Tag: books

  • Crying To Death

    Crying To Death

    Crying to death until I lose all my fears
    Crying to death until my heart bleeds the last drop of grief
    I don’t remember my name anymore
    I come from a faraway realm where dreams are forbidden
    I wander astray in the labyrinth of my bleeding heart

    Not anymore comforted by solace and delight
    I strive to find refuge in my secret realm of illusions
    Because I love to lie to myself with shameless boldness
    Because I love to fill my heart with deception

    I’m untamed and wild, and I don’t bow to any convention
    It’s impossible to fit my soul inside a box of comfort
    Too many thoughts crowd my mind
    Too many emotions crowd my heart
    I’m a paroxysm, a burst of madness wrapped in the quietness of my sorrow

    I love to wear exclusively beautiful vintage-style dresses and ballerinas
    I love to wear red lipstick and red nail polish
    I never cut my long blond hair because they keep my little secrets for years discretely
    I love books but sometimes I keep them closed as if I would like to guess what is going to happen next in the story

    I mainly write night and day and I cannot see myself not writing even a day
    That would be like asking me not to breathe
    I suffer in silence when I am home alone so nobody can discover it
    I never plan what I’m going to write because I believe in improvisation in poetry
    I love cloudy skies but not the rain because it makes me feel miserable

    I love to be in love but I also love to be loved and adored
    Solitude and books are my best companions, indeed the only ones
    I adore art in all its forms, music, literature and art
    Sometimes I prefer to write in a direct way and simple style without labyrinths of metaphors

    Crying to death is a way to express myself when I’m suffering unbearably
    And when I don’t feel understood and seen by the other creatures of this planet or when memories come to visit me
    After all, we suffer mainly because of indifference or tainted interactions with other entities or because of something we don’t want to remember

    I feel like an alien creature not belonging to standard society and as an introvert it’s very difficult being part of this messed ocean where I never felt comfortable. So bizarre and odd I’m in the other’s sight that I cannot blend with them.
    Therefore, I dwell in my loneliness where I have built my castle of dreams.
    Elisabetta

  • Unopened Pages

    Unopened Pages

    Beyond the cover, realms await, unseen,
    In every book, a path to what has been.
    However, here prejudice stands, with its labels in the hands,
    Dismissing truths, it barely understands.

    The minds that bind themselves with endless chains,
    Are deaf to stories’ wisdom and knowledge gained.
    They close the book before it’s fully read,
    Content with titles, names, and what’s been said.

    But truth defies the cages they create,
    It bends beyond the lines that separate.
    For every story written holds a key,
    To unlock hearts and set the spirit free.

    To judge an essence by labels is to miss
    The depth of life, the beauty in the abyss.
    The page that holds the answers lies untorn,
    Nevertheless, senses stay closed, and ignorance is born.

    Beneath the ink, shadows twist and creep,
    Murmurs from forgotten worlds sleep.
    The words, like phantoms, haunt each line,
    Begging to be freed from the threads of time.

    More than the surface, deeper should they dive,
    For in those words, the most trustworthy self survives.
    The books unopened hold a thousand skies,
    And in their pages, prejudice defies.

    The label shouldn’t blind crowds from the tale,
    For in the written word, all hearts prevail.
    To open books is more than just a task,
    It frees the soul from every mask.

    And as the pages crackle in the night,
    A ghostly hand beckons toward the light.
    No thought confined, no mortal boxed away,
    For every story lives beyond the fray.
    The truth of existence cannot be simply named,
    It’s written comprehensively, with words that can’t be tamed.
    Esther Elizabeth Racah

  • The Realms Of Imagination

    The Realms Of Imagination

    The realms of imagination in the silence
    I had no trace of the visions that I had dreamed
    And listened to them once day and night
    Fountains and planets floated into the nothingness
    Like many thoughts that seem so knowledgeable
    Stars in words, flowers in my hair
    In the depths of everything, into the ocean and waters
    The realm of the universe
    As clouds rain into dusk
    Looking at the storm in light and darkness

    The realms of imagination in the stillness
    It is almost like a dream gleaming in my memories
    Once again, darkness will bring no shadow
    On the rivers and waters that are clear
    When the ocean rises to the sky like storm mountains with happiness, sorrow and bliss
    The mystery of existence is as deep as its own secrets
    Touching the surface of all that was written
    My dreams are to stay
    And thinking of that perfect place
    A world of wonders where boundaries and bonds dissolve

    The realms of imagination in the universe
    Time seems impossible to discover
    As I recall in my inner thoughts
    I become a part of everything, and nothing
    Dreams fly away beyond reality’s boundaries and fade from my sight
    A world of magnificence and bliss
    Where anything can be
    Unleashing creativity set my soul free
    Within the realms of imagination’s domain resides a universe where fantasies reign
    And whispered words dissolve in painted skies

