tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1221433808285580112.post6365138825104231345..comments2022-03-04T17:48:40.060-05:00Comments on Attic Salt: A Literary Blog: Sense and Sensibility, Chapters 23-34Amy Cavanaughhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16472980425269161491noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1221433808285580112.post-21105336813208819502010-03-28T22:31:06.696-04:002010-03-28T22:31:06.696-04:00I have been meaning to comment on all three of the...I have been meaning to comment on all three of these posts, but my head is just a stew of potential comments and I haven't had the wherewithal to sort any single one out. But I just had to chime in and say how much I've been enjoying everyone else's comments. You guys are just so smart. <br /><br />Hopefully, I'll have wrangled my thoughts a bit by the time we finish up this week so I can hop in to the concluding discussion. I'm really enjoying reading the books again with a more active, critical attitude. It's so invigorating. I've really loved sorting out what Austen does well(dialogue, hands down; sly descriptions of wretched/ridiculous characters; expert plotting)and where she falters (here, LOADS of showing-not-telling; some occasional lapses into an overly didactic, preachy tone; some dichotomies drawn too sharply for strict realism). I'm remembering loads of stuff from my Victorian Lit discussions of this book. It's just really fun-- so thank you for facilitating it!Cassandra Mortmainhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02980440861507976453noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1221433808285580112.post-1649421982467824152010-03-24T13:44:44.541-04:002010-03-24T13:44:44.541-04:00This is a great point, Molly, and I wonder to what...This is a great point, Molly, and I wonder to what extent we'll see it occur in Austen's other novels as well. <br /><br />Instead of thinking of the male characters as cardboard cut-outs ill-matched for the women, who despite their flaws are incredibly dynamic, I need to think about the novel as Austen exploring the women's lives and their way of looking at the world and not matching them up with the suitors they deserve, which would say more about relationships than I think Austen is trying to do here.Amy Cavanaughhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16472980425269161491noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1221433808285580112.post-21601667611737094292010-03-23T15:21:05.626-04:002010-03-23T15:21:05.626-04:00I'm finding myself really fond of the male cha...I'm finding myself really fond of the male characters' token flaws. Mr. Palmer is hilarious, Edward is so adorably pathetic I want to pat him on the head and shove him off to watch him bob haplessly on the ocean of life.<br /><br />I'm a lot less sympathetic towards the women, and I'm somewhat interested in that from a feminist perspective. The male flaws are somewhat charming and childlike for the most part, while the female's flaws can make them actively hostile or dangerous. Even John Dashwood's selfishness is inactive, while Mrs. John Dashwood has all the agency in turning him against his family.<br /><br />I think this mostly comes from the novel being set very much in the women's world. The men are carried along, but the women do all the work of driving the plot forward.<br /><br />The main exception to this is Willoughby, who is playing more deliberately in the women's world, causing harm through action rather than inaction.Mollyhttp://blog.meaplet.comnoreply@blogger.com