The Eustace Diamonds by Anthony Trollope
I'm not a huge Dickens girl; I love A Tale of Two Cities and Pickwick Papers, but I could leave the rest of his books I've read. However, after reading The Eustace Diamonds, I think that Trollope is my Dickens. lol Trollope writes the same kind of character-rich, diversion-full, multiple-plot books that Dickens does. But, for some reason, Trollope and I get along perfectly. I enjoyed his little sidenotes to the reader, and I hated his villains and loved his heroes just like he expected me to. :D His writing kept the book moving, even when he meandered from the plot. His passages when characters go fox hunting are simple stunning. If you enjoy sprawling Victorian lit, Trollope might just be for you!
Candide by Voltaire
I went in knowing that this was supposed to be a philosophical novel. So I expected it to make a point. But, honestly, it just wasn't enjoyable. I see how other people would enjoy it, but for me the only good thing about it was that the chapters and book itself were short. The B&N edition that I read just didn't have a good enough intro (half the intro just summarised the book, chapter by chapter, how dumb is that?) for me; the intro didn't give me any info I didn't already know. I was also horrified by the pictures; they were very gruesome, which matched the gruesome violence throughout the story. The only chapter I enjoyed was the El Dorado chapter; I've always like utopias. I'm glad that I read this book, but I won't be keeping it.
The Scarlet Pimpernel by Baroness Orczy
Best. Adventure Novel. Ever. It was so much fun! First of all, the characters swear with words like "Egads!" and "Zooks!", lol. The villain is deliciously heartless; the main heroes are all clever and brave and, of course, handsome. It was a ton of fun. I'll be looking into the sequels.
Favourite Passages
Now she desired to be so in love that she could surrender everything to her love. There was as yet nothing of such love in her bosom. She had seen no one who had so touched her. But she was alive to the romance of the thing, and was in love with the idea of being in love, (Trollope, 81)
"She is the greatest vixen in all London."...
"There is no word in the English language," she said, "which conveys to me so little of defined meaning as that word vixen. If you can, tell what you mean, Clara." (Trollope, 119)
But poor Lizzie Eustace had no Binns and no Pouncebox. They are plants that grow slowly. There still too much of the mushroom about Lady Eustace to permit of her possessing such treasures. (Trollope, 226)
...I am content with almost nothing." The nothing with which the dean had hitherto been contented had always included every comfort of life, a well-kept table, good wine, new books, and canonical habiliments with the gloss still on; but as the Bobsborough tradesmen had, through the agency of Mrs. Greystock, always supplied him with these things as though they came from the clouds, he really did believe that he had never asked for anything. (Trollope, 362)
There are men in whose love a good deal of hatred is mixed; - who love as the huntsman loves the fox, towards the killing of which he intends to use all his energies and intellects. (Trollope, 410)
She understood that the task she had in hand was one very difficult to be accomplished-and she did perceive, in some dark way, that, good as her acting was, it was not quite good enough. Lucy held her ground because she was real. You may knock about a diamond, and not evenscratch it; whereas paste in rough usage betrays itself. Lizzie, with all her self-assuring protestations, knew that she was paste, and knew that Lucy was real stone. (Trollope, 628)
But it has always seemed to me that it must be heavenly to be loved blindly, passionately, wholly...worshipped, in fact..." (Orzcy, 52)
"Virtue, alas!" sighed the Prince, "is mostly unbecoming to your charming sex, Madame." (Orzcy, 88)
He laughed, as Dante has told us that the devils laugh at the sight of the torture of the damned. (Orzcy, 186)
Showing posts with label summer reading challenge. Show all posts
Showing posts with label summer reading challenge. Show all posts
Wednesday, August 1, 2007
Summer Reading Challenge Wrap-Up
For the Summer Reading Challenge, participants could choose any number of books to read between June 1st and August 1st. I decided to make it into another classics challenge and chose ten books from England and France. After a last-minute rush, I finished all but one of the ten classics I chose to read for the summer reading challenge with no substitutions...
The Eustace Diamonds by Anthony Trollope
Candide by Voltaire
The Scarlet Pimpernel by Baroness Orzcy
Emma by Jane Austen
Les Liasons Dangereuses by Pierre Choderlos de Laclos
Cousin Bette by Honore de Balzac
The Tenant of Wildfell Hall by Anne Bronte
The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins (I didn't get around to reviewing it, which is weird, because I loved it)
The Turn of the Screw by Henry James (I didn't review it, because I didn't really enjoy it)
I started Evelina, but I really don't like epistolatory novels, so I knew I wouldn't finish it in time.
