Francis Abernathy - Blog Posts

— the secret history, donna tartt.

The Secret History

“Beauty is terror. Whatever we call beautiful, we quiver before it.”

“I prefer to think of it, he had said, as redistribution of matter.”

“It is is better to know one book intimately than a hundred superficially.”

“In short: I felt my existence was tainted, in some subtle but essential way.”

“Anything is grand if it's done on a large enough scale.”

“Forgive me, for all the things I did but mostly the ones i did not.”

“There is nothing wrong with the love of Beauty. But Beauty - unless she is wed to something more meaningful - is always superficial.”

Totally didn't make this like a year ago but posting it just now what definitely nott

You know how Julian says the divine comedy is incomprehensible to someone who isn’t a christian; the secret history doesn’t make sense if you don’t read it as Richard Papen. To truly appreciate the book you must be Richard as long as you read it.

She was born to play Judy Poovey if you even care

Donna Tartt really just left her only female character (okay there's Judy but Judy's just background noise) underdeveloped and gave the gay character the most miserable ending and we're all okay with it? How come?

Am I the only one that kinda hoped that Richard would realise he was in love with Francis and they would come together at the end? I know that was very unlikely, but his 'love' for Camilla always seemed so superficial, and i liked Francis a whole lot better than her, tbh. Anyway, poor Francis

Oh, Francis, my precious baby, you deserved better

Francis Abernathy really had to hit on every single guy in his clique only to hook up with Charles high on weed during his friends funeral whom he had killed.

Really Francis there are plenty of good guys you could fuck

Richard Papen is so stupid

His shady friends were like “Hey let’s go for a ride in the night” after they had confided in him that they’d MURDERED someone and didn’t plan on going to jail for it and he was one of the two people that knew about it and Richard was like “yeah sure why not what can POSSIBLY go wrong”

Richard Papen in The Secret History be like: is Henry gay? Is Julian gay? Is Francis gay? Am I gay?

Funny enough the only two people I would be friends with (or interact with) in TSH if I was in the book are-----Bunny and Richard.

I am sorry as much as the others are more interesting. They are also TERRIFYING.

Bunny is an asshole, but I have met and been friends with so many assholes and even Judy likes him, he's the least problematic in the grand scheme of things.

And Richard is basic in a way he will never admit he is, he has his bad moments but he's still not that out of touch.

Do I adore Camilla? Yes. Would I talk to her? Nope, she would scare me. I won't be anywhere near Henry. I'll observe Francis from afar and I'll have a small talk ounce with Charles just cuz he looks like a friendly person. And that's it.

TSH but after Bunny's death, the rest of the gang start receiving mysterious messages about their secrets.

Like the twins are sleeping together, they killed the farmer, Richard isn't rich, Francis and Charles have a thing, they tried to escape jail by going to South America, Richard knew about the farmer but kept quiet, Henry and Camilla are secretly involved, Henry tried to kill Bunny with poison mushrooms, Henry and Julian's little kiss, Julian knew about the bacchanal etc.

At first they got these messages, they kept it to themselves. Finding letters and notes in their bags, pockets and books. They kept it to themselves until they went to Bunny's funeral.

And there one of Bunny's nephews runs to them and gives Henry a note addressed to them in a familiar handwriting.

"Did you think you got me buried under the snow? That you got rid of me? I am not gone bitches, I am still here, and I know everything.

- Kisses, B"

The way Richard thought all the guys---Henry, Bunny, Charles and Francis (who actually was) were gay in one way or another. Except for Camilla, she can't be sapphic, cuz that'll ruin his fantasy of her..... No wonder he was disappointed about the bacchanal, he missed the orgy he dreamed of 😂😂😂😂

Julian: where's Bunny?

Richard: doing stuff

Julian: where's Henry?

Richard: trying to stop Bunny from doing stuff

Julian: where is Charles?

Richard: trying to stop Henry from stopping Bunny from doing stuff

Julian: Camilla?

Richard: trying to stop Charles from stopping Henry from stopping Bunny from doing stuff

Julian, sighs: let me guess Francis is stopping Camilla?

Richard: no, he got tired of all this, drank a lot of vodka and took a nap

Julian: then why pray are you here?

Richard: I am trying to stop you from stopping Camilla from stopping Charles, from stopping Henry from stopping Bunny from doing stuff.

Julian: I can't believe I pay the college for shit like this....

The reason Bunny gets a shit load of hate despite him being the only one who is NOT an accomplice to murder is because of one simple thing:

His personality.

That is the reason we can't feel bad for him. We as a society have considered Homophobia and sexism one of the worst things you can ever do. Which is true.