    The realms of imagination
    Where magic can be real, and fantasy becomes an eternal seal
    In the realms of imagination, stories unfold, displaying a tapestry of new and old words
    A captivating imagination’s garden where dreams are cast
    A gateway to explore
    Where the mind’s eye opens, unlocking every door
    A canvas for ideas, limitless and vast
    Within the realms of imagination, worlds collide
    Where ordinary thoughts become magical thrills
    And mazes of flower meadows that shine like sparkling water surface

    The realms of imagination and oddities
    Where dreams come alive
    An imagination’s haven where creativity and hopes thrive
    Wherein the expected transforms and magic comes to be alive
    A realm of marvel where ideas shine brightly, dreams reside and hearts are inspired
    In the realms of fantasy, the reality is blurred
    A world of beliefs and illusion, where dreams are swirled
    Where imagination’s spark ignites my soul and creativity makes me whole
    Thoughts intertwine, creating an intricacy of divine ideas
    Like clouds of fire that disappear

    The realms of imagination and inspiration
    Where tales are created and forever adorned
    The mind explores new worlds by day and night
    A realm of endless wonders, where dreams come true and always renew
    Where visions unfold, and stories are written in undefined verses
    New landscapes emerge from a labyrinth of thoughts
    Unfolding like secrets hidden in ethereal books
    Mountains of fantasy blow the sky
    In these realms, the ordinary evolves into extraordinary
    Where colours are vibrant, and everything turns visionary

    The realms of imagination
    Where the unimaginable flourishes
    And the impossible becomes a tangible reality
    As daydream proms with boundless skill
    The stars and galaxies seem within reach
    Navigating through this enchanting world with no bounds or restraints
    For in these realms, I am the architect of my dreams
    Where the extraordinary becomes the ordinary
    So I let myself embrace this magical domain
    And let my imagination forever reign.
    Esther Elizabeth Racah

  • Nothing Left To Say

    Nothing Left To Say

    Nothing Left To Say

    nothing left to say
    only disappointment and astonishment
    people go seeking the trends
    people are afraid of the truth
    money moves everything
    and fame buys souls
    society loves hallucinations
    keeping opinions in silence
    shaming the truth
    revealing the mendacity
    they will erase your memories to make room f
    or new ones
    like in Nineteen Eighty-Four
    what is real
    our perceptions sometimes can be disillusions
    talking too much is dangerous
    you don’t have to think
    they will think for you
    buying your mind
    In the end, it is not essential to understand
    living a liveness life is fine and cool
    you don’t need education
    you don’t need books
    in this shallow society, the less you know, the more you trust
    in this superficial society, the less you think, the more you are reckless
    shallow blindness will lead humanity to the abyss.
    Esther Elizabeth Racah

  • The Stars Fall From The Firmament

    The Stars Fall From The Firmament

    The Stars Fall From The Firmament

    The stars fall from the firmament in a whirling dance
    I want to lose the capability to desire
    I only want to dream of being set free from my passions
    And wander away
    Flying fairy
    Like a butterfly in a garden of violets and lilies
    I live a silent life made of poetry and books
    I communicate with people through my poetry
    The rest of the time, I am silent
    My silence can say many things or absolute nothing
    It depends on the sensibility of the others
    I might appear a cold person because I am timid
    I try to protect myself from men who have so much interest in me
    Interest that I don’t reciprocate
    It is challenging for me to have an enjoyable time outside
    It is like I don’t have any right to take a simple walk
    Being constantly bothered in the streets.
    Esther Elizabeth Racah

  • The Sleepless Nights

    The Sleepless Nights

    The Sleepless Nights

    Long are the sleepless nights that I spend alone writing and dreaming about absurdities
    Surrounded by books and scribbled notes scattered around the house
    I wonder how much my life is real
    Since it is mainly made of poetry, writings, books and music
    Solitude is my constant companion
    I live in my bubble of segregation
    Nevertheless, I cannot live without music, art, poetry and that deep ache in my soul
    Having to keep dark secrets
    On the sleepless nights, I might write my poetry only for myself
    Feeling like no one on this planet will ever read me
    Every day I pretend to be patient and wait

    Most of the time, I feel the most invisible creature in the world
    With traumatic experiences and terrible abuses
    I had to endure in silence and loneliness with infinite strength.
    Esther Racah
  • Far From The Madding Crowd Book

    Far From The Madding Crowd Book

    Far From the Madding Crowd book is an 1874 novel by the English novelist and poet Thomas Hardy. It is one of his notable works, and the title comes from a poem by Thomas Gray. The novel’s main character is Bathsheba Everdene, and the events take place in the rural southwest of Victorian England. 

