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Women in books: Matilda

Roald Dahl’s Matilda tells the story of a young girl of great intellectual ability who is born into a family that does not understand her.

From the time she is small, Matilda suffers neglect and ill-treatment at the hands of the people who should love her more than anyone.

In her isolation at home, she develops a love for knowledge. She spends her early years cultivating her intellectual capabilities.

When she starts school, she develops an immediate rapport with her teacher, Miss Honey. Together they work to take back control of their school from the evil principal Miss Trunchbull.

Along the way, Matilda discovers what it means to have friends you can count on. She also discovers that sometimes you aren’t born into your true family. Sometimes, you pick your family.

Matilda also discovers that she has telekinetic powers, and she uses them to help Miss Honey set things right at the school. Once everything is in order and Matilda is finally enjoying the sort of education that challenges her, she finds her powers have disappeared.

What makes Matilda a particularly good role model — not just for young girls, but for anyone, really — is her independent spirit.

This is a girl who thinks for herself and follows her own path. She doesn’t change who she is to accommodate the people who don’t understand what a gifted person she is.

Matilda actively seeks to better herself and her situation in life. Rather than accept the unfortunate circumstances she has been born into, she makes an active choice to improve her lot.

That’s incredibly empowering.

So often, people adopt a defeatist attitude when times are tough or things aren’t going their way. They accept their lot because they feel as if they have no choice.

Matilda shows that there is always a choice. If she had never found the inner strength to pick up that first book, her life would have turned out very different.

She also teaches us that, if you are true to who you are, the right people will see your value and they will love you just for being yourself.

 

Note: Obviously, March is almost over. But, Women’s History Month will continue, as far as this blog is concerned. So stay tuned!

Women’s History Month: Elizabeth Bennet

Jane Austen enthusiasts and neophytes alike generally agree that Elizabeth Bennet is her most beloved heroine.

And it’s easy to see why.

Elizabeth is intelligent, lively, funny, and kind. Her wit is celebrated by all who are familiar with Pride and Prejudice.

Mr. Darcy, Elizabeth’s love interest, is also almost universally liked by all who read the book — and those of us who simply can’t decide whether Colin Firth or Matthew Macfadyen played him better.

Much like Anne Elliot, Elizabeth stands firm in her belief that she cannot marry a man she doesn’t or couldn’t love. This is in spite of the fact that she will almost certainly be penniless if her father dies while she is still single.

It’s not all that much of a surprise then when Elizabeth rejects the proposals of her first suitor, Mr. Collins. He is her father’s heir, and Elizabeth’s marrying him would secure a safe future for her family. But she is also aware that they are absolutely unsuitable as a couple.

Mr. Collins’ reminding her that she may never receive another offer of marriage only serves to firm her resolve.

The real surprise in the novel comes when Elizabeth rejects Mr. Darcy’s first proposal.

While it’s pretty clear all along that she doesn’t like him, the chemistry between them and the allure of the life Elizabeth would have in marrying a man of such wealth does make it surprising that she doesn’t at least consider his offer.

She flat out rejects him.

Of course, this is Jane Austen, so we all know it will end well.

What makes Elizabeth a notable feminist figure in literature is her flouting of convention.

In the Regency Era, women were expected to be “accomplished.” They did needlework, they sang, drew, danced, or played an instrument, and they normally spoke several languages, with French being quite a popular choice.

Elizabeth boasts no extraordinary talents. She knows enough needlework to keep her busy in idle hours. She also plays piano, but by her own admission has never been serious about practicing.

Young ladies were to remain composed at all times, even when it came to their manner of walking. They were also expected to have a chaperon at all times, until they were married.

Elizabeth takes solitary walks. She also runs, which a lady was never to do.

Women were also expected to be demure.

Elizabeth, though she is modest and observes the civilities of polite society in a way that does her great credit, cannot be said to be demure.

She is never shy about saying precisely what she thinks and feels.

This does not always work to her benefit, but Austen consistently shows that this trait of Elizabeth’s is something to be admired.

In the end, of course, she and Mr. Darcy figure things out and are quite happy together, as equal partners.

Though she assumes the role of a great lady of the county at Pemberley, Elizabeth never once compromises who she is.

Women in books: Anne Elliot

I realize that my opinion might not be a popular one, but I think Anne Elliot is the very best of Jane Austen’s heroines.

Don’t get me wrong, I love Elizabeth Bennet too, but Anne is the one I identify most with.

