Esther Racah Writer & Literary Blogger

Tag: novel

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
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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

October 29, 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 Blue Castle

The Blue Castle is a 1926 novel by the Canadian author Lucy Maud Montgomery. It is a fictional story, which takes place in the Muskoka region of Ontario in Canada. This novel is the fifth book in my second list of books.

The Dreadful Life Of Valancy

The first part of this fantasy is pretty sad and dull. Valancy Stirling, who is the main character of this story, lives a segregated and lifeless life. A life, which is full of anguishes, abuses and repression. She lives in an ugly red brick house on Elm Street, with her dreadful and abusive family, which control her assiduously. Indeed, Valancy is not free to take a walk whenever she wishes. She has to keep the many rules of her family, such as attending the three meals regularly at the same hours and not sneezing at all. She has to be a submissive and docile girl. Valancy is twenty-nine and, her family and acquaintances consider her a hopeless and insignificant spinster. They love to humiliate her and abuse her unassertive nature. Hence Miss Stirling flees to her imaginary blue castle by night.

The Fairy Tale of The Blue Castle

Valancy tries to preserve her sanity, pretending to live a virtual life in her beautiful blue castle. A castle with its turrets and banners on a pine-clad mountain in an unknown land. Everything is gorgeous and exquisite in her blue castle. Handsome knights court her because she is the most beautiful and lovely dame of the castle. No man pays attention to her in her real-life, and everyone mocks her for being an old, lonely and undesired maid. Valancy is “insignificant-looking” with her always short and thin black hair. In the book, Miss Stirling appears as small and slender with a pale complexion. She found refuge in her lovely and exquisite hideout during her colourless life, where she identified herself as a twenty-five-year-old girl. Valancy Stirling closed herself in her small hideous room during the nights and fled to her dreamy castle. Since her family never allowed Valancy to read novels, she found comfort in the nature books by John Foster, which were all about woods, birds and bugs.

The End Of The Anguishes

Valancy’s life’s anguishes endure up to the day she finds out that she will die because of angina pectoris. At this very moment, she realises that “Fear is the original sin. Almost all the evil in the world has its origin because someone is afraid of something. It is a cold, slimy serpent coiling about you. It is horrible to live with fear, and it is of all things degrading”, as John Foster wrote in one of his books. She understands that her submissive “well-behaviour” is due to her fears. All her life, she has been trapped inside her fears to disappoint her family. She allowed her old dismays to overwhelm her, leading an unhappy and miserable life. So Valancy decides to start a new life with unapologetic behaviour, not anymore afraid to disappoint her family. She begins to behave as she wishes, and she expresses her real and unfiltered thoughts as they are in her mind.

Valancy And Her Real Blue Castle

Valancy decides to look for her blue castle. In reality, she goes to keep house for Roaring Abel Gay because of his dying daughter. Mr Gay has a bad reputation for being an alcoholic, and Valancy’s decision is a disgrace for the Stirlings. Even though Valancy works hard and takes care of the moribund Cecily “Cissy” Gay, she finds happiness and freedom, far away from her dreadful Stirling clan. Valancy is acquainted with Barney Snaith, who is well-known as a criminal living as a hermit on his island. She discovers that Barney is a gentleman, a very kind person, and falls in love with him. Therefore, Valancy askes Barney to be her husband because she is going to die soon. After they get married, Valancy lives with Barney on his island, where his house is amazingly similar to her blue castle. Barney hides his identity because, in reality, he is a millionaire and the famous writer John Foster. They love each other candidly, and they enjoy spending time together and travelling. It is a romantic and happy ending story where you will find the Muskoka region’s exquisite nature description.

Reflections

I enjoyed reading this book. It kept me distracted and engaged. I have to confess that in the beginning, I found it an unfortunate and depressing book. Nevertheless, after some chapter, I changed my mind, and I loved it. It indeed is a classic love story, which sometimes can help cheer yourself up, even though the patriarchal beliefs are present in this book. The heroine Valancy, has to be rescued by her charming prince Barney to improve her life. And also in this novel, every woman’s success is to marry a rich gentleman; indeed, without marriage, Valancy was continuing leading her sorrowful life with her dreadful family. Valancy prefers to have a short happy life rather than a long-lifeless existence, which is overflowing with enslavement and fear. She is delighted with her husband, having found the happiness she was seeking. Like a real princess of a fairy tale, Valancy preserves her integrity and pureness. She remains pure, honest and virtuous inside herself. I had read this digital edition in the Apple Book Store.

