The Hidden Hand
E.D.E.N Southworth
Violetta, Kofi, Chloe, Hannah, Christina

Characters

Major Ira Warfield, also known as Old Hurricane, is an old grumpy man who lives in his mansion called Hurricane Hall in a landscape known as Devil’s Run. He is very snooty and stubborn, but underneath you can see a soft side to him throughout the book. After hearing the story of a dying friend, he was determined to find the girl who she raised by the name of Capitola Black. He found Capitola and took her home to be his ward. Old Hurricane was once married to a woman named Marah, but after seeing her “cheat” on him, as it looked to him, he left her. After many, many years without contact with Marah, he suddenly heard of her again through Capitola’s fellow friend named Herbert. He was originally going to provide housing and schooling for friends of Herbert, but right away changed his mind and denied to help after finding out who they were. Throughout the story Old Hurricane continues to be a father-figure to Capitola and always does his best to keep her safe. After hashing out differences and talking things through, Old Hurricane and Marah end up together in the end of the book.

Capitola Black was raised by Nancy Grewell until she left her to tend to her own needs, forcing her to go to the extremes in order to survive. She constantly searched for work day and night and always wondered where her next meal would come from. She cut her hair short and started dressing like a boy, because it was easier to find work and therefore she was able to survive with the money she made. After being caught by the authorities, she was saved by Old Hurricane and went home with him to be his ward. Capitola is curious, mischievous, and ill-mannered. She continued to surprise Old Hurricane with her boy-like manners and attitude. She was always looking for adventure, and found herself in a kidnapping game with Black Donald, which she eventually outsmarts. She is attracted to the bad-boy in Black Donald and after talking with him for hours in her room, she starts to fall for him. She later plans to marry Herbert, but leaves right before the wedding to save Black Donald from being executed. She helps Black Donald by finding lock-picks, and he gets set free. Capitola ends up with Herbert living in the Hidden House.

Traverse & Marah Rocke are family friends of Herbert Greyson who allowed Herbert and his mother live with them until the death of Herbert’s mother. Herbert soon after left because he didn’t want to be a burden to them anymore. Marah was once married to Old Hurricane, until he left her because of an unfortunate incident in which Old Hurricane thought she was cheating. She gets very sick after a hope for a better life for her and her son is crushed by Old Hurricane refusing to help them out. They end up living with Dr. Day and his son Clara, and after Dr. Day dies, Traverse and Clara fall in love and get married. At the end Traverse and Clara are together, along with Marah and Old Hurricane.

Herbert Greyson is a friend of Capitola’s who we are introduced to early in the book. He lived with his mother, along with Traverse and Marah Rocke, until the death of his mother. He is Old Hurricane’s nephew, and Old Hurricane felt it was his duty to make sure Herbert was set with housing, schooling, etc. He ends up at the end of the book with Capitola living in the Hidden House.

Clara & Dr. Day are the father and son whom Traverse and Marah Rocke ends up living with after being denied care from Old Hurricane. Dr. Day promised a future for Traverse as a doctor and had Marah be a housekeeper for them, giving them both a bright future. Dr. Day is later killed by a crash on his horse, and Clara marries Traverse and ends up living in Willow Heights where Traverse studies and practices to be a Doctor.

Gabriel Le Noir, Craven Le Noir, and Black Donald are a group of bandits who are wanted for multiple crimes. They are most known and feared out of all criminals mainly because they always get away with their mischievous crimes. Le Noir hires
Black Donald to capture Capitola and kill her, so that he can inherit the Le Noir fortune. Black Donald continually tries to kidnap her and even tries to marry her. He starts to develop real feelings for her, and she him. Capitola helps Black Donald out of jail at the end of the book. Both of the Le Noir’s try to ease their way into the Le Noir fortune in any way they can, including attempting different proposals.

Mrs. Condiment is Old Hurricane’s housekeeper who informs Capitola of old legends and tale’s that make Capitola even more curious. Mrs. Condiment is the one who tells Capitola about Black Donald and who intrigues Capitola, encouraging her to try to catch Black Donald. Mrs. Condiment is also the one who finds Black Donald suspicious when he tried to sell goods at Hurricane Hall disguised as a sailor, helping Capitola with capturing him.

Nancy Grewell is a woman who told her story to Old Hurricane on her death bed. She was kidnapped in order to deliver a child from a woman she didn’t know, and there happened to be twins. One died, one lived, and the woman begged Nancy to take the living child and take care of her. So Nancy took the child and raised her, she was named Capitola. Nancy later left to go to Virginia, forcing Cap to tend to her own needs.

Summary

Old Hurricane rescues the spirited Capitola from New York, where she was left to fend for herself after her guardian died. He finds her on trial for dressing like a boy. Old Hurricane claims her as his ward and takes her back to Hurricane Hall.

They run into Herbert Greyson, a friend of Caps, and Old Hurricane’s nephew. He has been living with a kindly widow and her son who have been like family to him. Old Hurricane vows to help the widow and her son in anyway he can. But changes his mind when he learns that the widow is Marah Rocke.
As it turns out, Marah Rocke was once married to Old Hurricane, but a terrible misunderstanding caused by the villain Le Noir caused him to leave his wife and be bitter.