    Far From The Madding Crowd Book countryside
    Image by Prawny from Pixabay

    The beginning of Far From the Madding Crowd book

    Far From The Madding Crowd occurs in rural Victorian England. Bathsheba Everdene is an independent and unconventional girl who does not dream about marriage. In different occasions, she had met Gabriel Oak, a shepherd who falls in love with her. Bathsheba inherits the farm of her late uncle, farmer Everdene, who was “a very good-hearted man”. Her parents were “towns-folk”, and they died years ago leaving the girl an orphan. Bathsheba makes the acquaintance of Mr Boldwood, who is a handsome and rich gentleman-farmer. In the past, Bathsheba refused the marriage proposal of Gabriel Oak, believing that he was not quite good enough for her, even though she “rather liked Gabriel”. Although Beersheba is not familiar with a farm’s administration, she gathers all her workers announcing her intention to do her best and help them if they were serving her properly. For Bathsheba being a woman is not a limitation. Indeed she is an agriculturist and the responsible and manager of the entire farm. 

    Far From The Madding Crowd Book countryside
    Image by Prawny from Pixabay

    Life in Weatherbury Upper Farm and beyond

    With the time Bathsheba acquires confidence in her business, talking boldly to men. Bathsheba is firm, but not obstinate; in fact, she is flexible and sometimes naive. The beauty of Bathsheba is magnetic and charismatic, and it is manifest even as mistress of a farm and house. Meanwhile, Fanny Robin, who is one of the servants of Bathsheba, secretly went to meet her lover, Sergeant Frank Troy, who is a boaster and poser. The “honest” Frank tricks Fanny, letting her believe that he would marry her when his intentions are merely the ones of a skilful player. The charm of farmer Boldwood struck Bathsheba even if William appears as an indifferent and reserved person. Nevertheless, when he makes her an offer of marriage, initially she refuses because she is not in love with Mr Boldwood.

    Far From The Madding Crowd Book house style
    Image by Prawny from Pixabay

    As time passes in Weatherbury

    Weatherbury was immutable in comparison with cities. In Weatherbury, the passing of time was unchangeable, and the ageless life had a sort of staticity. Furthermore, as time passes, different unexpected events occur in the life of Bathsheba Everdene. In a night, Bathsheba runs into Frank Troy, who was wandering in her land. The crafty Frank skillfully knew how to get the attention of Bathsheba. Indeed, he was a master in boasting and deception. Hence, he started to flatter her with compliments and sweetish gallantry, unlike Boldwood, who had never told her she was beautiful. Sergeant Troy was a lier with women and relatively honest with men. For instance, “he could speak of love and think of dinner; call on the husband to look at the wife; be eager to pay and intend to owe”. Although he firmly believed that while interacting with women “the only alternative to flattery was cursing and swearing”. 

    Image by Prawny from Pixabay

    The Queen of the Corn-market in love

    Sergeant Troy starts to work as a farmer in the fields of Bathsheba, and they meet on other occasions. Bathsheba is in love with Frank Troy and as strong woman she throws away her strength. For the first time in her life, she embraces a woman’s weakness having discovered the “true” love; hence she is twice as weak as the other women. In a certain way, Bathsheba refuses to control her feelings and behave carefully. The ostentatious charm of Troy is manifest plainly, but his “deformities” are well-hidden. Differently, Oak’s defects cover his virtues. In this moment of apotheosis of love, Bathsheba gets rid of Gabriel and rejects Boldwood’s proposal. She blames herself, believing that “love is misery for women always”. Bathsheba is obstinate in her blind love, firmly being sure that Troy is a good and wildly steady man.

    Image by Prawny from Pixabay

    A wedding and a storm

    In Far From the Madding Crowd book, the author often describes the beauty of nature in Weatherbury as seasons change. It is amiable to wander with the imagination in this landscaped novel. In this book, the characters have multifaceted traits on different occasions as the several shades of colour in the countryside’s beautiful nature. Bathsheba and Frank get married, and suddenly Frank assumes the features of the arrogant landlord. When a big storm wrapped the farm in a night, “Love, wife, everything human, seemed small and trifling in such close juxtaposition with an infuriated universe”. That very night, Bathsheba found herself alone with Gabriel. At the same time, “the sky was now filled with an incessant light, frequent repetition melting into complete continuity, as an unbroken sound result from the successive strokes on a gong”. While Gabriel Oak is always supporting Bathsheba in the most adverse moments revealing himself “generous and true”, her husband, Mr Frank, never cared for Bathsheba. That very night he went to sleep being drunk after a hangover.