The best book: I can't choose! There're about five tied-the Bronte, Balzac, Orzcy, Austen, and Trollope.
What book could I have done without? Candide by Voltaire. Ugh.
Any new authors? Several: Anne Bronte, Balzac, Orzcy, Trollope, and de Laclos.
Books I did not finish: Evelina, because I just ran out of steam. I plan to get to it eventually.
What did I learn from this challenge? How cool Trollope was! He's like Dickens, only more my style. :)
(Note: thanks to Nyssaneala for the idea to have questions!)
The Eustace Diamonds by Anthony Trollope
Candide by Voltaire
The Scarlet Pimpernel by Baroness Orzcy
Emma by Jane Austen
Les Liasons Dangereuses by Pierre Choderlos de Laclos
Cousin Bette by Honore de Balzac
The Tenant of Wildfell Hall by Anne Bronte
The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins (I didn't get around to reviewing it, which is weird, because I loved it)
The Turn of the Screw by Henry James (I didn't review it, because I didn't really enjoy it)
I started Evelina, but I really don't like epistolatory novels, so I knew I wouldn't finish it in time.
The best book: I can't choose! There're about five tied-the Bronte, Balzac, Orzcy, Austen, and Trollope.
What book could I have done without? Candide by Voltaire. Ugh.
Any new authors? Several: Anne Bronte, Balzac, Orzcy, Trollope, and de Laclos.
Books I did not finish: Evelina, because I just ran out of steam. I plan to get to it eventually.
What did I learn from this challenge? How cool Trollope was! He's like Dickens, only more my style. :)
(Note: thanks to Nyssaneala for the idea to have questions!)
Tuesday, July 24, 2007
Emma (thoughts)
I thought I'd take a break from my desperate, last-minute attempt to finish up the Summer Reading Challenge by August 1st (4 books, 1250 pages to go in 7 days) to talk about Emma.
I have been a devoted Jane Austen fan since I first picked up Pride and Prejudice in sixth grade. I own all of her published works, I talk about them all the time, I stick up for Jane when others try to diss her (yes, it's happened; no, it's not pretty), I make horrified faces at the P&P sequels I see at B&N (Pemberly erotica? we live in a cruel world), etc.
That being said, I hadn't read Emma in about five years. Isn't that sad? I own the Jeremy Northam movie version, and I probably watch it twice a year. But, in my mental rankings, Emma was second only to Sense and Sensibility for my least-favourite Austen. Which means I still enjoyed it more than a lot of other books I own! Nevertheless, when I reach for some Jane to add sparkle to my day, Emma gets passed by. So, when I was developing my list of classics for the Summer Reading Challenge, I decided to toss it into the mix.
Boy, am I glad that I did. I needed her last week, when my illness was threatening to get the better of me, and I was feeling pretty down. Being transported to Highbury for a little while was just what I needed. When Virginia Woolf talked about Jane, she said something to the effect that Austen's genius was the most difficult to catch in the act. (I just conducted a ten minute fruitless internet search for the quote, so maybe I'm imagining it) While that's true, I have to share what I believe to be the most cutting insult I have ever come across, and that to me represents Austen's stunning, but simultaneously subtle, ability with the English language:
"Mrs. Elton, as elegant as lace and pearls could make her, ..." (240)
Ouch. Emma also provides a very satisfying love scene; for me, more fulfulling than P&P's. However, I don't want to spoil Emma for anyone who doesn't know the ending, so I won't share my favourite passages. I'm not sure if there's anyone out there for whom the ending could be spoiled, but I would feel awful about it!
Well, the more I sit here staring at the screen, the more I realise that I don't have all that much to say about Emma. I refused to take so much as one lit class in college, because I worried about 'spoiling' my reading experience. To me, Jane Austen is the master for her characters and her light touch. To say anything more about the story would be silly. If you've never read Jane Austen, you should. Even if you've seen all the movies.
I have been a devoted Jane Austen fan since I first picked up Pride and Prejudice in sixth grade. I own all of her published works, I talk about them all the time, I stick up for Jane when others try to diss her (yes, it's happened; no, it's not pretty), I make horrified faces at the P&P sequels I see at B&N (Pemberly erotica? we live in a cruel world), etc.
