already beginning to wrinkle. Never mind, trust to chanceââ
* * *
Finally he couldnât take it any longer. He couldnât stop thinking about Emma. On November 9, he, along with Hensleigh and Hensleighâs wife, who was also named Fanny, got on the train toward Staffordshire. Charles was scared that Emma wouldnât accept himânot just because of the religion question, but also because of his ugly nose. He had almost been rejected for his nose once before; the captain of the
Beagle,
Robert FitzRoy, was a believer in phrenology and physiognomy and thought you could tell someoneâs character by the shape of the skull and face. He looked at Charles and worried that the shape of his nose meant he was lazy. He almost didnât let him on the ship. But FitzRoy had taken a chance on Charles, and now Charles had to take a chance. He would ask Emma and pray she said yes. He felt sick the whole journey to Maer, and Saturday was torture. Maer was filled with peopleâcousins, two elderly auntsâand Charles didnât think he could summon up the courage to ask her. What if she said no?
But on Sunday morning, Charles got Emma alone by the library fire for another goose.
The
goose. He finally asked her to marry him.
Emma was shocked.
Â
Chapter 8
A Leap
Â
E. says she can perceive sigh, commences as soon
as painful thought crosses mind, before it
can have affected respiration.
âC HARLES D ARWIN , âNâ NOTEBOOK
Â
W hen Emma and Charles walked out of the library and back into the hubbub of the family gathering, they both looked dismal. The elderly aunts who were visiting took one look at them and came to the conclusion that Charles had proposed and Emma had refused. No one else in the house seemed to suspect anything at all, and Emma went on with her regular Sunday schedule. She went to the village Sunday school to teach. She had continued teaching there, even with Fanny gone; it was a part of her attempt to live more like Fanny had, more religiously. She had even written her own childrenâs stories to use in the classes.
But when she got to the Sunday schoolâheld in the Maer Hall laundryâand tried to teach the children, she couldnâtconcentrate. As she put it later to Aunt Jessie, âI went straight into the Sunday School after the important interview, but found I was turning into an idiot and so came away.â
Emma had had no idea that Charles was going to propose. She thought they would go on being friendly cousins, maybe close friends, for years. But when he asked her, she knew her answer right away. She had said yes without hesitation. She wanted to marry Charles Darwin. It was Charlesâs turn to be shocked; he had not expected her to answer right away. He got another headache.
He had chosen Emma, and she had said yes in large part because they had known each other their whole lives. But they didnât really
know
each other. It was a big leap to go from being friendly cousins to being husband and wife. What had they done?
Emma wrote to Aunt Jessie later that she was âtoo much bewildered all day to feel my happiness.â And since there were so many people around, they did not make a big announcement. âWe did not tell anybody except Papa and Elizabeth and Catherine.â
But when they did tell Josiah, he cried with happiness. He loved Charles and thought he would be a perfect match for Emma, his youngest daughter. He felt Charles was a prize. There were practical reasons for his joy, too. Since they were cousins, the family money would stay within the family, just as it had when Emmaâs brother Jos had married Charlesâs sister Catherine. Charles had every reason to hope his father would feel the same way. He would ask his permission the next day. Catherine was delighted, too, of course. She and Emma were friends; they had made that trip to Paris together, stopping in London on the way back. Maybe she had seen
* * *
Finally he couldnât take it any longer. He couldnât stop thinking about Emma. On November 9, he, along with Hensleigh and Hensleighâs wife, who was also named Fanny, got on the train toward Staffordshire. Charles was scared that Emma wouldnât accept himânot just because of the religion question, but also because of his ugly nose. He had almost been rejected for his nose once before; the captain of the
Beagle,
Robert FitzRoy, was a believer in phrenology and physiognomy and thought you could tell someoneâs character by the shape of the skull and face. He looked at Charles and worried that the shape of his nose meant he was lazy. He almost didnât let him on the ship. But FitzRoy had taken a chance on Charles, and now Charles had to take a chance. He would ask Emma and pray she said yes. He felt sick the whole journey to Maer, and Saturday was torture. Maer was filled with peopleâcousins, two elderly auntsâand Charles didnât think he could summon up the courage to ask her. What if she said no?
But on Sunday morning, Charles got Emma alone by the library fire for another goose.
The
goose. He finally asked her to marry him.
Emma was shocked.
Â
Chapter 8
A Leap
Â
E. says she can perceive sigh, commences as soon
as painful thought crosses mind, before it
can have affected respiration.
âC HARLES D ARWIN , âNâ NOTEBOOK
Â
W hen Emma and Charles walked out of the library and back into the hubbub of the family gathering, they both looked dismal. The elderly aunts who were visiting took one look at them and came to the conclusion that Charles had proposed and Emma had refused. No one else in the house seemed to suspect anything at all, and Emma went on with her regular Sunday schedule. She went to the village Sunday school to teach. She had continued teaching there, even with Fanny gone; it was a part of her attempt to live more like Fanny had, more religiously. She had even written her own childrenâs stories to use in the classes.
But when she got to the Sunday schoolâheld in the Maer Hall laundryâand tried to teach the children, she couldnâtconcentrate. As she put it later to Aunt Jessie, âI went straight into the Sunday School after the important interview, but found I was turning into an idiot and so came away.â
Emma had had no idea that Charles was going to propose. She thought they would go on being friendly cousins, maybe close friends, for years. But when he asked her, she knew her answer right away. She had said yes without hesitation. She wanted to marry Charles Darwin. It was Charlesâs turn to be shocked; he had not expected her to answer right away. He got another headache.
He had chosen Emma, and she had said yes in large part because they had known each other their whole lives. But they didnât really
know
each other. It was a big leap to go from being friendly cousins to being husband and wife. What had they done?
Emma wrote to Aunt Jessie later that she was âtoo much bewildered all day to feel my happiness.â And since there were so many people around, they did not make a big announcement. âWe did not tell anybody except Papa and Elizabeth and Catherine.â
But when they did tell Josiah, he cried with happiness. He loved Charles and thought he would be a perfect match for Emma, his youngest daughter. He felt Charles was a prize. There were practical reasons for his joy, too. Since they were cousins, the family money would stay within the family, just as it had when Emmaâs brother Jos had married Charlesâs sister Catherine. Charles had every reason to hope his father would feel the same way. He would ask his permission the next day. Catherine was delighted, too, of course. She and Emma were friends; they had made that trip to Paris together, stopping in London on the way back. Maybe she had seen
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