    Image by Prawny from Pixabay

    Bathsheba’s anguish

    Bathsheba finds out the truth about her husband’s past relationship with Fanny Robin. Her despair enhances after Troy’s confession; indeed, he does not consider her as a wife anymore, rejecting her. For the first time in his life, Frank Troy hates himself feeling miserable, and he decides to leave the village. Bathsheba never embraced the idea of marriage, like most women. Indeed, she had married Troy in “a turmoil of anxiety and emotionality”. She had always been an independent girl, and now she regretted to had become “the humbler half of an indifferent matrimonial whole”. With the time, indifference overcame Bathsheba Everdene, who contemplated her fate as a “singular wretch”. Dark were her prospects as her original traits of youth deteriorated in cold indifference. It was like she was waiting for her end, accepting her inexorable fate. 

    Image by Prawny from Pixabay

    The madness of Boldwood in Far From The Madding Crowd book

    The obsession of Boldwood over Bathsheba led him to madness at the point of forcing her to promise to marry him. Since William Boldwood makes Bathsheba feel guilty for having “tricked” him, he doesn’t give her a moment of peace. He is pushy in asking her forcibly to marry him. And the guilt inside her pushes Bathsheba to force herself to accept the “proposal”. Also, she is frightened by his madness, and she was “in a very peculiar state of mind, which showed how entirely the soul is a slave of the body”. The blankness and dullness of Boldwood’s life is a significant reason to focus on Bathsheba obsessively, being his mind completely insane. And “his natural manner has always been dark and strange”. His madness reaches its apotheosis when he shoots Frank Troy, who came back after a long disappearance to get his wife back for financial reasons. Both Troy and Boldwood disappear from the life of Bathsheba, leaving her in peaceful freedom. 

    Image by Prawny from Pixabay

    The happy end of Far From The Madding Crowd book

    Far From The Madding Crowd is a novel with a happy ending, and it deserves a reading to discover it. Indeed, after a long period of loneliness, Bathsheba starts a new life. This pastoral and historical novel is a tragicomedy. The characters of Boldwood and Troy are somehow caricatural and ridiculous in their tragedy. Even if, at the beginning of the book, Bathsheba is an independent, cheerful and careless girl, her magnetic beauty is the cause of her downfall. She falls in a pit of anguish and despair as soon as she gets involved with Boldwood and Troy. Indeed, Miss Everdene had lost the whimsical feature to become a wise and humble girl with the time. Although the Bathsheba Everdene is a woman who endured abusive relationships, she begins a new life. Even though the novel occurs in the Victorian age, the heroine is an educated and independent girl, who becomes manager and mistress of a big farm at an early age.

    Image by Prawny from Pixabay

    The unusual heroine of Far From The Madding Crowd book

    Bathsheba Everdene is the unusual heroine of a Victorian novel, a powerful and talented woman in the rural Wessex. Thomas Hardy associates her to the Greek goddess Diana, the goddess of the countryside and wilderness. Indeed, in this pastoral tale, Bathsheba is the personification of Diana. She is hardworking, fierce and brilliant. Nevertheless, she falls in a trap when she meets Troy, who deceives her. Bathsheba doesn’t follow the conventional rules of her period. Indeed, she doesn’t want to marry like the other women. Bathsheba desires to pursue the business of her farm. She trades with men, and she is unafraid to inspect the factory alone at night. Even if she is wealthy, she gets up early every morning and fulfils her tasks as a sovereign manager, taking full responsibility of the farm. Thomas Hardy was a feminist in the Victorian age, which represented the “Age of Reform”. I’ve read this digital edition in Apple Books. 

  • The Life Of Effie Gray Millais

    The Life Of Effie Gray Millais

    Effie Gray Millais’s life is the main subject of the book “Effie: The Passionate Lives of Effie Gray, John Ruskin and John Everett Millais” by Dr Suzanne Fagence Cooper. It is the ninth book in my second list of readings.

    The country side of Scotland where Effie Gray spent most of her life

    The Life of Effie Gray and John Ruskin

    This book is not a novel but a reconstruction of the life of Euphemia Chalmers Gray. The book starts on the cold morning of Tuesday, 25 April 1854, when Effie escapes her abusive marriage with the art critic John Ruskin. John reserved all his attention on art, not people. He was excessively attached to his parents’ house and his books. Nevertheless, John became a celebrity because of the book Modern Painters. Charlotte Brönte and Elizabeth Barrett Browning were very fond of his book. Effie ran away from an exhausting and unnatural relationship where her husband believed she was inadequate as a future mother. The Ruskin family thought that Effie was a wicked and reckless woman. Until 1857, only the Parliament could grant a divorce in Victorian England. As an ambitious wife, Effie wished to promote her husband’s career. 