She might seem like an odd choice for a blog post about feminism, but let me tell you why she isn’t, because it takes more than one kind of feminist to make the movement a success.

Anne is quiet, gentle, unassuming, and kind. But she is also strong and principled. She’s not assertive or brash (those are good qualities in their own way too, let’s be clear), but she has the fortitude of character not to shy away from doing what she feels to be right, no matter who decides to pressure her to do otherwise.

She is the women she is in the novel because when she was very young she was persuaded by her family to break off her engagement to Frederick Wentworth. The Napoleonic Wars were at their height, and Wentworth was heading off to sea. Her family did not think it wise for her to marry a man who probably wouldn’t come back. And her snobbish father turned his nose up at Wentworth because he was not a wealthy man at the time. Anne decided to break things off out of concern for Wentworth. She didn’t want him to have to deal with a lifetime of snobbery at the hands of her family. She suffers because of her decision, but still she feels that she has done the right thing.

When the novel opens, eight years have passed since then and Anne is still unmarried. At 27, she is like to remain single the rest of her life. She has been proposed to by another man in the meantime, but she turns him down because she doesn’t love him (he eventually marries her sister).

That night seem like nothing much in this day and age, but in the early 19th century, that was a big deal. By refusing this offer of marriage, Anne pretty much guarantees that she will not be getting married. In this society, that means she will always have to rely on the kindness of friends and family to provide her with a home, and her style of living will only diminish as she grows older, thanks to her father’s debts. Aristocratic women did not work, and Anne’s future as a single woman will be fairly bleak, unless perhaps her married sister takes her in as part of their household.

Anne might not be as lively and spirited as Elizabeth Bennet, but this is an incredibly brave decision to make. She will not marry a man she doesn’t love, and she is going to stick to her convictions. Of course, in the end Wentworth comes back and we know Anne will have a happy life with him.

Anne is a great example of why feminism should have many faces. Sometimes, marriage and running a household is what a woman chooses to do with her life. Other times, she chooses a career, or both! What’s important is that she is able to make that choice, without anyone else influencing such an important decision. These are all worthy choices, and women should be free to make them on their own. What’s important is that women embrace and celebrate their differences, as well as each other’s choices. Because when we do that, we are stronger for it.

Women’s History Month

That’s right. We get a whole month. To celebrate Women’s History Month, I thought I’d take a look at some of my favorite heroines in literature. There’s a reason their stories are popular, and it’s not just because the books they inhabit are good. These ladies’ stories resonate with their readers because they provide strong role models for what it means to be a woman in the world and the obstacles we face in our lives. (And, of course, our triumphs.) Most importantly, I believe the women in my favorite books show that we don’t fit neatly into any one category. By that I mean that being a woman can mean many things. Each of us has our own idea of what defines or doesn’t define our femininity. And that idea doesn’t necessarily have to be what society thinks makes us women. So, without further ado, here are some of the heroines we’ll be discussing this month:

Anne Elliot, of Jane Austen’s Persuasion

Elizabeth Bennet, of Pride and Prejudice

Matilda, from Roald Dahl’s Matilda

Eowyn and Arwen, of Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings trilogy

Katniss Everdeen, of The Hunger Games series

Hermione Granger, Minerva McGonagall, Ginny Weasley, Luna Lovegood, Molly Weasley, and Lilly Potter, of the Harry Potter series

Mia Thermopolis, of The Princess Diaries series

Mary Russell, of the Marry Russell and Sherlock Holmes novels

And, from Game of Thrones, a whole litany of characters, but with particular attention paid to Brienne of Tarth, Sansa Stark, Daenerys Targaryen, and Cersei Lannister.

What I’ve actually been reading

While I have been, shall we say, slacking with my normal reading, I have been paying attention to and reading one sort of thing in particular:

Campaign 2016 news.

This one is going to be a doozy, folks.

First of all, let me clear the air and tell you right up front that I will be casting my vote for Bernie Sanders in the primary. This is because, after looking into the people (on both sides) who are running for president this year, he is not only the best fit for what I think a leader should be like, but he also appears to be genuine.

I know this because I pay attention and I read whatever I can get my hands on to learn about the candidates.

If anyone is reading this and thinking “Well, that much should be obvious,” then good for you. You are trying to be a reasonably well-informed citizen and you get full credit for that.

For those shaking their heads in dismay and about to tell me that Trump has your vote, I can only begin by telling you: Read some more.

Read what this man has to say and then tell me that he’s going to be good for America. Because when you actually listen to the hate speech that is spewing out of his mouth, I would hope that he would start to come off as the blowhard he really is.

