Esther Racah Writer & Literary Blogger

Tag: literature

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 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.

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.

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.

December 17, 2020
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.

October 6, 2020
The Aeronauts Book

The Aeronauts is a book by James Glaisher, a pioneer of the scientific meteorology. He was an English aeronaut and astronomer during the mid-1800s. He had undoubtedly an adventurous life measuring the atmosphere at different altitudes in a hot air balloon. It is the third novel in my second list of books.

About the Author

James Glaisher was one of the founders of the actual Royal Meteorological Society back to the year 1850. He held different roles in several institutions such as the Royal Society, Royal Astronomical Society and the Royal Aeronautical Society. Since his childhood, he developed an interest in meteorology, having access to the Royal Observatory at Greenwich. James performed flights up to heights of 11 km above the ground, with twenty-eight ascents with Henry Coxwell, his pilot. He aimed to measure the atmosphere at high altitudes, to get information about the temperature and humidity at different elevations. The Aeronauts edition comes from the 1871 book Travels in the Air, and it is about the aerial journeys of James Glaisher.

The Aeronauts: Travels in the Air

As James Glaisher wrote: “There are no frontiers in the reign of thoughts, and the conquests of the human mind belong to all the world, yet each civilised nation is called upon to give its contingent to the great work of the study of nature and to choose those branches which are most suited to its genius”. This book is about the chronicles of his ascents in England, starting from 1862 to 1865. Glaisher describes the beauty of a clear night over London in his several ascents and looking through a telescope a part of the Milky Way. Above the clouds, all seems to be so different. It is a vast continent above the earth; an upper world where there are silence and calm.

As soon as the elevation increases, the sky has a deep blue colour, and when there is vapour, the colour is an intense Prussian blue. The beauty of the clouds is more notable in an autumn morning before sunrise. In another section of The Aeronauts, Glaisher describes a beautiful and detailed view of London. He could have a distinct glance of several homes, being the city of London visible, including the suburbs. And he portrays the countryside as a garden with well-marked fields, with a complete view of the Thames. The discovery of the balloon is one of the most important inventions in human history. Indeed, the balloon is an instrument that allowed exploring the atmosphere, a natural laboratory so crucial for chemists, meteorologists and physicists.

September 4, 2020
My Second List Of Books
My second list of books includes twelve novels that I sorted by title. These novels belong to American, British, and German literature.
1. 1. 84, Charing Cross Road by Helene Hanff 84, Charing Cross Road is a 1970 epistolary book and is the first in my second list of books. This novel is about books and English literature and about twenty years of correspondence between the writer Helene, who lived in New York, and her friend Frank Doel from London. Their shared love for books and literature connected them in a long time close friendship.
  2. 1984 by George Orwell 1984 is a satirical, futuristic, dystopian novel about totalitarianism depriving individuality and freedom. It is the second novel in my second list of books. The year of publication is 1949, and it takes place in a province of the superstate Oceania in the year 1984. The main character is Winston Smith, who dreams about a revolution against the totalitarian Party.
  3. The Aeronauts: Travels in the Air By James Glaisher
    The third novel in my second list of books is The Aeronauts book about extraordinary flights and discoveries. The main character is the scientist James Glaisher, who explored the skies like no one before and the book’s author. A meteorologist and photographer with a passion for hot balloons and sky exploration. A book of discoveries during incredible travels in the air.
  4. Animal Farm by George Orwell
    The fourth book on my list is Animal Farm, which is an allegorical story. It is a dystopian novel by the English author George Orwell, who published it in 1945. The plot is about a group of farm animals, which organises a revolution against irresponsible human farmers. The animals dream about equality, freedom and happiness.
  5. The Blue Castle by L.M. MontgomeryThe Blue Castle is the fifth novel in my second list of books, and it is a 1926 novel by the Canadian author Lucy Maud Montgomery. This romance takes place in Canada before the First World War, and the protagonist is Valancy Stirling. She is a single woman who lives unhappily with her distressful family. She escapes from reality, dreaming about a blue castle.
  6. Cranford by Elizabeth Gaskell
    The sixth novel in my second list of books is Cranford, which is a well-known novel. Elizabeth Gaskell published it between 1851 and 1853. The background of this novel is a small English town in the mid-nineteenth century. The protagonists are the two spinster sisters Miss Matty and Miss Deborah, and it is a portrait of a small society of women.
  7. The Custom of the Country by Edith Wharton The seventh book on my list is The Custom of the Country, a 1913 novel and a literary masterwork by the American author Edith Wharton. It is the story of Undine Spragg, a beautiful and ambitious girl. She is a fortune seeker who uses her beauty and charm only to marry a rich man.
  8. The Diary of a Nobody by George Grossmith
    The Diary of a Nobody is an 1892 English comic novel, which describes Charles Pooter’s chronicles daily in a narrow-minded society. It is the eighth novel in my second list of books, and it is a daily diary, which collects the memories of his ordinary middle-class life.
  9. Effie: The Passionate Lives of Effie Gray, John Ruskin and John Everett Millais by Suzanne Fagence Cooper The ninth book is Effie, which is about the beautiful and intelligent Effie Gray’s adventures a young Scottish socialite living in the Victorian era. She was an extraordinary woman who supported her husband’s career, the Pre-Raphaelite painter John Everett Millais.
  10. The Enchanted April by Elizabeth von Arnim The Enchanted April is the tenth book in my second list of books. It is a 1922 novel about four women living in England and going to Portofino to spend a holiday in an Italian castle. In Italy, they enjoy an unforgettable period in an enchanting and beautiful place.
  11. Far From the Madding Crowd by Thomas Hardy
    
