If you ask me, Irene's great grandmother puts the "god" in "fairy godmother." While her role in the basic plot of the novel, like any fairy godmother's, is to help the princess through physical danger, and she does so, following the trend, by giving the princess a magical object, she also serves an important thematic purpose.
To put it shortly, I find the grandmother to be rather a spiritual figure, not least because she has magic and appears only to those with faith. Her bedroom, as Zeinab has mentioned, is located in the highest point of the house, and appears to contain the heavens: "the blue walls and their silver stars" confuse Irene into believing that they are "in reality the sky." Furthermore, when Irene asks where her mother is, her King-papa says the Queen-Mamma has gone "where all those rings are made," insinuating that the ring given by the grandmother came from heaven. However the strongest connection between the grandmother and spirituality, as I see it, lies in her association with doves. Pigeons (which the grandmother lives off of) and doves are of the same bird family, and the bird seen to come out of the grandmother's globe is certainly a dove, for "it looked to [Curdie's mother] just like a white pigeon." I don't know much about Christianity, but I do believe the dove is a common symbol of the Holy Spirit; if so, then the grandmother is consequently associated with the Holy Spirit as well.
This all falls in line with the grandmother's lesson to Irene, which is that of having faith in that which can not be seen. That is why I say the grandmother puts the "god" in "fairy godmother" - for within the archetypal figure of the fairy godmother, Macdonald has imbued religious/spiritual ideas.
*****
I also noticed the moon imagery attributed to the grandmother which Zeinab outlined so thoroughly in her post "The Great Grandmother and the Moon." I thought at first that Macdonald was merely using the moon to represent the motherly role of the grandmother in the Princess Irene's life: she watches over Irene as the moon watches over the world, and gives light in dark times. However, at Zeinab's mention that the grandmother "waxes and wanes as does the moon," I went into the book and looked at each of the grandmother's appearances to see if there was anything more along those lines. What I found fascinating was that the grandmother appears in three separate forms throughout the novel.
The first two times, she is "dressed in black velvet with thick white heavy lace about it." Next, she appears in "the loveliest pale blue velvet" and her hair is no longer its initial "silver" but a "rich, golden colour." In her final form, she appears in a white dress and looks "more lovely than ever."
Think of all the things that come in three: birth, life, death; past, present, future; beginning, middle, end; and so on. Looking at the number in this way, we see that three represents completion (of the life cycle, of time, of a story, etc); perhaps the grandmother's three forms reflect the Princess Irene's growth as she completes the maturation process.
The number three also has religious connotations (ie. The Holy Trinity) and furthermore, mythological associations. When I think of the number three, I think of The Three Fates of Greek mythology, who spin, measure and cut the thread of all human lives. They are often depicted as wise, old women (very much like the wise, old women of fairy tales such as "East of the Sun and West of the Moon," of whom the grandmother is almost certainly a derivation), and I find it difficult to ignore the image of spinning shared between the Three Fates and the tri-formed grandmother.
In short, the character of the grandmother is certainly dense. She is a godmother figure in the novel, and I think there is plenty to link her with religion and mythology as well. This makes her an immensely mysterious and mystical character.
SOURCE
Macdonald, George. The Princess and the Goblin. London: Puffin Books. 1996. Print.
Thursday, April 29, 2010
Thoughts on Tragedy in Holes
The story of Katherine and Sam, tragic as it is, serves an important function in Sachar's novel: it reinforces a key theme - that of cruelty breeding cruelty in ongoing cycles.
I think it can be said that the entire plot of the novel is cyclic. Stanley's misfortune (or, as it might be called, fate's cruelty to him) is a result of his ancestor's neglect of Madame Zeroni. Similarly, all of Green Lake is cursed with a relentless drought in response to the townspeople's cruelty toward Kate and Sam. We even see the cycle of cruelty bearing on Stanley specifically: when at the Camp, "his heart...hardens" due to the harsh - and often abusive - conditions there; thus he coldly refuses to teach Zero to read when first asked, because "he needed to save his energy" - and kindness, apparently - "for the people who counted."
Kate and Sam's story is another element of the plot which enforces this prevalent theme of the cyclical nature of cruelty. In response to the town's cruelty to her and Sam, Katherine becomes Kissin' Kate Barlow - a murdering, thieving outlaw - and commits cruel atrocities in turn.
*****
In Sachar's novel "Holes," the flashbacks often relate to the events of the main storyline. For example, in chapter seven of the book, the series of flashbacks recounting how the curse of bad luck had come to the Yelnats family follows alongside Stanley's first arduous day digging, when he feels as though "he was digging his own grave" - ie. when he realizes that he is doomed as if cursed.
The flashback which relates the brutal murder of Sam and its aftermath wherein Katherine becomes a notorious murderer similarly serves to reflect events in the story. Just as Kate is pushed over into anger and recklessness by her townpeople's cruelty, Zero is pushed over the edge into a violent outburst against Pedanski when he is taunted and humiliated beyond his limits.
As such, I would say that another purpose served by the tragic characters is to foreshadow upcoming events.
SOURCE
Sachar, Louis. Holes. New York: Yearling, 1998. Print.
I think it can be said that the entire plot of the novel is cyclic. Stanley's misfortune (or, as it might be called, fate's cruelty to him) is a result of his ancestor's neglect of Madame Zeroni. Similarly, all of Green Lake is cursed with a relentless drought in response to the townspeople's cruelty toward Kate and Sam. We even see the cycle of cruelty bearing on Stanley specifically: when at the Camp, "his heart...hardens" due to the harsh - and often abusive - conditions there; thus he coldly refuses to teach Zero to read when first asked, because "he needed to save his energy" - and kindness, apparently - "for the people who counted."
Kate and Sam's story is another element of the plot which enforces this prevalent theme of the cyclical nature of cruelty. In response to the town's cruelty to her and Sam, Katherine becomes Kissin' Kate Barlow - a murdering, thieving outlaw - and commits cruel atrocities in turn.
*****
In Sachar's novel "Holes," the flashbacks often relate to the events of the main storyline. For example, in chapter seven of the book, the series of flashbacks recounting how the curse of bad luck had come to the Yelnats family follows alongside Stanley's first arduous day digging, when he feels as though "he was digging his own grave" - ie. when he realizes that he is doomed as if cursed.
The flashback which relates the brutal murder of Sam and its aftermath wherein Katherine becomes a notorious murderer similarly serves to reflect events in the story. Just as Kate is pushed over into anger and recklessness by her townpeople's cruelty, Zero is pushed over the edge into a violent outburst against Pedanski when he is taunted and humiliated beyond his limits.
As such, I would say that another purpose served by the tragic characters is to foreshadow upcoming events.
SOURCE
Sachar, Louis. Holes. New York: Yearling, 1998. Print.
My Thoughts on Josephine March's "Conformity"
The reason for Jo March's non-conformity can be found in her description: she has the "uncomfortable appearance of a girl who was rapidly shooting up into a woman and didn't like it." Jo represents that age in a girl's life when she must give up her old ways, which "didn't matter so much when [she] was a little girl," and take up the ways of womanhood as prescribed by society. However, Jo refuses to place herself into that frame, feeling it to be a compromise of herself as she is still a "little girl" at heart, and strives to rebel. This rebellion comes in the form of assertion and intentional non-conformity. Thus, Jo obstinately lies on the rug, uses slang words, whistles - gets up to "boyish tricks," generally. She proclaims herself the "man of the house," "plays brother" to the sisters, and wishes she were a boy, a better fate than the one she believes herself resigned to, wherein she must "grow up, and be Miss March, and wear long gowns and look as prim as a China Aster." That being said, I don't believe her every non-conforming act is merely a result of her not wanting to grow up into a proper "lady." She naturally exhibits some masculine qualities; for example, she often takes leadership in games, even when she is with Laurie, rather than submitting as a follower. Her defining trait is her temper, a rage suitable for any man. At the same time, she displays a touch of female domesticity, as evidenced in chapter five, when she "rights" Laurie's disorganized room. Thus, while Jo attempts to make herself as boyish as possible, she very realistically possesses both feminine and masculine traits. This duality is perfectly represented in her "one beauty," her hair, whose loss she - vain as any woman - mourns, though she keeps the locks "bundled...out of her way" as she goes about her "boyish tricks." The hair represents that, while she does act against conformity, there are aspects of her personality which naturally conform to the traditional view of a woman.
*****
I think the idea of Jo attempting to master her temper as an example of her conforming to a standard misses some key points of the story.
There is the point about her mother, to begin with. As the post to which I reply stated, she "works hard everyday to overcome" her temper. However, she doesn't do this to satisfy society's expectations. In the eighth chapter, Mrs. March says that it was her husband who helped her overcome impatience: "He never loses patience, never doubts or complains, but...works and waits so cheerfully that one is ashamed to do otherwise." Notice that patience is embodied in a male figure. Mrs. March does not model herself after some abstract perfect woman; rather, she strives to imitate the good behaviour she sees in a man, because she recognizes it as virtue.
