I found an English valet-de-place, or commissionaire, on the pier, who assisted me through the ceremonials of the custom house, where they did me the favour of taking two francs for the trouble of inspecting my luggage. The commissionaire then conducted me to the Grand Cerf Hotel, and after I had taken refreshment, went with me to enquire about the coach to Paris for the following morning. We then extended our walk through the town and visited the ramparts and banks of the canal to St. Omer.
There are a couple of things I like about this extract:
For the first time in the book, Holman introduces us to some specific individuals he has interacted with - in this case the commissionaire, Paul the garcon and Virginie the chambermaid. I'm touched by their presence - they're people who helped him in some way, facilitated his journey and looked out for him. There will be many such people in the extracts to come.
Although Holman would have paid the commissionaire, I think their interaction was closer and more involved than it would have been had Holman been sighted. I imagine Holman taking the commissionaire's elbow on the pier and allowing himself to be guided to the customs house, around the battlements and along the canal, the commissionaire responding to Holman's questions, describing the buildings, the landscape.
And the fact that Holman records the names of Paul and Virginie is evidence they made an impression on him, even if verbal communication was difficult or impossible. As brief as their appearance is here, I'm grateful for this glimpse of Paul and Virginie - I imagine that the identities and efforts of working class people usually go unrecorded in these kinds of works.
Virginie's misunderstanding about the amount of help that Holman needs is also interesting. I imagine that, in lieu of being able to ask him whether he needed help to get undressed (Holman's French was practically non-existent at this early stage of his journey), she went ahead and started removing his clothes. The lack of consent here is familiar to me as a visually impaired person. When a sighted person cannot or will not communicate a desire to help to a visually impaired person, then sometimes they will invade personal space without consent (e.g. grabbing someone and helping them across the road without asking).
The final thing that strikes me about this extract is the fact that Holman sends the commissionaire and Virginie out of his bedroom 'with the candle'. Having no light perception, Holman did not need a candle in the bedroom and - as we will see in another extract - the chambermaid's habit of leaving a candle burning in his bedroom could lead to painful accidents...
There are a couple of things I like about this extract:
For the first time in the book, Holman introduces us to some specific individuals he has interacted with - in this case the commissionaire, Paul the garcon and Virginie the chambermaid. I'm touched by their presence - they're people who helped him in some way, facilitated his journey and looked out for him. There will be many such people in the extracts to come.
Although Holman would have paid the commissionaire, I think their interaction was closer and more involved than it would have been had Holman been sighted. I imagine Holman taking the commissionaire's elbow on the pier and allowing himself to be guided to the customs house, around the battlements and along the canal, the commissionaire responding to Holman's questions, describing the buildings, the landscape.
And the fact that Holman records the names of Paul and Virginie is evidence they made an impression on him, even if verbal communication was difficult or impossible. As brief as their appearance is here, I'm grateful for this glimpse of Paul and Virginie - I imagine that the identities and efforts of working class people usually go unrecorded in these kinds of works.
Virginie's misunderstanding about the amount of help that Holman needs is also interesting. I imagine that, in lieu of being able to ask him whether he needed help to get undressed (Holman's French was practically non-existent at this early stage of his journey), she went ahead and started removing his clothes. The lack of consent here is familiar to me as a visually impaired person. When a sighted person cannot or will not communicate a desire to help to a visually impaired person, then sometimes they will invade personal space without consent (e.g. grabbing someone and helping them across the road without asking).
The final thing that strikes me about this extract is the fact that Holman sends the commissionaire and Virginie out of his bedroom 'with the candle'. Having no light perception, Holman did not need a candle in the bedroom and - as we will see in another extract - the chambermaid's habit of leaving a candle burning in his bedroom could lead to painful accidents...