    In my second list of books, the eleventh novel is Far from the Madding Crowd, an 1874 book, the fourth novel of Thomas Hardy and his first success. It takes place in rural Wessex in the 1860s, and the protagonist is Bathsheba Everdene, a farmer. She has an independent and fearless personality. This novel is full of turmoils, tragedies and heartbreak.
  12. Faust by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
    
    Faust is a classic German legend about the successful historian Johann Georg Faust, who finds discontent in his life. He makes a deal with the devil, exchanging his soul for indefinite knowledge and enjoyment. In the end, Faust will find destruction and redemption. It is the twelfth novel on my list.
August 9, 2020
The Novel Of Orlando

Orlando is the last novel in my first list of books. This novel dates back to 1928, and it is the most famous fantasy novel by Virginia Woolf. It is a revolutionary romance because of the unusual subject in that historical period.

The Novel of Orlando

At the beginning of the novel, the main character is an English nobleman, Orlando, a page of Queen Elizabeth I and a poet. Orlando isolates themself in their countryside house after a heartbreak and the queen’s death. During this period, they dedicate their time writing and contemplating nature, life, and death. Subsequently, they become an ambassador in Constantinople before King Charles. In this mysterious period, Orlando becomes a woman, and they go back to England as Lady Orlando. They will live as a woman for the following two centuries. In this period, they marry, and they continue to be a writer. The tale ends up in the year 1928, which is the year of publication of this novel.

Time and Death

Time and death appear to be an obsession for Orlando. Indeed, they enjoy passing years in solitude, writing poetry and reflecting about time and death starting from their isolation period. In this period, their obsession for death and decay is dominant, and time to time, they disconnect from reality and society. At the beginning of the novel, Orlando is a boy who loves nature and solitude. Their favourite place is under an oak tree and after a period of distress in the Elizabethan society, they fall into a mood of melancholy, thinking about death. They meditate about the thin line that separates happiness from melancholy. Orlando is obsessed with death since nothing is everlasting.

Solitude and Poetry

At the beginning of the second chapter, something mysterious happens to Orlando. After seven days of a deep sleep, they wake up with few memories of their past, and they meditate about the link between nature and death and life. Solitude was their choice, secluding themself in the big house of their fathers. Indeed, they pass their time into the crypt of their ancestors, where they think that even if people are merry and celebrate, one day they will die. Everything turns to dust, and nothing remains of all the illustrious persons. Death and decay are their constant thoughts. Life is not worth living anymore; hence Orlando sinks into a deep sadness. Since they were a child, they developed a passion for books and literature. Mostly now, the young Orlando spends several hours reading books and writing poetry. Before they were twenty-five years old, Orlando wrote forty-seven romantic plays, novels and poems, in English, French and Italian.

Orlando and Nature

In this novel, nature appears quite often as background and constant companion of Orlando. Although they are thirty years old, they learned that love, ambition, women and poets are delusory. Dogs and nature are the only trustable things. They always refer to their elkhound and a rose bush. So they seclude themself to avoid the external world, spending all their time reading and writing. Their favourite place is under an oak tree. Years passed, and although time passed, nothing happened. The time of the clock and the time in the mind seem to be different for them. Indeed, the time appeared long as they were thinking for a person of their age, but actions seemed to become short. Their timeline was very long, and it was surprisingly similar to a journey in a desert of vast eternity. The oak tree hideout was their place, where they contemplated about love, friendship and literature.