Moving on, Jo does not attempt to overcome her temper because she is trying to live up to ideals - there is no evidence in the story for this. She attempts to do so because she realizes that the consequences of a hot head can be dire (ie. she realizes that a sister is a hefty price to pay for anger).
In the post to which I reply, it was said that, since Marmee still feels anger, her and Jo's "efforts are not to become better...but to seem to be such, as society wishes them to be." The story illustrates, however, that patience IS better than impatience. By mastering patience - the ability to not lash out in pride and anger with regrettable actions - one DOES become better, rather than merely seeming to do so.
Perhaps readers are inclined to believe Jo has conformed because her father states that she is no longer the "son Jo" of one year ago, but a "young lady." It is true that Jo has changed and, yes, the result of her changing has made her more tame, and therefore more "lady-like." However this does not mean that becoming lady-like is Jo's motive - far from it.
That one changes in life (as we all do) does not mean that one conforms.
SOURCE
Alcott, Louisa May. Little Women. New York: Signet Classic, 2004.
*****
I think the idea of Jo attempting to master her temper as an example of her conforming to a standard misses some key points of the story.
There is the point about her mother, to begin with. As the post to which I reply stated, she "works hard everyday to overcome" her temper. However, she doesn't do this to satisfy society's expectations. In the eighth chapter, Mrs. March says that it was her husband who helped her overcome impatience: "He never loses patience, never doubts or complains, but...works and waits so cheerfully that one is ashamed to do otherwise." Notice that patience is embodied in a male figure. Mrs. March does not model herself after some abstract perfect woman; rather, she strives to imitate the good behaviour she sees in a man, because she recognizes it as virtue.
Moving on, Jo does not attempt to overcome her temper because she is trying to live up to ideals - there is no evidence in the story for this. She attempts to do so because she realizes that the consequences of a hot head can be dire (ie. she realizes that a sister is a hefty price to pay for anger).
In the post to which I reply, it was said that, since Marmee still feels anger, her and Jo's "efforts are not to become better...but to seem to be such, as society wishes them to be." The story illustrates, however, that patience IS better than impatience. By mastering patience - the ability to not lash out in pride and anger with regrettable actions - one DOES become better, rather than merely seeming to do so.
Perhaps readers are inclined to believe Jo has conformed because her father states that she is no longer the "son Jo" of one year ago, but a "young lady." It is true that Jo has changed and, yes, the result of her changing has made her more tame, and therefore more "lady-like." However this does not mean that becoming lady-like is Jo's motive - far from it.
That one changes in life (as we all do) does not mean that one conforms.
SOURCE
Alcott, Louisa May. Little Women. New York: Signet Classic, 2004.
Notes on The Wee Free Men
"Wee" (free men)
-tiny, very small cf. "Little People"
-patronizing edge: we see them as cute, helpful, mischievous, not much to fear
-cf. Tricksy Wee - a character of George Macdonald's
-the wee free men are fairies
-suggesting that adult readers have a patronizing view of fairies
-average reader does not have "First Sight" - we have lots of preconceived notions
and assumptions which Pratchett attempts to break down
-more specifically - Pictsies (pixies)
-we assume they are cutesy, Tinkerbell-like
-William Shakespeare to Walt Disney - tradition of viewing fairy as cute, little
things with names like Mustardseed (Midsummer Night's Dream)
-before that fairies were seen differently; generally larger, about human size
(wee) "Free" (men)
-free from the Queen who is like an elf
-"glamour" - a weapon of creating illusion
-steals children, specifically young males
-uses candy to bait Wentworth (anachronism); classic tricking a child with sweets;
illusory promise of happiness, he wants candy, doesn't need it
-Roland: teenage boy, sees a beautiful woman on a horse, laughing (implying catch me
if you can) - the queen is a different kind of sweet; looks good but its all illusion;
like gummy bears will starve a person from malnutrition, she'll starve him emotionally
-cf. in Midsummer Night's Dream
-Mustard Seed, Peachblossom; the fairies do the Queen's bidding; unquestioning servants of the beautiful queen
-the wee free men are rebellious; unlike Wentworth and Roland, they are not fooled by the queen
-"nae quin!"
-they rebel because they don't want to steal from the poor
-they have a kind of code; they take what they need to survive
-when they take a sheep, they often take the old sheep
-the Queen is like a parasite; the wee free men can not be described as such
-draws on allusions to previous fairy stories
-drawing from folklore, fairy tale
"Pictsies"
-playing on the Picts
-associated now with the Scots
-"picture," "depict" - the painted people; they painted themselves, tattooed themselves
-a ferocious group of warriors
-far from being like Tinkerbell, a pixie, flying around with wands and trailing pixie dust
-pictsies are fierce, brave; they're also stereotypically scottish: kilts, red hair, mousepipes, drinking and fighting, stealing
-not offensively stereotypical; he's spoofing
-sometimes we're given the impression that they're not even really stealing; Granny Aching knows, its kind of a quid pro quo
-making us understanding that good and evil are not clear cut; complexities in good
Pratchett wrote "Lords and Ladies" about elves, another brand of fairies
"Elves are wonderful. They provoke wonder. Elves are marvelous. They cause marvels. Elves are fantastic, they create fantasy. Elves are glamourous, they create glamour...Elves are terrific, they create terror." - no one said elves are nice.
-originally fairies were not such diminutive creatures, they used to inspire terror
-criticize modern fairy tales that he feels are too simplistic and not encouraging of First Sight
-the jokes/allusions associated with the wee free men are countless
-The Highlander: "there can only be one!" --> "there can only be one thousand!"
-Braveheart: "they can take our lives but they'll never take our freedom!" --> "they can take our lives but they'll never take our trousers!"
-suggests that those are the ones who are stereotyping scottishness
-the bard, a "gonnagle" --> Pratchett having fun of the fact that one of the worse poets ever was a guy named "William McGonnagle" (sp?)
-wants readers to make connections within the work and to other works
-"overflow" - something for everyone if they are reading attentively
-culture of the wee free men
-lots of detail given
-fairies actually did traditionally live in fairy mounds as the pictsies do
-they live in the tomb of a great king
-they show little respect for him as well as for the queen
-quite a bit like insects
-19th century idea that bees, insects, etc function like a composite animal
-fascinating metaphor for the importance of relationships
-importance of family, of human beings as social animals
-they are the ultimate portrayal of a community, where everyone mutually sustains one another
-no suggestion that in all their fighting and drinking, they actually have any feuding
-striking contrast to the way the human beings in Tiffany's world behave
-kelda - their brain and conscience
-a collective source of wisdom
-notice gender issues
-very much feminist
-all the heroes are female
-female intelligence and goodness
-religious belief
-believe they're already dead and in heaven because this world is so wonderful
-they joyously embrace everyday life
-challenges human propensities to want what we don't have
-First Sight; they see clearly
-they don't have any illusions about life, they know there are predators, but they are resolutely
optimistic
-Queen and her followers are the evil characters
-abducts young men
-countless stories about fairies stealing human beings follow two trends
-19th century trend: ie. Yeats "The Stolen Child"
-fairies are beautiful and wonderful; real world is a weeping, terrible place
-going with fairies is a way of escaping tears and sorrow of this world
-older trend: fairies stole children for their own nefarious purposes
-eg. "Ballad of Tamlin" - this idea is used in The Wee Free Men
-parasites who feed on them
at the human level.......
Discworld
-"Disc"
-flat
-the point: it hasn't been so long since we thought so; in fact there are still some holdouts
-his world is a disc that rests on the back of an elephant, who stands on the back of a giant turtle
who is swimming through the vast expanses
-drawing on previous mythologies
-Pratchett is saying "don't be so pompous; that used to be us!"
The Chalk
-closely resembles the feudal systems of Britain
-places like that exist; and societies like that existed
-feudal world of the early fairy tales like "East of the Sun..."
"Home Farm"
-Aching family has lived on and worked the farm for generations, but its not their land
-the Baron can boot them out at a moment's notice
Patriarchy
-Tiffany's relationship with Roland emphasizes this
-the idea is the knight must have rescued the damselle in distress
-Roland is the closest thing to a knight; aristocracy, has fencing lessons
-no one has First Sight
-"You don't own your farm. My father does and I will." says Roland at the end
-political system is stacked against the poor, and stacked against women
"Tiffany"
- the expectations of a person named Tiffany shows that we still have some assumptions
-the name is associated with like a stereotypical American girl
-extreme femininity, concerned with clothes, fashion, dotting "i"s with hearts
-"Theophonia" was the original name; meaning awareness of God; associated with First Sight
-"land under wave"
-the Baron thinks of land as property; for the Aching family, the land is something to be held in
trust
-chalk is made of the bones
-cycle of life idea
-the baron is like the queen equivalent of the real world; egocentric
-Granny Aching is a witch
-again plays with the stereotypes
-"hag" - an ugly, old, crazy lonely woman
-Miss Tick - mystic - Tiffany argues that the name should be Miss Teak for a more successful pun
-first name Perspicacia - Perspicacity means great insight, great wisdom
-has to take defensive measures
-carries a hollow reed (for swimming under water) - reference to how witches were treated
during persecution; the test for a witch was to throw her into a pond
-has learned some Harry Houdini tricks
-has a hat disguised as a normal hat
-"First Sight"
-mystics are usually noted for their second sight (psychic ability, ability to see into the future etc)
-Pratchett wants to show that we take our first sight forgranted and seek second sight; we all have first sight but we rarely use it!
