Franics Abernathy - Blog Posts

Honestly, Francis and Richard would vibe so much with "The Tortured Poet's Department"-----

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.

Finally started my TSH re-read after a lot of procrastination!

I read until page 90, I was also taking running notes and making small annotations so it took more time than usual

I didn't want to forget any details I wanted to highlight for when I start the essay

Here are some notes I made while reading (only about Henry)

I find Henry hilarious for some reason while the entire time I was making observations on him

He's so dumb in a smart way! 😭

Henry: We have a problem.

Charles: Let me guess, you caused it?

Francis: Gimme a sec, I'm not drunk enough to listen to this yet.

Richard: And it's another Tuesday, your point?

Bunny: Would shooting you solve this problem ? No ? Then shut up.

Camilla: If you mean the murder, that's our solution to last week's problem.

Bunny: what do you mean by murder? You killed someone?

Henry, looks at the others: guys we have another problem

Henry : Christmas lights?

Bunny: Check.

Richard : Thermos of hot cocoa?

Bunny: Check.

Charles : Santa suits?

Bunny: Check.

Francis : Shovel?

Bunny: Check.

Camilla: Alibi and bail money?

Bunny: Check - wait, WHAT?!

Camilla: If I fall…

Charles: I’ll be there to catch you.

Francis: *looks at Richard* What if I fall?

Richard: Then I’ll fall with you, never leaving your side.

Bunny : *watches these two interactions*

Bunny, to Henry: And if I fall?

Henry: I’ll be the one who pushed you.

TSH Holiday season Headcanons (adjusted timeline):

Bunny dressed up as Santa and gave Francis, Henry, Charles and Camilla handcuffs (Richard wondered what exactly was it's purpose, kinky or metaphorical)

Camilla and Henry baked a Rum and Champagne flavoured cake

Richard dug snow for two hours in front of Dr. Roland's office and tricked him into getting 1k for it. (He then spent all of it in expensive gifts for the other four and Julian)

Francis watched old movies while drinking and smoking from dawn to dusk

Charles and Camilla made a snowman outside their house

Bunny and Henry had a fun (& angry) snowball fight

Camilla and Richard went to the Christmas market to buy goodies

Judy Poovey gave Richard a nice suit for the party and let him keep it (Judy! Bless her!)

Richard dropped by Francis's and had a lunch consisting of only drinking (and a Maraschino cherry or two)

Henry gave Richard his old books as a gift ("I am sorry I didn't have time to buy something better" "Henry....these are first edition copies! Isn't this enough?" "But it's second handed" "FIRST EDITION COPIES!")

Julian threw a big party for the class and invited his famous friends to it (Richard was wrecked when some Californians asked him about his dad's oil business)

Bunny kept asking Richard why his gifts were so "cheap". Henry and Francis were burning with rage

Henry doesn't like the holiday season but obliged to go to only Julian's party

Charles got wasted and slept in Julian's bathroom (you know how mad Henry would be at him for that)

Bunny took a lot of pictures of Charles in a bathtub wearing a Santa hat for their New Year's greeting crads

Francis and Camilla went home together to watch Christmas movies

Bunny and Richard carried Charles home (Henry was apologising to Julian, who thought passing out drunk is the holiday spirit)

Then all of the gang played charades together (Camilla won, Francis was second, Bunny and Richard were okay and Henry lost by a landslide. Charles was sleeping on the couch humming "Jingle bells")

How much do you think Richard lied about the story?

Because I think he was lying about a LOT of stuff. I do not trust words that come from this man. He is sus.

Since he is talking about the past, it could all be misunderstandings and blurry memories (he was high half of the time) Or it could be just lies.

My favourite headcanon is that Richard was writing a book about his college life. He is a bit delusional and grandiose so when he went to college, he expected to have this main character vibe going on. But his college life was as normal as any of ours and he was disappointed. So, he tried to live vicariously through a book, which he wrote as an "autobiography" (he literally starts the book with "this is a story of my follies"). Richard is telling us, the reader, "his" story. He is acknowledging it as a "real" story. But that too is a lie. Richard made it all up. All the characters were written by him.

