amen to that
Having just read Ashley's Public Service Announcement, I offer my own heartfelt "Amen."
To return to a previous topic...I had the opposite reaction to Dorothea. She certainly did not seem faultless to me, but I found myself, straight away, caring so much for her in her situation, and wishing so much that I could sit down with her and compare notes about life. I wonder if that means people react to me as Ashley did to Dorothea? I do recall one of my best friends commenting that her first reaction to me was, "Hmmm...wallpaper." Fortunately for us both, she changed her opinion!
I noticed someone was considering tackling Possession. Amen to that, too! If Middlemarch had not been written, Possession would be a strong contender for the title 'Best Book Ever Written.' It is like an amazing piece of embroidery, which is actually made with high precision and minute attention to structure and pattern, but which, to the wearer or observer, feels or looks lavish and enchanting, rather than looking like a merely technical achievement.
On a completely different note, I served my first customer in Auslan (Australian Sign Language) today! Hurrah! I can't believe my banana-fingers and fingerspelling were actually legible to a fluent sign-er!!!
To return to a previous topic...I had the opposite reaction to Dorothea. She certainly did not seem faultless to me, but I found myself, straight away, caring so much for her in her situation, and wishing so much that I could sit down with her and compare notes about life. I wonder if that means people react to me as Ashley did to Dorothea? I do recall one of my best friends commenting that her first reaction to me was, "Hmmm...wallpaper." Fortunately for us both, she changed her opinion!
I noticed someone was considering tackling Possession. Amen to that, too! If Middlemarch had not been written, Possession would be a strong contender for the title 'Best Book Ever Written.' It is like an amazing piece of embroidery, which is actually made with high precision and minute attention to structure and pattern, but which, to the wearer or observer, feels or looks lavish and enchanting, rather than looking like a merely technical achievement.
On a completely different note, I served my first customer in Auslan (Australian Sign Language) today! Hurrah! I can't believe my banana-fingers and fingerspelling were actually legible to a fluent sign-er!!!
posted by Ashley or Lucy @ 3:54 AM
1 Comments:
At 1:09 PM,
Ashley or Lucy said…
Ah, but Lucy, comparison is an invidious thing--you are nothing like Dorothea.
The novel begins with her trying to do big things and consequently paints a perfect picture of D's completely misguided sense of her own judgement. Dorothea feels and thinks passionately about the sick, the poor, the meaning of life. And she seems to think that her deep consideration translates into an equally valid judgement.
She marries Casaubon because her idea of him corresponds perfectly to her ideals. She is so convinced of her rightness that she won't listen to anyone.
Of course, without any of this, the novel could not become what it does, and as the story progresses Dorothea does become very lovable indeed. I just could not believe, at the beginning, that a character would walk so self-assurred toward her own doom.
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