Marah and her son Traverse have been living a modest and poor life. But Traverse is taken under the wing of Dr. Day, who wants to teach Traverse his practice so he may be a successful doctor. He eventually invites Traverse to move into his home to practice, and invites his mother Marah to live with them as well to be a companion for his Daughter Clara. Traverse falls in love with Clara and eventually they are betrothed.

Meanwhile we find out that Capitola Black is actually Capitola Le Noir, the daughter of the murdered Eugene Le Noir . And the evil Gabriel Le Noir has enlisted the infamous bandit Black Donald to kill Capitola to prevent her from inheriting the Le Noir fortune.

Back at Hurricane Hall, Capitola is just beginning to get bored with life when the infamous bandit Black Donald appears dressed as a peddler. Capitola nearly captures him, but he manages to escape barely. The villain falls in love with Capitola and vows to make her his wife one way or another. He sends three of his bandits to capture her one night, but the cleaver Cap instead captures them. Black Donald is forced to put on a masterful charade to free them from prison, after which him and his men disappear deep into the wilds of the Devils Punch Bowl while things cool down.

Herbert Greyson enlists in the army (with Old Hurricane’s help) and goes off to fight the war in Mexico.

Just as life seems happy for Traverse and Clara, Dr. Day is trampled by his horse and killed. His dying whishes are that Clara be allowed to remain in her home with Marah Rocke as her care giver, and that when she turns 21 her and Traverse will marry. However, the villainous Gabriel Le Noir is the man whom Dr. Day had originally named as Clara’s provider should he die. And Le Noir has other plans for Clara’s fortune than allowing Traverse to claim it. So he uses his right as her guardian to whisk her off to Hidden House where he and his son attempt to force Clara to marry his son Craven. Traverse vows to do anything in his power to save her, and when his practice as a doctor beings to fail he enlists into the army. Poor Traverse has very bad luck, his commanding officer in the army is none other than Gabriel Le Noir. The villain enacts plans to have Traverse killed!

However, Capitola has heard rumors that a beautiful young girl is staying at Hidden House, determined to meet her she sets off in the middle of a storm and spends the night with Clara. She learns of Le Noir and his Son’s plans. So she swaps cloths with Clara and lets the girl flee, taking her place to “marry” Craven Le Noir. But she is rescued by Herbert Greyson!
Clara and her friends make an appeal to the Orphans court and get her freed from Le Noir’s grasp.

As the war ends Le Noir is gravely wounded, on his deathbed he confesses everything and hands over a stack of papers, which include Traverse Rocke’s Discharge papers as well as letters from his mother and Clara.

Traverse and Clara are reunited, and plans are made for their wedding. Capitola and Herbert as well make plans for a wedding. And Old Hurricane and Marah Rocke make up.

Capitola finds Black Donald in her room one night. He is going to kidnap her and make her his wife, but Cap manages to get the upper hand and sends him plummeting though the trap door in her room. He is captured and sentenced to die on the day of Cap’s wedding. Feeling sorry for the man Capitola sneaks into the prison and frees Black Donald, giving him money to aid his escape and instructions that he is to take this opportunity she gives him and turn his life around. True to his word, he does.
….And they all have a happy ending…except Le Noir...he's dead. Yey!

Writers Style

E.D.E.N. Southworth’s style adds energy and excitement to the story. She uses the right amount of description to captivate yet not bore the reader. In this passage she describes ‘Old Hurricane’, “His features were large and harsh; his complexion dark red, as that of one bronzed by long exposure and flushed with strong drink.” The descriptions build on one another to create a cohesive, real image in the mind of the reader. This adds to the overall impact and enjoyment of the story because the reader can picture the people and places in this story. Also she uses a lot of foreshadow in her writing. She does this by starting every chapter with quotes and also using sharp contrasts to imply a change in the future. A good example of this is in the beginning when Old hurricane is glad that he doesn’t have to worry about going out into the storm and then sure enough he has to go out into the storm. Also he is glad that he doesn’t have to go take care of someone and then he has to go and find Capitola. Southworth originally published this in 2-3 chapter segments in a magazine. This is probably why she wrote this with such an energetic and engaging style.

She is able to add intriguing vocabulary and language to engage the reader, without being too over the top and making it confusing. She creates a type of read that is high-art and at the same time is easy for readers of a big variety to be able to read. She uses many twists and turns to keep the reader captivated, and uses many different family connections to keep you guessing on what sort of thing will come next.

Southworth incorporates a boyish attitude in Capitola Black, which is relevant because of Cap’s identity in the beginning of the book. She had to act like a boy to survive, and later she was known to be un-lady-like. Southworth does a great job with detailing each character in a way that you always know who is talking and who is being talked about. She has a very distinct way of identifying each character and their personalities, strengths, and fallbacks, helping you to make predictions of how each character will turn out.

Conflicts
While this story contains many conflicts, both small and large, the two central conflicts in the Hidden Hand seem to belong to the situation going on in Hurricane Hall and the situation pertaining to Marah Rocke and her son Traverse.