That being said, I hadn't read Emma in about five years. Isn't that sad? I own the Jeremy Northam movie version, and I probably watch it twice a year. But, in my mental rankings, Emma was second only to Sense and Sensibility for my least-favourite Austen. Which means I still enjoyed it more than a lot of other books I own! Nevertheless, when I reach for some Jane to add sparkle to my day, Emma gets passed by. So, when I was developing my list of classics for the Summer Reading Challenge, I decided to toss it into the mix.
Boy, am I glad that I did. I needed her last week, when my illness was threatening to get the better of me, and I was feeling pretty down. Being transported to Highbury for a little while was just what I needed. When Virginia Woolf talked about Jane, she said something to the effect that Austen's genius was the most difficult to catch in the act. (I just conducted a ten minute fruitless internet search for the quote, so maybe I'm imagining it) While that's true, I have to share what I believe to be the most cutting insult I have ever come across, and that to me represents Austen's stunning, but simultaneously subtle, ability with the English language:
Ouch. Emma also provides a very satisfying love scene; for me, more fulfulling than P&P's. However, I don't want to spoil Emma for anyone who doesn't know the ending, so I won't share my favourite passages. I'm not sure if there's anyone out there for whom the ending could be spoiled, but I would feel awful about it!
Well, the more I sit here staring at the screen, the more I realise that I don't have all that much to say about Emma. I refused to take so much as one lit class in college, because I worried about 'spoiling' my reading experience. To me, Jane Austen is the master for her characters and her light touch. To say anything more about the story would be silly. If you've never read Jane Austen, you should. Even if you've seen all the movies.
Wednesday, July 18, 2007
Les Liasons Dangereuses and Cousin Bette (thoughts)
Sorry this review has taken so long-sometimes it's difficult to figure out how to approach a book. For me, Les Liasons dangereuses presented many challenges; not least of which the title! I've used both the English and French versions variously when I talk about it. I'll probably continue to do so throughout this entry! At a deeper level, this book presented still more complexities. I went into it knowing the basic story; I've seen the film version with Glenn Close (and five hundred other stars!) and the modern adaptation Cruel Intentions. However, I haven't seen either movie in a long time, so the various actors weren't stuck in my mind in the roles. My first thought when I opened up the book? "Oh God, it's going to be all letters." I'm not a big fan of the epistolatory novel; I don't mind a few letters scattered throughout a book, but for some reason I don't usually get into books written in such a format. That being said, for the first half of the book, I quite enjoyed reading the different styles. However, it eventually grew old; furthermore, all of the action (considerably racy and exciting) takes place off scene. I expected the book to get my blood going; in reality, the letters kept me comfortably removed from any passion. So, while I'm glad that I read Dangerous Liasons, it failed to meet my expectations.
I think that its most interesting to compare this book to Balzac's Cousin Bette. There are enough similarities to make such an analysis worthwhile: both are set in France, although one is pre-Revolutionary, the other post, both deal with sex and intrigue and revenge, both have a variety of characters that feel sometimes one-dimensional, both have tidy endings wherein the good are rewarded and the bad punished. However, in Cousin Bette the blood pulses. Its plot is far-reaching and organic, but it's centered around Baron Hulst's family and everyone connected to the family members. Balzac draws on all levels of society to people the novel: from the rich merchant friend, to the cheap whores, to the artists, to the cheating gentlewomen, the reader has plenty of scope for imagination. And, of course, there's Cousin Bette, who spends her time manipulating things behind the scenes to bring Hulst's wife and daughter to ruin.
