Red Planet and Podkyane

[evoluzioni]

Hello, I have spent the whole day reading Heinlein's excerpts, I am thrilled!

Would someone be able to tell me what is the COMPANY he refers to in Red Planet?

„Sir, it is not the natural limitations of this globe that I object to; it is the pantywaist nincompoops who rule it— These ridiculous regulations offend me. That a free citizen should have to go before a committee, hat in hand, and pray for permission to bear arms—fantastic! Arm your daughter, sir, and pay no attention to petty bureaucrats.“
Jim’s father stirred his coffee. „I’m tempted to. I really don’t know why the Company set up such rules in the first place.“


Also in Podkyane of Mars he says (postlude)

Perhaps you infer from this that I am evil, or partly so. All right, want to make something of it? Whatever I am, I knew Mrs. Grew was evil before we ever left the Tri-corn . . . when Poddy (and even Girdie!) thought the slob was just too darling for words.

Mrs Grew was TOO DARLING FOR WORDS? What does it mean in the story? How was Mrs Grew?

Thanks a lot, this would help me to understand

 

[j d worthington]

Last one first. In other words, Mrs. Grew was too good to be true. She was always jolly, bubbly, jovial, and companionable... and NO ONE can be that way all the time without it being a front. Everyone has their off days, and the more a person is as Mrs. Grew was, the more reason there is to be suspicious of their true nature and motives.

Second: I'm not quite sure what you're looking for there, but in this case "the Company" is simply referring to the corporation responsible for the actual colonization of the planet. In other words, in this novel, Heinlein was positing that space colonization would most likely be the result of economic (specifically capitalist) motivations, rather than scientific exploration backed by a government, for example. Of course, the Company could be a fairly important part of that government, at least through influence, but as I recall it was not the government itself....

 

[J-Sun]

In other words, Mrs. Grew was too good to be true.

That's true for the book but, for evoluzioni's sake, for general purposes the phrase can be used in an non-ironic sense to mean "inexpressibly delightful" - it's just basically an exaggerated way of saying something positive about someone. But the brother's being sarcastic here, implying that Poddy was being naive, sentimental, and a poor judge of character. A "sap", sort of. The brother's very hard-edged, cynical, and calculating.

 

[j d worthington]

That's true for the book but, for evoluzioni's sake, for general purposes the phrase can be used in an non-ironic sense to mean "inexpressibly delightful" - it's just basically an exaggerated way of saying something positive about someone. But the brother's being sarcastic here, implying that Poddy was being naive, sentimental, and a poor judge of character. A "sap", sort of. The brother's very hard-edged, cynical, and calculating.

Sorry, J-Sun... you are quite correct; I should have been clearer on that point. And yes, Clark is quite a cutting little monster... a point Heinlein drives home (though not without a tiny thread of hope for him, vide his taking over of the "fairy" as Poddy asked) when he is unable to understand their uncle's words concerning him at the end.