Tsh Donna Tartt - Tumblr Posts

camilla reminds me of a girl written by a man

Bullshit! Remember when canon!Bunny completely ignored Henry for days when he was having migraines, never once checked up on him, and instead spent his free time going through Henry's personal things without permission and reading his secret diary (also probably stole some money in the process)

Henry Winter and his migraines.

-Bunny always took care of him. He acted like he didn’t want to, but he wouldn’t trust anybody else with Henry.

-He made sure that Henry had the following: cool cloth over his eyes, all of the lights off, pajamas on, Henry being actually under the blankets.

-Henry would lay on top of his blankets and it annoyed Bunny.

-Bunny always read to him. He rode along with Henry to the doctor to get his meds for his migraines too.

-Bunny was basically a nurse.

-He yelled at anybody for being too loud when Henry was sick.

-Henry made Bunny lay with him or hold his hand. It was non negotiable.

Imagining TSH characters during the covid pandemic is so weirdly hilarious to me ,like you can't tell me that Francis didn't have one of those super fancy, super useless masks or that Henry wasn't totally clueless about the pandemic until like 5 months into it

I get endless entertainment trying to picture any of the TSH characters doing the 50% of academia that’s just standard administrative nonsense. Henry Winter had all the ego of a famous academic sure, but imagine if he’d lived. This man would’ve reached a point in his career where he would’ve had to upload class readings onto Canvas. Imagine sixty year old Professor Henry Winter trying to come up with an AI use policy.

PLEASE, someone who has read the Goldfinch message me. I just finished it, and I need to hyperfixate with someone

kinda feel bad for my boy richard, like i too hate being excluded and left out of things.

If this isn't the best written, beautifuly complex character, I don't know who is.

Henry Wintor's Suicide: An Explanation

To understand the why of the matter, we first need to know Henry’s past. To begin, Henry Winter wasn’t in a car accident. Much like all the other assumptions, it was born from another characters lips and not the subjects. Bunny himself says; “I think that’s what it was. don’t know what else it could’ve been.” And in my humble opinion didn’t draw the alternative option as, what is unthinkable is undoable.

No, instead the conclusion I've drown myself to is that he was beaten by his Father to such a degree he was hospitalized.

1# Evidence of my Conclusion

Henry is a poor driver, even with his precious Julian in the seat right next to him. This is in stark contrast to Camilla and Charles, whose parents were actually in a car accident, and thus get nervous days before travel. Francis too is shown to be anxious particularly when Henry is in the drivers seat, and is so ‘’even in the most propitious of circumstances’’.

Henry can make himself invisible. An odd trait for a man as broad as him, who already is intimidating to those around him. However, he wasn’t always that big, was he? Well, being able to be imperceptible is a survival mechanism for abuse survivors, especially children, which he was indeed once.

He understands Richard in a way you couldn’t without being abused yourself. Richard like himself doesn’t talk about his parents, along with clearly running away from something. The following conversation between the two was extremely telling:

''You’re not very happy where you come from, are you?'' He said I was startled at this Holmes-like deduction. He smiled at my evident discomfiture. ‘’Don’t worry. You hide it very cleverly,’’ he said, going back to his book. Then looked up again. ‘’The others really don’t understand that sort of thing, you know.’’

Henry never smiles at Richard. Hell, Henry likely doesn’t smile often not due to stoicism on his part, but due to the chip in his front tooth. Richard hadn’t understood what Henry was getting at, but to me it’s clear he was trying to comfort him by saying in a light-hearted way ‘’I understand.’’

2# Henrys True Past

Henry’s Father was a man who enjoyed having his way, living the high life with money and women. His business wasn’t ‘’quite above board’’ But money shuts people up—Well, it did. Until he got one of his young flings pregnant.

His family was Catholic (Many families were at the time) Meaning having a child outside of wedlock would’ve been unacceptable. He and his soon to be wife would’ve faced social pressure to wed, and thus, did.

After the arranged marriage, his Father wouldn’t have been as free to do as he pleased, along with now being tied down to a child he didn’t want. He’d have been enraged by the injustice of it all, little Henry being the target for this anger as in his eyes it was the boys fault.

Henrys Mother was young and without power, so when her husbands corporal punishment took a scary turn, she had no way of stopping it. Which left Henry’s Father free to do as he wished—Such as beating Henry half-way to deaths doorstep.

3# So, Why Did Henry Do It?

Much of Henrys behaviour gets dissociated from that of a regular human. On first read, he’s otherworldly, brittle and mysterious. We see the beauty, but not its second face: the way Henry carries an umbrella to protect his sensitive eyes; the manner in which he dresses closely reflecting that of his Fathers fashion preferences, as he had no one else to build his taste upon.

He grew up with no friends, utterly isolated with only tutors and his Mother for company. From what I can surmise, Henry wouldn’t have actually known how to make friends, as he had no previous interactions or social bonds to draw upon. It adds further depth to how meaningful his friendship with Bunny truly would’ve been. Bunny who is friendly with all sorts and highly socially aware—would’ve noticed Henry’s lack of companionship. Bunny, likely was Henrys first actual friend at Hampton, perhaps, his first in years.

Julian saw Henry’s vulnerability, along with his potential for entertainment. He knew what would happen when he introduced Henry to the idea of a Bacchanal—Of escapism and ascending: However, where Julian described it as rebirth, Henry described it as not being you anymore ''After all. the appeal to stop being yourself, even for a little while, is very great'' The further Henry went on, the more it sounded like a plea for relief from reality and himself.

