Given that this episode was first aired on December 21, the "Christmas Season", it had a festive tone - in parts. It's worth noting, however, that the tone of the show overall is anticlerical. The portrayals of the overtly Christian characters are unsympathetic at best. Reverend Ellison, who appeared only in the first two episodes of the first series, was portrayed as an irascible and intolerant bully. He is contrasted with one of the "heroes" of the show: a "freethinker" or skeptic, who's the father of the young narrator. Ellison's mousy daughter cowered in her father's presence. Her character developed a romantic interest, which was reciprocated, in the only other person of faith in the show, a postman. Both were portrayed as stiff and awkward. When faced with the obligation to deliver mail on Sundays he offered his resignation; the postmistress yielded, implying that his ultimatum was a primitive throwback that was impeding progress. Personally I have no time for religion of any kind; but to deny that almost all the people living in place like Lark Rise (or even Candleford) would be anything other than god-fearing in those days is obviously grossly ahistorical
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Which brings us to this episode. Needless to say, there's no genuine religious element to be seen. No mention of prayer or church at all. A few perfunctory carols. The "spiritual" element is supplied by the presence of a ragged ghost which appears - or seems to appear - to most of the main characters. She's allegedly searching for her father, even though she herself died years before. Well, yes. She has, we are led to believe, certain powers of discernment and delivers home truths. The residents are baffled. There's some adulteration of the Jesus story; for example, at one point the wife of the freethinker invites her home and tries to wash and dry her feet, but they won't dry. Why? Don't know. Later she disappears into a lake, and there are echoes of Hamlet's Ophelia. Suicide? Don't know. Don't care, to be honest. The ultimate insult to the dominant religion of the country is that she's buried in a wood, with the local "wise woman" uttering some banal pagan chant. This "wise woman" is the substitute for the reverend, and invariably full of charms and incantations and claptrap of that kind. No Christian burial, then: at least in 'Hamlet' there was some semi-serious consideration given as to where Ophelia should be buried, as a possible suicide: in hallowed ground, or not. Not in this show. Ah, well. At least the production was well done, and the actors did a good job (aside from Julia. Sawalha, who can never get out of her own way, so as usual plays herself).
Which brings us to this episode. Needless to say, there's no genuine religious element to be seen. No mention of prayer or church at all. A few perfunctory carols. The "spiritual" element is supplied by the presence of a ragged ghost which appears - or seems to appear - to most of the main characters. She's allegedly searching for her father, even though she herself died years before. Well, yes. She has, we are led to believe, certain powers of discernment and delivers home truths. The residents are baffled. There's some adulteration of the Jesus story; for example, at one point the wife of the freethinker invites her home and tries to wash and dry her feet, but they won't dry. Why? Don't know. Later she disappears into a lake, and there are echoes of Hamlet's Ophelia. Suicide? Don't know. Don't care, to be honest. The ultimate insult to the dominant religion of the country is that she's buried in a wood, with the local "wise woman" uttering some banal pagan chant. This "wise woman" is the substitute for the reverend, and invariably full of charms and incantations and claptrap of that kind. No Christian burial, then: at least in 'Hamlet' there was some semi-serious consideration given as to where Ophelia should be buried, as a possible suicide: in hallowed ground, or not. Not in this show. Ah, well. At least the production was well done, and the actors did a good job (aside from Julia. Sawalha, who can never get out of her own way, so as usual plays herself).