    The New Life of Effie

    Effie’s life was challenging because of the oppressive social traditions and her loveless marriage with Mr Ruskin. Sadly, in the Victorian era, women could not vote, own properties, or take legal action against someone. Moreover, a wife had no ownership of her clothes and jewelry. Most women could not leave their marital house even when mistreated and abused, mainly because of the lack of financial support. In case a woman was leaving her husband, he could take her home against her will and might rape her with impunity. After six years of a distressing relationship, the Ecclesiastical Courts decided to annul the marriage because Effie and Mr Ruskin never consummate their relationship. After resting in her parent’s house, Effie married the painter John Everett Millais.

    A Portrait of Effie Gray

    Effie was a beautiful Scottish girl with auburn hair, entertaining and elegant, with many admirers even after her marriage to John Ruskin. Mr Ruskin was not concerned, having lost interest in his wife. Since her youth, Euphemia was attentive to her clothes, taking care of every detail. Effie was a determined woman with an independent spirit. She wrote several letters to her parents with rapid handwriting, giving a glimpse of sixteen years of Victorian life. Effie had witnessed events, but this woman changed the idea of Victorian femininity. She regained control of her life, refusing to bear a physically and emotionally abusive relationship. Euphemia did not fit in the Victorian standard of a fragile woman. Indeed, as a well-educated girl, she was fluent in French, a quick learner, and a piano player. She enjoyed riding and dancing and was far from the delicate Victorian femininity.

    A Portrait Of John Ruskin

    When John met Effie for the first time, she was twelve, and he was fond of her. As she grew up, he appreciated her wit and beauty. Before meeting Effie, John had been fascinated with a young girl “fresh from convent school.” Mr. Ruskin generally loved innocent young girls “on the verge of womanhood.” This side of John could be why he could not consummate his marriage with Effie because she was nineteen then. He found that Effie aging had lost her original good look and considered her too old to be desirable. John Ruskin was a “damaged genius” who elicited admiration from many notorious personages. John captivated Effie’s attention because he was improving her mind with books and pictures. However, during their engagement, John demands Effie learn how to be disciplined, fulfill all his desires, and please him. He asked her to improve her French and study Italian and botany to help him with his research. However, John Ruskin was sensible and passionate about arts, nature, and beauty, even though he ignored Effie’s needs.

    A Portrait Of John Everett Millais

    Everett Millais started his studies at the Royal Academy when he was eleven. He became part of the Pre-Raphaelite movement, which aimed to return to the Quattrocento Italian art. They were not interested in the conventional beauty of Renaissance art, such as the one portrayed in Raphael’s paintings. They wanted to connect to nature; natural details were not missing in Millais’s paintings. He portrayed Effie, focusing on her character strength, determination, and emotional struggle rather than her beauty. In that period, he fell in love with Effie, even though she was still John Ruskin’s wife. Everett knew the secret behind her marriage with Mr Ruskin.

    Effie And Everett Millais

    In 1855, Effie and Everett married, and they had several children living a happy marriage. Starting in 1870, Everett became one of Victorian England’s most prominent and wealthy painters, and Effie managed the social relationships. She supported and encouraged his career, organizing parties where patrons commissioned portraits. Effie was excellent in social life, meeting a lot of actors, nobility, painters, and artists. Nevertheless, her first marriage damaged her reputation. Indeed, even the Queen refused to receive her at Court because most people unfairly considered Effie as the wife of another man still living or a divorced woman. Effie and Everett had eight children. Everett Millais, who belonged to the Pre-Raphaelite artistic group, adopted a looser and hazy brushwork years after marriage. Unlike the other painters, he looked more like a well-dressed and handsome businessman. 

    The Busy Life Of Effie And Everett

    During her marriage with Mr Ruskin, Effie had to pretend the fiction of a “normal” marriage. While she was arranging teas, she was exhausted. On the contrary, she could fulfill her dream of a happily married mother after marrying Everett Millais. Euphemia managed the household, being a brilliant hostess of crowded evenings with international celebrities. She gave birth to eight children, who followed different paths. Even if Everett’s works were in great demand, the Pre-Raphaelites distanced themselves from his art as soon as he married Effie. He became the wealthiest painter, and his art portrayed moods and characters. Unlike the other artists, “Everett did not conform to the image of an artistic rebel.” His acquaintances and friends described him as a “boyish, jolly, straightforward and true Anglosaxon.”

