The Cricket On The Hearth (2007) - Plot & Excerpts
This was a free download from Audible, and who can pass up a free Dickens?One of Dickens' Christmas stories, this one features a series of misunderstanding and coincidences in typical Dickens fashion.A Scrooge-like toymaker named Tackleton is engaged to marry a much younger woman, who clearly does not love him, but needs the financial security he offers. Meanwhile, the lovely Dot is also married to a much older man, but alas, events transpire to lead poor Mr. Peerybingle to believe his beloved Dot is secretly meeting with a gallant younger man. Lastly, there is Blind Bertha, the daughter of impoverished Caleb Plumber, who has conspired to conceal from his blind daughter their true circumstances.I have said that Caleb and his poor Blind Daughter lived here. I should have said that Caleb lived here, and his poor Blind Daughter somewhere else—in an enchanted home of Caleb’s furnishing, where scarcity and shabbiness were not, and trouble never entered. Caleb was no sorcerer, but in the only magic art that still remains to us, the magic of devoted, deathless love, Nature had been the mistress of his study; and from her teaching, all the wonder came.The Blind Girl never knew that ceilings were discoloured, walls blotched and bare of plaster here and there, high crevices unstopped and widening every day, beams mouldering and tending downward. The Blind Girl never knew that iron was rusting, wood rotting, paper peeling off; the size, and shape, and true proportion of the dwelling, withering away. The Blind Girl never knew that ugly shapes of delf and earthenware were on the board; that sorrow and faintheartedness were in the house; that Caleb’s scanty hairs were turning greyer and more grey, before her sightless face. The Blind Girl never knew they had a master, cold, exacting, and uninterested—never knew that Tackleton was Tackleton in short; but lived in the belief of an eccentric humourist who loved to have his jest with them, and who, while he was the Guardian Angel of their lives, disdained to hear one word of thankfulness.These three couples, whose lives are intertwined, are each the beneficiaries of a cricket on a hearth, who conjures household spirits symbolic of all that is good in their lives, and the miseries each endures are overcome in the end.A heartwarming little tale, though not one of Dickens' best. I didn't delight in any marvelous Dickensian turns of phrases as I have in so many of his other stories, nor were the characters particularly memorable. But it's certainly a nice tale to listen to by a crackling fire. (Or in my case, while raking leaves.)
I hesitate to express my feelings on this one. I found the read to be tedious and dull, and yet ... the story was rather beautiful. You really have to break this one down in order to fully absorb it and appreciate it to its full extent.We are introduced to several characters. Mr. and Mrs. Peerybingle (otherwise known as John the carrier and Dot). John being of many years senior to his young wife Dot. They appear to be happy together, and the cricket chirps and sings on the hearth as the tea kettle hums. We are also introduced to Mr. Tackleton and his soon wife to be May. As with the former couple Mr. Tackleton is also much older then is his young fiance. Mr. Tackleton is a sour and heartless toy merchant with a crude disposition. His relationship with May appears to be loveless. Then we meet Caleb and his blind daughter Bertha. Caleb works as a assistant to Mr. Tackleton. On their meager pay they live poorly, but Caleb paints a better living situation for his poor blind daughter in his attempts to spare her. He describes their home, which is no more then a run down shack, as being cozy. He describes less then desirable people in a different light. In this Bertha lives in a fantasy world created by her father, and far away from reality. We realize that Bertha is in fact in love with her fathers false descriptions of Mr. Tackleton. John begins to suspect that Dot is unhappy being married to him. And the cricket is silent. In the midst of his despair and sorrow he folds in upon himself and nearly gives in to his dark thoughts, and then the cricket sings ...
What do You think about The Cricket On The Hearth (2007)?
There I was this month, thinking I had temporarily lost my drive for commenting on books read. Until I dug up Dickens--well, it was more like I added him to my phone and listened: eyes closed, breath even, mind a blank slate waiting to be consumed by the sound of words paired carefully. There goes my spare time, Dickens, I give it to you sparingly. Do what you will with it. And he told me a story. A simple, perhaps even dull, storyline of no intricate consequence and still, I was fascinated. For only a few can tell a story quite like Dickens (now I must read and re-read his works in the months to come). The personification of cuckoos and crickets. A carrier, a toy merchant, and a blind woman. Love and suspicions of a lover. Loving deception--if one can imagine such a thing. The kettle hums. The cricket chirps. The storytelling mastery begins. Put aside the nagging reminder that your protagonist is oldddd and that his love is quite a youngun. Or the annoying reference to the "pathetic" daughter or the nagging wife. Oy, those minor annoyances become trivial once you get narration like this:Did I mention that he had always one eye open and one eye nearly shut and that the one eye nearly shut was always the expressive eye? It all started with the cricket on the hearth. Get upset at a character only to learn that he is in fact being mocked by the narrator: "A twist in his dry face and a screw in his body."A compelling narration indeed. This oddly placed, entertaining "voice" that moves the story along. The depth of character introspection that is missing from so many contemporary short novels and stories. And did I mention again, how simple the story really is, this realistic fairy tale which showcases the human condition?
—Cheryl
Possibly a fact in a short story is that there isn't time to have the same character build up as in a novel. Whatever the reason, it took me a while to figure out what was happening with this story and what was meant by a cricket on the hearth.After a bit, I read that Caleb lives in an impoverished home with his blind daughter, Bertha. He works for a stern taskmaster, the toymaker, Takleton. To make Bertha feel better about his boss, Caleb exposes his virtues. He does such a good job that Bertha falls in love with Takleton. Then, she is devastated to learn that Takleton announces his plans to marry another.Someone is spotted in the kitchen and the characters wonder who this may be. It is a character who was gone but reappeared, his name is Edward.There is a surprise to the story at this point and some of the characters seem perturbed. However, at the conclusion, everyone forgives one another and there is a happy ending.The short story came out as a Christmas story and does give the lesson of love and forgiveness.
—Michael
Ganhei esse livrinho de presente da minha querida amiga "skoobiana" Marta, que sabe que adoro o autor.Trata-se de uma novela de cerca de 100 páginas e após ter lido alguns de seus romances mais famosos e substanciosos, creio que teria conseguido reconhecer seu estilo nessa leitura. A história é bem simples e cheia dos elementos sentimentais usuais de Dickens, chegando a ser previsível. Possui alguns elementos fantásticos que me lembraram seu "Conto de Natal". Não dá para se aprofundar na elaboração dos personagens numa história tão curta, vale para quem quiser ser introduzido ao maravilhoso e humano mundo de Charles Dickens.Histórico de leitura34% (38 de 111)"Os grilos são poderosos espíritos, todos eles, muito embora a gente não o saiba, e não há no mundo invisível vozes mais gentis e ;eais que só dão os mais ternos conselhos." 5% (5 de 111)"Foi a chaleira que começou. Não me contem o que disse a senhora Peerybingle. Muito melhor sei eu o que se passou realmente. Ela que repita até o fim da vida que não sabe qual dos dois começou, que eu replicarei sempre: foi a chaleira."
—Gláucia Renata
