Novel Review – Drama Element of the novel The Hatter’s Castle by AJ Cronin

1. Topic

It was about a dictator who had destroyed his family with his dictatorial manners.

two. Main characters

1) James Brodie: He was a dictator. He was a large and powerful man, over six feet tall. He had three children and an elderly mother. He was misbehaving in treating others, especially his family.

2) Mary Brodie: She was a cute seventeen year old girl. He loved his family very much, but he hated his father’s behavior. She was the only one who dared to disobey her father.

3) Matthew Brodie: I was twenty-four years old. He was thin and his face was pale. He also hated his father, but did not dare to disobey him until he left for India. He became a brave man.

4) Dr. Renwick: He was a young man and a new doctor in Levenford. He had helped Mary have a better life. He also loved Mary very much and eventually married her.

5) Dennis Foyle: it was Mary’s boyfriend who had gotten Mary pregnant. He wanted to marry Mary, but Mary’s father hated him and rejected his wish. He had died in the train accident.

3. Configuration

1) Time setting: Around the year 1879.

2) Setting of the place: Levenford (the lowlands of Scotland).

4. Summary of the story

There was the Brodie family who lived in a large castle in Levenford, the Lowlands of Scotland. It was an unusual family. He was scared for his neighbors. It was because the father of the family was very dictatorial. He was James Brodie. He had three children and an elderly mother, grandmother. He was very dictatorial and very proud of himself. He was always proud of his money and of his home, the Hatter’s castle.

One day, there was a mistake that Brodie’s first daughter, Mary Brodie, had made. She was pregnant, but he was not yet married. She tried to hide it, but eventually her father found out and kicked her out of the house. He didn’t know where to go, he almost sank into the river. Then her son was born, but her son died from this accident. In this accident, Mary was helped by Dr. Renwick. Her boyfriend didn’t know everything about this. He was Dennis Foyle. He also died in the train accident at the same time as his son.

Later, Matthew Brodie, Brodie’s only son, also went to India to work with Sir John Latta. But actually, he didn’t want to. After a few months, he returned home and got drunk. His mother, Margaret Brodie, worried about his condition and later fell ill. She contracted cancer and died. With these two accidents, James Brodie still did not change his attitude. He was still rude and impatient.

Finally, his beloved daughter, Nessie Brodie, also died. He hanged himself because he was afraid that they would fail him to win the Latta Scholarship. He did not want to meet his father and decided to hang himself. By this time, Mary had returned home and was also helped by Dr. Renwick. So Mary left Brodie Castle and happy life with Dr. Renwick.

In the end, Matt and Nancy, James’s new girlfriend, left for America. And there was only James and the grandmother who lived in the Castle of the Hatter.

5. Message of morals

The moral meaning of the story is that we cannot force another person to do what we want, because it may not be good for us or for someone else. We always have to accept the opinions of others and we cannot give up to fight something bad, like a dictator.

The psychological significance of the story is that sometimes we have to put up with what we want to say and do just to make everyone around us happy. We cannot give up to fight something bad. We have to be stronger.

The social meaning of the story is that we have to respect others and always make everyone happy as much as we can. We live in this world we are not alone. We always need others, especially our family. We cannot survive without your support.

Copyright (c) Ahmad Alim Aziz