    The Social Life Of Effie And Family Travels 

    Effie had good social communication skills and knew how to negotiate with patrons. In 1877, the Millais family moved to a mansion in Palace Gate, where Everett’s big studio was always full of patrons, friends, nobility, and celebrities. Now, the guests could enjoy his paintings cozily. Behind this beautiful facade, Effie suffered because of her past marriage with Mr Ruskin. Indeed, many people called her “the wife of two men”; hence, Queen Victoria refused to receive her because of Palace protocols. Since Effie was John Ruskin’s wife, she visited Paris and Venice. Furthermore, even after her marriage to Everett, she continued to travel with her children in Europe. Since the mid-1860s, her brothers George and John emigrated to Australia, and her son Evie also went to Australia. Later, one of Effie’s daughters, Mary Millais, sailed for Australia and New Zealand. During her visit to Sidney, Mary could admire one of his father’s paintings, The Captive. Mary’s next trip was to Melbourne, where part of Everett’s family lived.

    The Tower of London, city where the life of Effie Gray changed

    Effie And the Suffragism

    While some of Effie’s children were abroad (Mary in Australia, Geoffroy in Wyoming, and Evie in Paris), she continued to divide her time between her household and Everett’s studio’s management. Meanwhile, her youngest daughter, Tottie, was influenced by Louise Jopling, a great advocate for women’s education. In 1887, Louise founded her art school for girls and signed a petition to let women vote. Suffragists advocated for equal electoral rights to elect a Member of Parliament who would represent their interests. In 1885, the foundation of a ladies’ wing of the Primrose League was established. Moreover, after Everett’s baronetcy, Effie became Dame of the League. Tottie Millais followed the New Women’s movement, a group of young women with high education who lived independently, smoking and wearing masculine clothes. These “Manly Women” with short hair strolled with their dog and a walking stick. Victorian society considered this behavior as transgressive sexuality. However, even after the Matrimonial Causes Act’s approval in 1857, men kept their power in conjugal life.

    The Last Period Of Everett and Effie’s Lives

    Everett used his motto, “Ars Longa, Vita Brevis,” mostly after the death of their son George and their granddaughter Phyllis. Effie had the merit to contribute to transforming a bigot Victorian society. She stood against the conventions, refusing an abusive marriage. She showed how a woman could be in control of her life. Nevertheless, slander and false rumors were against her. Another tragedy happened in their life of Effie the death of her younger sister, Sophie Gray. Several times, Sophie modeled for Everett because of her extraordinary beauty and her patience while modeling. A controversial painting is her 1857 portrait, where Everett emphasized her sensuality and beauty. She died of anorexia and depression. It is not clear what her relationship with Everett Millais was; it could be that Sophie was in love with him. At the age of sixty-six, Effie lost her mother, Sophia Gray, and with age, she became blind with general soreness.

    Westminster Abbey, architecture, England, Gothic church, Gothic style, London, where Effie Gray spent part of her life

    The Deaths Of Everett and Effie Millais

    In 1885, Everett became a baronet; in 1896, he became President of the Royal Academy. Sadly, he had throat cancer, and while he was dying, the Queen finally received Effie as Lady Millais. After Everett’s death, Effie retired with her brother George at Bowerswell, at her late parents’ house. After her eldest son, Evie, died from pneumonia at the age of sixty-nine, in 1897, Lady Effie Millais died of bowel cancer. “Effie: The Passionate Lives of Effie Gray, John Ruskin, and John Everett Millais” is a beautiful book that gives a perspective of the Victorian era from an artistic and social perspective. I have read the digital edition of this book, and you can also find the audiobook

  • The Custom Of The Country

    The Custom Of The Country

    The Custom Of The Country by Edith Wharton is a 1913 American novel. The unusual main character of this story is Undine Spragg. She is a girl from the Midwest who wants to belong to the New York high society. It is a tragicomic romance consisting of five books, and it is the seventh book in my second list of books.

    New York septedecies

    The Beginning Of The Custom Of The Country

    Undine Spragg is a narcissist and greedy girl who moves to New York with her parents. They come from the fictional midwestern city Apex, and Undine plans to improve her social life in the big city. The Spraggs find accommodation in a Stentorian suite, which is a sumptuous hotel on the West Side. They are rich but unhappy and bored. While Mr Spragg seeks social life in the hotel bar, Mrs Spragg leads a dull and inactive life indoor. Previously, while in Apex, Undine had been secretly married to Elmer Moffatt, a vulgar and stout ambitious man; nevertheless, they divorced. Hence Undine intends to marry a rich and aristocratic man to improve her socioeconomic conditions. In her life, she always got what she wanted, being her parents very amenable. Miss Spragg is stunning with her black brows and reddish-tawny hair, and she has a very bright complexion. 