September 26, 2020
Animal Farm By George Orwell

Animal Farm by George Orwell is a 1945 short allegorical novel. It is about the rebellion of a group of animals on a farm. They want to rebel because of the oppression and abuses perpetrated by their farmers.

The Unusual Animal Farm by George Orwell

Animal Farm by George Orwell is the fourth novel of my second list of books. It is a fiction and phantasmagoric novel, which starts with a nocturnal meeting of all the animals on a farm in England. They organise a rebellion against their farmers, Mr and Mrs Jones. Once they succeed, they happily celebrate. Now the farm goes under the name “Animal Farm”, and they fought against the only creature, the man, who consumes without producing. Once the animals remove their real enemy, they organise their “society” following Animalism’s principles. Their leader is Napoleon, a large and fat Berkshire pig. Napoleon is an allegory of Joseph Stalin, and he stands out for his “reputation for getting his way”. It is the only farm in England to be managed by animals.

Getting Worse And Worse

In Animal Farm by George Orwell, the pigs lead the farm, and the other animals are simple workers, which work very hard in extreme conditions and eating a small amount of food. Indeed, the best food is owned by the pigs, which do not work physically with the excuse to be “responsible” of the organisation of the farm. Soon Napoleon becomes the cruel dictator of Animal Farm, and he makes sure that every subordinate animal works hard without complaining. All-day and every day, all the other animals work for the pigs surrounded by their frightening dogs. While the pigs can read and write correctly, the other animals cannot get further than the letter A. The animal prole is exploited by the pigs, which dominate over the other animals to raise the farm production and sell the products to human farmers.

Human Pigs

Napoleon loves to strike fear and eliminate rebel animals, like a good dictator. At the end of the book, he and his piggy squad start walking on their hind legs, wearing human clothes, smoking, and drinking alcohol. They humanise themselves, adopting the bad habits and customs of the human race. All animals are not equal anymore because “some of them are more equal than others”. The lower animals are more frightened by the pigs rather than human visitors. “Animal Farm” becomes “The Manor Farm” and the pigs become prosperous and powerful. In fact, Napoleon and his pig subalterns planned to replace the previous tyrant’s role from the beginning. The pig dictatorship is more cruel and oppressive than the previous human one.

Moral Of The Story of Animal Farm by George Orwell

This novel precedes Nineteen Eighty-Four, where there is a similar thematic. They are allegorical novels about dictatorship, abuse of power, exploitation of humans and animals, and mass slaughter. The ends justify the means. The suppression of free thought and free speech, and the constant intimidation, are the only ways to create an ignorant and docile prole. Indeed, this is how a dictator overuses his power and exploit the population. Animal Farm might be an allegory of Stalinism. The inspiration of the subject comes from the Stalinist purges in Barcelona. During that period George Orwell and his wife risked perishing. Different American publishers rejected Animal Farm, finding it too English and too anti-Soviet. Nevertheless, it was published in August 1945, and it became a great success.

Thoughts

After 75 years, the reality of Animal Farm is still actual and accurate. Everyone should read this book. Unfortunately, even nowadays, there are still fifty dictatorships around the world. There are countries where freedom is replaced by tyranny, terror, genocide, complete control of the mass. Human rights and every form of liberty are abolished. Usually, the rate of unemployed and impoverished people is very high. Persecutions of people because of their religion and ethnicity are typical of dictatorships and the organisation of concentration camps. It is sad and scary that today the young generation is not aware of past crimes and massacres such as the holocaust. Being Jewish, it hurts so much to read that there is a lack of holocaust knowledge among American millennials and Gen Z. To make this planet a better place, there should be a historical awareness. Hence study history is essential for cognitive moral development.

September 18, 2020
Nineteen Eighty-Four – A Novel

Nineteen Eighty-Four is a 1949 novel by the English author Eric Arthur Blair, who wrote under George Orwell’s pseudonym. It is a dystopian and satirical book about totalitarianism. This novel takes place in Airstrip One (previously Great Britain) in the provinces of Oceania. It is the second novel in my second list of books.

