(Warning -- story spoilers to come.....)
Wilmot Gwynne breezes into the story in 1845, and plays quite a prominent part in "Flying with Angels" during the last part of Martha’s life. In some ways he is a comic or a buffoon, and indeed he is part of the comedy duo of Wilmot and Delilah; but he is also much more than that, for as the story develops he shows that he is a multi-faceted character. He is a rough sort of fellow, with very few airs and graces, who has made his fortune in the Swansea Valley through hard work and good judgement. He is a nouveau riche entrepreneur who moves into rural Wales for health reasons, and maybe also because he fancies the idea of being a squire rather more than being an industrialist.
Wilmot Gwynne breezes into the story in 1845, and plays quite a prominent part in "Flying with Angels" during the last part of Martha’s life. In some ways he is a comic or a buffoon, and indeed he is part of the comedy duo of Wilmot and Delilah; but he is also much more than that, for as the story develops he shows that he is a multi-faceted character. He is a rough sort of fellow, with very few airs and graces, who has made his fortune in the Swansea Valley through hard work and good judgement. He is a nouveau riche entrepreneur who moves into rural Wales for health reasons, and maybe also because he fancies the idea of being a squire rather more than being an industrialist.
But he is generous to fault, and when he takes over the Plas he shows great sensitivity in allowing Martha to remain in the house she loves and to maintain her status in the community. He could have sent her packing, and in the process destroyed her life and her family; but he chooses not to do that, maybe because like most of the other men in the Saga he is more than a little in love with Martha.
As the “final" chapter in Martha’s life unfolds, and moves inexorably towards its tragic conclusion, Wilmot again proves to be a steadfast friend to Martha, Amos and the Morgan family. And when Martha appears not to have died at all at the end of “Flying with Angels”, Wilmot shows his worth as a man who is smart as well as kind, in the narrative of “Guardian Angel” — who was the real guardian angel in that story? The little boy called Merlin, or the rough diamond called Wilmot Gwynne?
What does Master Gwynne expect as payback, after the provision of so much moral and financial support? Possibly some enhanced status in the community, which is what he needs in order to establish himself as a respectable squire. Maybe he is also seeking to demonstrate to his family and acquaintances that he has that almost indefinable quality called sensibility. That too, above all else, is what marks a member of the gentry out to from the mass of the population - and it is assumed very often in the literature of the day that sensibility comes only with good breeding, and cannot simply be acquired by those of low breeding who suddenly become rich. Wilmot shows us that easy assumptions about the “worth” of individuals are more often wrong than right.
What does Master Gwynne expect as payback, after the provision of so much moral and financial support? Possibly some enhanced status in the community, which is what he needs in order to establish himself as a respectable squire. Maybe he is also seeking to demonstrate to his family and acquaintances that he has that almost indefinable quality called sensibility. That too, above all else, is what marks a member of the gentry out to from the mass of the population - and it is assumed very often in the literature of the day that sensibility comes only with good breeding, and cannot simply be acquired by those of low breeding who suddenly become rich. Wilmot shows us that easy assumptions about the “worth” of individuals are more often wrong than right.
Wilmot's darling wife Delilah -- a cartoon like this is maybe a little unkind......
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