That's why Camilla was portrayed as an angel, she is the heroine, his damsel in distress, love interest. Henry was the mythical Jay Gatsby to Richard's Nick Carraway. Henry was someone he could obsess over and idolise. Francis is the gay one, he is another 'kind of' love interest, he is always making passes at Richard, he is snarky and a bit grumpy, that's his entire character. Charles is the mean villain, he is abusing Camilla and committing incest, his existence makes all of them appear better than they are. Bunny was homophobic to a degree that didn't make any sense, he was in a fucking Greek class and was friends with all these people with major gay vibes, what did he expect? If Bunny was sympathetic, we wouldn't have accepted the murder so quickly. And Julian is Julian, he is so out of reach and ethereal; depicted as a type of teacher we would love to have, the story's John Keating.

Now when we come to the ending. The only one who gets to live a "normal" life and has any success (at least graduating college) was Richard. Yeah, Camilla turned him down and all but, he doesn't seem that mad about it (he admitted he loved Henry too, which gives major Nick Carraway vibes) He doesn't really face any consequences of what they all did (he is an accomplice to murder after all)

Camilla is traumatised, she is still in love with Henry and he fucking died in front of her. Her relationship with Charles is ruined and that would be traumatising as well.

Francis is forced to stay in the closet with no choice in the person he dates. And he almost dies of a suicide because of that. He is done with life.

Charles tried rehab but then ran away with a woman in her 30s that was married. His life is a complete mess and he has no contact with his old friends or sister.

Henry commited suicide and Bunny was murdered by his own friends.

Out of all these situations, Richard was the lucky one. He still has ties to Camilla and Francis and they still are kind of friends. He graduated and got a job. He dates one of the most popular girls at college and moves in with her for some time. He is doing something in his life.

In the end, Richard got the best of all of them. Maybe because that's just his real life. He doesn't have a crazy backstory. He doesn't have a huge personality. He doesn't have many connections to these characters. He gets the best ending. He is always the outsider. He is the narrator. He is a liar. He is a storyteller.

It's Richard's world, we are all just living in it.

(I know this theory is not at all true. Donna Tartt was not going for it to be like this. But I find the idea of Richard faking the entire book for his own entertainment and delusion, fascinating. And it's even plausible because of his personality)

Just imagine if TSH happened in the present day. The afterward would be just Richard going to his desk job with four hours of sleep and revealing he was writing an OC self-insert fanfiction about a modern Greek tragedy in AO3.

(okay, this turned out so funny. I get Richard, I want to escape from my boring life with writing too)

The summary of TSH:

Richard : Anyone d-

Camilla: Depressed?

Francis: Drained?

Charles : Dumb?

Henry: Disliked?

Richard : -done with their work... what is wrong with you people ...?

Ps: I still cannot believe it all happened in one academic year

Francis: Rules are made to be broken.

Henry: They were made to be followed. Nothing is made to be broken.

Richard : Uh, piñatas.

Charles : Glow sticks.

Camilla: Karate boards.

Bunny: Spaghetti when you have a small pot.

Francis: Rules.

Henry:

Personally, after I have read TSH a million times, and I DON'T like any of them.

Richard is pretentious liar, who may be making up the entire story, who knows.

Henry.....I am not even gonna explain his faults. I still love him tho (I don't like him, it's a love/hate relationship).

Francis, used to be my favourite because I imagined him looking like Timothée Chalamet but now that I think, he wasn't much great either (although I still consider him more likeable than others, but that might be my delusion or want to find one good character).

Camilla is a mystery. I don't know anything about her and I don't trust Richard and how he made her the saint of the group. I know she is a fan favourite, I just don't get her, we see so little of her personality! What is this girlie thinking? (she could've made a great twist villain)

Charles. I know he was used as the "scapegoat" in the book but if he was the way he acted in the last chapters. I hate him.