    Old aerial view of New York. By Charles Hart. Publ. Joseph Koeher, New York, 1905

    The Social Life Of Undine In New York

    Since her childhood, Undine was fond of dressing up, and her passion for fashion was beyond every imagination. In her room, she practised pantomimes secretly to be ready for her social encounters. Undine employs all her time and attention to buy fancy and elegant dresses because she always wants to impress others with her beauty. Indeed she doesn’t miss joining any dinner which takes place in the New York high society. Undine doesn’t read any book, and she finds her amusement only in frivolity and superficial encounters. The most important thing is to be beautiful with a different exquisite dress for each social meeting and draw attention to herself. She loses her temper every time she cannot get what she wants. She knows how to manipulate her parents and in particular, her father to get always money and gifts. After different meetings, Undine gets engaged to Ralph Marvell who belongs to the old Dagonet family. 

    Old aerial view of New York. By John Bachmann and George Schlegel. Publ. Tamsen & Dethlefs New York, 1874

    The Second Marriage Of Undine

    Undine marries Ralph only because she wants to be part of a wealthy and prestigious New York family. During the marriage, she realises how poor is her husband, who writes poetry and gets some money from his family. The couple receives financial supports from Mr Spragg, who has to work hard to cover all their expenses. In The Custom Of The Country, Undine recurrently finds herself in financial deficits due to her extravagant lifestyle. Since their honeymoon, Undine detaches herself from Ralph because of unreconcilable incompatibilities. She always spends more time with her lover, Peter Van Degen, a married man with a playboy reputation. After the Marvells go back to New York, they have a child, Paul Marvell. Since the beginning, Undine estranges from Ralph and her child, not caring about them. In this period she plans her evasion to Paris to force her husband to divorce, leaving the child’s care to Ralph.  

    Notre Dame de Paris

    The New Life Of Undine In Paris

    Once in Paris, Undine lives like a single woman, and she stops the exchange of correspondence with her husband. Mrs Undine Marvell frequents the Parisian high society and continues her relationship with Peter Van Degen. After that, she captures the Marquis Raymond de Chelles’ attention, who falls in love with her. Undine and the French aristocratic marry, after her previous husband, Ralph Marvell, suicides, leaving her a widow. The suicide of Ralph Marvell is a desperate act due to the continuous pressures and blackmails of Undine, who got custody of her son. In reality, Undine wanted to receive a significant amount of money from Ralph and get her previous marriage annulment. Undine manipulates people to get what she desires, considering people like “things”. She doesn’t love anyone, but herself; and she cares only about herself. Undine Spragg has an obsession for dressing up, and she is determined to maintain her luxurious standard of living. 

    Place de l'Europe

    The Fourth Marriage Of Undine

    The secluded life of Undine with her French husband, the Marquis de Chelles, in a small town, becomes overwhelming. Indeed Raymond is very jealous of her and controls every movement of her not allowing his wife to frequent her old friends in Paris.  He is not as rich as she thought, and with the time their relationship becomes formal; they avoid each other as much as possible. In this period, Undine meets her first husband, Elmer Moffatt again, and their passion also resurfaces because he became a wealthy businessman. In the same way that she acted with Ralph Marvell (fleeing away), Undine runs away with Elmer. Once they are back to New York, they marry the same day Undine get divorced from her former husband. Elmer becomes one of the richest men of America, and the couple moves to Paris. They own luxurious apartments, authentic precious artworks, jewels, and exquisite furniture. They live both in Paris and New York. 

    Luxembourg palace

    The End Of The Custom Of The Country

    Paul Marvell never sees his mother, who doesn’t love him. Undine never dedicates time to her son because she is busy wearing exquisite dresses and royal jewellery like the necklace and tiara of rubies belonging to Queen Marie Antoinette. Undine is never happy thinking that she did not accomplish enough in her life. She is an extremely wealthy wife of a billionaire who showers her with million-dollar gifts. Nevertheless, at the end of the book, she complains with her husband about her impossibility to become ambassadress since she is divorced. 

    “She burst into an angry laugh, and the blood flamed up into her face. “I never heard of anything so insulting!” she cried as if the rule had been invented to humiliate her. There was a noise of motors backing and advancing in the court, and she heard the first voices on the stairs. She turned to give herself a last look in the glass, saw the blaze of her rubies, the glitter of her hair, and remembered the brilliant names on her list. But under all the dazzle, a tiny black cloud remained. She had learned that there was something she could never get, something that neither beauty nor influence nor millions could ever buy for her. She could never be an Ambassador’s wife; as she advanced to welcome her first guests, she said to herself that it was the one part she was made for”. 

