What did you think of Walton?

What did you think of Walton?

Walton was a "too good to be true" character in the story. His background, his future prospects in a career so far outdistanced what Christina could hope for in a husband. Did he toy with her affections? Maybe, but I think he truly cared for Christina but knew in his heart that she would not be a suitable choice for him. Of course, his parents made him very aware of that and he followed their wishes. Would Christina's life have been happier if he had not come along? No, because she did get to experience a romance though I feel it embittered her.

I can’t say that I like him given what he did. But I don’t think it was unusual for young men to follow the wishes of their parents especially if it meant marrying down. I think it was difficult for him to follow his heart

I think that Walton was a product of what society was dictating at the time.

I think Walton truly cared for Christina and entertained having a life with her. I think the turning point may have been when she refused to see a doctor. I think he gave in to his parents wishes to marry someone from his own background but maybe he realized the limitations spending his life with her would have. I think he was a romantic and could never bring himself to make a break with her.

It was abit of a stretch to think he cared so much for Christina considering the background he came from. Or could he be rebelling against that background? A marriage between the 2 would never have survived his family pressures and society at that time.

He was a typical summer kid from away. They still come to Maine, work in restaurants or as life guards and when summer is over they go back to the real world. A summer fling. Walton just happened to return each year and maybe he did love her--as young people do--the love is real, not necessarily lasting. In this case, he makes it clear on several occasions that his mother has plans for him. Like a lot of kids, he thinks he's make his own choice--but in the end, he does but it is more practical and not necessarily without love, either. Maturity sometimes changes one's outlook. It was heart-breaking and I kept hoping he was going to go to war and not return--because at least it would not have entailed rejection. Reality sometimes hurts.

I think Walton and Christina did share love...a young love. I feel he truly was hoping she would see a doctor, not just because possible improvements to her health would make his life easier as a husband, but because he really did want her to find out more about her affliction. He tried to show her affection and their summer romances were fun to read. However, I felt from the beginning that Walton would not end up with Christina. His higher society world, funded and dictated by his parents, was just too much to overcome.

I thought he was weak the way he left without really breaking it off with her. She was so strong and he was so weak, ruled by his parents unable to follow his own heart. Its strange how opposites attract. She was right when she thought he didn't really know her.

I disliked Walton as soon as I noticed his feelings for Christina were changing. I knew he wouldn’t marry her after the first summer passed and he didn’t propose afterward. I saw Walton as being infatuated with the idea of Christina and what she represented, but not in love with Christina.

I initially liked Walton. He seemed sincere in his feeling for Christine and looked beyond her disability. However, as his education proceeded, he became more distant. This was also due to his parents pushing an "acceptable" young woman on him. When he asked Christine to see a doctor, I think he wanted her to be 'whole" so she might be more acceptable. I was angry that he was such a coward and didn't personally contact Christine to share what was going on. Even a "Dear John" letter to her would have been better than not writing at all. In the end, he was a weak person.

He was a louse! It was sad that Christina pined away for him. She really needed someone to love her for her.

The character of Walton added interest to the story. Christina was so inexperienced in worldly ways, Walton
With his education and advantages, made it obvious how isolated she really was. They did share some things, but the relationship could never have survived outside the setting in Maine.

I think he cared for Christina but not enough. He lived in a different world and only joined her world during the summers. I suspect the more he saw and experienced of the “real” world, the more distant he became from Christina, and the more he realized that he (and his parents) would be better suited to someone from his own station. But he was weak in how he handled his separating from Christina, but like others have said, at least she experienced something of love.

I agree with what by many of you said - Walton and Christina were in love but he was too heavily influenced by his parents. And he spent only 2-3 months out the year with Christina so she didn't have much of an influence on him. His family exerted too much pressure. I agree he was weak for not telling Christina the truth.

Walton seemed too good to be true for someone like Christina to aspire to. Not only did she have a debilitating illness, her education was limited compared to Walton's and in the long run both these factors would likely have made a difference to him.

I was disappointed in his perceived weakness within his family. He bailed on Christina over objections from his family and never faced her over his change of heart.

I think Walton truly cared for Christina but at that time in history, people of wealth were often paired up with their future spouse long before they even reached the age of dating. He truly with Christina each summer be the person he wanted to be away from his parents. When he returned to Boston his senior year the after last summer, I think he actually thought he would return to Christina but his parents informed him otherwise.