The Social Structure

The Nineteen Eighty-Four book starts with a bright cold day in 1984 to anticipate this story’s harsh and ruthless dynamic. The cult of the Big Brother and the Ingsoc ideology are the bases of this society. There is a pyramidal social structure where the majority consists of proles, the lower working class; the Outer Party composes the middle-class, and the Inner Party represents the upper class. The dictator is the mysterious Big Brother, whose identity is secret. He is a phantasmatic leader who represents the Party. His face appears all over Oceania, in posters and telescreens with the “Big Brother Is Watching You” caption. Microphones and telescreens upholster every bit of the indoors and outdoors. Everyone and everything is under the control of the elitist Inner Party. The role of the Thought Police is to control everybody all the time.

The Ministries

In this lunatic and foolish social structure, there are three different government ministries: the Ministry of Truth, Minitrue, the Ministry of Peace, Minipax, the Ministry of Love, Miniluv and the Ministry of Plenty, Miniplenty. The Minitrue deals with news, entertainment and education; the Minipax is responsible for the war; the Miniluv is in charge of law and order; the Miniplenty manages the economic affairs. The worst among them is the Miniluv. The main character of this catastrophic scenario is Winston Smith, who works for the Minitrue. In Oceania, the official language is the Newspeak which consists of a minimal amount of words. Furthermore, the third most populous region of Oceania is Airstrip One, whose chief city is London. And it is in London that all the episodes occur.

A Ridiculous Propaganda

The three slogans of the Party are: War Is Peace, Freedom Is Slavery and Ignorance Is Strength. It sums up the concept of the ideal citizen who must be an ignorant slave and fanatic supporter of the Big Brother. Hence, instincts, free-thinking, love, and individualism are illegal. And every thought and emotion is meticulously scrutinised as much as actions. In Nineteen Eighty-Four, the people’s enemy is Emmanuel Goldstein, one of the Party leaders; after he engaged in revolutionary activities, he escaped and disappeared. Everyone hated and despised Goldstein. Winston hates the Big Brother, the Party and the Thought Police. These three heinous entities fight the thoughtcrime, which consists of unorthodox thoughts and rejection of the Party’s doctrine.

The Thoughtcrime

Winston keeps remembering ancient times when he was a child, and there were privacy, love and friendship. Therefore, he firmly believes that thoughtcrime involves death, recognising himself as a dead man. Indeed, the deprivation of feelings and freedom gave birth to a society made of fear, hatred and pain; and the old England was now Airstrip one. Another slogan of the Party is: “Who controls the past, controls the future; who controls the present, controls the past”. A mist surrounds every memory of Winston because he remembers only sporadic events. Briefly, he realises that whoever displeases the Party, disappears mysteriously. In Nineteen Eighty-Four, marriages were happening among Party members with the approval of a committee, with the condition that the two parts were not feeling any mutual attraction. The only purpose of marriages was the procreation of children for the service of the Party.

An Unbearable Existence

In Nineteen Eighty-Four, love is an unthinkable act because of the denial of feelings and affection. The Party considered the proles as natural inferiors such as animals. Hence there is no need to indoctrinate them with the ideology. And to exploit the proles, the only requirement is a mere patriotism. They are free from telescreens, daily inspections, and puritanism. Indeed, another Party slogan is: “Proles and animals are free”.

On the contrary, Winston’s life is a blend of a nebulous past and lies, which become truth. In Nineteen Eighty-Four, the Big Brother’s hypnotic eye is everywhere, even on the children’s books. And it is a coercive and frightening way to manipulate the minds. Literature is banned, and the only legal books are the ones about the doctrine of the Party. Therefore the history and the past are erased. Nobody escapes torture and detection.

Thoughts And Dreams

Not only thoughts and speeches are under examination but also dreams, which are the unconsciousness’s expression. Even during the sleep, the mind must control itself and love the Big Brother. On this purpose, the children are often spies, who denounce their parents, and their loyalty to the Party replaces their love for their parents. Moreover, no emotion is pure because the fear and hate contaminate everything. Nevertheless, Winston has a love affair with a girl, Julia, who hates the Party. They both try to survive, even though they break the rules, know that their death can come in a moment. Among all the social classes, the proles remain human, keeping their primitive emotions. In the end, Winston will go through several years of tortures, which will reshape his mind as brand new, inducing him to love and venerate only the Big Brother.