Murder is justified in certain situations, especially when it's in a fictional universe/story, not saying Bunny's death was justified, but we can excuse murder----even the law excuses murder at times. It's something grey and understandable in certain situations. We have liked; even loved characters who have killed others simply because it is in a fictional story.

The reason we draw the line at Bunny's behaviour is because, Homophobia, Racism, Sexism/Misogyny as well other forms of discrimination are NEVER excusable. When someone says a slur, you can't excuse that by comparing them in terms of morality with other characters. In modern society, we don't accept slurs and derogatory remarks.

Maybe in the 90's and 2000's when the book was new and fresh, people might not have cared about Bunny's behaviour much, maybe they even sympathize with him and loved him, because it was a DIFFERENT TIME back then. We cannot tolerate things like that anymore and it makes people harder to sympathize with Bunny.

Other than all that, Bunny is annoying a lot of the time. He is not the loveable goof he thinks he is. He scams his friends. He is cocky and arrogant. He is dumb and condescending. He says the worst things at wrong times. He puts people down. He pokes fun at others weaknesses. And the more you see of him the worse he gets. Even to the point you wish he dies.......

And he does. It's in his death that Bunny is more humanized, as most people are, in death.

And it is SOOO frustrating because he is the sanest person in the entire class. The most normal and least indoctrinated in those beliefs.

Bunny Corcoran is a character I wanted to like. But he kept getting on my nerves and I found others more interesting than him. And after reading the book several times I can appreciate him more. Although I don't agree with so many theories about him being a "good" person.

Bunny doesn't need to be good. He doesn't need anyone defending him. He doesn't need excuses for his personality. He is annoying, sometimes endearing; he makes your blood boil and he's still gone too soon. His death is a tragedy. He wanted to live. Forever.

Bunny is Bunny

You love, you hate him, or you don't care about him

His existence is necessary for the story and it's time we don't fight about if he was an angel or the devil

He was a person. A deeply flawed, complex person. And we should appreciate him just for that.

~🕯️🕊️🐇

*TSH memes from incorrect quotes generator part 2*

____________________________________

Richard : Looking left cause you don’t treat me right

Francis : Looking right because you left

Charles : Looking up cause you let me down

Camilla: Looking down cause you fucked up

Henry: What is wrong with you guys

____________________________________

Henry : Favorite horror movie?

Richard : It

Charles : Saw

Camilla: Annabelle

Francis: High School Musical. after watching it I spent all my middle school years terrified that the entire school would start singing something and I’d be the only one who didn’t know the lyrics

____________________________________

Richard : Imagine if someone handed you a box full of all the items you have lost throughout your life

Francis : Self-esteem, haven't seen you in years!

Charles : Oh wow, my childhood innocence! Thank you for finding this!

Camilla: I knew I lost that potential somewhere!

Henry: My moral code, is that you?

Richard :

Richard : I was just gonna show you this cool trunk my mother left me but do you guys need a hug?

_________________________________________

*TSH memes from incorrect quotes generator part 1*

____________________________________

Henry , walking into their house: Hello, people who do not live here.

Richard : Hey.

Charles : Hi.

Camilla: Hello.

Francis: Hey!

Henry : I gave you the key to my place for emergencies only!

Bunny: We were out of Doritos.

_________________________________________

*Squad reactions to being told ‘I love you’*

Richard : Thanks fam!

Henry : oh no

Charles : *cries* I love you too

Camilla: Sounds fake but okay

Francis: *A flustered mess*

Bunny: can i get a refund

____________________________________

Henry : Time for plan G.

Richard : Don’t you mean plan B?

Henry : No, we tried plan B a long time ago. I had to skip over plan C due to technical difficulties.

Charles : What about plan D?

Henry : Plan D was that desperate disguise attempt half an hour ago.

Camilla: What about plan E?

Henry : I’m hoping not to use it. Bunny dies in plan E.

Francis: I like plan E.

____________________________________

I don't know about other characters but if there was a TSH adaptation on screen (which I hope is directed and written by Donna herself) then my fancast for Julian is Steve Carrel.

Julian is charismatic and friendly, all knowing or at least seeming so, a talker, a mystic type of person. He isn't young but has young features and greying hair but still handsome. He is supposed to make you want to listen to him all the time and Steve Carrel just exudes that energy.

Am I the only one who hates the "Richard pushed Bunny theory" (⁠*⁠_⁠*⁠)

I feel like it takes away sooo much from Bunny and Henry's friendship/relationship

Richard pushing Bunny does NOT have the same impact as Henry, Bunny's best friend pushing him to death.

