The Valley of Decision, Marcia Davenport

 

Characters
Scott Family	Others
William – father Clarissa – mother   William Jr. Julia Gaylord – wife William III – son Angelica – daughter   Paul Louise Kane – wife, suicide Dickie – died in war ·       Ruth – wife ·       children Tommy - wounded in war Teddy – Tommy’s twin ·       Lauchlan – wife ·       Paul and Peggy - children   Elizabeth Ben Nicholas – husband Benjamin Jr. – son, wants to sell steel to Germans   Constance Giles Whitfield-Moulton – husband Clarissa “Clarrie” – died in childbirth ·       Evan Gregory – husband, died in war ·       Claire – daughter, married Anton   Edgar – 1900, Benedictine monk, gave ½ of shares to Constance and ½ to Mary	Rafferty Family Pat – father Mary Kathleen “Kate” Bridget - missing James – brother - organized Amalgamated union in mills, saved William Jr. life in mill. Killed William Sr.   Liska Family Charlie Liska – “Hunkie,” promoted by Paul to skilled position in mill Julka – wife Jerry – son Anton Hrdlicka – son, musician, met and married Claire in Czechoslovakia   Seldon Middleton – tried to broker sale of mill   Amalgamated Mamas   Jack Thomas - reporter

For Discussion:

NOTE: Page numbers are from the 1989 paperback edition.

1.       When William came to the mill to see the first pouring in April 1880, he did not know where to walk and would have been killed if James Rafferty had not saved him.  Who was at fault?  Was it the father and Paul’s fault for not telling him what was happening and safely inviting him to come?

2.       Paul married Louise to preserve the legacy of the mill.  Would it have been possible for Paul and Mary to actually marry or for Paul and Louise to be happy?

3.       What did you think about Louise?  Was it fair to marry her when Paul was in love with Mary?  From the author’s description, would she have been able to function on her own or did she also need Mary?

4.       Why did Giles marry Constance and why did she marry him? When Mary came to England to help Constance, she gave Mary Giles’ dressing room.  When he complained, she replied, “I’ve been in this country long enough to find out how you bully your wives.  Well, just remember you’ve married an American.  And you’ll soon begin to find out what you’re in for!” (page 99).  Did Giles have any idea what he had done? 

5.       How would you describe Constance?  Driven, frivolous, selfish, a good friend and daughter?  What were her positive and negative characteristics? 

6.       What did you think happened between Edgar and Bridget, Mary’s sister?  Edgar said to Mary, “Every time I looked at you, I thought about what I’d done” (page 280). Would it have been different if Bridget was not Mary’s sister?

7.       Edgar told Mary, “you’re the living personification of everything saintly and good” (page 280).   Mary’s reply was, “But I’m not, I’m no different – from – you – from anybody – Holy Mother, we’re all alike” (page 281).  Were they all alike or was Mary “better” than the others?

8.       When Jim murdered William Scott on the bridge, who was at fault?   Should Jim have known the rumors were false and ignored them?  Did he have to shoot?

9.       Paul had a negative view of Phipps and Carnegie.  He told Selden Middleton that his father, “saw Carnegie crush and swallow up two of the most brilliant men in Pittsburgh.  That was the beginning.”  William felt so strongly about them because they “used the iron business as they did.  They used it to amass money and power for themselves.  They used it to kill competition” (page 305).  We tend to idolize Carnegie because of the libraries, so what did you think about this view presented in the novel?

10.   Obviously, Mary and the mill are the themes running through the entire book.  In 1918, looking back Paul said, “Only Mary and the mill have the qualities she stubbornly believes we have – as a family.  And she has pumped those qualities into us. She has always fought to protect the family and keep it the thing she believed or wanted it to be” (page 457).  What would the family have become without Mary?

11.   What did you think about the descriptions of “Hunkies” in Pittsburgh and also the difference between Slovaks and Czechs?

12.   Did reading Claire’s experiences and accounts of Germany in the mid-1930s change or expand your knowledge of the German people?  In this same vein, did you gain any new insight into the immigrant experience in Pittsburgh, especially how the “Hunkies” were treated?

13.   When Claire met Anton again in 1936, she thought he had found the secret to happiness.  He “had not only not eaten out his heart in futile protests that he could not be a virtuoso.  He had made the very best of his talent and in doing so had opened up the far richer, deeper well of creative genius” (page 533).  How would you translate his story into advice for a young person today?

14.   In talking with Claire, Julka defined courage and obedience on page 612 as:

a.       Obedience – “…how to obey a cruel command when the reason for it is a good reason…”

b.       Courage – “…to make decisions against everything you want.”

c.       How did Julka, Clair and Mary exhibit these qualities in their lives?

d.       Did any of the other characters?  How or how not?

15.   In the end, would Paul be considered a good business man?  In 1901 he could have sold the mill to US Steel, made a lot of money for everyone, and, according to Constance’s idea, been able to pursue his passion for metallurgy at a high salary.

16.   Marcia Davenport lived in Pittsburgh for only about two years in her early twenties.   How much do you think living in Pittsburgh added to your enjoyment of the novel?