Balzac provided me all of the passion I searched for in vain in Les Liasons Dangereuses. Since de Laclos tells the story through letters, his characters all have time to reflect on their actions. They present themselves in their personal 'ideal light,' and they often have ulterior motives for what they choose to discuss in their letters. In one sense, this is quite fun: it allows the reader to engage a fair amount of psychological analysis. And yet, all of the letters retained a certain 'look at me quality:' even the passion expressed has a plastic wuality. I never 'became' the characters, the way that I inhabited Balzac's creations. I craved revenge with Bette, I fell for the artist with Hortense, I charmed my gentlemen callers with Madame Marneffe. I didn't want to stop reading Balzac, because I wanted to know what happened to everyone; Dangerous Liasons I read more leisurely, since the plot, while compelling in principle, was not presented in a compelling manner. Compare the following passages:
When Hortense had read the letter, and re-read it, she could see only the white paper barred with black lines; only the paper existed in the universe, everything else was darkness. The glare of the conflagration that was consuming the edifice of her happiness lit up the paper, while utter darkness surrounded her. Her little boy's cries as he played came to her ear as if he were in a deep valley and she on a high mountain. To be so insulted, at twenty-four years of age, in the full splendour of her beauty, adorned with a pure and devoted love: it was not a mere dagger-thrust, it was death. (254)
In both of these, the emotions expressed are a little histronic. However, in the first one, the speaker never really loses control; while reading of an 'abandonment to passion,' the reader can't feel the abandonment, the total loss of composure. In the second one, the reader (well, at least me as the reader), immediately begins to sympathise with Hortense. Like her, the reader sees the world blacken around her, barely hears the little boy, feels mortally offended. Look at Balzac's mastery of language, how quickly he evokes Hortense's inner thoughts. Reading such a master is a pleasure!
In the end, for me, it comes down to if I can step into the role of characters in a novel. Balzac deftly brings me into their world, while de Laclos (more through his choice of presentation than any defects of language) leaves me outside the window, looking in. I'd rather be with Balzac every time. :)
Favourite Passages from Cousin Bette
Virginity, like all abnormal states, has its characterisitc qualities, its fascinating greatness. (118)
with lace. She was like one of those luscious fruits, arranged enticingly on a fine plate, which make the very metal of the knife-blade ache to bite them. (183)
To think, to dream, to conceive fine works, is a delightful occupation. It is dreaming cigar-smoke dreams, or living a courtesan's self-indlufent life. THe work of art to be created is envisaged in the exhilaration of conception, with its infant grace, and the scented colour of its flower and the bursting juices of its fruit. These are the pleasures in the imagination of a work of art's conception. (214-5)
"I?" said the Lorraine peassant. "I have seen vengeance exacted everywhere throughout creation. Even insects die to satisfy their need to avenge themselves when they are attacked! And these gentlement," she said, with a gesture towards the priest, "don't they tell us that God avenges himself, and that his vengeance is eternal?" (423)
Saturday, June 23, 2007
Odds and Ends
I wrapped up the Once Upon a Time Challenge with a rereading of "A Mid-Summer Night's Dream." It's just as good as I remembered it! I won't bother with a review; however, if you haven't read, you're doing yourself a disservice.
Lately, my reading has been quite erratic. It feels like a start a new book, get a few chapters into it, and then move on to another one. I've given up attempting to complete Che Guevara for my Chunkster Challenge. It feels like assigned reading, and I'm not in college anymore. :) So, I'll just accept having read three books; I know that I've read many books over 400 pages since January, so I don't really feel that bad. Plus, reading Lee's Virginia Woolf was such an accomplishment, I think I've gotten quite a bit out of the challenge.
I'm not sure if I'll get through all of the classics before the Summer Reading Challenge ends (I didn't realise it ended August 1), but I intend to keep reading them regardless. I'm about half way through Dangerous Liasons, and it's still a lot of fun. I also just bought a new journal, since I've decided to take it up again. When I journal, I love making kind of scrap book pages: I cut pictures out of magazines, and then I find favorite poems or quotes and arrange a page with it. My new journal is pretty small (I'd guess 8" x 5"), so it's sometimes difficult to fit the longer poems, but I've been enjoying an outlet for my creativity. I have no drawing ability, so I take solace in collages! :)
Of course I have to mention my latest book mooch arrivals. I have nine books to send out on Monday, but it's worth it for book stacks like this (there're 11 books in it-one is hiding between The Scarlet Pimpernel and French Lessons)!
Edited to add: here's a fun meme I stole from Bookie. Use the first letter of your first name to answer the following.
Famous singer/band----um, how about Mr. Elvis Presley?
4 Letter Word ----- I don't think there are any swear words, but regular four letter words...exit
Street Name -----
Color ------ Eggshell
Gifts/Presents ----- earrings
Vehicle ------ Eclipse
Things in a souvenir shop ---- enamelled boxes (I think I spelled that wrong)
Boy name ----- Erik
Girl name ----- Elizabeth
Movie Title ----- Emma (great movie!)
Drink ------- Eggnog (gross)
Occupation ------- English teacher
Flower ----- English rose
Celebrity ------ Ewan McGregor
Magazine ---- E! Weekly (I think that's what it's called)
U.S. city ------ Eugene, OR
Pro sports team ---- the Eagles
Fruit/vegetable ----- Eggplant
Reason late for work ----- Excuses, excuses ;)
Things you shout ----- Eureka!