Also: based solely on his racist and misogynistic comments, I can only feel that those who are on board with this guy are one of two things. They are either openly racist and misogynistic, or they just don’t care enough about the issues people of color and women have to deal with to be bothered to cast a vote that might protect those groups. Honestly? I’d prefer those who are openly hateful. At least it’s easier to know precisely what those folks are about and summarily avoid them and their toxic rhetoric.

When I decide to vote for someone, it’s because I’ve done my reading and decided they are the most humanitarian option. By that I mean, who is the candidate most likely to fight for and protect everyone’s rights? Who actually believes in equality and the dignity of human life? Who won’t be taking anyone’s rights away, especially rights like a woman’s right to choose? (It’s simple bodily autonomy. Being pro-choice means you support a woman’s choice to do as she sees fit with her own body. Because she’s a human being with a rational faculty who is capable of making her own choices. So butt out.) I go down that list (and there are a few other things I usually look for) and make my decision based on that, regardless of political party.

So, what does all this political ranting boil down to?

READ.

PLEASE.

And then think about what you have read. If you’re still comfortable voting for someone like Donald Trump (he’s like Voldemort, but with hair, to be honest) then I’m sorry your studies have failed you. Go back and reread your notes please.

In which I am a bad person / terrible reader

Long time no see! (Sort of.)

Since this is Confessions of a Book Addict and all, I figure it’s time I come clean:

I have done little to no reading for months.

I am a terrible, awful, lazy human being. So. Lazy.

Last year, I wanted to be able to read 50 books. And then I discovered that by the time I actually get to stop and sit down to relax, I am actually too tired to read. And that’s been happening for months.

Until lately, that is.

In the past week, I believe I have read more than I have for the better part of the last year. Which isn’t saying much. It’s not like I was writing much either. I’ve done a little research for a new project I’m working on, but I’ve been neglecting that work too.

For the most part, I’ve been reading news articles and trying not to obsess over the pile of books that I simply haven’t gotten to.

So this year, my only “resolution” is to just read. (I don’t like resolutions, since they don’t work out most of the time.) So, I guess I should say that it is my intention to read.

Wish me luck.

The World of Ice and Fire

The World of Ice and Fire

Author: George R. R. Martin

For those who might have trouble keeping track of all the little details in George R. R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire, this book will either clarify everything or make you more confused than ever.

Martin covers the history of Westeros, from the time when it was inhabited by giants and the children of the forest, to the toppling of the Targaryen dynasty and the rule of Robert Baratheon. Also included are histories of other lands, like Valyria, which appears to be this series’ version of Pompeii.

Longtime readers of Martin’s books will likely have many theories about characters’ origins or what may have happened before the books begin, and this volume adds some fuel to that fire. Of course, it raises just as many questions as it sort of answers, but Martin is keeping readers interested as they wait –and wait– for the next installment in the series.

In addition to enriching our knowledge of Westerosi history, this book is visually engaging. Martin’s is a medieval-ish world, and this book resembles a medieval manuscript. During that time, books were works of art. Illuminated manuscripts are some of the most beautiful creations we still have from the Middle Ages. This book is created in that same spirit. There are portraits of famous Westerosi rulers, landscapes, and family histories. There are also gorgeous illustrations of the estates of great houses.

There are very few current things that I can appreciate as an avid reader and a medievalist, so this book has been a delight.

My one word of caution to readers: size.

This book is huge. This isn’t something you will want to read while sitting on a beach, just because it is rather heavy. Unless you’re me and you don’t mind lugging something like that around. It’s going to be difficult to place this thing on a book shelf, but take it from me when I tell you that the effort is worth it.

New Leaves

Earlier this year, when New Year’s resolutions were still fresh on everyone’s minds and were mostly unbroken, a friend of mine and I decided that this year we would make an effort to branch out in our reading.

I tend to read the same books over and over (there’s actually nothing wrong with that), and I’m just as much a creature of habit as other people, so of course I also tend to buy the same kinds of stories when I do get my hands on new reading material.

One weekend in January, before the snowpocalypse fell upon us, my friend Sam and I went through a massive list of some of history’s greatest works as well as current literature (lots of which is also great) and compiled a list of our own.

And, because we’re pretentious and have a serious pun problem, when I recently suggested we name our undertaking “New Leaves,” Sam happily agreed.

We do have a master list, and I will post it here, but take note that it isn’t in any particular order. We will be reading these titles as we feel like it.