    Marie Antoinette And Undine

    In The Custom Of The Country, there is a similarity between Undine and Queen Marie Antoinette. At the beginning of the book, there is an oval portrait of the French queen on the Spraggs hotel suite’s wall. In the last pages, Undine receives a necklace and tiara of “pigeon blood” rubies from her fourth husband Elmer Moffatt; this jewellery belonged to Queen Marie Antoinette. As the French queen, Undine is capricious, indifferent to the other’s needs and narcissist. Mrs Spragg is exceptionally ambitious in raising to a higher social-economic rank, and she uses people to get there. Undine doesn’t love anyone but herself, and her reflection hypnotises herself on the mirrors; indeed, Mrs Undine Moffatt cannot stop to admire herself. And she employs all her fortune in new clothes being a prisoner in her golden cage. Frivolity and greed devour her.

    Thoughts About The Custom Of The Country

    In the society of The Custom Of the Country, women can’t be independent, and they have to get married to improve their social-economic life. It is a patriarchal society where there are prejudices against a divorced woman and every anti-conformist behaviour. Women can become rich only through marriage, and men dominate the business and political world. Marriage is the only business that women can manage. Marriage, reputation, wealth and social rank distinguish people. Undine reminds me of Rebecca Sharp’s character in Vanity Fair by the British author William Makepeace Thackeray. They both are greedy and selfish anti-heroines. Undine Spragg traits remain unaltered through the several events of her social career. She never discourages, and she is a metaphor of the insatiable greed of the materialistic society; a society where hypocrisy, customs and conventions replace the moral values. The customs of the countries are the cornerstones of both the American and French communities. 

  • Cranford By Elizabeth Gaskell

    Cranford By Elizabeth Gaskell

    Cranford by Elizabeth Gaskell is an 1853 British novel, and it is the most renowned of this British author. This book consists of sixteen chapters, and it is the sixth novel in my second list of books. Between 1851 and 1853 Elizabeth Gaskell published the story in eight issues in the magazine Household Words. Charles Dickens was the editor in chief of this English magazine, besides being an extraordinary writer. Dickens was also a reporter and an editor. (If you are curious about Charles Dickens, I wrote three articles about the first, the second and the third book of his extraordinary novel A Tale of Two Cities). The plot of Cranford takes place in a small town in Victorian England. 

    The Book Of Cranford By Elizabeth Gaskell

    Cranford is a small town where a group of women leads a quiet life. They know all about each other’s lives, although they don’t pay too much attention to others’ opinions. Each woman keeps her individuality or eccentricity, nevertheless in this little town “good-will reign among them”. Time to time, there is some altercation, but all return to a natural peace and calm. They wear ordinary and suitable dresses, not caring about fashion rules. Regulations rule all the visits and calls, which the ladies sometimes organise. Most of the Cranford families’ standard of living is lowly, and it is forbidden to talk about poverty and money. The people of Cranford try to ignore all the life flaws due to their poverty. Expensive food and drinks are considered vulgar and ostentatious. Frugal and inexpensive lifestyle is an elegant way of living, which satisfies this quiet and humble community. 

    A Pretty Quiet Novel 

    This novel is not a real romance or poetry. There are no heroes, and everything is pretty quiet. No rich and wicked people are present in the book. And the poor is no extraordinary at all since the crowd of Cranford includes ordinary and regular persons. Cranford is a small country town with a torporific ambience. The main characters are old “gentlewomen of limited incomes”. Among them, there is Matilda Matty Jenkyns, who is the daughter of a deceased rector. The mise en scene is indoor, where the gentlewomen organise meetings to take the tea and talk about everything. It is a book about ordinary people experiencing common circumstances in their life. The realism of Cranford by Elizabeth Gaskell is evident in the homely details of those ladies’ daily lives.

    A Country-Town Life 

    In Cranford, there is a particular art of telling a story. Although neither poetry nor passions are present in this household novel, humour and fun don’t miss. In the beginning, the picturesque chronicles of a “country-town life” were under Household Words. It is the humoristic description of life sketches in a small country town. Madame George Sand expressed her opinion regarding Elizabeth Gaskell, claiming that “Mrs Gaskell has done what other female writers nor I in France can accomplish – she has written novels which excite the deepest interest in men of the world, and which every girl will be the better for reading.” Elizabeth was a hearted and kind person, and she was familiar with her poorer neighbours. Her interactions with the poor gave her an inside vision of the lower, middle and working classes, which influenced her writings. I suggest you read this book to get a different perspective on British literature. I’ve read this edition of Cranford on Apple Books. 

© Esther Racah 2025. All rights reserved.