Cogito Ergo Sum

The Party’s logic finds its explanation in the concept of perception of reality, where truth and lie are consequences of the thoughts. A principle recalls René Descartes’s philosophy, who stated that “I think; therefore I am”. In this sense, reality exists because we think about it. As he explained: “We cannot doubt of our existence while we doubt”. Moreover, the self-evident truth of “two plus two equals four” exists only in the human mind. The English writer Samuel Johnson used to affirm that you may have a reason to assert that two plus two equals five. In the Nineteen Eighty-Four novel, what is essential to the Party is that every mind subordinates to the Party doctrine. As a consequence, the power of thinking must overcome reality; nothing exists outside the human mind.

The Zombies Of Nineteen Eighty-Four

The Big Brother Party’s ultimate ambition is to create a crowd of brainless zombies, who obey the Party’s doctrine unconditionally. The real interest of the Party and every type of dictatorship is to seek power for its own sake. And of course, they don’t care about the wellness of the multitude. As O’Brien, the torturer of Winston claims: “One does not establish a dictatorship to safeguard a revolution; one makes the revolution to establish the dictatorship. The object of persecution is persecution. The object of torture is torture. The object of power is power”. No individuality is allowed since each individual is a mere cell of a social organism. Thence, individuals achieve power as soon as they lose their identity. And they cease to exist, living a grey life of zombies without emotions nor freedom.

Considerations

It is essential to read this book because it reminds that dictatorship and totalitarianism are very dangerous and terrible. Nevertheless, even nowadays, many people are nostalgic for authoritarian regimes, perpetuating many tortures, murders and heinous crimes. I find unbearable and unbelievable that even nowadays there are groups of fanatics, who organise marches, which recall horrible atrocities both in Europe and in the USA, where this happens with the local authorities’ consent. I really cannot understand how it is legit to justify racism and people’s murders in the name of lunatic ideologies. Indeed the past should show how to avoid such horrific injustices and massacres. It seems humans did not learn from history and keep perpetuating the same depravities.

August 30, 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
The Vanity Fair Novel

Vanity Fair is a satirical novel by the British author William Makepeace Thackeray. In this fictional novel, there is not a hero, and the author uses a first-person narrative. The inspiration came from the opera “The Pilgrim’s Progress” of John Bunyan. Indeed, Thackeray expresses his points of view, philosophical visions, and critics about society.

A Novel Without A Hero

In this novel, there are different main characters. Economic and social statuses are critical in the Vanity Fair society. The society of the British Regency period is under the conscientious analysis of the writer, who adopts a tone, which is satirical, ironic and cynic. In that historical period, merchant companies and banks were growing as well as the East India Company. I have to confess that I found this book very unusual, and I noticed that the reader is never passive. On the contrary, I felt involved with the adventures involving the characters. I had the impression to be in a theatre, suffering and enjoying passionately with most of the characters.

The Vanity Fair Society

The vicious and misogynist society of the Regency period in England was very insensitive to women ( I would also add cynic! ). Undoubtedly, a woman was supposed to marry a man who could ensure her financial stability. In this way, she could belong to a high social rank. In Vanity Fair, the unmarried women or “spinsters” can only find despite, pity and solitude. Indeed, this is a society of ageists, conformists and hypocrites. It is a human jungle where people have to fight for their survival. Usually, the winners belong to the wealthy and élitaire class, leaving the poor and pleb in their despair. The most important value is the economic condition of a person and their social status.

The Adventurer Becky

In this novel, there is no hero; nevertheless, the naive and honest Amelia could be the heroine of this unusual romance. Amelia embodies all the good traits of the traditional woman of those times. She is so humble, submissive, feminine, good-natured, loyal and naive. Nevertheless, she is not so well-educated and independent, differently from Becky. Vanity Fair is the best place to find the adventurers, who live day by day, improvising like actors without a script. Rebecca or Becky is the queen of an audacious and adventurous life. She is the antithesis of Amelia. Indeed she is amoral, selfish and greedy. Nevertheless, Rebecca is brilliant, beautiful, cultured and very smart. She doesn’t run after moral values. Becky uses people as tools to improve her social status. Moreover, she is nonconformist and shameless.

Starting A New Life

In the first part of Vanity Fair, Amelia Sedley and Rebecca Sharp are the main female characters. They just finished the school at the Miss Pinkerton’s academy for young ladies, on Chiswick Mall. They start a new life, which I would define the real-life once they became two adults. The taste of this novel is bitter and sweet. There is a tragicomedy where nobody wins. Every victory and glorious moment will end up like lifeless creatures at the end of their days. Amelia’s father is a merchant in London, so she belongs to a wealthy family. On the contrary, Becky is the daughter of a late English painter and a French opera-girl. Rebecca is a good singer and dancer. Additionally, she also speaks French fluently, and she embroiders splendidly.