In Hurricane Hall a conflict has arose between Old Hurricane and the young girl Capitola. While Old Hurricane seems to dearly care about the girl, he cannot control her. Capitola is used to the streets of New York in which there is something going on all the time and so boredom is never an issue. So, being a wild youngster who gets bored at the old hall she finds many ways to get herself into trouble. For example, she goes beyond boundaries around the old mansion in which she has been strictly forbidden to go. Another example is how she will often talk back to Old Hurricane. If he tells her she cannot go somewhere and she wants to go bad enough then she will find another way. She’s not afraid to tell him so either. This moves into another conflict between these two characters: Capitola is smart. She has learned how to get her way. She knows how to use the silent treatment, the “this is what you look like” treatment, and the worst of it all being the “I’ll call the cops on you” treatment. This last is by far the worst because it leads into yet another very important conflict. Old Hurricane was told of Capitola’s past by Nancy Grewell. Knowing this, and having a severe dislike and distrust of Gabriel Le Noir, Old Hurricane knows that Capitola could be in danger. What he doesn’t know, however, is just how imminent this danger is. Gabriel Le Noir has hired Donald Black to kill the unsuspecting girl. So, if Cap takes the old man to court then her protection will be diminished and she will be open to Donald Black. All in all, Capitola’s wild personality causes large issues.

In the realm of Marah and Traverse Rocke conflicts come and go. Perhaps the most pertinent conflict in their lives, though Traverse does not know it, is the one between Marah and Old Hurricane. When Marah was 16 and Old Hurricane 45 they fell in love and got married. However, due to a situation involving Gabriel Le Noir, Hurricane believed Marah to have cheated on him and left her- though they never got an official divorce. This has caused strife between the two ever since and 18 years in the future Old Hurricane still wants nothing to do with her. This event leads Marah and Traverse Rocke into poverty their main conflict in the beginning of the book. From there Marah is led to believe for a short time that Old Hurricane has forgiven her. Upon finding out that it was never true, Marah succumbs to an old yet more severe conflict of depression. Traverse, fearful for his mother’s health, goes to a trusted friend, Dr. Day, who in the long run asks them to live with his daughter and himself. Thus, Marah is rejuvenated and this conflict is no longer mentioned. However, then arises a new conflict involving Traverse, Marah, and Dr. Day’s daughter Clara. Traverse and Clara develop a strong friendship which develops into a love between a 14-year-old girl and an 18-year-old boy. Marah sees a complication and not merely age but level of status. She is fearful that Traverse is wishing after something that he could never have. Upon mentioning it to her son, Traverse listens to his mother and creates a distance between Clara and himself. This distance is hard for both the young girl and boy. However, this conflict is later relieved a few years later when Dr. Day gives Traverse permission to marry his daughter. For a while all is well…then a NEW conflict comes about. Dr. Day is thrown from and landed upon by his horse one day. Upon his death bed he informs Traverse that Carla’s guardian is to be Gabriel Le Noir. Gabriel Le Noir coming to live with them creates a whole new conflict in the Day’s household. As you can see, in the lives of Marah and Traverse Rocke there are many ups and downs as conflicts come and go.

Themes

While the themes of the Hidden Hand as a whole may not be as completely cut and dried as one might imagine, the main themes in the book thus far seem to be independence and loyalty. We see Capitola as the complete opposite of how a ‘proper’ girl of that time should be. She dressed like a boy, rides unaccompanied, tries to catch outlaws, and cusses. Through out the book, in any chapter we find Cap residing, we see a series of actions that would cause many a matron of the time to blush with embarrassment. Though today we might find her actions normal, or even commendable, the Hidden Hand, plays off the notion that a woman really might be independent despite what men may think proper.
This would be a radical new way of thinking back when this book was written, an independent woman then would be as unheard of as an un-independent woman now. E.D.E.N. Southworth was really making a statement about the scope of a Woman’s power, how they didn’t have to rely on men for every little thing. At least, that is what I got out of it.

The second Theme, Loyalty, encompasses many of the other aspects of the book. We find it in Herbert, with his resolve in all things to trust and protect his friends. He stands up for Mrs. Rocke, in the face of unfavorable accusations mounted against her, maintaining that she is “pure as an angel.”(89). We see unwavering loyalty in Travers in regards to his mother. At a time when most young men would be grown, married, and seeking their way in the world, Traverse stays ever loyal to his mother and remains by her side to help her in any way he can. Then, when Traverse is employed by Dr. Day, he remains loyal to the Dr’s wishes, and maintains his loyalty even after the doctor perishes. Marah Rocke also, we find, has remained loyal to her husband even after how horrid he was to her, even after he wouldn’t believe what she said, she still stays loyal and loving.

Southworth gives us these fine examples of humanity as an example. So often in literature we read characters who are morally biased, or unstable, or twisted… characters like Traverse and his mother give us a refreshing look at the other face of humanity. Perhaps their very creation is intended to give us hope for our fellow humans, if there can be someone that loyal, that good in a story… perhaps there can be someone like that in reality.