Constantinople Journey

Orlando wrote the long poem “The Oak Tree, A Poem”, spending nights and days writing during this indefinitely long isolation. Once they encountered the mysterious Archduchess Harriet Griselda of Finster-Aarhorn and Scandop-Boom from Roumania, a cousin of the queen visiting England. The attentions of Harriet became too obsessive, and her chasing caused the departure of Orlando from England. And so Orlando moves to Constantinople with the title of Ambassador Extraordinary at the service of King Charles. The fantastic novel of Orlando is a biographical novel, and Virginia Woolf plays the role of narrator. Virginia portrays the life of Orlando as a vague mystery. During their Constantinople journey, the Ambassador keeps themself very busy among wax, seals, ribbons, documents and letters. Orlando never loses their charm, beauty and romantic glamour. Although many women and men were adoring and admiring them, Orlando lived a solitary life without friends.

The Mysterious Transition

During their journey in Constantinople, Orlando’s life takes a radical turn. After a long sleep, they wake up as a woman. Even though they become a woman, their nature and personality remained the same. They leave Constantinople, with a gipsy and a donkey; their adventures seem to be more intricate from now. The group of gipsies, who accepted them, noticed the vast cultural discrepancies. Their adoration of the beauty of nature was absurd for the gipsies. Orlando describes fiercely their big house with several rooms, a sign of their wealth and nobility. Virginia Woolf expresses an essential concept in the following lines “No passion is stronger in the breast of man than the desire to make others believe as he believes. Nothing so cuts at the root of his happiness and fills him with rage as the sense that another rate lows the prizes high. It is not love of truth but desire to prevail that sets quarter against quarter and makes parish desire parish’s downfall. Each seeks peace of mind and subserviency rather than the triumph of truth and exaltation of virtue”. Hence Lady Orlando decides to go back to England, where they embrace a new life as a noblewoman.

The New Life of Lady Orlando

The second part of the Orlando novel is about their life as a woman. They go back to their house although now they are a lady in the Victorian period, dividing their time in writing, reading and mundane events. These social events were accessible only to the aristocracy and Orlando when felt a disappointment due to that society’s frivolity and emptiness. Occasionally in their house, they meet the ghosts of notable poets. With the time they lose some illusions to acquire others, and their joy consists in writing. In this period, Orlando meets Archduchess Harriet again, who reveals herself as a man, but they reject the Archduchy proposal for the second time. Finally, Orlando is delighted to be alone and enjoy their solitude. They realise the difference between the two sexes after they start wearing modest and feminine clothes. They believe that clothes become important ornaments, conditioning the mood of the person wearing them.

The Two Sides of Orlando

Since their transition happened, Orlando coexisted different sides of their personality, which were sometimes masculine and sometimes feminine. They were tender-hearted mostly forward animals, and they detested the household activities. They were riding very well and driving several horses at the same time. Sometimes they were crying emotionally for a slight provocation, and they were not fond of mathematics and geography. So their personality was a blend of masculine and feminine impulses. In this novel, Virginia Woolf expresses her perspective about the period during Queen Anne’s reign, considering it splendid and exquisite, even though the society was superficial and worthless. Orlando frequently joined parties of aristocracy and nobility as a proper socialite. In the beginning, they felt great enjoyment, but afterwards, they became disgusted. Society can be pleasing and evil, but it owns a potent essence, which can be intoxicating and addictive. Suddenly the elite becomes tedious and repulsive. Hence Orlando avoids social encounters.

Illusions and Truth

Orlando believes that illusions are precious and necessary among all the things in life. Dreams are essential for the soul as much as the atmosphere is vital to the Earth. Lady Orlando lives in a delusional confusion. Sometimes it occurs that they wear their old nobleman clothes embracing their masculine nature from the past. Every night they enjoy wandering outdoor when there are not so many people around. Orlando likes to entertain themself with both the sexes. Their dual nature offers them all kind of experiences and amusements, having relationships with both the genders. Nonetheless, books, literature and poetry remain a big passion in their life.

