8: Chapters 10 and 11: The Road and the Common and Hard Going  

 

8.1 Housekeeping:  

 

I referred briefly to Speedwell waking up Acorn It was Hawkbit waking up Speedwell only.  

Bigwig's phrase "u embleer rah" suggests a more complex meaning of "u", possibly meaning "you" as well as "the" depending on context.  

 

Interesting discussion of the book in the latest episode of the 'Read it twice' podcast on spotify. Episode 2. 

 

There is now a link in the description if you would like to leave a voice message for possible use in the podcast. The link is https://anchor.fm/watershipdown/message 

 

8.2 Chapter 10. The Road and the Common.  

 

Opening quote from the Pilgrim's Progress introduces the idea of resistance to going any further as dangers seem to increase.  

 

The rabbits stay in the beanfield for most of the day. Suddenly there is the sound of a gunshot. The rabbits scatter. It takes a while for them to gather again and they set off across a pasture.  

 

Hazel sees a hrududu on the other side of a hedge. Bigwig and Hazel go ahead to the road and Bigwig explains they are harmless as long as you leave them alone. Except at night when they have bright lights. A dead hedgehog proves the point. The road referred to is the B4640 between Newtown and Newtown Common.   

 

By moonrise they reach Newtown Common, which is an alien environment to them. Hawkbit approaches Hazel. He says they have gone far enough and need to stop. Speedwell and Acorn back him up. They think things are just getting worse the further they go. They want to go back. Hazel points out this is impossible as they wounded an Owsla officer.  

 

Fiver wants to talk to Hazel, while Bigwig has a go at the three rebellious rabbits. The Downs are mentioned for the first time in the book. They are 4 miles away. Fiver suddenly says that is where they need to go and he explains why very well. He says there is a mist between them and the hills that they will have to go through. A mist that feels like being deceived. 

 

8.3 Chapter 11. Hard Going and The Lost Paragraph.  

 

The opening quote, from the Mort d'Arthur hints at coming through a hard journey through difficult terrain to better country.  

 

Hawkbit, after being threatened by Bigwig, has asked who is Chief Rabbit, which was followed by Bigwig biting him. BlackBerry asks who is Chief Rabbit. Hazel says he doesn't know, though Bigwig is the strongest. This is a key moment for Hazel as he promises them he will get them to better country by sunrise.   

 

It is nearly dawn and we learn of Hazel's feelings of self-doubt, as they are not clear of this difficult terrain. He can now see the ridge of the Downs clearly ahead. They seem closer. Suddenly Blackberry exclaims, from up ahead, that "He's done it". They have come out of the other side of the Common.  

 

They see Silver and Bigwig ahead of them.  

 

At this point the text varies depending on which edition of the book you read. This is the place of the Lost Paragraph I mentioned previously. Thank you to Ric Morris for this information. Full notes will be posted on the Facebook page. 

 

In my 1978 copy Blackberry calls Hazel 'Hazel-Rah' (Chief) and Bigwig reacts by saying the day he calls Hazel that will be the day he stops fighting. However, in many/most editions of the book this incident is omitted. Bigwig just says "Splendid Hazel!" and the whole tension of the issue of leadership is avoided. 

In any case, the chapter ends with the rabbits entering the thick grass of a meadow as the sun rises.  

 

8.4 Next Episode  

 

The next episode covers the beginning of the last 6 chapters of the end of Part One of the book. These chapters cover that metaphorical mist that Fiver spoke of in trance when he first saw the distant Watership Down.  

 

Vocab:  

Embleer: Stinking (missed in last episode) 

Hrududu: a car or other human vehicle Yona: Hedgehog