-"Second Thought"
-ability to not jump to conclusions when we interpret what we see
-awareness with consciousness
-ties consciousness with conscience - one can not be a fully moral person when just going along with assumptions
various anachronisms
-eg. no printed books would exist if its a feudal system
-dictionaries were first printed in the 18th centuries
-gummy bears
-he needs references that are familiar to his child readers
Tiffany is very odd
-shaped by Granny Aching
-"Give me a child for seven years and I will have him for life."
-seventh daughter (kinda like the seventh son of a seventh son having second sight)
-goes on quests: becoming a witch, saving her brother, guarding the entire society
-the witch is like a shepherd
-shepherd is a metaphor for a guardian, a caretaker
-ability to shepherd is associated with females in this novel
-she finds out that witches are unsung heroes, without whom the world hardly functions
Granny Aching is venerated after her death
-almost like a deity, people leave offerings at her grave
-some references to wizards, who have a very different status
eg. "you'll have to learn a bit of magic, but you won't find that too hard, because even wizards can learn"
-in terms of real power and magic, only the women and peasants have it and understand it
-upper levels of society are too busy to realize it
Mrs. Snapperly - a scapegoat
-it logically makes no sense, as Tiffany knows
-the women slightly rebel by sneaking her food
-Tiffany wants to become a witch for this reason; she knows it would not have happened if her Granny had been around
-Granny was such a force that even the Baron had to heed her
Tiffany and relationship to grandmother:
-clearly there's the love
-Granny Aching is THE person in Tiffany's life
-few key memories
-bringing the lamb back to life
-slapping the face of the man abusing the donkey
-china shepherdess episode
-an attractive fake thing
-she wishes vainly that her grandmother is still alive or coming back
-thats why she's so annoyed when she finds out that the feegles are stealing the tobacco
-one of the few things Granny ever tells Tiffany is the story of Moby Dick
-idea of being obsessed with whatever the whale represents; you'll chase your obsession and your obsession will always chase you
-self indulgent daydreams = mental equivalent of candy
-daydreams lead to despair; waking up and accepting allows resolute optimism like that of the Wee Free Men
-Pratchett writes for the modern, first-class, child, completely unlike Tiffany's life
SOURCE
Class Lecture on The Wee Free Men. ENG2110: Children's Literature. University of Ottawa, Ontario, CA. 10 Apr 2010.
-tiny, very small cf. "Little People"
-patronizing edge: we see them as cute, helpful, mischievous, not much to fear
-cf. Tricksy Wee - a character of George Macdonald's
-the wee free men are fairies
-suggesting that adult readers have a patronizing view of fairies
-average reader does not have "First Sight" - we have lots of preconceived notions
and assumptions which Pratchett attempts to break down
-more specifically - Pictsies (pixies)
-we assume they are cutesy, Tinkerbell-like
-William Shakespeare to Walt Disney - tradition of viewing fairy as cute, little
things with names like Mustardseed (Midsummer Night's Dream)
-before that fairies were seen differently; generally larger, about human size
(wee) "Free" (men)
-free from the Queen who is like an elf
-"glamour" - a weapon of creating illusion
-steals children, specifically young males
-uses candy to bait Wentworth (anachronism); classic tricking a child with sweets;
illusory promise of happiness, he wants candy, doesn't need it
-Roland: teenage boy, sees a beautiful woman on a horse, laughing (implying catch me
if you can) - the queen is a different kind of sweet; looks good but its all illusion;
like gummy bears will starve a person from malnutrition, she'll starve him emotionally
-cf. in Midsummer Night's Dream
-Mustard Seed, Peachblossom; the fairies do the Queen's bidding; unquestioning servants of the beautiful queen
-the wee free men are rebellious; unlike Wentworth and Roland, they are not fooled by the queen
-"nae quin!"
-they rebel because they don't want to steal from the poor
-they have a kind of code; they take what they need to survive
-when they take a sheep, they often take the old sheep
-the Queen is like a parasite; the wee free men can not be described as such
-draws on allusions to previous fairy stories
-drawing from folklore, fairy tale
"Pictsies"
-playing on the Picts
-associated now with the Scots
-"picture," "depict" - the painted people; they painted themselves, tattooed themselves
-a ferocious group of warriors
-far from being like Tinkerbell, a pixie, flying around with wands and trailing pixie dust
-pictsies are fierce, brave; they're also stereotypically scottish: kilts, red hair, mousepipes, drinking and fighting, stealing
-not offensively stereotypical; he's spoofing
-sometimes we're given the impression that they're not even really stealing; Granny Aching knows, its kind of a quid pro quo
-making us understanding that good and evil are not clear cut; complexities in good
Pratchett wrote "Lords and Ladies" about elves, another brand of fairies
"Elves are wonderful. They provoke wonder. Elves are marvelous. They cause marvels. Elves are fantastic, they create fantasy. Elves are glamourous, they create glamour...Elves are terrific, they create terror." - no one said elves are nice.
-originally fairies were not such diminutive creatures, they used to inspire terror
-criticize modern fairy tales that he feels are too simplistic and not encouraging of First Sight
-the jokes/allusions associated with the wee free men are countless
-The Highlander: "there can only be one!" --> "there can only be one thousand!"
-Braveheart: "they can take our lives but they'll never take our freedom!" --> "they can take our lives but they'll never take our trousers!"
-suggests that those are the ones who are stereotyping scottishness
-the bard, a "gonnagle" --> Pratchett having fun of the fact that one of the worse poets ever was a guy named "William McGonnagle" (sp?)
-wants readers to make connections within the work and to other works
-"overflow" - something for everyone if they are reading attentively
-culture of the wee free men
-lots of detail given
-fairies actually did traditionally live in fairy mounds as the pictsies do
-they live in the tomb of a great king
-they show little respect for him as well as for the queen
-quite a bit like insects
-19th century idea that bees, insects, etc function like a composite animal
-fascinating metaphor for the importance of relationships
-importance of family, of human beings as social animals
-they are the ultimate portrayal of a community, where everyone mutually sustains one another
-no suggestion that in all their fighting and drinking, they actually have any feuding
-striking contrast to the way the human beings in Tiffany's world behave
-kelda - their brain and conscience
-a collective source of wisdom
-notice gender issues
-very much feminist
-all the heroes are female
-female intelligence and goodness
-religious belief
-believe they're already dead and in heaven because this world is so wonderful
-they joyously embrace everyday life
-challenges human propensities to want what we don't have
-First Sight; they see clearly
-they don't have any illusions about life, they know there are predators, but they are resolutely
optimistic
-Queen and her followers are the evil characters
-abducts young men
-countless stories about fairies stealing human beings follow two trends
-19th century trend: ie. Yeats "The Stolen Child"
-fairies are beautiful and wonderful; real world is a weeping, terrible place
-going with fairies is a way of escaping tears and sorrow of this world
-older trend: fairies stole children for their own nefarious purposes
-eg. "Ballad of Tamlin" - this idea is used in The Wee Free Men
-parasites who feed on them
at the human level.......
Discworld
-"Disc"
-flat
-the point: it hasn't been so long since we thought so; in fact there are still some holdouts
-his world is a disc that rests on the back of an elephant, who stands on the back of a giant turtle
who is swimming through the vast expanses
-drawing on previous mythologies
-Pratchett is saying "don't be so pompous; that used to be us!"
The Chalk
-closely resembles the feudal systems of Britain
-places like that exist; and societies like that existed
-feudal world of the early fairy tales like "East of the Sun..."
"Home Farm"
-Aching family has lived on and worked the farm for generations, but its not their land
-the Baron can boot them out at a moment's notice
Patriarchy
-Tiffany's relationship with Roland emphasizes this
-the idea is the knight must have rescued the damselle in distress
-Roland is the closest thing to a knight; aristocracy, has fencing lessons
-no one has First Sight
-"You don't own your farm. My father does and I will." says Roland at the end
-political system is stacked against the poor, and stacked against women
"Tiffany"
- the expectations of a person named Tiffany shows that we still have some assumptions
-the name is associated with like a stereotypical American girl
-extreme femininity, concerned with clothes, fashion, dotting "i"s with hearts
-"Theophonia" was the original name; meaning awareness of God; associated with First Sight
-"land under wave"
-the Baron thinks of land as property; for the Aching family, the land is something to be held in
trust
-chalk is made of the bones
-cycle of life idea
-the baron is like the queen equivalent of the real world; egocentric
-Granny Aching is a witch
-again plays with the stereotypes
-"hag" - an ugly, old, crazy lonely woman
-Miss Tick - mystic - Tiffany argues that the name should be Miss Teak for a more successful pun
-first name Perspicacia - Perspicacity means great insight, great wisdom
-has to take defensive measures
-carries a hollow reed (for swimming under water) - reference to how witches were treated
during persecution; the test for a witch was to throw her into a pond
-has learned some Harry Houdini tricks
-has a hat disguised as a normal hat
-"First Sight"
-mystics are usually noted for their second sight (psychic ability, ability to see into the future etc)
-Pratchett wants to show that we take our first sight forgranted and seek second sight; we all have first sight but we rarely use it!
