Virgil, I just looked up the first time the islander was referred to as Cathcart. I wondered about this wording. Doesn't it sound as though the widow and the daughter made the name up? See bolded type below:
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The widow and her quiet, rather delicate daughter of thirty-three worked for the Master, because they loved looking after him, and they were infinitely grateful for the haven he provided them. But they didn't call him "the Master". They gave him his name: "Mr Cathcart, Sir!" softly, and reverently. And he spoke back to them also softly, gently, like people far from the world, afraid to make a noise.
Could the name be significant? Is 'Cathcart' a name from history? I will try looking that up, and see if there is some reason he was named that. As you pointed out, the name 'Flora' is significant to the story; this had me pondering his name, as well.
Quote by Dark Muse
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I was not aware that they were indeed an acutal real place as well, thanks for sharing that.
Dark Muse, Yes, there is an actual 'real' series of islands off the coast on Scotland. I just researched it and came up with this information:
About Compton Mackenzie
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Sir Edward Montague Compton Mackenzie, (January 17, 1883, West Hartlepool, England; November 30, 1972 in Edinburgh, Scotland), was an English-born Scottish novelist and nationalist. He was educated at St Paul's School and Magdalen College, Oxford where he obtained a degree in Modern History.
He served with British Intelligence in the Eastern Mediterranean during World War I, later publishing four books on his experiences. He was Tenant of Herm and Jethou from 1920–1923 and he shares many similarities to the central character in D. H. Lawrence's short story "The Man Who Loved Islands", despite Lawrence saying "the man is no more he than I am." Mackenzie at first asked Secker, who published both authors, not to print the story and it was left out of one collection.
A co-founder of the Scottish National Party, Mackenzie built a house on the Isle of Barra in Scotland in the 1930s, just one of the islands in Europe where he established a temporary residence. It was on Barra that he gained much inspiration and creative solitude, and where he befriended a great number of people in the community he described as "the aristocrats of democracy". One such friend was John MacPherson, known as "The Coddy". MacPherson's son, Neil, recalled Mackenzie as a man of huge imagination, generosity and talent.
Read more about Compton Mackenzie by clicking on this link:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Compton_Mackenzie
Link to Barra, the island inhabited by Compton Mackenzie
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barra
About Barra
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Barra
The Isle of Barra or Barraigh/Eilean Bharraigh (in Scottish Gaelic) is a predominantly Gaelic-speaking island, and apart from the adjacent island of Vatersay is the southernmost inhabited island of the Outer Hebrides (Na h-Eileanan Siar) in Scotland.
At the 2001 census the resident population was 1,078, and mostly Roman Catholic. The area of Barra is 35 square miles, the main village being Castlebay (Bàgh a' Chaisteil). Barra is now linked by a man-made causeway to the neighbouring island of Vatersay (Eilean Bhatarsaigh).
The west of the island has white sandy beaches backed by shell-sand machair and the east has numerous rocky inlets. Barra is abundant with stunning scenery, rare flowers and wildlife, which can be appreciated by coastal or hill walks, drives or cycle rides along the various small roads. Car and bicycle hire are available locally.
The Isle of Barra or Barraigh/Eilean Bharraigh (in Scottish Gaelic) is a predominantly Gaelic-speaking island, and apart from the adjacent island of Vatersay is the southernmost inhabited island of the Outer Hebrides (Na h-Eileanan Siar) in Scotland.
About The Outer Hebrides Islands
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The Outer Hebrides, (officially known by the Gaelic name, Na h-Eileanan Siar) comprise an island chain off the west coast of Scotland.
They form part of the Hebrides, separated from the Scottish mainland and from the Inner Hebrides by the stormy waters of the Minch, the Little Minch and the Sea of the Hebrides. Formerly the dominant language of the Islands, Scottish Gaelic remains widely spoken even though it has now been largely supplanted by English in some parts.
The name for the UK Parliament constituency covering this area is Na h-Eileanan an Iar, whilst the Scottish Parliament constituency for the area continues to be officially known as Western Isles although it is almost always written as Western Isles (Eilean Siar). The islands were known as Suðreyjar ("Southern Islands"; cf. Suðrland) under Norwegian rule for about 200 years until sovereignty was transferred to Scotland in the Treaty of Perth in 1266, which followed the Battle of Largs three years earlier. Colloquially, they are sometimes referred to collectively as An t-Eilean Fada or "The Long Island"; Na h-Eileanan a-Muigh (the Outer Isles) is also heard occasionally in Scottish Gaelic.
Islands
The main islands form an archipelago. With their smaller surrounding islands these are sometimes known poetically as the Long Isle. The major islands include Lewis and Harris, North Uist, Benbecula, South Uist, and Barra. Much of the western coastline of the islands is machair, a fertile low-lying dune pastureland.[1]
If you click on this link,
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Outer_Hebrides
you will see tons of islands off the northern coast of Scotland and Britian….interesting, isn't it?
