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I was never really into the first Poldark although I remember a few episodes, the new Ross is far more my cup of tea but oh what a rotter he is just now to his poor wife.
I have lost track of the reason George and his Uncle hate Ross so much. Is it hate for the Poldark's in general or just Ross? Can anyone refresh my memory? Thanks.
George wants nothing less than to be like the aristocracy, and get their respect. No matter how much money he has, or how much of a show he puts on with it, he knows they will never really see him as 'us'. He is the grandson of a miller in a mine. They put up with George and his kind because they have money, but they do not belong. No matter how poor or desperate the aristrocrats are, the respect for them being one will be given.
Ross is the son of small landholders. His parents were respected and their estate had been in the family for generations. Yet he rejects the mantra of his class, and speaks up about it. He marries a miners daughter without any dowery and dares to bring her into society. His politics are of the sort one of his breeding might hold in some degree, but he doesn't hide them. He also disrespects wealth which is used for power.
Others of his class are mystified or dissapointed in Ross, but to George, his rejection of the class George longs to be a part of is a special shame. It is declaring his ambitions meaningless. George takes it as his special mission to rid society of the Ross Poldarks because if they win, then his dream is lost too. And as he has it available, he uses *money* as a way to break into the increasingly financially stretched gentry.
That's what so fascinating about the background in this show, as it truely was the beginning of a new society which would see the end of the power of aristrocrats as they slipped back into history and the power of money became the weapon. Ross is a crossroads, a person of gentry who disregards it unless forced to participate, but one who doesn't like the image of the source of power of a select few simply becoming money.
I didn't have the box setup and missed the first few minutes, but I was delighted to see this portrayal. That George has begrudgingly let in is firm evidence that the society is changing. You can have the worlds greatest house, with centuries of ancestors, but if you have no source of funds it will not be as shiny and impressive, and you might even have to even more unwillingly let one of them, with funds, enter the family.
And for those like George, who had money and already gained some influence, that respect for the old society is his measure of success. Being a super successful buisnessman isn't enough. He longs for the assumed respect for a long ancestral history, and it is a part of everything he does. And his absolute dislike if Ross is as much because he was born with it all and his tossing it away. But then, even if he claims he doesn't expect said respect, he does.
I'm really pleased with this new production of Poldark, as I read several of the books, and practically memorized the old series. It's got a much more emotional feeling than the first, one found in the books. It also had a lot more content about the society they are telling their story about.
I still like watching the origional though. It had the dry, formal feeling of British drama which contrasted so much with typical US drama when the series were first shown here. It was a story about manners, and one man who chooses to break the rules. But it had this restrained formality about it too which hadn't changed.
What's with all of the anachronisms? When George wins, he shouts "yes" and Demelza said, "Good luck with that."
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Poldark on MASTERPIECE: Season 2, Episode 7 Recap
