Marginalia: Unsavory Men, Slow Carriages, and New Faces at Lowood

-

 Jane Eyre Ch. 4-5:


• And now we’re isolating her from everyone! Lovely. Jane’s already treated like an outcast, but here it feels deliberate, almost like they want her to internalize exclusion.

• 50–60% interest! Good God! Eliza actually charges her mother interest for the "trouble"of keeping it safe. Imagine that ... a child exploiting her own mother for profit! It’s both absurd and a sharp little character sketch. Clearly, Brontë wants us to see how warped and transactional this household has become.

• The little "Psalms boy" may be the only comic relief here. Clearly he’s figured out the trick to getting treats by performing piety on cue. Victorian hustle!

• Aaaaand Mr. Brocklehurst enters. Ugh. Unsavory is the right word. His "religious"severity oozes hypocrisy from the start.

• At least Jane gets her moment: good for her, standing up to Mrs. Reed and calling her out. It’s cathartic to watch Jane speak truth to power, even if she’s still just a child.

• Meanwhile, Bessie softens a little... apparently after being scolded by her own mother. I appreciate her small kindnesses toward Jane here, but I don’t know if I’d forgive quite so quickly. Jane’s resilience is already showing.

First Day at Lowood...
✦ Word of the Day: Pelisse — a type of coat or jacket that originated as a military garment for hussar cavalry in the 17th century and later evolved into a fashionable women's outerwear in the early 19th century.
• The 50-mile journey to Lowood feels endless, both literally and symbolically. The isolation is complete, and Brontë leans into the bleak travel imagery to set the mood.
✦ Word of the Day: Inanition — exhaustion from lack of nutrition. (Foreshadowing much?)
• We finally meet new characters: Maria Temple, Miss Miller, and others. I’m taken with them already, especially Maria, she seems to have a warmth and steadiness that’s been missing from Jane’s world. The contrast between Brocklehurst’s cruelty and Miss Temple’s quiet compassion feels like the beginning of a new phase for Jane.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Marginalia: Death, Rebirth, and the End of Lowood

-
Image
And so we move from life at Lowood, to death at Lowood, and finally to the end of Lowood. These chapters are a lot and a little all at once: disease, loss, moral lessons, and a surprising amount of quiet resilience. ✦ Resurgam — Latin for “I shall rise again.” An interesting (and deliberate) choice to carve onto Helen’s grave. It’s simple but layered. It's both a Christian sentiment and a metaphor for Jane herself. Every time she’s crushed, she rises again. Still… poor Helen. Her calm acceptance of death hits harder than I remembered. Word of the Day:    Dissipated (of a person or way of life) overindulging in sensual pleasures. (Looking at you, later chapters’ “gentlemen.”) Bessie named her daughter after Jane! I did not remember that detail. What a lovely full-circle moment. Bessie was one of the only people in Jane’s early life who showed her any real affection, so this feels like a quiet little redemption for both of them. And now, we’re finally stepping out of Lowood and ...
Read more

Bite-Sized Bedlam: Spinning Silver by Naomi Novik

-
Image
So. This started out promising. I enjoyed the imagery and the overall concept. It's an interesting way to retell a classic fairy tale. But, if I'm honest, I can't really tell you what happened. I was constantly confused, and I could rarely tell who was talking, even with the narrator giving us different voices. It's beautifully written, but the only thought I consistently had throughout was, "Should I finish this?" Lines That Lingered "A robber who steals a knife and cuts himself cannot cry out against the woman who kept it sharp." Overall Rating:  ★★☆☆☆ Enjoyment:  ★★☆☆☆ Ease of Reading:  ★★☆☆☆
Read more

Unabridged Ructions: Ulysses by James Joyce

-
Image
I read this book as part of a Buddy Read, which turned into a tandem read with The Odyssey . It was indeed "an odyssey"... Book Vibe:  Feral raccoon in a trash can Characters:  Stephen Dedalus, Leopold Bloom, Marion "Molly" Bloom, Malachi "Buck" Mulligan, Mr. Garret Deasy Reading Ulysses felt like being dropped in the middle of someone else’s brain and told, “good luck, kid.” It’s messy, brilliant, frustrating, funny, and gross. Sometimes all in the same paragraph. Stephen Dedalus broods. Leopold Bloom buys kidneys, carries soap forever, and quietly aches his way through Dublin. Molly Bloom gets the last word, and it’s glorious. In between, there are pints, puns, death, lust, racism, nationalism, boogers, birth, absurdity, and about a million narrative experiments that either left me in awe or completely lost. Joyce can make you laugh at the bleakest things, cringe at how human his characters are, and then, in one unexpected line, punch you straight in the...
Read more