Tuesday 4 March 2014

"'I am not acquainted myself with the names of foreigners in general.'"

It's nearly 10pm on Tuesday evening so I'm going to keep this brief(ish- when have I ever been brief?). And really, REALLY there is only one thing to talk about:

WHAT THE FUCK, MR JARNDYCE?!
I actually don't know how I feel about the whole Mr-Jarndyce-wants-to-keep-Esther-near-him-so-he-proposes-to-her thing. I mean, mostly I feel REALLY ICKY and like I want to take about ten showers about it, and also Mr Jarndyce, I thought you were cool. I mean, I get it- They're assuming that Ada will get married eventually and Esther with her gross face won't but she can't just stay there with Mr J on their own because People Will Talk. And this is the Victorian times, so that kind of shit really matters.

But. Isn't it waaaay grosser for a REALLY OLD MAN to marry basically a teenager? Isn't it kind of wrong of him to have asked, and just as wrong of Esther to think of accepting? And, most importantly, is this the kind of marriage that involves sex? Because if so, I realllly don't want to think about that.
 Still, at least she'll always have her love of Ada to sustain her: "I saw my beautiful darling, through the open door, lying asleep, and I stole in to kiss her." Of course you did, Esther.

In motherly news, WTF Lady Dedlock just murdered Mr Tulkinghorn?! (Not to be confused with Mr Turveydrop again, who is presumably still alive and well with excellent deportment) Did that seriously just happen or did I nearly drop my CLOTHBOUND CLASSIC in the bath for no good reason? I've got to say- I've read many a Stephen King novel where on the back it says something like 'a storyteller in a class with Dickens' and I've always been like 'I don't get the connection', but... I'm starting to get it? In that, I think Dickens is the better writer (in terms of pure words, not in terms of who I want to read more) they're both really really good at managing a large cast of characters without sidelining too many, and at revealing humanity and also, sometimes, at being kind of shocking (spontaneous combustion? REALLY?!)

They're also both great at tugging on the heartstrings, and I'd like to take a little moment of silence for Jo, here.
Oh, Jo, You were such a good child apart from when you gave Esther smallpox and ruined her face. May you go onto a better place where people treat you right and teach you how to speak properly (I'm only being flippant because my heart is broken).

One final thought of my brain on reading Dickens- This is my first Dickens novel, and I feel like I'm already past being scared of him, somewhere near to loving him, but more than anything, as I read I can already tell that I need to read this again. Not necessarily because it's so awesome (and it is pretty great, which is why I've carried on reading it) but because I know that, as I'm concentrating on the story and the links between characters and all that good stuff, I'm missing out on SO MUCH of the writing. I mean, I can see that it's good, and it sounds nice in my brain, but I'm too busy concentrating on other stuff to really appreciate it, which is what the second reading will be for. But let's just say, you know, Dickens is good at writing words and stuff.

WHO WILL BE MURDERED NEXT WEEK?! I can hardly wait to see.

13 comments:

  1. "Oh, Jo, You were such a good child apart from when you gave Esther smallpox and ruined her face."

    Ahahaha This was unfortunately funny. ALSO I am so glad you don't hate Dickens. Because THIS is the book to promote the opinion that he is awesome. Also a couple others, but MAINLY THIS ONE.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. IT WASN'T JO'S FAULT. They forcibly removed him from the brick piles, where he would have been quite content to spend the night (and probably would have died, BUT STILL).

      Delete
  2. Did you see where I compared Dickens to Stephen King? HIGHEST PRAISE.

    I do feel really sad about Jo, don't get me wrong- I felt the need to lighten my tragic load.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I'm in hysterics over the order of your Dickens/King comparison. I love you, Laura.

      Delete
    2. Awww, ditto. But I mean, COME ON- I can't pretend that I like Dickens better than STEPHEN KING who I am clearly in love with!

      Delete
  3. "Oh, Jo, You were such a good child apart from when you gave Esther smallpox and ruined her face. " Ahahaha oh man, this. I probably shouldn't laugh but yeah. I mean, at least he didn't mean to.

    I think, after Alice's and Meg's posts, that I feel a little less skeeved by the Jarndyce proposal, though I'm still like "...what just happened??"

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Aw, Jo definitely didn't mean to! It was written a bit like 'he infected the household then RAN AWAY' but, you know, bless him and all.

      I totally GOT the science (or... history? Whatever) behind the marriage thing, but still, STILL it makes me want to be sick a tiny bit? Which possibly means I'm not fully behind it. Just a thought.

      Delete
  4. Lots of WTF-ery over the Jarndyce-Esther proposal around the blogosphere today... I've only seen the TV series, I've never read the book, but I got the impression that he asked her to marry him because he's a sweet older gentleman trying to look after someone who means a lot to him. I'm faiiiiiirly sure that in the series it's made clear that no funny business is expected of her; if she accepts she'll be able to stick around and be a kind of companion, a friend, but without the judgement that would descend on her otherwise.

    Now I kinda want to hit the book and find out if it reads differently... Except HAHA NOPE that's not going to happen yet. I exhausted myself reading about three pages of a book earlier, so I think I'll hold off on the epic classics for a bit longer. I'm having fun reading along with the readalong though (as usual)!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I mean, I get the thing, and I get how it is basically really nice of him, but at the same time, I JUST CAN'T DEAL WITH IT! Just... No! NO! I can't deal with the marrying for propriety shit at all.

      Awww, bless ya. Tbh, Bleak House is pretty hard to concentrate on when you're feeling basically ok, so I'd definitely leave it for later on in your recovery- we'll keep being entertaining though, I'm sure!

      Delete
  5. "Did that seriously just happen or did I nearly drop my CLOTHBOUND CLASSIC in the bath for no good reason?" Laura...LAURA...you know better than to take a clothbound classic into the bath. LAURA.

    I don't think I've ever heard the Dickens/King comparison, but now, yeah...I can see it. Dammit, I still need to read some Stephen King, don't I?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I KNOW! But I have Bleak House in 1) Clothbound Classic and 2) kindle forms and I am NOT taking my kindle into the bath. And and I like to bathe on Tuesdays and I usually haven't finished the chapters by then and yeah. It's all bad.

      The Dickens/King thing is this one quote, from one critic this one time that makes it onto the back of most of the King books I've got because, let's face it, it's a pretty good comparison for King. Definitely in storytelling terms, I kind of get it! You DO need to read some Stephen King, although I thought you had read some..?

      Delete
    2. I...kind of have? I read Pet Semetary because I found a copy in the drawer of my desk when I was working as a receptionist. But that is not OK that that's the only Stephen King I've read. I know that's not OK.

      Delete
    3. Why do I think you've read The Stand? WHO HAS READ THE STAND AND IS PRETENDING TO BE YOU IN MY BRAIN?!

      It's kind of not ok that Pet Semetary is the only King you've read, ALTHOUGH I did enjoy that book a lot more than I was expecting to, so there's that. Now you must read ALL THE OTHER KINGS. Please.

      Delete