Real life people rarely fit the good and bad dichotomy that is often presented in literature. However, in EDEN Southworth's The Hidden Hand, the protagonist and antagonist defy such preconceptions. The protagonist, Capitola, is represented as the devouring mother through her manipulative actions, demanding personality, and all-consuming demeanor. Similarly, the antagonist, Black Donald, often shows traits of the great heroes of old, including being willing to sacrifice himself for others, his honor, and his charm, to portray him as a knight in shining armor. By associating Capitola as the Devouring Mother and Black Donald as the Knight in Shining Armor, Southworth's characters defy stereotypes, making the reader question who is the hero and who is the villain.
Southworth first defies literary stereotypes by using the hero, Capitola, to represent society's deep-seated fear of the devouring mother, the "enemy" of ancient and modern times. The devouring mother architype is the deep-seated primal fear that our mothers will "consume" us; physically, emotionally, and psychologically (Neumann, pg. 27). People who are manipulative, demanding, and consuming or overbearing are
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associated with the devouring mother architype. Throughout The Hidden Hand, Capitola exhibits many of these traits. For example, Capitola has a tendency to be very manipulative throughout the book and is often able to convince others to accomplish her tasks. She is able to escape sexual assault from Crevon LeNoir using such manipulation. Capitola stalls by first complaining that the ground is too damp and that there are too many brambles present to stop. She continues to stall and even convinces Crevon LeNoir to dismount and remove his saddle, all the while allowing her horse to rest for her escape (Southworth pg. 72). Even against the antagonist Capitola utilizes her powers of manipulation to get Black Donald to move his chair over the trap door. She continues to convince him with various words, gestures, and expressions until he does exactly what she wants (Southworth pg. 252). Through these scenes and many others, it is clear that Capitola is manipulative, but she can also be very demanding. Despite her gender, birthright, and upbringing, Capitola demands respects from each person she encounters. In chapter 49 of the story Capitola demands Black Donald listen to her, when she says “Stop–sit down and hear me” (Southworth pg. 252). She demands that he listen to her and show her the respect that she deserves. A clearer example of Capitola’s demanding personality occurs after Capitola returns home from riding late and Old Hurricane yells at her. She doesn’t talk to him for several days. When she does finally speak to him she says “Uncle, I won't be treated with both kicks and halfpennies by the same person, and so I tell you. I am not a cur to be fed with roast beef and beaten with a stick” (Southworth pg. 77). This scene shows Capitola even demands respect from her uncle, the man who provides for her as her guardian. The final characteristic of the devouring mother is her consuming demeanor. Capitola’s consuming demeanor is clearly seen in chapter 49, The Awful Peril of Capitola. In this chapter Black Donald has snuck into Capitola’s room and is ready to take her away to be his “wife”. Throughout the chapter Capitola is performing a scene where she pretends to be a scared little girl, however she has already decided to kill Black Donald. In her mind she thought of all the ways she could defeat him, in other words how she could consume him. The method she chose was to use the trapdoor in her room. The trapdoor is an extension of the devouring mother architype. The trapdoor seems dark and endless, ready to devour anything that falls into it. Capitola’s use of this darkness to consume Black Donald. She thought she was consuming both his body and soul however this was not true (Southworth pg. 253). This obvious representation of a devouring mother is not what a reader would expect, or even want from the protagonist of a story. However, Southworth merely begins her twisting of stereotypes with Capitola. In The Hidden Hand the counterpart to Capitola is Black Donald, every woman’s knight in shining armor.
The knight in shining armor trope is usually a character with a sense of honor, a self-sacrificial and protective tendency, and a charming personality. Black Donald perfectly presents all of these qualities throughout the book. There are scenes in the story that clearly show how Black Donald will sacrifice himself for another. He is willing to place himself in danger to rescue other men, by dressing up as Father Grey when he enters a town (Southworth pg. 137). He even vows to free his men from prison by stating “Your chief will free you from prison or share your captivity!” (Southworth pg. 134). By merely making such a claim, Black Donald revels his inner sense of sacrifice and
honor. Along with his sacrificial nature Black Donald has a sense of honor that most characters do not witness. He is man’s man, speaking with high integrity when he is with his crew. Black Donald works to keep the honor of his crew while kidnapping Capitola, for he does not want to involve the men in an endeavor where they will not receive any reward. He states; "Ay! when the enterprise is simply the robbing of a mail coach, in which you all have equal interest, then, indeed, your captain has only to command, and you to obey, but this is a more delicate matter of entering a lady's chamber and carrying her off for the captain's arms, and so should only be entrusted to those whose feelings of devotion to the captain's person prompt them to volunteer for the service," (Southworth pg. 103). This quote clearly shows that Black Donald carries a sense of honor and fairness. The final defining trait of a knight in shining armor is his charming personality, and Black Donald is nothing if not charming. There are several scenes where Black Donald is able to charm his way into places people would never allow him to be in the first place. The first of such places is the sheriff’s office. He dresses himself up as peddler, and as he said to his men “I went right straight into the lion's jaws” (Southworth pg. 91). Black Donald’s smooth movements and great acting allows him to move into the office very inconspicuously. In chapter 28, Black Donald is able to once again charm his way through difficult circumstances. When he dresses up as Father Grey, not a single person recognizes him. They even invite him to eat their best food and, in the case of Old Hurricane, sleep in his bed (Southworth pg. 137). One final instance of Black Donald’s charm is when he and Capitola are talking in her room. Throughout that chapter there are exchanges between Capitola and Black Donald where he is kind to her, complimenting her on her beauty as he clearly shows his affections (Southworth pg. 252). She had even said “if Black Donald were only as honest as he is brave I should quite adore him” (Southworth pg. 99). Black Donald is able to mask his insincerity and true motivations here and throughout the book through his charm. He even holds the capability of convincing the reader that he is a hero and a representation of their knight in shining in armor. In the story of The Hidden Hand there are characters that don’t fall into their stereotypical rolls. Although Capitola is represented as the devouring mother, readers still strongly associate with her, urging her on to be the victor in many circumstances. Even though her characteristics portray a deep-seated, societal fear, Capitola is a strong protagonist. On the other hand, the villain of the story, Black Donald contains the characteristics of a stereotypical knight in shining armor. The reader is left with an inner turmoil of whether or not Black Donald should be destroyed or reign victorious as well. A switch in personality characteristics leaves the reader guessing, who should come out on top?
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