Suicide becomes the only option when we believe there is non other escape. It’s why it’s particularly common amongst teenagers and young adults, as they struggle to see a future past their intense emotions. Many will have ideations for years and will do as Henry did, self-destruct in a last-ditch effort to create a reason to live.

The substance abuse, the murders, the killing of the first friend he ever had—Bunny was truly pivotal, as he treated Henry as an equal. Julian was the final straw, the last peace of approval and love Henry had in the world. ''I loved him more than my own father'' He said ''I loved him more than anyone in the world.''

Henry no longer saw a way out from his suffering through Julian, so he had tried the last thing he could think of—Which was to die in a way he hopped Julian would see as noble, that would mean praise he wouldn't even be around to receive. I believe that's why he held onto life for as long as he did in his final moments, he was waiting for Julian to come back and love him again.

Anyone knows anything about "metahemeralism"? You know, for research purposes.

I love that the TSH fandom is so small honestly. I see something new on the tag and 8 times out of 10 I recognize the user even if we've never interacted once. We recycle the same 4 jokes all the time (Henry and the Moon landing, Richard is gay, they killed Bunny for eating a sandwich, let's have a bacchanal in the woods) and some questionable takes will come up once in a while but overall the theories and analyses are great, the art is amazing, the fics are masterpieces and everyone's really nice. There's like 23 of us in total here and we all end up reblogging one another's stuff in circle, we're just vibing

“And if beauty is terror,” said Julian, “then what is desire? We think we have many desires, but in fact we have only one. What is it?” “To live,” said Camilla. “To live forever,” said Bunny, chin cupped in palm.” ― Donna Tartt, The Secret History

THIS. PREACH.

What Henry whispered to Camilla that night isn't romantic nor even psychopathic at all... But rather an apology.

I've been thinking about what Henry whispered to Camilla that fateful night lately and I think I shall leave this here at least as I am keeping my analysis private regarding the book.

Observing how the plot progressed and what Henry experienced throughout the story, an apology was uttered before he could act on the things that were so unplanned, laid before him as he did think otherwise would go smoothly.

It was neither romantic nor psychopathic to lean forward and whisper "I'm sorry." Concise, not beating around the bush. And yet unclear, anyone could have thought he would shoot Charles and the ones who own the place where Camilla temporarily resided.

Exhaustion was already evident right when Julian neglected the whole class so he would not get himself involved in such a mess. Henry may have acted like god, orchestrating everything to make it as pristine and orderly afterwards, but that doesn't make him necessarily evil but rather a broken one, not noticing that Julian had corrupted him. The man who stood as his father figure. So the moment when everything went much more chaotic, knowing the weight of what he had done, he could no longer continue his plans on Charles and instead pointed the barrel onto his temple and pulled the trigger.

And making it quick doesn't justify the thought that he did not love Camilla for taking such action in front of her. When a person is mentally down, either swallowing their emotions or spilling it all out, they could actually not try to distance themselves from their loved ones to perform their death. Anyone who have suicide tendencies always share one objective, regardless of what the people they care about would feel. And it's not their selfishness speaking but their own exhaustion.

His suicide is an apology. Not for the sake of aesthetics.

Henry did give that cold, stoic demeanor. A facade like what we all see about the subject of death: cruel and merciless. As most of us are agreeing that he killed Bunny due to the fact that he wanted to end his old friend's suffering, isn't Henry mourning secretly? The way he wiped that dirt across the white fabric of his clothing during the funeral. When he said he regained his power to control life after the accident in the Bacchanal, when he knew he could do it calmly--he knew he could make things right out of it.

This only leaves us a message that to become the vision of death, no matter what the objectives--to become death itself is to be misunderstood.

What would be the most romantic question that anyone could ask you?

I'm sorry I swear I really was trying not to reread tsh for the 4th time this year.

“Never give up on something that you can’t go a day without thinking about.”

— Winston Churchill

rip henry winter you wouldve loved being a hater

When I read The Secret History for the first time in my life, I was 21 years old and so was Henry.

I re-read it once a year every autumn.

This year when I will read it, I will be 23. Then, one day it will be 24..25..26..27 or however long I can continue my annual tradition of re-reading TSH before the responsibilities of life catch up with me.

I will grow old, but Henry Winter will never age. He will be 21 forever, frozen in time, in death, and in my heart.

I know all fictional literary characters tend to do this, but it feels like a different kind of heartbreak, nonetheless. You grow old while all of your favourite characters remain trapped in the pages which you have to abandon with time.

donna tartt by gilles peress, 1993

I FOUND HIM!!! (After so long I finally found the photo that reminded me so much of Henry Winter)

I resonate with this so much it's concerning.

You know what scares me?

The fact that I feel like I have a soul tie with Henry Winter. I don’t know how or when it started. But I feel that man in my blood and my bones everytime I feel alone.

Sometimes when I can’t sleep I just feel like he is laying beside me reading something he wants me to know as well.

how i remember that one scene in the secret history:

henry: don’t say fuck.

charles: oh yea? well fuck fuck fuck, you be fuckin my sister every night right? mhm. clock it.

richard: so when i was young my father beat my mother. lol sometimes he beat me too.

Is somebody gonna match my freak? (Acting out scenes from my silly little books in my room)

The tiny history