Cartoon character ---- Elmer Fudd
Lately, my reading has been quite erratic. It feels like a start a new book, get a few chapters into it, and then move on to another one. I've given up attempting to complete Che Guevara for my Chunkster Challenge. It feels like assigned reading, and I'm not in college anymore. :) So, I'll just accept having read three books; I know that I've read many books over 400 pages since January, so I don't really feel that bad. Plus, reading Lee's Virginia Woolf was such an accomplishment, I think I've gotten quite a bit out of the challenge.
I'm not sure if I'll get through all of the classics before the Summer Reading Challenge ends (I didn't realise it ended August 1), but I intend to keep reading them regardless. I'm about half way through Dangerous Liasons, and it's still a lot of fun. I also just bought a new journal, since I've decided to take it up again. When I journal, I love making kind of scrap book pages: I cut pictures out of magazines, and then I find favorite poems or quotes and arrange a page with it. My new journal is pretty small (I'd guess 8" x 5"), so it's sometimes difficult to fit the longer poems, but I've been enjoying an outlet for my creativity. I have no drawing ability, so I take solace in collages! :)
Of course I have to mention my latest book mooch arrivals. I have nine books to send out on Monday, but it's worth it for book stacks like this (there're 11 books in it-one is hiding between The Scarlet Pimpernel and French Lessons)!
Edited to add: here's a fun meme I stole from Bookie. Use the first letter of your first name to answer the following.
Famous singer/band----um, how about Mr. Elvis Presley?
4 Letter Word ----- I don't think there are any swear words, but regular four letter words...exit
Street Name -----
Color ------ Eggshell
Gifts/Presents ----- earrings
Vehicle ------ Eclipse
Things in a souvenir shop ---- enamelled boxes (I think I spelled that wrong)
Boy name ----- Erik
Girl name ----- Elizabeth
Movie Title ----- Emma (great movie!)
Drink ------- Eggnog (gross)
Occupation ------- English teacher
Flower ----- English rose
Celebrity ------ Ewan McGregor
Magazine ---- E! Weekly (I think that's what it's called)
U.S. city ------ Eugene, OR
Pro sports team ---- the Eagles
Fruit/vegetable ----- Eggplant
Reason late for work ----- Excuses, excuses ;)
Things you shout ----- Eureka!
Cartoon character ---- Elmer Fudd
Sunday, June 17, 2007
The Tenant of Wildfell Hall (thoughts)
I finished Anne Bronte's The Tenant of Wildfell Hall last night. I read over 200 hundred pages compulsively, through my tiredness. I guess I was just on a roll.
Bronte arranged the book in a pretty complicated fashion. At first, the story is told through letters from Gilbert Markham to his friend (and brother-in-law) about events that occurred twenty years ago, in 1827. Markham is a "gentleman farmer" (his words) in a somewhat remote English county. His small, comfortable world is shaken up by the sudden arrival of a mysterious widow, Helen, and her young son, who live as tenants at (you guessed it) Wildfell Hall. Markham becomes more and more interested in the lady, but she is quite reclusive and reticient. Without giving away too much, things come to a head, and the lady gives Markham her diary. In my book, the diary begins on page 120 and ends on 365 (with the book ending about one hundred pages later).
Therefore, a little over half of the book is told from a pious woman's point of view, in diary format, while the other half is told from a middle-aged man recalling his younger, histronic self in letter format. You can see how this can become complicated.
It works, however. I enjoyed the letter half of the book for the subtle, but definitely present, sense of humour. You get the idea that Markham is quite amused at the strong passions and black-and-white world view of his younger self, and through this Bronte allows the reader to be quite amused as well. I feel like Anne's writing is more tongue-in-cheek than either of her sisters, at least for this part of the book.
The diary portion is quite serious, however; it's being written as events happen, and Helen does not have the benefit of hindsight to lighten her strong emotions. And yet, despite its lack of humour, this portion is quite impressive. The diary spans a period of six years, and Helen goes from being an innocent and fun-loving young woman to an adoring newly-wed to a wife who loves her husband despite his daults to an utterly estranged and desperate runaway. Bronte handles the transformation magnificently; slowly, bitterness begins to replace love and resignation to replace hope. And yet, through it all, Helen's core character remains the same: her piety and her strong sense of honour never leave her. To me, this is a pretty realistic portrayal of how people mature: while much about them migh change, there's always that kernel of who they are that simply cannot.