-"Second Thought"
-ability to not jump to conclusions when we interpret what we see
-awareness with consciousness
-ties consciousness with conscience - one can not be a fully moral person when just going along with assumptions
various anachronisms
-eg. no printed books would exist if its a feudal system
-dictionaries were first printed in the 18th centuries
-gummy bears
-he needs references that are familiar to his child readers
Tiffany is very odd
-shaped by Granny Aching
-"Give me a child for seven years and I will have him for life."
-seventh daughter (kinda like the seventh son of a seventh son having second sight)
-goes on quests: becoming a witch, saving her brother, guarding the entire society
-the witch is like a shepherd
-shepherd is a metaphor for a guardian, a caretaker
-ability to shepherd is associated with females in this novel
-she finds out that witches are unsung heroes, without whom the world hardly functions
Granny Aching is venerated after her death
-almost like a deity, people leave offerings at her grave
-some references to wizards, who have a very different status
eg. "you'll have to learn a bit of magic, but you won't find that too hard, because even wizards can learn"
-in terms of real power and magic, only the women and peasants have it and understand it
-upper levels of society are too busy to realize it
Mrs. Snapperly - a scapegoat
-it logically makes no sense, as Tiffany knows
-the women slightly rebel by sneaking her food
-Tiffany wants to become a witch for this reason; she knows it would not have happened if her Granny had been around
-Granny was such a force that even the Baron had to heed her
Tiffany and relationship to grandmother:
-clearly there's the love
-Granny Aching is THE person in Tiffany's life
-few key memories
-bringing the lamb back to life
-slapping the face of the man abusing the donkey
-china shepherdess episode
-an attractive fake thing
-she wishes vainly that her grandmother is still alive or coming back
-thats why she's so annoyed when she finds out that the feegles are stealing the tobacco
-one of the few things Granny ever tells Tiffany is the story of Moby Dick
-idea of being obsessed with whatever the whale represents; you'll chase your obsession and your obsession will always chase you
-self indulgent daydreams = mental equivalent of candy
-daydreams lead to despair; waking up and accepting allows resolute optimism like that of the Wee Free Men
-Pratchett writes for the modern, first-class, child, completely unlike Tiffany's life
SOURCE
Class Lecture on The Wee Free Men. ENG2110: Children's Literature. University of Ottawa, Ontario, CA. 10 Apr 2010.
Notes on The Tombs of Atuan
Tombs of Atuan - Ursula Le Guin
-considered a modern classic (has won Newbery Honor award)
-Le Guin is an atypical Amercian author
-doesn't have the orthodox Protestant/Catholic/Christian background typical of American authors
-writes from a Taoist perspective
-still has a Western perspective but is more significantly influenced by Eastern philosophy
Taoism
-idea of balance (yin/yang) and unity
-balance is not static but always fluctuating
-"dynamic" balance
-another symbol used in Taoism is the wave
-Taoism sees life as an ongoing process
-Le Guin also had an interest/background in anthropology
-we see this in her book; she pays lots of attention to culture and evolution of beliefs, etc.
-initially, there doesn't even seem to be anything supernatural/fantastical about the book; just lots of realistic detail
Earthsea
-a figurative, metaphorical landscape
-an "archipelago" = collection of islands
-Kargad (Tenar's home country) is made up of four islands
-portrays the idea of many parts making up a whole (unity, as in Taoism)
-note also, the islands are separate on the surface, but unified under water
-cf. John Donne: "No man is an island."
-Earthsea = Earth + Sea
-land vs. water; equivalent to yin and yang - opposites making a whole
-what the sea washes away from one land, it deposits onto another - the idea of dynamic balance
-What kind of world is it?
-pre-industrial
-has developed written word
-have boats with sails (ie. technology)
-system includes peasants, merchants, priests/priestesses, kings, etc
-Le Guin deliberately creates a world with no consumerism
-Kargad empire
-set in desert
-rigid and oppressive rather than balanced and dynamic
-Le Guin questions the idea of one large empire; relationship between ruler and
the ruled is harmful to both
-Scandinavian ethnicity
-Tenar's mother is "fair"
-cf. Ged's people who are dark; they're also a bit like vikings in regards to their
mastery of sea voyage
-inversion of expectations (ie. hero is dark skinned) to challenge assumptions of ethnicity
-Earthsea is intentionally cross-cultural; Le Guin wants us to ditch our
prejudices
-some similarities to fairy tales:
-at the beginning, like the bear from "East of the Sun, West of the Moon," there is the element of someone coming up to the door and saying "Give me your daughter!" - only this time, in stead of a bear, it's a whole society
-at the end, Tenar has the choice to live like a princess (ie. perfect fairy tale ending) but she rejects it for simple, humble life instead
-story can be seen as a "coming-of-age" tale
-coming of age has two parts: discovering one's individuality and finding one's social niche
-difficult for Tenar to find a social niche in the Kargad Empire
-"bildungsroman" - German for "novel of education" (ie. coming of age novel) or simply "education"
-the book also has the idea that a child has a role in her own upbringing and sometimes must rebel
-necessary for individualism is the ability to choose; Tenar can't know who she is until she has the freedom to be who she wants to be
-two different approaches to the tragedy of losing a child
-father: tries not to feel the happiness associated with the child; distances himself
-mother: attempts to enjoy the happiness as much as possible
-father's relationships suffer (with child, with wife); Tenar only remembers her mother after
Religion
-Le Guin plays around with traditions of Ancient Greece
-gods of the earth (Nameless Ones) are male
-cf. almost all cultures on earth have a female earth goddess
-"Godking" - religion underlies political system
-the initiation ceremony whereby Tenar becomes Arha, "the eaten one"...
-effectually a reverse baptism: child loses her name
-also, while baptism marks life, the initiation marks death
-first, there is a mock execution: Tenar's head on chopping block, executioner, etc.
-then there is a mock embalming: Tenar is anointed with oils and salts
-then she is put into a dark room: mock buried
-then she lives out her life in the Tombs.
-only one priestess serves the Nameless Ones
-indicates something wrong; religion should unite, not isolate
-the role of priestess employs false pride; the role becomes her identity and she has trouble leaving it
-The Old Ones
-real, but misinterpreted
-associated with darkness, earth
-what is truly evil is the worship of the powers of darkness exclusively; such worship is a human creation which concentrates evil into one place such as the Tombs
-in the first Earthsea novel, it is said that, for a word to have any power, there must be silence, before and after
-thus, darkness is the silence of light, that comes before and after (ie. there is a night before and after every day) - darkness gives context to the light, to make it meaningful; death is the context of life, pain is the context of happiness, etc.
-reflects Taoist ideas of balance
-Tenar's upbringing at the Tombs is psychologically designed to break and remake the individual -trained to kill prisoners
-taught to dehumanize them
-actual psychological syndrome
-Tenar is encouraged to see the condemned as non-human
-in a sense, Tenar is also something not human; she is merely "the eaten one" (dinner, if you will.)
Ged
-changes Tenar's life
-up until they meet, Tenar is fated to live/die in the tombs as the priestess, never to experience anything else
-she is also tremendously passive, as trained to be
-one reviewer argues that Ged takes on a midwife role in helping Tenar be reborn
-three things about him which make him significant
1) He is a man
-Tenar's world lacks males (has women, girls and eunuchs)
-thus he is unusual by sex alone
2) He is a "hero"(in the literary sense)
-protagonist of the first Earthsea novel
-he is on a quest
-compare to the stories of the Minotaur, which the labyrinth is associated with: Tenar is a bit like the monster in the labyrinth. She could also be a type of Ariadne figure (in Greek myth, Ariadne fell in love with Theseus and helped him navigate the labyrinth)
3) He is a Mage, knows magic.
-a dragonlord; his magic is the magic of words
-words/names - identifiers
-ancient idea of names holding the essence of a thing
-idea is reflected in the English word "spell" - as a verb, it has to do with words; as a noun it has to do with magic
-names spring from an understanding of what something actually IS
-to know, acknowledge and accept a name is to respect that thing
-two reasons why Ged heals the goats near the end of the novel
a) hospitality
-cf. Kossil who maneuvers Tenar to withhold food and water from the prisoners
b) empathy with the goats
-Ged's magic is tied in with understanding and empathy
-initially, Tenar thinks magic has to do with exacting control
-in terms of who rescues who? the point is moot!
