The coincidence just seemed to expedite the process of finding the girl and moving the story forward. When Herbert Graceson just happens to come back from being out to see and ends up running into Old Hurricane and Capitola at the same restaurant Herbert expresses his surprise when he says, “I am determined not to be surprised at anything that happens, being perfectly clear in my own mind that this is all nothing but a dream” (184). By this point I wasn’t terribly surprised at the crazy coincidence because I had accepted that the story is not very realistic.
Since the work was written for periodicals and was published by chapter perhaps the situational coincidences and unrealistic connections make for an interested audience who are eager to learn where the story will go. I think past a certain point it makes the story seem generic and unrealistic, but the story is a mystery and perhaps meant to be strange and improbable in order to add to its charm.
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I had not thought about all the coincidences in this story. It gives it that kind of cheesy feel like we see in a lot of the TV and movies we watch today. It is dramatic in itself, but not just because there is so much drama but how it ties the whole story together.
ReplyDeleteI liked how you pointed out the obvious coincidences in the all of the novels. You really explored the meaning and significance of the names. All authors decide on a name for a certain reason and analyzing the chosen names can help understand the characters and the plot better.
ReplyDeleteI like the point that you described about the coincidences in the story the hidden hand. I really never thought about that while I was reading the story but now that it comes to mind it makes more sense. Old Hurricane coming to the old woman's death bed and the old woman that he goes to just happens to be the one that takes care of Capitola.
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