But what, readers may ask, is the cause of Helen's sad deterioration? Well, simply that her husband (Arthur Huntingdon) is a gentleman scoundrel. He drinks too much, gambles too much, and makes love to other women. While its bad enough that he does this in London, he soon decides to invite his friends to the country estate where Helen lives, thereby bringing all the debauchery under her nose. Bronte doesn't pull her punches, either. She addresses adultery, wife abuse, and enough disfunction to satisfy any tv drama. It's painful, but powerful. In fact, she's at her strongest when portraying the husband and his friends as complete blackguards. In this scene, one of the friends (Hattersley) is drunk, and trying to force another friend (Lowborough) who has become a teetotaler to drink.
"By heaven and earth, you shall resemble us all!" cried Hattersley, starting up and rudely seizing him by the arm. "Hallo, Huntingdon!" he shouted;"I've got him! Come, man, and help me! And d--n me, if I don't make him drunk before I let him go! He shall make up for all past delinquencies as sure as I'm a living soul!"
There followed a disgraceful contest: Lord Lowborough, in desperate earnest, and pale with anger, silently struggling to release himself from the powerful madman that was striving to drag him from the room. I attempted to urge Arthur to interfere in behalf of his outraged guest, but he could do nothing but laugh.
"Huntingdon, you fool, come and help me, can't you!" cried Hattersley, himself somewhat weakened by his excesses.
"I'm wishing you God-speed, Hattersley," cried Arthur, "and aiding you with my prayers: I can't do anything else if my life depended on it! I'm quite used up. Oh-oh!"-and leaning back in his seat, he clapped his hands on his sides and groaned aloud.
"Annabella [his wife], give me`a candle!" said Lowborough, whose antagonist had now got him round the waist and was endeavoring to root him from the doorpost, to which he madly clung with all the energy of desperation.
"I shall take no part in your rude sports!" replied the lady coldly back. "I wonder you can expect it."
But I [Helen] snatched up the candle and brought it to him. He took it and held the clame to Hattersley's hands, till, roaring like a wild beast, the latter unclasped them and let him go." (254)
That was one of the most sensational passages in the book, but I think Bronte does a great job and showing the various kinds of drunks. Furthermore, she doesn't fall into the trap of making all of the bad guys bad and the good guys good. Indeed, several of the characters reform, or reveal themselves to be bad despite their good exteriors. While the book definitely has a moral, it isn't really beaten into your head like a public service accouncement. Instead, it feels like Bronte wanted to explore how men and women can become wicked, and how they can turn that wickedness around. While it was written in the mid-nineteenth century, it still feels pretty modern. Sure, at some points the characters become a little silly (esp. Markham), but that happens in real life as well. :)
So, I would recommend The Tenant of Wildfell Hall to anyone looking for a timeless classic. Bronte's characters ring true, and the plotline is Gothic enough to satisfy anyone. I hadn't read Anne Bronte before this, and now she's become my favourite of the three sisters! In fact, I plan to track down a copy of Agnes Grey after I'm through with my summer challenges!
Bronte arranged the book in a pretty complicated fashion. At first, the story is told through letters from Gilbert Markham to his friend (and brother-in-law) about events that occurred twenty years ago, in 1827. Markham is a "gentleman farmer" (his words) in a somewhat remote English county. His small, comfortable world is shaken up by the sudden arrival of a mysterious widow, Helen, and her young son, who live as tenants at (you guessed it) Wildfell Hall. Markham becomes more and more interested in the lady, but she is quite reclusive and reticient. Without giving away too much, things come to a head, and the lady gives Markham her diary. In my book, the diary begins on page 120 and ends on 365 (with the book ending about one hundred pages later).
Therefore, a little over half of the book is told from a pious woman's point of view, in diary format, while the other half is told from a middle-aged man recalling his younger, histronic self in letter format. You can see how this can become complicated.
It works, however. I enjoyed the letter half of the book for the subtle, but definitely present, sense of humour. You get the idea that Markham is quite amused at the strong passions and black-and-white world view of his younger self, and through this Bronte allows the reader to be quite amused as well. I feel like Anne's writing is more tongue-in-cheek than either of her sisters, at least for this part of the book.