Ik we want Richard to be more involved in the story but we don't have to take away from the huge implications behind Bunny's death at the hand of his FRIENDS

Richard just came into Bunny's life. Henry knew Bunny for years and was the closest to him in the group. I would rather someone he knew for years betraying him than a person who's barely a friend to him 🤷🏻‍♀️

I'll wait for your theory babe! 😍

This is all I got from my shallow reading, I picked up on the message about choosing your friend groups correctly when Richard decides to not be a part of Judy's clique.

This is something a lot of people struggle in school and college, in choosing the right people to be friends with.

CLEARLY Richard has more going on than he lets on, he is an unreliable narrator after all (I ounce made a post about how I think he made everything up)

However this post was about choosing the wrong people as friends and not about Richard's character as a whole (I tried to write an analysis but it's been in the drafts for months now 😀)

I loveee it when people discuss this book because there's just so much to make theories and views on. I change my opinions every time I read it, in fact.

No matter how much you talk about it, it's never enough.

The Greek Class didn't destroy Richard, he brought that on himself.

He chose to be destroyed and I am sure a part of him wanted to be.

He's the type of person who wants to be different, to be admired, to be apart from normal people.

That's why he tried to get in the Greek class in the first place even when Julian rejected him ounce, he wanted to be with the elites, to be exclusive.

Richard does show remorse for his actions at times but that doesn't mean he didn't find it thrilling.

He wanted an adventure, to see a tragedy, to be part of something dramatic and exciting. He was bored in his little town, around distant parents and normal friends.

He has always felt like he was above other people and he does look down on others who don't understand or follow his ideals.

His idolization of the Greek class is the reason he got destroyed, he was blinded by the opportunity to be included and accepted by them that he didn't look back at the mistakes he made for them.

Richard's story is a cautionary tale about foregoing your sanity and ethics for a broken, one sided friendship. They used him again and again, he did everything for them. Never questioning what he was really doing.

In the end, he was never a part of their group.

He was just there.

Read from page 90 to 112 ☠️

I wish I could read for longer but my habit is dying away~~~

There are so many details in this one book that it makes complete sense why Donna Tartt took a decade to write it

I can analyse it for a decade and still not understand everything and know every detail 😭😭😭😭

My exams are going to be OVER tomorrow. Gonna finally start on the essays!

Since Henry won, "The Obsession With Morally Grey" will be done in a few weeks after the re-read!

Just felt like I haven't re-read TSH in a while. So I wondered if I could write a full blown essay (not really, more like a brief analysis) on the characters from TSH.

I might not even end up writing them but I would like to know which characters people are most interested in learning in-depth about.

There's so much to say about this story that no one can ever stop analysing it. If Donna took 10 years to complete it, there must be so much we can discuss about it!!!

I will try to write a detailed analysis when I have the time to re-read TSH (studying for exams, writing a book and reading "The Bell Jar" and "Pet Sematary" for the 1st time lol)

I hope this will inspire people to make more post abt TSH theories/analysis/thoughts (been tired with the regular mood boards and quotes)

(PS: "Looking Through The Male Gaze" for Camilla is about Richard's gaze, not Donna Tartt's)

Just felt like I haven't re-read TSH in a while. So I wondered if I could write a full blown essay (not really, more like a brief analysis) on the characters from TSH.

I might not even end up writing them but I would like to know which characters people are most interested in learning in-depth about.

There's so much to say about this story that no one can ever stop analysing it. If Donna took 10 years to complete it, there must be so much we can discuss about it!!!

I will try to write a detailed analysis when I have the time to re-read TSH (studying for exams, writing a book and reading "The Bell Jar" and "Pet Sematary" for the 1st time lol)

I hope this will inspire people to make more post abt TSH theories/analysis/thoughts (been tired with the regular mood boards and quotes)

(PS: "Looking Through The Male Gaze" for Camilla is about Richard's gaze, not Donna Tartt's)

Donna Tart: *writes a book about how bad romanticism and obsession is*

Me: *romanticises and obsesses over that book*

Bunny: we are like a big happy family! And I am the dad, and Henry's the mom!

Henry, massaging his temples: why am I the mom? What gender roles are we pushing here?

Francis: I know they are probably thinking I am the son, but I am not. I will be the gay emo cousin.

Richard: I'll be the son, that hotshot whose only dream is to be a ✨ star ✨

Charles: I feel like I will be a fresh out of jail uncle

Camilla: and I am the sassy aunt who talks shit about everyone~

Henry: We're kind of missing something guys.

Richard: Cohesion?

Camilla: Teamwork?

Charles: A general sense of what we're doing?

Francis: And Bunny is not here.

Richard: Oh, and that, yeah.

Everyone: *five minutes of silence*

*The squad's reaction to being told they're the chosen one*

Bunny: I will not let you down.

Richard: Sounds fun.

Camilla: K.