-Tenar's compassion saved Ged from starvation; Ged helps her escape the tombs
-Taoism emphasizes community (unity); the smallest community possible is two people
-reversal of roles: girl who is trained to be passive must become active and make the choice to save Ged; boy on an active quest must become passive and allow himself to be led in the dark
The Ring of Erreth-Akbe
-Tenar and Ged each hold one piece (cf. Taoism, parts of a whole)
-ring bears nine runes of power, the Bond-Rune has been lost
-"bonds" - wordplay: bonds of a community vs. bonds of oppression
-intended to bind all of Earthsea in peace
-cf. Kargad Empire which is bound by tyranny
SOURCE
Cooper, Susan. Class Lecture on The Tombs of Atuan. ENG2110: Children's Literature. University of Ottawa, Ontario, CA. 27 Mar 2010.
-considered a modern classic (has won Newbery Honor award)
-Le Guin is an atypical Amercian author
-doesn't have the orthodox Protestant/Catholic/Christian background typical of American authors
-writes from a Taoist perspective
-still has a Western perspective but is more significantly influenced by Eastern philosophy
Taoism
-idea of balance (yin/yang) and unity
-balance is not static but always fluctuating
-"dynamic" balance
-another symbol used in Taoism is the wave
-Taoism sees life as an ongoing process
-Le Guin also had an interest/background in anthropology
-we see this in her book; she pays lots of attention to culture and evolution of beliefs, etc.
-initially, there doesn't even seem to be anything supernatural/fantastical about the book; just lots of realistic detail
Earthsea
-a figurative, metaphorical landscape
-an "archipelago" = collection of islands
-Kargad (Tenar's home country) is made up of four islands
-portrays the idea of many parts making up a whole (unity, as in Taoism)
-note also, the islands are separate on the surface, but unified under water
-cf. John Donne: "No man is an island."
-Earthsea = Earth + Sea
-land vs. water; equivalent to yin and yang - opposites making a whole
-what the sea washes away from one land, it deposits onto another - the idea of dynamic balance
-What kind of world is it?
-pre-industrial
-has developed written word
-have boats with sails (ie. technology)
-system includes peasants, merchants, priests/priestesses, kings, etc
-Le Guin deliberately creates a world with no consumerism
-Kargad empire
-set in desert
-rigid and oppressive rather than balanced and dynamic
-Le Guin questions the idea of one large empire; relationship between ruler and
the ruled is harmful to both
-Scandinavian ethnicity
-Tenar's mother is "fair"
-cf. Ged's people who are dark; they're also a bit like vikings in regards to their
mastery of sea voyage
-inversion of expectations (ie. hero is dark skinned) to challenge assumptions of ethnicity
-Earthsea is intentionally cross-cultural; Le Guin wants us to ditch our
prejudices
-some similarities to fairy tales:
-at the beginning, like the bear from "East of the Sun, West of the Moon," there is the element of someone coming up to the door and saying "Give me your daughter!" - only this time, in stead of a bear, it's a whole society
-at the end, Tenar has the choice to live like a princess (ie. perfect fairy tale ending) but she rejects it for simple, humble life instead
-story can be seen as a "coming-of-age" tale
-coming of age has two parts: discovering one's individuality and finding one's social niche
-difficult for Tenar to find a social niche in the Kargad Empire
-"bildungsroman" - German for "novel of education" (ie. coming of age novel) or simply "education"
-the book also has the idea that a child has a role in her own upbringing and sometimes must rebel
-necessary for individualism is the ability to choose; Tenar can't know who she is until she has the freedom to be who she wants to be
-two different approaches to the tragedy of losing a child
-father: tries not to feel the happiness associated with the child; distances himself
-mother: attempts to enjoy the happiness as much as possible
-father's relationships suffer (with child, with wife); Tenar only remembers her mother after
Religion
-Le Guin plays around with traditions of Ancient Greece
-gods of the earth (Nameless Ones) are male
-cf. almost all cultures on earth have a female earth goddess
-"Godking" - religion underlies political system
-the initiation ceremony whereby Tenar becomes Arha, "the eaten one"...
-effectually a reverse baptism: child loses her name
-also, while baptism marks life, the initiation marks death
-first, there is a mock execution: Tenar's head on chopping block, executioner, etc.
-then there is a mock embalming: Tenar is anointed with oils and salts
-then she is put into a dark room: mock buried
-then she lives out her life in the Tombs.
-only one priestess serves the Nameless Ones
-indicates something wrong; religion should unite, not isolate
-the role of priestess employs false pride; the role becomes her identity and she has trouble leaving it
-The Old Ones
-real, but misinterpreted
-associated with darkness, earth
-what is truly evil is the worship of the powers of darkness exclusively; such worship is a human creation which concentrates evil into one place such as the Tombs
-in the first Earthsea novel, it is said that, for a word to have any power, there must be silence, before and after
-thus, darkness is the silence of light, that comes before and after (ie. there is a night before and after every day) - darkness gives context to the light, to make it meaningful; death is the context of life, pain is the context of happiness, etc.
-reflects Taoist ideas of balance
-Tenar's upbringing at the Tombs is psychologically designed to break and remake the individual -trained to kill prisoners
-taught to dehumanize them
-actual psychological syndrome
-Tenar is encouraged to see the condemned as non-human
-in a sense, Tenar is also something not human; she is merely "the eaten one" (dinner, if you will.)
Ged
-changes Tenar's life
-up until they meet, Tenar is fated to live/die in the tombs as the priestess, never to experience anything else
-she is also tremendously passive, as trained to be
-one reviewer argues that Ged takes on a midwife role in helping Tenar be reborn
-three things about him which make him significant
1) He is a man
-Tenar's world lacks males (has women, girls and eunuchs)
-thus he is unusual by sex alone
2) He is a "hero"(in the literary sense)
-protagonist of the first Earthsea novel
-he is on a quest
-compare to the stories of the Minotaur, which the labyrinth is associated with: Tenar is a bit like the monster in the labyrinth. She could also be a type of Ariadne figure (in Greek myth, Ariadne fell in love with Theseus and helped him navigate the labyrinth)
3) He is a Mage, knows magic.
-a dragonlord; his magic is the magic of words
-words/names - identifiers
-ancient idea of names holding the essence of a thing
-idea is reflected in the English word "spell" - as a verb, it has to do with words; as a noun it has to do with magic
-names spring from an understanding of what something actually IS
-to know, acknowledge and accept a name is to respect that thing
-two reasons why Ged heals the goats near the end of the novel
a) hospitality
-cf. Kossil who maneuvers Tenar to withhold food and water from the prisoners
b) empathy with the goats
-Ged's magic is tied in with understanding and empathy
-initially, Tenar thinks magic has to do with exacting control
-in terms of who rescues who? the point is moot!
-Tenar's compassion saved Ged from starvation; Ged helps her escape the tombs
-Taoism emphasizes community (unity); the smallest community possible is two people
-reversal of roles: girl who is trained to be passive must become active and make the choice to save Ged; boy on an active quest must become passive and allow himself to be led in the dark
The Ring of Erreth-Akbe
-Tenar and Ged each hold one piece (cf. Taoism, parts of a whole)
-ring bears nine runes of power, the Bond-Rune has been lost
-"bonds" - wordplay: bonds of a community vs. bonds of oppression
-intended to bind all of Earthsea in peace
-cf. Kargad Empire which is bound by tyranny
SOURCE
Cooper, Susan. Class Lecture on The Tombs of Atuan. ENG2110: Children's Literature. University of Ottawa, Ontario, CA. 27 Mar 2010.
My Thoughts of the Secret Garden's "magic"
This book is open to many interpretations, but I think there is one thing that may be undeniable: the parallels between Mary, Colin, and the garden. Each has been neglected for 10 years, each has been sick or dying, and each is rejuvenated only when he/she/it begins to interact with the others.
For this reason, I would venture that the "secret" of the garden is the secret of life itself, for when it is locked up, all of Misselthwaite Manor, headed by the grieving Archibald Craven who is the most inclined to cast life away, becomes a lifeless place, with initially "no lights at all in the windows" save but a "dull glow" (Burnett). Mary and Colin's existences are also "secrets of lives," in a sense; they are both kept hidden such that when they are discovered (Mary by the two officers, Colin by Mary), their discovers don't even know who they are. And as long as the garden, Mary and Colin are neglected and kept hidden away, none of them are able to grasp life either.
It seems to me that the Magic of the garden lies in its interaction with other forms of life. It is transformed "as if Magicians were passing through it drawing loveliness out of the earth and the boughs with wands" (Burnett) - but the readers know that this miraculous transformation is only a result of the care of kid-gardeners holding spades, not wands.
Furthermore, if the transformations of Mary and Colin from waxy- and yellow-skinned brats into children full of life are so extraordinary as to be hailed Magical, we might deduce that Magic's power lies in those relationships that take one out of oneself. For it is only when Mary begins to care wholeheartedly for the well-being of the garden that she fully begins to heal; similarly, Colin gets better only when "new beautiful thoughts begin to push out the old hideous ones" - when he stops brooding on his own misfortunes and starts dreaming about everything around him.