The diary portion is quite serious, however; it's being written as events happen, and Helen does not have the benefit of hindsight to lighten her strong emotions. And yet, despite its lack of humour, this portion is quite impressive. The diary spans a period of six years, and Helen goes from being an innocent and fun-loving young woman to an adoring newly-wed to a wife who loves her husband despite his daults to an utterly estranged and desperate runaway. Bronte handles the transformation magnificently; slowly, bitterness begins to replace love and resignation to replace hope. And yet, through it all, Helen's core character remains the same: her piety and her strong sense of honour never leave her. To me, this is a pretty realistic portrayal of how people mature: while much about them migh change, there's always that kernel of who they are that simply cannot.
But what, readers may ask, is the cause of Helen's sad deterioration? Well, simply that her husband (Arthur Huntingdon) is a gentleman scoundrel. He drinks too much, gambles too much, and makes love to other women. While its bad enough that he does this in London, he soon decides to invite his friends to the country estate where Helen lives, thereby bringing all the debauchery under her nose. Bronte doesn't pull her punches, either. She addresses adultery, wife abuse, and enough disfunction to satisfy any tv drama. It's painful, but powerful. In fact, she's at her strongest when portraying the husband and his friends as complete blackguards. In this scene, one of the friends (Hattersley) is drunk, and trying to force another friend (Lowborough) who has become a teetotaler to drink.
"By heaven and earth, you shall resemble us all!" cried Hattersley, starting up and rudely seizing him by the arm. "Hallo, Huntingdon!" he shouted;"I've got him! Come, man, and help me! And d--n me, if I don't make him drunk before I let him go! He shall make up for all past delinquencies as sure as I'm a living soul!"
There followed a disgraceful contest: Lord Lowborough, in desperate earnest, and pale with anger, silently struggling to release himself from the powerful madman that was striving to drag him from the room. I attempted to urge Arthur to interfere in behalf of his outraged guest, but he could do nothing but laugh.
"Huntingdon, you fool, come and help me, can't you!" cried Hattersley, himself somewhat weakened by his excesses.
"I'm wishing you God-speed, Hattersley," cried Arthur, "and aiding you with my prayers: I can't do anything else if my life depended on it! I'm quite used up. Oh-oh!"-and leaning back in his seat, he clapped his hands on his sides and groaned aloud.
"Annabella [his wife], give me`a candle!" said Lowborough, whose antagonist had now got him round the waist and was endeavoring to root him from the doorpost, to which he madly clung with all the energy of desperation.
"I shall take no part in your rude sports!" replied the lady coldly back. "I wonder you can expect it."
But I [Helen] snatched up the candle and brought it to him. He took it and held the clame to Hattersley's hands, till, roaring like a wild beast, the latter unclasped them and let him go." (254)
That was one of the most sensational passages in the book, but I think Bronte does a great job and showing the various kinds of drunks. Furthermore, she doesn't fall into the trap of making all of the bad guys bad and the good guys good. Indeed, several of the characters reform, or reveal themselves to be bad despite their good exteriors. While the book definitely has a moral, it isn't really beaten into your head like a public service accouncement. Instead, it feels like Bronte wanted to explore how men and women can become wicked, and how they can turn that wickedness around. While it was written in the mid-nineteenth century, it still feels pretty modern. Sure, at some points the characters become a little silly (esp. Markham), but that happens in real life as well. :)
So, I would recommend The Tenant of Wildfell Hall to anyone looking for a timeless classic. Bronte's characters ring true, and the plotline is Gothic enough to satisfy anyone. I hadn't read Anne Bronte before this, and now she's become my favourite of the three sisters! In fact, I plan to track down a copy of Agnes Grey after I'm through with my summer challenges!
Thursday, June 14, 2007
The Challenge Diaries
I just realized that I need to get a move-on on two of my older challenges! The Chunkster Challenge ends on the 30th, and I had yet to begin my last book. However, I've resolved to read at least two chapters a day (starting three days ago), which will allow me to finish in time. It's a biography, in fact "the definitive biography," of Che Guevara. It's interesting, and after my Latin American politics class last fall I feel that I have more of a context for it, but it's just not what I'm in the mood for right now. Oh well. Two chapters a day is manageable. I thought about giving up, but I just couldn't bring myself to do so.
In brighter news, I also need to get a move on in reading "A Midsummer Night's Dream" to top off the Once Upon a Time Challenge. I really enjoyed that one, and it'll be good to finish it. I think I'm going to read the play while watching my DVD-it makes the experience much more fun!