The Nineteenth Century

The last two chapters take place in the nineteenth century, the period contemporary with the author. A turbulent welter of cloud covers all the city of London. Darkness and confusion are spreading all over. The eighteenth-century ends up, and the nineteenth century begins. The weather changes, and it is rainier. There is a rise of muffins, coffee, artificial flowers, pianofortes and china ornaments. Women’s life target is marriage, and having as many children as possible. Orlando carries their manuscript “The Oak Tree” with them wherever they go. The date on the first page of the script was 1586, and they worked on it for three hundred years. After all these centuries, they realised that they remained the same person. Their personality was unaltered despite their transition. Their meditative side, their love for animals and nature remain immutable, although now there was Queen Victoria instead of Queen Elizabeth.

The Last Part of Orlando Novel

Orlando kept their Elizabethan spirit during the nineteenth century, which is too much antipathetic to their personality. Now they are in complete solitude, and they feel very lonely. They define themself as single, mateless and alone. Although they met several men and women in their life, Orlando concludes that they don’t understand human nature deeply. They realised that it was better to lie in peace, surrounded by nature. And it is in this right moment that they meet their last husband. Indeed, Orlando was previously married to a Spanish dancer and had three sons. Even though they belong to the nobility and they still own their estate, they become poor. Finally, Orlando succeeds to publish their precious manuscript, and they become a famous writer. They win a prize for The Oak Tree poem, which they kept writing years after years with devotion and love. They are a beautiful person, kind to dogs, faithful to friends and very fond of poetry. After all those years of writing, the world seemed the same, considering that also after their death, the course of the events would be immutable.

Orlando: A Biography

This novel is a dedication to Vita Sackville-West, who is represented by Orlando. It is a phantasmagoria of Vita’s life during three centuries. Nigel Nicolson, son of Vita, defined Orlando as “the longest and most charming love letter in literature“. And Vita was delighted with the book. This book is a fictional biography of Orlando, who embodies a non-binary person. Indeed, Their spirituality and intellect define Orlando, not their gender; in fact, what matters is their soul and mind. Solitude, poetry and literature remain the loyal companions of Orlando years after years and century after century. Moreover, the last day in the novel is the first day of 1928, the women’s suffrage in Britain.

August 7, 2020
Good Wives By Louisa May Alcott

Good Wives by Louisa May Alcott is the second book of Little Women. As they grow, the March sisters follow different life paths. The publication year of this novel was 1869; a year later of the publication of Little Women.

Little Women And Good Wives

In Good Wives, the four March sisters are in their adulthood. I’ve found this book interesting and engaging. In this novel, which is a continuation of Little Women, the March sisters grew up, and they have different purposes in life. For example, Amy becomes a very educated and classy girl. She improves her knowledge of art during her visit to Europe. Meg is a wife and mother, and Jo becomes more feminine and sweet. This book is not just a “continuation” of Little Women. It is a new world, which discloses at your eyes once you have read Little Women. It worths your attention. This time the tomboy Jo finds an additional way to express her womanhood. Indeed, Jo March can balance career and marriage; in fact, she is a writer and teacher. Differently to Jo March, Louisa never got married.

A Sour-Sweet Book

Good Wives has a sour-sweet flavour because it is not a real happy ending novel. I felt sad about Beth, and each character goes through life events, which sometimes are challenging. Each of them has a fragile and robust nature. Moreover, Meg, Jo and Amy get married even though their personalities are pretty different. It’s like Louisa wanted that the girls settle for marriage to fulfil the nineteenth century’s social conventions. I think that the purpose of Louisa was to make the readers happy since the majority of her readers were women. Indeed, even though Louisa was not sure to write Little Women’s continuation, her reader affection and attention induced her to write Good Wives. But this time she got inspired by her fantasy rather than by her family. It is a sweet-sour book, which makes cry and smile, involving the readers in the characters’ several adventures.

April 21, 2020
The Little Women Novel

Little Women is an 1868 novel, which is a literary treasure by Louisa May Alcott. The main characters are four young sisters, and the mise en scène is in New England. For many years this book has been considered a book for children, especially for girls.