Francis: No, I'm fucking not.

Charles: Do I have to be?

Henry: Please god, I am so tired.

TSH New Years headcanon (after the epilogue)

Richard's POV

By the time Camilla and I arrived at the balcony of his house; Francis as expected was already lounging on the sofa, with a glass of red wine in his hand and looking at the dark sky twinkling with stars.

He barely acknowledged us as we sat down opposite each other, Camilla put down the box of Macrons she had bought as a gift and I opened the bottle of champagne I had bought.

Without a glance he shook his now empty glass towards me and made me pour some for him first.

"Do you not feel cold? Shouldn't you at least put a sweater on?" Camilla asked him in a concerned tone

"I was trying to die from frost bite" Francis chuckled, "I was joking" he added to me when I raised an eyebrow.

"It's ten minutes till twelve" I looked at my watch "what plan do you have for new years?"

"I have stopped caring about plans since the time Henry ended up dying"

Camilla and I exchanged looks, her lips twitched and she avoided eye-contact with me. Perhaps she too felt the same emptiness Francis seemed to be feeling. After all before I met them, they already celebrated New Years together with the others. But this year too Charles, Henry and Bunny were gone.

"How is Charles?" I asked Camilla, not really expecting an answer

She shrugged "I have no idea. He sent back the Christmas card I sent him. But he did take the money I left it in"

"Of course he did" Barked Francis, he sat up straighter to look us in the eyes for the first time

"And Julian? Do you know where he is?" I asked Francis this time, ounce again not expecting any answer

"Who the fuck cares about him now? I don't. He is probably in some private college, trying to recreate another Greek tradegy"

"I heard he is doing a world tour" Camilla said "He is currently in the Caribbean"

"I hope he dies there" Francis said bitterly

After Julian ditched our side when we needed him, we had stopped caring about him like he did to us. I did keep up with his news, despite his deeds he was still quite fascinating to me.

"do you remember the first class you had with Julian?" Francis asked me

"yes, I do" I could never forget that first class, no matter what

"What was the question Julian asked at the end of the class?"

"And if beauty is terror" I said slowly remembering the exact words "then what is desire? We think we have many desires, but in fact we have only one. What is it?"

"To live," said Camilla

She was perched up on the sofa with a shawl covering her head; her nose and cheeks pink with cold.

"To live forever" corrected Francis "such an ironic thing for Bunny to say, isn't it?"

He then poured the three of us more champagne.

"Here's to the New Year" he said more brightly, raising a toast "To live forever"

"To live forever" repeated Camilla and I, as we clicked the glasses together, the fireworks started.

Another year went by and we remained stuck in the past. This year, we will move on. That was my new year's resolution.

(I wish I could write better 🫠. But here's to a new year "To live forever")

After Bunny's death: Richard decides to say his internal monologue aloud (this is not a passage from the book)

Richard: "The view of the red blood mixing in with the soil shows how one's sins taint the purity of life. Bunny falls to his death in the beautiful light of the dusk, as his friends are celebrating one day well spent, he lays in between rocks and the broken bottle of wine, to show the morbid display of the youth of today. What a great life he could have had if not to commit treason against the people who trusted him. And what irony is it that he is pushed to his death by the same people who he had spent hours beside as a friend. That is the biggest truth of life, for its unpredictability is what makes life far more terrifying than death itself. The soil has become red with Bunny's blood; the wind blows, snow has started to fall to bury the remains of one cheery, smiling boy. What a beautiful sight it is to see someone die in front of you, it shows how aesthetics remain even in death"

Camilla, Charles and Francis: What the fuck Richard? 😶😶😶

Henry: *gives an approving nod* that is exactly what I was thinking, you took words from my mouth.

(PS: Richard's unhinged monologues give me life every time I read TSH. Also I believe Richard and Henry have a spiritual connection)

More Incorrect quotes (TSH edition)

Charles: There's nothing worse than people using big words they don't understand.

Bunny: I photosynthesize with this.

Bunny: Hey do you wanna hang out this weekend?

Henry: Generic excuse.

Bunny: I can’t believe you said that out loud, to my face.

Henry: I can.

Richard: Hey, Francis, where are you going?

Francis: Well, it depends. When I die, probably hell.

Francis: But right now I’m going to Starbucks.

Charles, teaching Camilla to drive: Okay, you're driving, Bunny and Henry walk into the road. Quick, what do you hit?

Camilla: Oh, definitely Bunny. I could never hurt Henry .

Charles, massaging his temples: The brakes. You hit the brakes.

Henry: Richard, you'll be working with Francis and Camilla.

Richard: Alright! My fantasy threesome!

Everyone else: *blank stares*

Richard: ...Of people on a team.