I'm behind on reviews for my current challenges, so I'll try to get a review of The Turn of the Screw up later tonight. I'm really enjoying Anne Bronte's The Tenant of Wildfell Hall, but since I was sun-bathing today I went for the light The Secret History. I've raced through the first four hundred pages of it, but I'm saving the rest for tomorrow. That'll put me half way done with the Summer Mystery Challenge.
I need to start reading more non-fic again, however. Does anyone have any suggestions? I'm open to anything other than self-help books and anything really, really depressing (i.e.-memoirs about death, abuse, etc.). I know that there are people out there who prefer non-fic to fiction...they need to come out of the woodwork and give me some ideas!
Oh, and as a housekeeping question, does anyone know how to make the cute pics for all my challenges links in the new blogger? I'm comfortable with html, but the new blogger doesn't like me playing with it. :(
In brighter news, I also need to get a move on in reading "A Midsummer Night's Dream" to top off the Once Upon a Time Challenge. I really enjoyed that one, and it'll be good to finish it. I think I'm going to read the play while watching my DVD-it makes the experience much more fun!
I'm behind on reviews for my current challenges, so I'll try to get a review of The Turn of the Screw up later tonight. I'm really enjoying Anne Bronte's The Tenant of Wildfell Hall, but since I was sun-bathing today I went for the light The Secret History. I've raced through the first four hundred pages of it, but I'm saving the rest for tomorrow. That'll put me half way done with the Summer Mystery Challenge.
I need to start reading more non-fic again, however. Does anyone have any suggestions? I'm open to anything other than self-help books and anything really, really depressing (i.e.-memoirs about death, abuse, etc.). I know that there are people out there who prefer non-fic to fiction...they need to come out of the woodwork and give me some ideas!
Oh, and as a housekeeping question, does anyone know how to make the cute pics for all my challenges links in the new blogger? I'm comfortable with html, but the new blogger doesn't like me playing with it. :(
Wednesday, May 30, 2007
More Challenges!
I've decided to join a couple more challenges for the summer, just to keep life interesting. :)
First, the Summer Reading Challenge. I've been thinking about what I want to do with this one (it's completely open-ended), and I've finally decided to do another classics challenge. I really enjoyed the earlier one, so I thought it'd be nice to bring them back into my life.
The Turn of the Screw by Henry James
Cecilia by Frances Burney
Emma by Jane Austen
The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins
Candide by Voltaire
Cousin Bette by Honare de Balzac
The Tenant of Wildfell Hall by Anne Bronte
The Scarlet Pimpernel by the Baroness Orzcy
The Eustace Diamonds by Anthony Trollope
Dangerous Liasons by Pierre Choderlos de Laclos
The other challenge is the Summer Mystery Reading Challenge. The goal is to read 6 mysteries over the summer, but there's a twist: you have to read all new authors! I figure this will be a good way to find some new favourites; you can never have too many mysteries. :)
The Secret History by Donna Tartt
From Doon with Death by Ruth Rendell
One Good Turn by Kate Atkinson
Some Danger Involved by Will Thomas
An Instance of the Fingerpost by Iain Pears
Death at Bishop’s Keep by Robin Paige
So, it's going to be a busy summer!
First, the Summer Reading Challenge. I've been thinking about what I want to do with this one (it's completely open-ended), and I've finally decided to do another classics challenge. I really enjoyed the earlier one, so I thought it'd be nice to bring them back into my life.
The Turn of the Screw by Henry James
Cecilia by Frances Burney
Emma by Jane Austen
The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins
Candide by Voltaire
Cousin Bette by Honare de Balzac
The Tenant of Wildfell Hall by Anne Bronte
The Scarlet Pimpernel by the Baroness Orzcy
The Eustace Diamonds by Anthony Trollope
Dangerous Liasons by Pierre Choderlos de Laclos
The other challenge is the Summer Mystery Reading Challenge. The goal is to read 6 mysteries over the summer, but there's a twist: you have to read all new authors! I figure this will be a good way to find some new favourites; you can never have too many mysteries. :)
The Secret History by Donna Tartt
From Doon with Death by Ruth Rendell
One Good Turn by Kate Atkinson
Some Danger Involved by Will Thomas
An Instance of the Fingerpost by Iain Pears
Death at Bishop’s Keep by Robin Paige
So, it's going to be a busy summer!
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