The March Sisters in Little Women

The March sisters are four girls with different personalities. Margaret, Meg, is the oldest one, she is 16, pretty and responsible for the household; she is a bit vain about her white hands, and she represents the ideal and typical woman of that period. Josephine, Jo, is the boyish girl of the family and, even if she is only 15, she is a writer. Elizabeth, Beth, is a 13 years girl who is adorable, kind and compassionate about the others. Amy is the youngest one, being 12 years old, she likes to paint, she is vain and loves to wear beautiful dresses. I appreciate Amy because I do love figurative arts, and to dress feminine and fancy. Besides Amy, Jo March is one of my favourite characters because she is not the typical girl who only takes care of the house; besides, she doesn’t aim to marry. The four sisters live with their mother, Mrs March, Marmee, and, Hannah, the house’s maid. Mr Robert March, the father of the girls, serves in the Civil War.

Louisa May Alcott And Josephine March

In the novel Little Women, the four sisters deal with different daily activities. Meg is responsible for the other girls, and sometimes she is tutoring them. Jo is a writer, and she passes her free time with her best friend, Laurie; Beth is a musician, and she adores to play the piano; Amy is a student at school, loves art, and paints in her spare time. In Little Women, the March sisters love to read, and they are very attentive to their mother. Although they have some quarrel, they are very connected. The most peculiar character is Jo March because, in that period, it was unusual for a woman to be a writer, and she doesn’t have the intention to marry. Oppositely to Meg, who is very feminine and obedient, Jo is a rebel, self-confident and erudite girl. Louisa May Alcott identified herself with the character of Josephine. Indeed, Louisa was the second oldest girl among four sisters, and she did not intend to marry. Joe is unconventional, brave and a dreamer. Her joyful moments are mainly at her aunt’s attic, where she finds delight in reading and writing. Joe has a particular temper, although she is devoted to her family. Similarly, Louisa was an impulsive, dynamic and productive woman. She wrote novels and poetry quickly; in fact, she had to support her low-income family.

About Louisa

Louisa started working when she was eighteen because of her poverty-stricken family. She became a playground teacher, a seamstress, a servant, a writer and a nurse. After working at a Union hospital, Louisa got pneumonia, and since then her health conditions remained weak. She started writing under the pen name of Flora Fairfield, and later she wrote gothic thrillers under the pen name of A.M. Bernard. One day, her publisher proposed her to write a book for girls in a change to publish one of her father’s books. Hence Louisa wrote Little Women in only ten weeks. Her inspiration came from her family because she had other three sisters, and like in the case of the March family, her family was living in poverty. Differently from Jo March, Louisa never married. After Abigail May, one of her sisters, died, Louisa cared for her niece Lulu for some year. Moreover, Louisa Alcott was the first woman to vote in Concord, in Massachusetts. Indeed, she was working as Suffragette like her mother.

My Thoughts

The way the March sisters try to cope with their poverty, difficulties and absence of their father because of the war is noteworthy. Despite their young age, they are mature and responsible women. They work, study and employ their free time in activities, which nowadays are uncommon. Indeed, today’s technology and social media are a threat to creativity, using less time in reading books. Indeed, this book illustrates the conditions of women in the 19th-century. In that period, in Europe and the United States, women could not have careers besides servants or governess. Hence, their life achievement was marriage, preferring wealth or rich men. It was inconvenient and discouraging to be a spinster. Women were not supposed to be independent nor to enter into the profession of the writer. I firmly think that society is not entitled to label a woman for her job and life’s choices. The concept of femininity mustn’t mislead to misconceptions about women. It is a mistake to define a feminine woman as a submissive, docile, delicate and obedient human being. Indeed, the concept of submission is a terrible blunder of many women, who think it as a way to express their femininity. A woman doesn’t need to be docile, fragile, dependent and passive to show her womanhood. On the contrary, lack of independence and charisma shows off only a lack of intelligence and character.

April 21, 2020
The Shunned Castle

The Shunned Castle

In a deep hollow of sorrows, a shunned castle is the prey of its inevitable fate
In the haze, imperiously it emerges in all its majesty
Here the quiescence of thoughts and time finds its throne
The loud emptiness surrounds this spoiled alcove
A castle that can disclose ancient secrets and tragedies
A manor that finds refuge only in the depth of desolation
The same desolation which protects it against the evanescence
No metamorphosis can affect its enchantment
This neglected ruin hides behind a dark forest
It is a magnificent treasure chest
Nobody can catch a glimpse of its beauty and splendour
The moon is the only friend of this superb and antique dwelling
Some nights the bright moonlight penetrates through the shutters and slits
The moon rays stroke the inner magnificence of this shunned castle
The splendid furniture, paintings, and chandeliers
They wake up after an extended silent rest
And they shine in all their glory with unveiled allure and grace.
Esther Racah