Rebecca’s Childhood

Becky had an unfortunate and sad childhood with a father beating the wife and the daughter under the alcohol effects. When he was sober, he was spending his time with other artists in Soho. Hence, Rebecca was meeting different artists in taverns. She used to speak French with her mother, who was from Paris. Rebecca was not a rich girl differently to the other girls of the Pinkerton Academy. The author describes her as a small, pale, sandy-haired girl with bright green eyes. Indeed an attractive, beautiful and clever girl started to be a “woman” when she was eight years old, after her mother’s death. The society “blames” her because she doesn’t belong to a wealthy nor aristocratic family, so she is not entitled to a good match.

Sedley’s House

The beginning of a new life for both Amelia and Becky takes place at Sedley’s house. Here Becky starts to practice her alluring arts of a charming actress. Rebecca wants to captivate the attention of Joseph Sedley. Jos is Amelia’s brother and, he is a vain and a selfish boy, who is a real dandy. In Becky’s eyes, he is perfect because he is rich and belongs to a prosperous family. She tries every effort to get involved in a relationship with Jos. Nevertheless, in the end, the boy refuses her, and she leaves Sendley family to embrace a new life. In this period, Amelia, or Emmy, meets again her childhood friend George Osborne, a very handsome, aristocratic and selfish lad. George belongs to a merchant family, which is richer than the Sedley family, and Emmy is genuinely in love with him. Another character is Captain William Dobbin, who is the best friend of George Osborne, and he falls in love with Amelia.

At Queen’s Crawley

After a period at the Sedley’s, Rebecca Sharp moves to her next destination, Crawley’s house, as Sir Pitt Crawley’s two daughters’ governess. Sir Pitt Crawley, is baronet and owner of Queen’s Crawley; and he has two sons, Pitt and Rawdon, from the first marriage, and two daughters, from the second marriage. Becky gets married to Rawdon, who is an officer passing most of his time gambling. In the same period, Amelia gets married to George. Lord Osborne is very stunned and upset because he doesn’t like Amelia with her family.

Flow Of Events In Vanity Fair

During the Battle of Waterloo, all the main characters go to Brussels. Jos Sedley escapes, and George dies in the campaign. Becky neglects and hates her child, little Rawdon. Oppositely to Becky, Emmy loves her child, Georgy. The Seidler’s misery forces Amelia to entrust her child to Lord Osborne, who adopts little Georgy. Emmy and Becky’s friendship ends up with many tensions before George’s death, who was in love with Rebecca. Once a widow, Emmy lives in miserable conditions with her parents due to his father’s businesses’ bankruptcy. After her parents’ death, Emmy moves to a better house with her child Georgy and her brother Jos. She makes new acquaintances of the sophisticated world, and she enjoys her new life. Time to time, William Dobbin visits her after he confessed to Amelia that he loved her for twelve years.

The End Of Vanity Fair

Once Rawdon repudiates Becky, he will end his days in Coventry Island as governor. The exaggeration of Rebecca’s improper behaviour, flirting with different men, is why her lousy reputation in all aristocrats. Her ambition to be part of the aristocracy ruined her. And it is at this very moment that she experiences rejection and solitude. So Becky travels a lot, moving from one place to another, living in different countries such as France, Germany, Italy, and Belgium. She enjoys her adventurous life meeting several people up to the day she meets Jos Sedley, her first “love”. She convinces him to rescue her from her misery and poverty, and Amelia invites Rebecca to live in her house. The naive Emmy will know once for all that her late husband did not love her, and he was cheating Amelia. And so, for Amelia, this is the turning point in her life, and she abandons her past grief.

Some Curiosities

Some character has a family name related to their nature. For example, sharp can refer to a razor’s sharpness since the men involved romantically with Becky died. Furthermore, sharp in archaic English was a synonym of cheating. Indeed, she cheated different times her husband Rawdon with very wealthy and aristocratic men. In Vanity Fair novel, there is an obsession with lavishness and luxuriance. Indeed, it is crucial belonging to a wealthy and influential family. The primary purpose of women life is to find a rich and respectable husband. Women could work only as governesses and servants. Only a few educated women were embracing the career of the writer. Rebecca is a very erudite woman, but her main goal is to marry a rich and aristocratic man. In her house, she welcomes pleasantly different men, entertaining them like a “showgirl”. Besides singing wonderfully, she knows how to be engaging and charming.

