Capitola: Star of the Story

The Hidden Hand by E.D.E.N. Southworth is so far my favorite reading from this semester. If I was a reader living in the nineteenth century, I could definitely see myself reading this book. I fell in love with the characters and found most of them very intriguing, especially Capitola. I love the fact that she is not so needy like Ellen, and not so bitter like Gerty. As we discussed in class, Cap seems to have a bit of both personalities with her own witty mischievousness mixed in as well. Even her features give way to her sort of innocent “mischief,” as Old Hurricane notes, “mischievous dark grey eyes,” and “red, putting lips completed the character of a countenance full of fun, frolic, spirit, and courage.” I love the author’s choice of words here. They completely describe Capitola to a T. Another one of my favorite lines in the excerpt was on page 193 just after Herbert has left, Capitola remarks, "Uncle, do you know you never once asked Herbert the name of the widow you are going to befriend, and that he never told you?" She continues on after Old Hurricane suggests they write to him and ask, when she says, "No, Uncle; just for the fun of the thing, wait until he comes back, and see how long it will be and how much he will talk of them without mentioning their names!" I admire that she has such a sense of humor and wit to her after all that she has been through. Uneducated, poor, and recently come from living off the streets Cap's personality seems to out shine her. This, along with her rugged past that Old Hurricane has heard of, is probably what drew him to her so quickly. It's hard to not fall in love with Capitola, and I look forward to eventually finishing the book!