April 12, 2020
Crimson Roses

Crimson Roses

There is a garden of crimson roses
The moon is radiant and bright
I’m lost in a dark and gloomy oblivion
Crimson roses are an oasis of delight where my heart rejoices
Whenever my heart bleeds, the poetry comforts me
My poetry is the only expression of my soul
I lose myself in the hollowness
I seek beauty and sublimity
There is a subtle way to connect with my spirit
It mostly happens in the ethereal world
Where souls can find a connection
Life is an abridged burden
I remain in the hush, and magnificence is in my eyes
Sorrow and euphoria are my constant companions
I live in my dreams, and it’s not so arduous to find me
Distances disappear since, in the intangible world, space annihilates
In the meantime, I find my bliss in crimson roses and poesy.
Esther Racah

April 11, 2020
A Tale Of Two Cities Book 2 – The Golden Thread

A Tale of Two Cities Book 2 – The Golden Thread is the second book by Charles Dickens in A Tale of Two Cities. The title refers to the golden Lucie Manette, the gold strand, because she connects some of this book’s characters, brightening their life.

The Golden Thread

The golden thread refers to Lucie Manette, the only daughter of Dr Manette. Her father spent eighteen years in the prison of La Bastille. She has golden blond hair, and she is beautiful. Miss Manette is sweet and kind, and she cares about her father very much. Lucie marries Charles Darnay, the nephew of the cruel and cynic aristocratic Monsieur Evrémonde. She represents a precious girl, as she is very compassionate and full of love for others. Her golden soul is brimful of virtues and far from vicious sins. The Golden Thread is the second book of A Tale of Two Cities and the continuation of the first book – Recalled to Life.

Knitting And Revolutionary Women

In Paris, revolutionary people recognized the couple Defarge as leaders. In particular, Madame Therese Defarge supported this movement to remove the Crown from France. The plan includes the execution of all the nobility and aristocracy. In the same way as Lady Macbeth, in Shakespeare’s tragedy, Madame Defarge is cruel and plans which person must die. Furthermore, at the same time, she is the head of a group of women who knit mostly during the executions. They have a cold, detached, and ruthless mind. The knitting recalls the Greek myth of the Moirae, the three Fates who ruled each human’s life. Indeed, knitting is a metaphor for human fate and destiny, which unexpectedly ends up.

Women In The Golden Thread

In The Golden Thread, women have a central role, and they are not mere passive figures. Lucie Manette and Madame Defarge differ in appearance, manners, and spirit. Lucie is beautiful, delicate, feminine, and flawless. The wine shop owner, Madame Defarge, is a woman who seeks revenge. In the novel, she is burly, cold-minded, and pitiless.

We could think she is a human monster, but we understand her behavior when we proceed to the end of the third book, The Track of a Storm. After the rape of her sister and the murder of her brother, she is hurt and full of grief. The Marquis St. Evrémonde was the man who committed such ferocious acts when he was young. He is the uncle of Charles Darnay, the husband of Lucie Manette, and he is also guilty of the murder of a child.

As ingenious as she is, Lucie does not know all these past events that connect Therese Defarge and her husband, Charles. Nonetheless, her innocence does not move Madame Defarge because she is determined to exterminate all the Evrémonde family, including Charles Darnay. Madame Defarge never stops knitting and never ceases to plan and organize her vengeance against those aristocrats, including their descendants.

Family And Loyalty

In The Tale of Two Cities, the family is essential in every type of society, among ordinary people and aristocracy. Some families have a strong connection and love, such as between Lucie and her father. Nevertheless, sometimes the family links are unwelcomed and rejected, like in Charles Darnay’s case with his noble uncle, the cruel and abusive Marquis St. Evrémonde.

Loyalty and family do not always walk together; there is no connection between some families’ components. For example, Charles burns all the bridges with his aristocratic and wealthy family. He cannot bear the atrocities that stained his family; hence, he builds a new life in England, renouncing all the privileges coming from his birth and changing his surname. Lucie and Charles married and had a child, little Lucie.

The French peasants formed a secret society, which created a big family where people shared the same principles and helped each other with equality. Moreover, they were loyal to their common doctrine of liberty, equality, and fraternity, leading the French Revolution.

I cannot avoid recommending this book because it is an authentic masterpiece in its style and content. It is rare to find all these qualities in a novel, and I must confess that it is one of my favorite books.

March 23, 2020