Notes

The Vanity Fair novel is a metaphor of the human vanities, and it’s perfectly suitable in modern times. Happiness and misery can coexist in this picturesque tragicomedy where there is no shortage of twists and turns. An example is when Rawdon finds his wife, Becky, in the company of the wealthy aristocrat Lord Steyne in the middle of the night. The author defines this book as a comic story. Comic as the charade which is staged in one of the several parties organised by Lord Steyne. In this pantomime, the excellent actress Becky (actress in real life and on stage), plays Clytemnestra. Of course, nothing happens by mistake in this vanity parade! Like Clytemnestra, who killed her husband, Becky Sharp is in a certain way related to the death of the beloved Rawdon and Jos. Becky bewitches with her enchanting voice and beauty. Her charisma, self-confidence, culture and intelligence attract men of all ages and social ranks. Nevertheless, she is cold minded, and she knows how to get what she wants.

At The End

I would say that the behaviour of Rebecca Sharp reminds me of The Prince by Niccolò Machiavelli. In Machiavelli’s opera, we find the sentence “il fine giustifica I mezzi”, which means that the goal justifies the actions. And so it does not matter the way we reach our goals rather the plan itself. Rebecca embodies this “virtue”, which is described by Machiavelli. Indeed, she always achieved her dreams no matter if she used people as puppets. Undeniably, there are so many Rebeccas, both women and men, who don’t care so much about others’ welfare and exploit people viciously, being aware of their selfishness and narcissism.

Ah! Vanitas Vanitatum! Which of us is happy in this world? Which of us has his desire? or, having it, is satisfied? – Come, children, let us shut up the box and the puppets, for our play is played out. William Makepeace Thackeray.

June 4, 2020
The Queen Of Spades By Pushkin

The Queen Of Spades by Pushkin is a masterpiece of international literature and one of my favourite books. It is one of the most well-known and famous novels by the Russian writer.

The Queen Of Spade

The Queen of Spade is a short novel, which Alexander Pushkin published in 1834. This mysterious and minimal story takes place in Petersburg city. It is a tale where gambling and the supernatural find space in a bizarre and disillusioned ambience. The protagonist is Hermann, an army engineer, who loses his mind and becomes mad. The Queen of Spade’s style is detached, and there is a minimal description of the events involving Hermann, the old countess, and her godchild Lisaveta. I’ve read this short novel so many times that I barely remember how many!

A Very Bizarre Tale

Undoubtedly, The Queen Of Spades is one of the most unusual novels, which I’ve ever read in my life. It is a bizarre novel where reality and transcendent meet together. I would define it as a surrealistic book because of the oniric atmosphere. Hermann is obsessed with the three cards secret, which involves the Countess Anna Fedorovna. He is very captived by gambling and money. When the countess dies in front of him, he is indifferent and only bothered he couldn’t discover the three-card secret. After her death, the countess appears to Hermann in the guise of a ghost. She confesses to him the mystery of the three cards. He uses the affection and sensibility of Lisaveta, who is a virtuous and naive girl taking care of the countess. Hermann becomes crazy because of the countess’s visions and obsession with the three cards (a three, a seven and an ace). He ends up in a psychiatric hospital, where he keeps repeating “A three, a seven and an ace”.

The Metaphor Of The Queen Of Spades

The Queen Of Spades by Pushkin is a metaphor of the human obsessions with money and success. Hermann behaves like a predator, following his prey, Lisaveta. He is a fool, and he believes his focus will conduce him to victory. In the last card game, he makes a mistake, and instead of an ace, he will find the queen of spades with the resemblance of the countess winking one eye at him sarcastically. This novel is a supernatural tale, where the ambiguous Hermann is a man with a strong resemblance of Napoleon and the soul of Mephistopheles. In this book, the recurrent numbers are the one, three and seven, and the cell where Hermann ends up imprisoned is the number 17. These numbers could be a reference to the masonic symbolism. In this novel, it is evident that Pushkin describes the characters sarcastically. Hermann is a fool and stupid man, Lisa is too much naive, and victim of the countess and Hermann. The countess is a kind of ancient ornament, and Pushkin described her undressing scene with sarcasm. The famous composer Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky produced a homonym opera in three acts, with a slightly different plot.

April 24, 2020

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