In brief, I would say that the secret, and Magic, of life - and the garden - lies in the perpetual interaction of its beings with one another, and so long as that is denied, sickness and death reign.
*****
I agree that the garden is a “feminine entity.” The garden - Lilias's and as much a "sweet, pretty thing" as the lady was - embodies femininity, as is particularly apparent when it is juxtaposed with the massive and dominant Misselthwaite Manor, inheritance of the Craven male line.
Linking nature with femininity leads to the notion of "Mother Nature," as Professor Cooper noted in her lecture (Cooper). The garden takes on a maternal position in the lives of the motherless cousins and, like a mother, acts as a socializing agent. Before Mary and Colin come into contact with it, they are each selfish and disagreeable; then they venture, literally, into the outside world, where they learn how to live alongside others.
Furthering the idea of the garden as a socializing agent, I think it may be said that the garden raises the children into their respective gender roles.
Consider that, initially, Mary is “stony” and ugly, and Colin, weak and prone to bouts of hysteria, to which, according to the Oxford English Dictionary, "women [were] much more liable than men" (OED Online). Thus, both Colin and Mary are far from masculine/feminine ideals. Then, we see a shift in the two as they interact with the garden. Mary develops a nurturing knack, as evidenced by her handling of Colin and the garden. A direct link is made between her and Lilias when she bends down upon "a clump of crocuses" and kisses them - a feminine gesture formerly ascribed to Lilias. She becomes beautiful through the garden's influence. In short, she becomes a little lady. Colin, similarly, grows into a young man: he boyishly aspires to be an athlete and scientist, he grows strong and competitive, and yearns to prove himself – he even states “Now...I am a real boy” in chapter 25.
By the last chapter, Mary is a “pretty, sweet thing” herself, and Colin has risen to the title of “Master.” Therefore I would say that the garden plays a tremendous role in the upbringing and socializing of the two children; it nurtures them to healthy bodies and minds, just as a mother would.
SOURCES
Burnett, Frances Hodgson. The Secret Garden. New York: The Phillips Publishing Co. 1911. Web. Release Date: December 26, 2005 [EBook #17396]. Produced by Jason Isbell, Emmy and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net.
http://www.gutenberg.org/etext/17396
Cooper, S. “The Secret Garden” lecture. Feb 13, 2010.
“hysteria, n.1” The Oxford English Dictionary. 2nd ed. 1989. OED Online. Oxford University Press..
For this reason, I would venture that the "secret" of the garden is the secret of life itself, for when it is locked up, all of Misselthwaite Manor, headed by the grieving Archibald Craven who is the most inclined to cast life away, becomes a lifeless place, with initially "no lights at all in the windows" save but a "dull glow" (Burnett). Mary and Colin's existences are also "secrets of lives," in a sense; they are both kept hidden such that when they are discovered (Mary by the two officers, Colin by Mary), their discovers don't even know who they are. And as long as the garden, Mary and Colin are neglected and kept hidden away, none of them are able to grasp life either.
It seems to me that the Magic of the garden lies in its interaction with other forms of life. It is transformed "as if Magicians were passing through it drawing loveliness out of the earth and the boughs with wands" (Burnett) - but the readers know that this miraculous transformation is only a result of the care of kid-gardeners holding spades, not wands.
Furthermore, if the transformations of Mary and Colin from waxy- and yellow-skinned brats into children full of life are so extraordinary as to be hailed Magical, we might deduce that Magic's power lies in those relationships that take one out of oneself. For it is only when Mary begins to care wholeheartedly for the well-being of the garden that she fully begins to heal; similarly, Colin gets better only when "new beautiful thoughts begin to push out the old hideous ones" - when he stops brooding on his own misfortunes and starts dreaming about everything around him.
In brief, I would say that the secret, and Magic, of life - and the garden - lies in the perpetual interaction of its beings with one another, and so long as that is denied, sickness and death reign.
*****
I agree that the garden is a “feminine entity.” The garden - Lilias's and as much a "sweet, pretty thing" as the lady was - embodies femininity, as is particularly apparent when it is juxtaposed with the massive and dominant Misselthwaite Manor, inheritance of the Craven male line.
Linking nature with femininity leads to the notion of "Mother Nature," as Professor Cooper noted in her lecture (Cooper). The garden takes on a maternal position in the lives of the motherless cousins and, like a mother, acts as a socializing agent. Before Mary and Colin come into contact with it, they are each selfish and disagreeable; then they venture, literally, into the outside world, where they learn how to live alongside others.
Furthering the idea of the garden as a socializing agent, I think it may be said that the garden raises the children into their respective gender roles.
Consider that, initially, Mary is “stony” and ugly, and Colin, weak and prone to bouts of hysteria, to which, according to the Oxford English Dictionary, "women [were] much more liable than men" (OED Online). Thus, both Colin and Mary are far from masculine/feminine ideals. Then, we see a shift in the two as they interact with the garden. Mary develops a nurturing knack, as evidenced by her handling of Colin and the garden. A direct link is made between her and Lilias when she bends down upon "a clump of crocuses" and kisses them - a feminine gesture formerly ascribed to Lilias. She becomes beautiful through the garden's influence. In short, she becomes a little lady. Colin, similarly, grows into a young man: he boyishly aspires to be an athlete and scientist, he grows strong and competitive, and yearns to prove himself – he even states “Now...I am a real boy” in chapter 25.
By the last chapter, Mary is a “pretty, sweet thing” herself, and Colin has risen to the title of “Master.” Therefore I would say that the garden plays a tremendous role in the upbringing and socializing of the two children; it nurtures them to healthy bodies and minds, just as a mother would.
SOURCES
Burnett, Frances Hodgson. The Secret Garden. New York: The Phillips Publishing Co. 1911. Web. Release Date: December 26, 2005 [EBook #17396]. Produced by Jason Isbell, Emmy and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net.
http://www.gutenberg.org/etext/17396
Cooper, S. “The Secret Garden” lecture. Feb 13, 2010.
“hysteria, n.1” The Oxford English Dictionary. 2nd ed. 1989. OED Online. Oxford University Press.
Notes on the Secret Garden
-anti-realistic
-Magic, supernatural
-culture specific elements, autobiographical elements, etc
-a sort of hybrid; not confined to any genre (eg fantasy)
-eg. dead wife speaking out across lands
“The Secret Garden”
-setting extremely important, as evidenced by title
-start by thinking literally about title
-literally: piece of land
-property – Archibald Craven (& Craven family) current owner (being owner of Misselthwaite); would be passed down to Colin = "landed gentry"
class, social structure, English culture (lots of references; eg Yorkshire dialect clue us
to that these aspects may be important)
-financially, socially, heritage of Craven male line
-what is being stressed/praised? Aristocracy or servants
-plants : ornamental flowers, for pleasure, not for survival really
*-tending/gardener
-brings us into thinking figuratively; who owns the garden?
suggests more to relationship of land than ownership; land is more than property
-therefore children would own the garden
Sidenote: I – it
I – you (cf. Them – us)
I - thou
-garden becomes a metaphor for symbiosis
-garden depends on humans for its existence and humans benefit by
having our desire for beauty satisfied
-heaven often likened to a garden
-health benefits (for body and mind)
nursery
-to gardener (place to grow plants) vs to parent ( place to grow children)
-mother nature; associated with the feminine
-Lilias initially owns the garden and is mother to Colim
-Mary finds it and brings it back to life; also becomes motherlike to Colin
-Susan Sowerby (“sow”); madonna, Mary, earth mother, etc.
-Dicken; also associated with nature but more dominantly with animals
-Ben Weatherstaff; robin does not lead him into the garden, doesn't give proper ownership
-seems to be a female inheritance
-no clear cut allegory
-eg. may reinforce that men inherit the earth (at end: Master Collin); but the opposite can be argued
“The Secret Garden”
-secret: something a select few know
-at start, secret is held by the robin (nature itself), Ben Weatherstaff, Archibald Craven
-secret driven by Craven who wants to lock away his past/wife; locking up and hiding something painful
-others know that there was a garden, but doesn't know where it is
-Mary doesn't know of it at ALL, but slowly she gets into the secret
-then Mary becomes secretkeeper
-doesn't want it taken away from her
-she “wants a bit of earth” to call her own
-claiming a space, claiming an identity
-a fundamental notion in 19th c & 20 c. Lit, esp. Feminist lit (eg. Virginia W.); idea of
ownership for women
-also wants to bring it back to life; “I hope it's not dead”; gardening, nurturing quality coming out
-she has been self-absorbed initially; the garden takes her away from the I-it relationship
-for adults it is a reminder of death; Mary sees the possibility of life
-next, Dickon
-some degree of selfishness on Mary's part (she needs seeds, help, etc)
-then Colin
-Mary's motivation for telling Colin is exactly the same as her motivation with the garden
-trio; conspiracy of three children
-they want to keep the children as well as Colin's getting better, secret.