Bunny, somehow the most normal one, makes my skin crawl with his words. I am conflicted about his murder.

What if all of them are red flags? (Kinda are)

Ps: I didn't put "none of them" because I knew it would get the most votes.

I just realised how much I disliked Bunny (on my first read) because of his personality and not any of the others who ended up killing him.

We all collectively agreed

"I can excuse murder, but I draw the line at homophobia"

"You can excuse murder?"

Can we talk about how Richard thinks of Judy Poovey as a weirdo, when she is less chaotic and insane than all of the Greek gang members.

Judy Poovey didn't do rituals in the forest that involved a bacchanal, searching for Dionysus.

Judy Poovey didn't push her best friend off a cliff.

Judy Poovey didn't cover up two murders for aesthetically pleasing reasons.

She is the most sane person out of all of them.

On the other hand, everyone that is not in the Greek class, thinks of them as the weirdos, which just shows how something that is cool and sane for one person can't be for another.

Some happy TSH Headcanons:

Henry and Bunny bonded because they are both flat-earthers (sometimes they like to talk about it in front of Francis just to annoy him)

Camilla likes to grow flowers and Henry helps her in gardening.

Bunny likes to throw surprise birthday parties for his friends (they end up paying the bill).

Charles and Francis do role-play when they are bored.

Richard likes reading books a lot and since he isn't able to afford many, Henry gives him all his old copies.

Francis goes to Richard whenever he is sick ("I think I have Cholera" "You don't have Cholera, Francis")

Camilla and Francis bake together, they like gossiping about boys.

Charles calls Richard whenever he is drunk since no one else picks his phone (they know better).

Francis brought a house in Paris, he visits art galleries and boutiques.

Francis and Richard remain good friends despite their distances.

Camilla is secretly Julian's favourite student.

Bunny has a key to Henry's house because he sleeps there when Marion is mad at him.

Charles loves Champagne icecream, Camilla loves apricots (idk why but she looks like an apricot girlie)

Henry bought a Gucci bag for Francis's birthday ("Damnit Henry" "Why, I think it's rather grand!!!" )

Charles and Camilla have similar tastes in fashion, they buy their clothes together.

Henry keeps a detailed account of his every interaction with Julian.

Richard often forgets to eat, so Camilla always keeps something for him.

Henry respects Francis and considers him to be smarter than him at times.

First time reading The Secret History: A tragedy

Re-reading The Secret History: A comedy

I was laughing so hard when Bunny asked Henry what they all were doing up there, and FREAKING Henry Winter just says "Why, looking for new ferns"

He didn't have to say anything to Bunny. But Henry had to be dramatic before pushing his "best friend" to his death didn't he?

Henry Winter had a chance to be poetic and he was.

Richard: hehe....do you think Charles and Camilla are fucking eachother?

Francis: yes

Richard: *spits drink out* I was just kidding

Francis: we are all fucking eachother, when will you realise that?

(ps: I was clutching my imaginary pearls when that revelation happened)

Re-read TSH.....AGAIN

Here are some weird/wtf/sad moments and details I had forgotten:

•Henry wrote a diary entry about murdering a guy 🤨.

•then forgets that Bunny is capable enough to translate the diary entries and find out about the murder.

•Richard has a random thought about r-wording Camilla out of nowhere (*What the fuck Richard vine plays in the background*) 😳.

•The first time Richard sees the twins he thinks they are a couple..........hmm (I was sus about that from the start) 😶.

•Richard had two pages of internal monologue about Henry being gay.

•There was broken stuff in the twins dorm, which was due to Charles trashing the house whenever he is mad at Camilla (FUCK CHARLES).

•Franics was making passes at Richard multiple times.

•Francis and Camilla kissed for some reason, twice.

•Richard only studied greek before to have a language class that's in the afternoon so he could sleep late in the morning (sometimes I feel like he survives only on pure instinct).