Since I usually like to jump right into things, I was happy when Sam suggested that we begin with St. Thomas Aquinas’s Summa Theologica. A word of caution to the unfamiliar: the original version of this work is over 4,000 pages long.

I realize that A Song of Ice and Fire has surpassed that total, but don’t feel bad about getting a copy of a shorter version. This is the sort of work that should also be parceled out and read over time. It’s not exactly light reading.

It is, however, good for you.

Even if you are not a particularly religious person — and I should note, that while I am a spiritual person, organized religion is not quite my cup of tea — this work is a philosophical cornerstone. There’s a lot to chew on here, so don’t let the religious overtones deter you. Aquinas is a philosopher, and he treats his work with an even, rational-thinking tone.

Begin with the Summa if you like, but please feel free to explore new literary territory of your own. The following list is what Sam and I came up with, in case anyone is wondering how to possibly get started:

  • Ulysses, by James Joyce
  • 1984, by George Orwell
  • A Passage to India, by E.M. Forster
  • The Maltese Falcon, by Dashell Hammett
  • Frankenstein, by Mary Shelley
  • Middlemarch, by George Eliot
  • Crime and Punishment, by Fyodor Dostoyevsky
  • War and Peace, by Leo Tolstoy
  • Nicholas Nickelby, by Charles Dickens
  • The Iliad, by Homer
  • The Joy Luck Club, by Amy Tan
  • The Saga of Gilgamesh
  • The Tenant of Wildfell Hall, by Anne Bronte
  • Fahrenheit 451, by Ray Bradbury
  • Gulliver’s Travels, by Jonathan Swift
  • Murder on the Orient Express, by Agatha Christie
  • Confessions, by St. Augustine
  • Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, by Stieg Larsson
  • The Art of War, by Sun Tzu
  • Madame Bovary, by Gustave Flaubert
  • The Invisible Man, by H.G. Wells
  • Beloved, by Toni Morrison
  • The Persians, by Aeschylus
  • Summa Theologica, by Thomas Aquinas
  • Pantagruel, by Rabelais
  • The Decameron, by Giovanni Boccaccio
  • School for Wives, by Moliere
  • Phedre, by Racine
  • Essays, by Michel de Montaigne
  • Persepolis, by Marjane Satrapi
  • A Remembrance of Things Past, by Marcel Proust
  • The Golden Bough, by James George Frazer
  • Ramayana, by Valmiki
  • Meditations, by Marcus Aurelius
  • Death in Venice, by Thomas Mann
  • A History of Western Philosophy, by Bertrand Russell
  • The Waning of the Middle Ages, by Johan Huizinga
  • Six Characters in Search of an Author, by Luigi Pirandello
  • The Wasteland, by T.S. Eliot
  • Mourning Becomes Electra, by Eugene O’Neill
  • Life of Galileo, by Bertolt Brecht
  • Silent Spring, by Rachel Carson
  • Midnight’s Children, by Salman Rushdie
  • Origins of Totalitarianism, by Hannah Arendt
  • Cosmos, by Carl Sagan
  • The Hour of the Star, by Clarice Lispector
  • The Fixer, by Bernard Malamud
  • The Big Sleep, by Raymond Chandler
  • A Clockwork Orange, by Anthony Burgess
  • A Vindication of the Rights of Women, by Mary Wollstonecraft
  • Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, by John le Carre
  • Wide Sargasso Sea, by Jean Rhys
  • Various collections from Pablo Neruda
  • Works by Margaret Atwood (TBD, though I am going to fight to include her poetry because it’s brilliant.)
  • Collections from Billy Collins
  • The Remains of the Day, by Kazuo Ishiguro
  • 300, by Frank Miller
  • The Name of the Rose, by Umberto Eco
  • From Hell, by Alan Moore
  • The Book Thief, by Markus Zusak
  • All the Pretty Horses, by Cormac McCarthy
  • The Little Prince, by Antoine de Saint-Exupery
  • Lonesome Dove, by Larry McMurtry
  • Still Life with Woodpecker, by Tom Robbins
  • Bossypants, by Tina Fey
  • What She Saw, by Lucinda Rosenfeld
  • Giovanni’s Room, by James Baldwin
  • Kitchen Confidential, by Anthony Bourdain
  • Ivanhoe, by Sir Walter Scott
  • Ragtime, by E. L. Doctorow
  • The Story of My Life, by Helen Keller
  • Dune, by Frank Herbert
  • The Time Machine, by H. G. Wells
  • Works by Christine de Pisan

International Women’s Day

“The story of women’s struggle for equality belongs to no single feminist nor to any one organization but to the collective efforts of all who care about human rights.”  -Gloria Steinem

As many of you will be made aware by your social media feeds, today, March 8, is International Women’s Day.