-can be analysed any number of ways
-psychologically: power struggle; sense of independence & superiority
-also increasingly Colin goes “its mine, mine, mine!”, claiming his birthright, and there seems very little denouncement of this; he starts to dominate the trio in a way
-while Mary gets better physically + emotionally, does Colin get better emotionally?
-ultimately adults are brought into the secret
-Ben Weatherstaff; then Susan Sowerby, then Archibald Craven
setting
-not just a backdrop, also influences themes
-literal (social, economic, political)
-figurative
-The Secret Garden is very specifically an English garden, even more spec. Yorkshire
-story opens in India. So wth!
-19th c. time of Brit. Empire's height, India being a colony
-The Jewel of the Crown (of the queen?)
-India is jewel of empire, highly prized
-{disease, snakes, climate = unhealthy}
-servants also unhealthy in that they give her anything she wants; but this could be attr. to mother
-criticism of mother; pretty, neglects child (possibly cuz the child is unattractive), active social
life rather than family life
-so obsessed with hob nobbing with high-standing people that she stays for a dinner party even having been warned about cholera outbreak
-could in fact be a self-portrait
-seems to blame whats wrong with the class system on ruling classes
-parents were encouraged to neglect children in this way, only to be brought in
nicely dressed to say “Hello” or whatever
-leaders, those in power are fundamentally (physically, morally, psychologically)unhealthy
-definitely doesn't seem to be in favour of the elite; health of individual, family, and society are messed up by the elite
-is she criticising the empire? Rajahs are representations of British colonial influence
-juxtaposes Yorkshire and India; Indian servants and English servants
-Anglosaxon as best attitude
-though many of the servants in England as well pretty much acquiesce in the same way that the Indian servants do
Characters
-compare age, gender, class
-names deliberately connote something
-“Mrs. Medlock” = keys
name indicates that she wants to keep things locked; wants to keep status quo; strict
-cf. Rachel Lynde; we do have a sort of ugly duckling thing going on as in AOGG
-Colin is also a secret locked away, Mrs. Medlock being one of the secretkeepers
-Colin is lead to think of himself as deformed, ugly (hunchbacked) thus why he wants
to be not seen; he's also led to believe he is fatally ill/dying
-she is part of the adult conspiracy to keep secrets
-likened to Gothic lit. (Jane Eyre, Bronte Sisters' Wuthering Heights) with sinister
conspiracy and secrets
-”Ben Weatherstaff”
-guide (cf. Wise man with staff), gardener etc.
-”Craven”
-coward
-Archie has run away from responsibilities after wife's death and most likely before he
met her as well
-Gothic idea: aristocratic family which has become increasingly inbred and ill and shut away
from light
-”Archibald” = brave, courageous
-suggests conflicting forces; he has the choice to be courageous or cowardly
-”Colin” = cub
-”Dickon” - corruption of “Richard”
-meaning ruler
-there was a St. Richard who was a saint of agriculture
-above all, according to Mary, he is associated with Magic
-more specifically with the magic of nature
-a bit of a Pan figure (nature deity, demi-god)
-plays pan pipes
-”Martha”
-in New Testament, associated with labouring domesticity
-”Mary”
-nursery rhyme, “Mistress Mary, quite contrary/how does your garden grow?”
-Mother Mary
-beloved (bitterly ironic)
-tied in with “mare”, word for sea => marine
-grows away from “Mistress Mary” to the beloved and Mother Mary type thing
Archibald Craven
-becomes one parent left in the book (of both Mary and Colin) after Mary's parents die
-horrible parent; eg. He kinda forgets Mary's existence; eg. he only deals with them when Susan S. nudges him
-most self-absorbed, seemingly; how do you forget a child??
-of course he is dealing with grief and in those days people were very preoccupied with grief
-however book implies that Craven's grief has gone beyond healthiness into something morbid and destructive, preventing him from taking care of himself and his son
another mother figure: Lilias
-not dead, but her spirit is in the garden
-that is why children need to be there to be nursed back to health
-therefore the garden nurtures the children!
-initially Mary likens Archie Craven to a fairy tale figure, opening up more fairy tale interpretations
-a place surrounded by roses – Sleeping Beauty
-Lilias's spirit sleeping in the garden (figuratively having “fallen asleep” there)
-even Mary seems to channel her spirit in that she takes on those roles
Mary
-Mary alone dominates story for the first half of the book
-literal journey: Mary coming to England
-figurative journey, a quest for a piece of earth
-initially stunted developmentally (can't dress herself, etc.)
-through Martha, Ben and robin, she becomes aware of how much she is ignorant about
1) -Martha treats her with equality; Mary's not used to being paid attention to, but she's also not used to being spoken bluntly to
-Martha also tells her stories about her own life at home, stories of other children
-tells her about moors (free and untamed space, even today)
-Mary says “there's nothing there,” Martha shows her that there are, so that Mary starts to see
things differently
-also tells her about her life at home getting Mary thinking about other people
-interesting to note that even in India when she was bored she attempted to make a garden but the conditions were not right
-when she meets Colin, one of the ways she gets him interested in life is by telling him stories about India and Martha's family
2) Ben is also like Martha in that he is blunt with her
-teaches Mary things by doing them, Mary watches and learns from that
-shows that Mary is lonely, she seeks out friends
-Ben and Robin can be read figuratively
-Robin is associated with spring, and rebirth, redemption & ressurection (thus why he's on xmas
cards a lot)
-perhaps Mary's greatest accomplishment is that she doesn't just heal herself; she heals another as well
-her triumph is that of any parent: she makes Colin what he is, and then he leaves her in the dust
Colin + Mary
-both at the start completely unlikeable
-quite unprecedented at the time to have protagonists so unpleasant and misbehaving
-damaged autonomy => healed autonomy
-twice with male and female characters shows possibility in both
-more realistic (cf. Dickon who is almost more of a fairy tale figure)
Colin
-his room in the manor is as unhealthy for him as India was for Mary
-cut off from air and light
-mother is reduced to an object
-(cf. Robert Browning's “My Last Duchess” - Colin doesn't like that fact that his mother smiles too much)
-indirectly caused her death as well; branch falls ten years ago, shock caused mother to go into
premature labour which caused death
-calls himself a “scientist,” does “experiments” on Magic
-a bit jarring:
-up to this point, nature associated with nurture, natural cycles
-science and experiments seem at odds with that; Colin seems to want to control nature, rather
than work with it; wants to analyse, control and dictate what happens
-he is also associated with Magic
-cf. Dickon's magic, which is not spoken, seems to transcend human language etc.
-Colin wants to write things down, figure things out
-priest of the garden (which is a temple)
-”I shall live forever and ever”
-athlete
-last image: running a race and winning = into competitive sports
=dominance
-though Mrs. Medlock says “The world is like an orange, and Mary's gonna teach Colin which quarter is his” - problem is that the book suggests otherwise!
-autobiographical elements
-death of her son – author sorta rewrites it with a happy ending
-Christian Science
-matter is not real; you can conquer death and sickness by realizing it isn't real; everything's an
illusion
-”I can live forever and ever” - quite literal
-definitely seems to clash with some other elements of the story, but then again she was struggling
-book is about three damaged people getting healed
-portrayal of their healing in the book doesn't necessarily imply christian science element; one can read it
completely without that element
-idea of a decade in which nothing has been happening right (growing of garden and the children)
-other times she uses threes: Mary hears cry three times, etc.
-roses = love
SOURCE
Cooper, Susan. Class Lecture on The Secret Garden. ENG2110: Children's Literature. University of Ottawa, Ontario, CA. 13 Feb 2010.
-Magic, supernatural
-culture specific elements, autobiographical elements, etc
-a sort of hybrid; not confined to any genre (eg fantasy)
-eg. dead wife speaking out across lands
“The Secret Garden”
-setting extremely important, as evidenced by title
-start by thinking literally about title
-literally: piece of land
-property – Archibald Craven (& Craven family) current owner (being owner of Misselthwaite); would be passed down to Colin = "landed gentry"
class, social structure, English culture (lots of references; eg Yorkshire dialect clue us
to that these aspects may be important)
-financially, socially, heritage of Craven male line
-what is being stressed/praised? Aristocracy or servants
-plants : ornamental flowers, for pleasure, not for survival really
*-tending/gardener
-brings us into thinking figuratively; who owns the garden?
suggests more to relationship of land than ownership; land is more than property
-therefore children would own the garden
Sidenote: I – it
I – you (cf. Them – us)
I - thou
-garden becomes a metaphor for symbiosis
-garden depends on humans for its existence and humans benefit by
having our desire for beauty satisfied
-heaven often likened to a garden
-health benefits (for body and mind)
nursery
-to gardener (place to grow plants) vs to parent ( place to grow children)
-mother nature; associated with the feminine
-Lilias initially owns the garden and is mother to Colim
-Mary finds it and brings it back to life; also becomes motherlike to Colin
-Susan Sowerby (“sow”); madonna, Mary, earth mother, etc.
