Victober 2020 ~ In Memory of Vivianne ~

[Vivianne]

Yes, I should start a thread on accessible technology (and accessibility in general) so I don’t wildly derail threads.
=
Today I’m going to look up Victorian poets, after I started reading Jane Austen, mistakenly thinking her Victorian.

[Lemon Cheesecake]

<I would have thought the same, just never really thought about it>.

I think I am hooked on Dickensian! I so want the inspector to get it right! I felt so badly for Cratchet's family on the other episode, and Mrs. Bumble and a few others I just want them to be miserable since they are so unkind and selfish!

[Vivianne]

I’m reading a play by Elizabeth Barrett Browning and love it. She’s an incredible wordsmith!

I’m glad you’re enjoying the show, Lemon! Shows that draw a viewer in are great! What do you think of the costuming?

[MissAutumn]

That would be an interesting thread, Vivianne. I've not read anything by Elizabeth Barrett Browning, I'm happy you're enjoying her play.

Dickensian is such a good show. We'll have to discuss it when you finish it.

I'm still reading Trollope's first book. I can see why it didn't sell well. I'm getting more used to the dialect but it's still slowing me down.

My copy of The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde had some of his other plays in it too, so I read Lady Windermere's Fan yesterday. Wilde is so full of wit. Why have I not read his plays sooner?

[Lemon Cheesecake]

most everyone in the show is poor so the costumes are old and dingy looking but then they throw a few gowns in that are very pretty and have a few of the men looking very dapper!

[Vivianne]

I finished “A Drama of Exiles.” It’s very enjoyable. The language is lyrical and musical and I felt like it was about redemption, one of my favorite themes.

It’s about the garden of eden and what happens right after the fall, and I loved Elizabeth Barrett Browning’s take on it. It’s very compassionate.

[MissAutumn]

I'll be adding "A Drama of Exiles" to my TBR list. It sounds like a fantastic read.

I think I'll watch North and South (2004) this weekend. It's about a daughter of a clergyman. She and her family move from the countryside in the South of England, to an industrial town of the North because her dad retires from preaching. So has to give up his church "living". There she meets a self-made mill owner. It kind of has a Pride and Prejudice feel to it. It also looks at the mill workers and their fight for improved working conditions.

[Vivianne]

I really liked it! Elizabeth Barrett Browning seems to frequently use myth and religion in her works. One of her poems, “A Musical Instrument”, is about Pan fashioning a lute from reeds. I preferred her poem “My Heart and I”, but she is evocative in both.

That sounds interesting! I really need to read Pride and Prejudice.

It’s interesting to dip into the social commentary of these authors.

[Lemon Cheesecake]

The only North and south series I've seen is the one by the same title that was about the U.S. civil war time.

I'll look for the British series.

The economical and social challenges of that time are quite outrageous. Do we even have a debtor's type of prison anymore? People just seen to declare bankruptcy, sue or if they embezzle maybe then go to prison? And the work and poor houses back then make me want to cry.

But the travesty is we still have children being sold off in some countries because their families can't afford to feed, clothe and educate them or their families need to survive . If the stories are true, some parents sold their children off hoping the child might be able to be in a better environment and survive.

[MissAutumn]

I've never seen the US one. Any good?

I can't think of a country where they still exist. I'm happy the work houses are gone. They used to separate entire families. Husbands and wives where separated, children taken from their parents. Just awful.

It's sad that it still happens in the world. It really shouldn't happen in this day and age.

[Lemon Cheesecake]

I'm thinking of watching Bleak house again...especially after watching Honoria's character evolve in "Dickinsian". Gillian Andersen did an amazing job with the character in Bleak House (not an enticing name for a show but their lives were very bleak in a way, loss of love, bound by duty).

[MissAutumn]

The house of Bleak House was anything but bleak interestingly.

How is everyone doing with Victober? Watched or read anything? I'm still on the same book - should finish it by tomorrow.

[Vivianne]

I’m now reading “Sonnets from the Portuguese.” It’s a collection of intertwined sonnets that tell a story, or at least so far it is. I think I’ll have to seek an analysis to gain a better understanding.

Like several of Barrett Browning’s other works, myth and religion are frequently alluded to.

Edit: when I had written this post, I was at the very beginning, and now that I’m further in...these are so expressive of love, oh my.

[Lemon Cheesecake]

I watched the first episode of "Dombley and son"...it's in french so I have to read the English subtitles! There is a lot of narration which makes it seem like I am being read to. For some reason the little boy reminded me of the story of the little Prince.

edit: It is written by Charles Dickens!

[MissAutumn]

It's looks like you've found a writer you really like, Vivianne? Analysis can be really helpful to fully understand these types of literature. They use contexts or make references to things that we don't really get any more.

Well Lemon, you won't be able to multi-task with the French version. I like the sound of that, the narration sounds like an interesting way of adapting a book. I know little about Dombley and Son.