Poldark: Past, Present and Forgiveness

We’ve been watching and reading the Poldark stories since the first year of our marriage.

Living in Ballston Spa, New York, we had only four television stations: the usual three and PBS.

On Sunday nights, we turned on Masterpiece Theater for the first time.

We watched Alistair Cooke introduce Poldark II and were hooked.

Several relationships between the characters puzzled us the first several weeks and so we went to the library.

The Poldark Books

Winston Graham wrote original the Poldark novels in the late 1940s.

The tiny Ballston Spa library had a few ancient copies of the books and the rest were available seven miles up the road in Saratoga Springs.

My young ensign worked shift hours that summer and as I checked out each book in turn, we spent days lounging around reading.

We enjoyed the stories and understood everything once the series ended!

Story line

For those who aren’t watching, the Poldark series and books are set in Cornwall circa 1800.

Ross Poldark has returned from the wars in America, hoping to reclaim the girl he left behind.

Unfortunately, thinking him dead, the beautiful and refined Elizabeth married his cousin Francis instead.

Ross returns to his inherited home Nampara to nurse his disappointment and figure out the rest of his life.

Money is a problem for the land owner, and he sets to work to rebuild the family’s mining fortune.

Oh, and he eventually marries his scullery maid.

Readers (and presumably viewers) learn a great deal about mining, the incessant need for private business to obtain capital, and the romantic lives of the wealthy and the poor in the early 19th century, England.

The Present

Last fall we started watching the updated version (with Robin Ellis from the original series now appearing as an old judge!).

Like many, we enjoyed the new series, even as we adjusted to a tall Demelza and a Ross missing his shirt most episodes!

But something else bothered me and it took awhile for me to realize what it is.

Watching Poldark all those years ago as a young woman fresh from college and new to marriage, I loved the drama, romance, even as I recognized the soap opera aspects.

My husband and I enjoyed the stories at a time when we had little money but could share and enjoy a series of books together.

We watch it now with many years of experience and life.

It’s not so much fun anymore.

Oh, the scenery remains spectacular, the story is still full of romance, but I’m struck by the missed opportunities.

Yes, it’s drama, you need conflict, but honestly, couldn’t some of these characters extend some forgiveness?

Couldn’t Ross Poldark focus on what he has, rather than what he lacks?

And what is George Warleggan’s problem?

Revenge is never sweet.

The modern version depicts the relationships in a more believable manner. I like Elizabeth a lot more in 2016.

Demelza’s hurt is more magnified and she argues, as I do, about forgiveness and letting things go.

I’ve lived through enough heartache; a non-forgiving attitude doesn’t entertain anymore. I want to see resolution in relationship and people who live happily ever after.

It wouldn’t be the same series, of course, and Ross might have fewer opportunities to remove his shirt, but I’d be happier at the end of each episode.

Life’s too short to not forgive.

Tweetables

Watching Poldark–then and now. Click to Tweet

Watching the new Poldark with life behind me–how about forgiveness? Click to Tweet

Poldark: Past, Present and Forgiveness. Click to Tweet