-Dicken; also associated with nature but more dominantly with animals
-Ben Weatherstaff; robin does not lead him into the garden, doesn't give proper ownership
-seems to be a female inheritance
-no clear cut allegory
-eg. may reinforce that men inherit the earth (at end: Master Collin); but the opposite can be argued
“The Secret Garden”
-secret: something a select few know
-at start, secret is held by the robin (nature itself), Ben Weatherstaff, Archibald Craven
-secret driven by Craven who wants to lock away his past/wife; locking up and hiding something painful
-others know that there was a garden, but doesn't know where it is
-Mary doesn't know of it at ALL, but slowly she gets into the secret
-then Mary becomes secretkeeper
-doesn't want it taken away from her
-she “wants a bit of earth” to call her own
-claiming a space, claiming an identity
-a fundamental notion in 19th c & 20 c. Lit, esp. Feminist lit (eg. Virginia W.); idea of
ownership for women
-also wants to bring it back to life; “I hope it's not dead”; gardening, nurturing quality coming out
-she has been self-absorbed initially; the garden takes her away from the I-it relationship
-for adults it is a reminder of death; Mary sees the possibility of life
-next, Dickon
-some degree of selfishness on Mary's part (she needs seeds, help, etc)
-then Colin
-Mary's motivation for telling Colin is exactly the same as her motivation with the garden
-trio; conspiracy of three children
-they want to keep the children as well as Colin's getting better, secret.
-can be analysed any number of ways
-psychologically: power struggle; sense of independence & superiority
-also increasingly Colin goes “its mine, mine, mine!”, claiming his birthright, and there seems very little denouncement of this; he starts to dominate the trio in a way
-while Mary gets better physically + emotionally, does Colin get better emotionally?
-ultimately adults are brought into the secret
-Ben Weatherstaff; then Susan Sowerby, then Archibald Craven
setting
-not just a backdrop, also influences themes
-literal (social, economic, political)
-figurative
-The Secret Garden is very specifically an English garden, even more spec. Yorkshire
-story opens in India. So wth!
-19th c. time of Brit. Empire's height, India being a colony
-The Jewel of the Crown (of the queen?)
-India is jewel of empire, highly prized
-{disease, snakes, climate = unhealthy}
-servants also unhealthy in that they give her anything she wants; but this could be attr. to mother
-criticism of mother; pretty, neglects child (possibly cuz the child is unattractive), active social
life rather than family life
-so obsessed with hob nobbing with high-standing people that she stays for a dinner party even having been warned about cholera outbreak
-could in fact be a self-portrait
-seems to blame whats wrong with the class system on ruling classes
-parents were encouraged to neglect children in this way, only to be brought in
nicely dressed to say “Hello” or whatever
-leaders, those in power are fundamentally (physically, morally, psychologically)unhealthy
-definitely doesn't seem to be in favour of the elite; health of individual, family, and society are messed up by the elite
-is she criticising the empire? Rajahs are representations of British colonial influence
-juxtaposes Yorkshire and India; Indian servants and English servants
-Anglosaxon as best attitude
-though many of the servants in England as well pretty much acquiesce in the same way that the Indian servants do
Characters
-compare age, gender, class
-names deliberately connote something
-“Mrs. Medlock” = keys
name indicates that she wants to keep things locked; wants to keep status quo; strict
-cf. Rachel Lynde; we do have a sort of ugly duckling thing going on as in AOGG
-Colin is also a secret locked away, Mrs. Medlock being one of the secretkeepers
-Colin is lead to think of himself as deformed, ugly (hunchbacked) thus why he wants
to be not seen; he's also led to believe he is fatally ill/dying
-she is part of the adult conspiracy to keep secrets
-likened to Gothic lit. (Jane Eyre, Bronte Sisters' Wuthering Heights) with sinister
conspiracy and secrets
-”Ben Weatherstaff”
-guide (cf. Wise man with staff), gardener etc.
-”Craven”
-coward
-Archie has run away from responsibilities after wife's death and most likely before he
met her as well
-Gothic idea: aristocratic family which has become increasingly inbred and ill and shut away
from light
-”Archibald” = brave, courageous
-suggests conflicting forces; he has the choice to be courageous or cowardly
-”Colin” = cub
-”Dickon” - corruption of “Richard”
-meaning ruler
-there was a St. Richard who was a saint of agriculture
-above all, according to Mary, he is associated with Magic
-more specifically with the magic of nature
-a bit of a Pan figure (nature deity, demi-god)
-plays pan pipes
-”Martha”
-in New Testament, associated with labouring domesticity
-”Mary”
-nursery rhyme, “Mistress Mary, quite contrary/how does your garden grow?”
-Mother Mary
-beloved (bitterly ironic)
-tied in with “mare”, word for sea => marine
-grows away from “Mistress Mary” to the beloved and Mother Mary type thing
Archibald Craven
-becomes one parent left in the book (of both Mary and Colin) after Mary's parents die
-horrible parent; eg. He kinda forgets Mary's existence; eg. he only deals with them when Susan S. nudges him
-most self-absorbed, seemingly; how do you forget a child??
-of course he is dealing with grief and in those days people were very preoccupied with grief
-however book implies that Craven's grief has gone beyond healthiness into something morbid and destructive, preventing him from taking care of himself and his son
another mother figure: Lilias
-not dead, but her spirit is in the garden
-that is why children need to be there to be nursed back to health
-therefore the garden nurtures the children!
-initially Mary likens Archie Craven to a fairy tale figure, opening up more fairy tale interpretations
-a place surrounded by roses – Sleeping Beauty
-Lilias's spirit sleeping in the garden (figuratively having “fallen asleep” there)
-even Mary seems to channel her spirit in that she takes on those roles
Mary
-Mary alone dominates story for the first half of the book
-literal journey: Mary coming to England
-figurative journey, a quest for a piece of earth
-initially stunted developmentally (can't dress herself, etc.)
-through Martha, Ben and robin, she becomes aware of how much she is ignorant about
1) -Martha treats her with equality; Mary's not used to being paid attention to, but she's also not used to being spoken bluntly to
-Martha also tells her stories about her own life at home, stories of other children
-tells her about moors (free and untamed space, even today)
-Mary says “there's nothing there,” Martha shows her that there are, so that Mary starts to see
things differently
-also tells her about her life at home getting Mary thinking about other people
-interesting to note that even in India when she was bored she attempted to make a garden but the conditions were not right
-when she meets Colin, one of the ways she gets him interested in life is by telling him stories about India and Martha's family
2) Ben is also like Martha in that he is blunt with her
-teaches Mary things by doing them, Mary watches and learns from that
-shows that Mary is lonely, she seeks out friends
-Ben and Robin can be read figuratively
-Robin is associated with spring, and rebirth, redemption & ressurection (thus why he's on xmas
cards a lot)
-perhaps Mary's greatest accomplishment is that she doesn't just heal herself; she heals another as well
-her triumph is that of any parent: she makes Colin what he is, and then he leaves her in the dust
Colin + Mary
-both at the start completely unlikeable
-quite unprecedented at the time to have protagonists so unpleasant and misbehaving
-damaged autonomy => healed autonomy
-twice with male and female characters shows possibility in both
-more realistic (cf. Dickon who is almost more of a fairy tale figure)
Colin
-his room in the manor is as unhealthy for him as India was for Mary
-cut off from air and light
-mother is reduced to an object
-(cf. Robert Browning's “My Last Duchess” - Colin doesn't like that fact that his mother smiles too much)
-indirectly caused her death as well; branch falls ten years ago, shock caused mother to go into
premature labour which caused death
-calls himself a “scientist,” does “experiments” on Magic
-a bit jarring:
-up to this point, nature associated with nurture, natural cycles
-science and experiments seem at odds with that; Colin seems to want to control nature, rather
than work with it; wants to analyse, control and dictate what happens
-he is also associated with Magic
-cf. Dickon's magic, which is not spoken, seems to transcend human language etc.
-Colin wants to write things down, figure things out
-priest of the garden (which is a temple)
-”I shall live forever and ever”
-athlete
-last image: running a race and winning = into competitive sports
=dominance
-though Mrs. Medlock says “The world is like an orange, and Mary's gonna teach Colin which quarter is his” - problem is that the book suggests otherwise!
-autobiographical elements
-death of her son – author sorta rewrites it with a happy ending
-Christian Science
-matter is not real; you can conquer death and sickness by realizing it isn't real; everything's an
illusion
-”I can live forever and ever” - quite literal
-definitely seems to clash with some other elements of the story, but then again she was struggling
-book is about three damaged people getting healed
-portrayal of their healing in the book doesn't necessarily imply christian science element; one can read it
completely without that element
-idea of a decade in which nothing has been happening right (growing of garden and the children)
-other times she uses threes: Mary hears cry three times, etc.
-roses = love
SOURCE
Cooper, Susan. Class Lecture on The Secret Garden. ENG2110: Children's Literature. University of Ottawa, Ontario, CA. 13 Feb 2010.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)