•Richard was constantly finassing his employer.

•Henry and Charles were ready to throw hands at Judy (do NOT touch the queen you freaks).

•Henry planned multiple murder options for Bunny (💫dumb ways to die💫).

•Richard had no problem being an accomplice in murder for people he barely knows.

•Bunny drops multiple hints about the murder the others did early on.

•Nobody tried to save Camilla way before if they knew Charles's controlling nature (Henry taking her away was the best thing he ever did).

•Camilla and Henry had secret telephone codes.

•Francis was forced to have a lavender marriage 😭.

•all of this shit went down during one academic year.

•Camilla's whole purpose was to give storylines to Henry, Charles and Richard. She deserved so much better than that. And I don't want her to ever stay around any of the guys of the group (except for Francis).

•Julian was blissfully aware of the obsessive nature of his students, and not only encouraged it but directly lit the fire that caused them to become who they are. (He tried to pull a John Keating from DPS, but he could NEVER be the Dark Academia teacher icon)

BONUS:

Tally of the members of the greek gang who have kissed eachother (NOT COUNTING THE BACCHANAL, where they all fucked.....Idk what happens in a bacchanal, I am too scared to research)

Camilla: 4 (Henry, Francis, Charles, Richard)

Francis: 3 (Charles, Camilla, Richard)

Richard: 2 (Francis, Camilla)

Charles: 2 (Francis, Camilla)

Henry: 1 (Camilla)

Bunny: 0 (RIP, I guess 😅)

Richard: Francis has such pretty hands, he is like a dainty teenage girl, he is so kissable.

Richard: Henry looks cool af, his eyebrows, his posture, his glasses....ah

Richard: Charles is the best looking one though, he is like an angel on earth, 10/10.

Richard: what are you talking about, I am completely straight......I like Camilla 🙄

Henry: This year, I lost my dear friend Bunny Concoran.

Bunny: stop telling everyone I am dead

Henry: you just wait :)

How I wish it had gone:

Richard: you know, smoking is bad for you....

Francis: shut the fuck up, bitch. I KNOW SMOKING IS BAD FOR HEALTH. Thanks to you keep reminding me that. Henry fucking killed Bunny and all you care about is if I have lung cancer, you douchebag????

Camilla: Francis, it's okay...

Richard: I was just saying....

Francis: You have no problem with the amount of alcohol we consume on daily? We are all alcoholics, take drugs and murder people!

Charles: shhh...

Henry:........can anyone stop him please, I am getting a headache.

Francis: I just have a lot of feelings.

The reason I always thought there was something more to Camilla than what we read is because the book is from the perspective of Richard who was supposed to be in love with her.

I always got some unsettling energy from the twins, they were just too perfect at the start. By the end of the 2nd part it had changed when Charles showed his real colours. But Camilla throughout the story remained the only person to not have a flip of personality. Francis sheds off his "too cool for you" persona and becomes close with Richard. Henry....well Henry after killing Bunny stops functioning a little. Even Julian is no long the John Keating of the story but a normal person who as soon as found out his students killed two people, left them alone (what would you have done in that situation?)

I thought it was strange that Camilla never became anything more than a girl Richard liked, and later connected with Henry and Charles. I wished so much more for the character to be than that. And after the reveal of her and Henry's relationship (after Henry orchestrated Bunny's murder) I felt like Camilla has a dark side that Richard just ignored to portray her as the best of them. She seemed to be hiding something all the time.

I don't think she is a bad person, not at all. I think she has a more complex personality than being the goddess of a person Richard portrayed her to be. The amount of abuse she went through since childhood must have had some effect on her as a person. She didn't really deserved any of the guys. I wished in the end she would have just said "Stop!" And left all of them.

I would have liked to know more about Camilla, we don't get any insight to her at all, which made her not really my favourite character (especially during my first time reading when I was waiting for her to change a bit like everyone else)