You've hit the nail square on the head. I read "Jane Eyre" in High School. My feelings at the time were, 'Now, at least, I can say I've read it. Daft idea, though, putting a wacko in the attic. And what kind of girl would fall in love with an older man?' I'll let you imagine what kind of grossed-out teenage girl face I made at all the courting. Uh, sick? Fortunately, I kept that copy (wherever I got it from...). I found it at the bottom of my book collection. I turned it over and thought, 'What is all the fuss about?' I read it again. What an amazing book!! There's so many things that I love about it. She refuses to run off with Mr. R. She defies self-love and passion for principle's sake. I still get a "yeah right, sure" feeling when she is saved from near-death by complete strangers that become her best friends and (gasp) turn out to be her cousins! What a bosom idea. While most of the plot is so fictitious you can scrunch up your nose, I do love that her characters are so real. It's almost hard to believe that Bronte would put such grounded individuals in a roller coaster of a made-up story.
Point being: It means so much more to me now than it did then. I learned a lot from reading it this time around. Plain Jane has become Prestigious Jane, by all means.
Also, I'm going to give Hawthorne another try for the same reason that I picked Jane back up, and to please you, Young Goodman.
You can thank me whenever it is convenient,
Alicia
5 comments:
I'm amused at the fact that the only ones who ever comment on our posts are you and I. I might share our blog link with Mrs. David, my Hawthorne-praising instructor.
Hey! That's not fair! Who am I going to get on my side? The only person I know of who loves F. Scott is Mr. Petersen. The retires English professor from EAC. He doesn't even know my name...
Let me just stop you right there. I meant "retired".
Here's the thing -I find the Scarlet Letter to be a much less dark and fiendish than most of Hawthorne's other works. In some of his short stories, I almost shiver at the thought of some of the subject matter, especially in the vivid ways he displays it: Witches, devilry, and the like. But then, what was the norm of the day? Everyone loves Washington Irving's Sleepy Hollow, and it is no less macabre than anything Mr. Hawthorne penned.
Surprisingly, in a tale about an adulterous Puritan woman, I find it to be much more down to earth and much less creepy. The character's in this work are so well-developed. Mrs. David mentioned that she thinks some people have a hard time getting past Hawthorne's narrative voice. I have a hard time putting it down.
Okay, I'll give the book a try. To be honest, I read one of his short stories before going to bed -a mistake never again to be repeated. I was filled with a mixture of feelings: What is he trying to say? What was that noise outside? Did I lock the door? Is Satan himself knocking?
I get the weirdest feeling when I read Hawthorne. I enjoyed "The Birthmark" so much more when read in the glaring sunlight by 20 other students. After discussing it, I was confortable with it. Well, there's no one here to discuss it with! So I don't think I'll venture many more short stories. I'd be happy to read "The Scarlet Letter". Julianne loves it too, so that's something.
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