This is a day to celebrate the strides women have made, as well as to remember that we are “not there yet.”

Until there is an Equal Rights amendment passed, and those same rights extend to not only women but everyone, we still won’t be “there.”

I try not to bring up politics or social causes in polite conversation. It’s not that I think my views would be offensive to anyone–frankly, if you find them offensive I will probably find you offensive–but this is something that I am passionate about.

Everyone should have the same rights.

It is as simple as that.

Why we are even arguing about it at all baffles me.

We shouldn’t need feminism. We should never have ever had to experience things like “#NotAllMen but #YesAllWomen.”

Feminism is simply “the advocacy of women’s rights on the grounds of political, social, and economic equality to men.”

That’s it.

Equal rights for everyone.

And yet feminists are often berated for their beliefs. Usually with that ever popular term: “Feminazi.”

I don’t think I need to tell you just who coined that “gem” of a phrase.

Feminism has absolutely nothing to do with Nazis.

I feel like I shouldn’t have to explain that, but there you go.

And yes, there are radical feminists. Every single “-ism” humanity has had throughout history has had a radical faction. But can you blame folks for being angry? Can you really?

No one should have to apologize for wanting equality.

No one should have to stomach the vitriol that is hurled their way by internet and real life trolls when all they are asking for is the sort of equality that other people take for granted every single day.

And everyone goes through discrimination of one kind or another, and most people also enjoy some kind of privilege in comparison to others.

The older I get, the more I understand that, just because things have “always been a certain way,” that doesn’t mean we just have to accept them and try to move on.

We can change the status quo.

And it starts with speaking up.

So I am a feminist. An unapologetic, slightly angry, but very optimistic feminist.

And lest you think this post has absolutely nothing to do with books: where do you think I got my ideals from?

Broaden your horizons, learn a little about your fellow humans, and maybe you’ll see that equality is not something we should ever have to argue over.

Happy International Women’s Day.

A Holmes for all seasons

In many cases, I would proclaim myself to be a literary purist. I’m not usually one for adaptations, such as the tragedy that is Pride and Prejudice and Zombies. Please, do not even get me started.

However, there are certain adaptations that I like. In fact, there are several Sherlock Holmes adaptations in particular that I think are brilliant.

Late last year, I began reading the novels of Laurie R. King. Her heroine, Mary Russell, is often described as a female Holmes. She is in many ways, but she is also a brilliant character for her own sake. There is a whole group of folks on the internet who claim she is a Mary Sue, but I will hear none of that. She exhibits the same intellectual capacity of her husband, but she has better people skills. I have never once heard any of the hateful comments directed her way fired at Holmes. One cannot help but think that such comments are a case of misogyny run rampant on the Internet. Sadly, the Internet is full of trolls.

Oh, Russell is also a feminist.

Which is quite excellent, thank you very much.

Lest you think Russell is without fault, which would indeed make her a Mary Sue, she does have two distinct character flaws:

1) Her opinion of John Watson.

She adores Watson, even calls him Uncle John, but she dotes on him in the way someone would a child. She consistently underestimates him, as many Holmes fans do, really. Which is a mistake. Watson is not the bumbling sidekick. He is a doctor and a soldier, and he can keep up with Holmes in his own way. He is an intelligent man. He just gets sidelined because well, who wouldn’t when they’re running with Sherlock Holmes? One thing I appreciate about current adaptations is their treatment of Watson. Martin Freeman, Lucy Liu, and Jude Law are excellent Watsons. They are portrayed as equal to Holmes, and it is so refreshing. (I would also like to note that Benedict Cumberbatch, Jonny Lee Miller, and Robert Downey Jr. are wonderful Holmeses, in their own ways.)

2) She can be too forgiving.

No, really. She lets nasty people get away with far too much sometimes. Because she learns what motivates them, and she more often than not finds it within herself to pity them. It makes her a truly wonderful human being, but it’s not very satisfying when we readers want to see the bad people punished.

As far as Holmes goes, King does an excellent job writing him. He reminds me of the Jeremy Brett Holmes, and there is also a touch of Miller’s interpretation of the character.

I’m currently three novels in, and there are many more to go. We’ve still got some winter to get through, so while it keeps on snowing out there, this is an excellent series to turn to once you get back inside from shoveling that wintry mess.