[Vwoolf] Trigger warning . . .

[Neverow, Vara S.]

Thank you, Stuart!

I would entirely agree that Mrs. Flanders was cruel to Topaz—but he was specifically a male cat (and she also disliked human males with red hair). She was so pleased about the gelding that it really did verge on sadism.

If Topaz was an indoor/outdoor cat (and most likely he was), his lifespan could have been much shorter than that of a cat restricted to the house. But maybe Mrs. Flanders was just contemplating a further aggression toward a cat she disliked and was savoring the moment when she could put him down instead of having him treated for the mange.

If Jacob was about 12 1/2 ("going to Rugby" when he turned 13?) at the point when Topaz was adopted, and Jacob went to Cambridge when he was 18 in 1906, then Topaz would have been about seven or even eight years old when he was getting mangy behind his ears. According to veterinarians, seven is the turning point for cats--at that age they are officially categorized as "seniors" and more subject to health issues.

Regarding 1901, as you note in the Cambridge edition, the phrase "the King's Navy" suggests that would have to be a reference to King Edward VII.

Hmmm.

Vara

Vara Neverow
Department of English
Southern Connecticut State University
New Haven, CT 06515
203-392-6717
________________________________
From: Vwoolf <vwoolf-bounces+neverowv1=southernct.edu at lists.osu.edu> on behalf of Stuart N. Clarke via Vwoolf <vwoolf at lists.osu.edu>
Sent: Tuesday, February 9, 2021 7:20:37 AM
To: vwoolf at lists.osu.edu <vwoolf at lists.osu.edu>
Subject: [Vwoolf] Trigger warning . . .

This posting may cause distress to Vara and to Karen Levenback and to . . .

First, the dates.  When Mr Floyd leaves Scarborough, he gives Johnny Flanders his kitten (Topaz).  This cannot be earlier than 1901 because there is a reference on the same page (p. 31 of the first Hogarth, 1922) to Archer’s joining the King’s Navy.  The following scene occurs before Jacob goes up to Cambridge in October 1906 (p. 44):

‘“Poor Topaz,” she said (for Mr. Floyd’s kitten was now a very old cat, a little mangy behind the ears, and one of these days would have to be killed).
‘“Poor old Topaz,” said Mrs. Flanders, as he stretched himself out in the sun, and she smiled, thinking how she had had him gelded ...’ (p. 33)

(1) Mrs Flanders is pleased about “gelding” Topaz.

(2) Topaz is *not* a very old cat. The average lifespan of cats is 12 to 15 years.

(3) Mange refers to cat scabies, ‘caused by ectoparasitic mites, usually characterized by intense itching, inflammation, and hair loss’ (OED). It is and was curable.

Conclusion: Mrs Flanders is a sadistic cat killer.

Stuart
(Day 329)
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