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Tag Archives: 19th century literature

The Beautiful Fool or the Plain Brain?

14 Friday Feb 2014

Posted by Katherine in Literature, Politics and Society

≈ 5 Comments

Tags

19th century literature

daisy

‘I hope she’ll be a fool – that’s the best thing a girl can be in this world, a beautiful little fool.’

Daisy, The Great Gatsby

Is it better to be a beautiful fool or to be plain and clever?  Who is happier?  Who feels more fulfilled?  Daisy’s example seems to imply that beautiful women attract the sort of men that only fools could be happy with.  And conversely then, do plain women necessarily attract men with whom they can form more meaningful relationships?  That is, if they attract any man at all.  And is the situation truly hopeless for the clever, beautiful woman?  Shouldn’t a woman with two of humanity’s most admired traits be happy?

Perhaps a survey of 19th century literature can shed some light on this question.  Much of 19th century fiction (and most fiction before that period) was meant to demonstrate some moral lesson.  Generally, the clever and virtuous triumphed and the foolish and cruel came to a bad end, regardless of physical beauty.  This is certainly true of authors like Jane Austen and Charles Dickens but less so of Gustave Flaubert, whose Madame Bovary was intended to be a story written objectively, devoid of moralizing.  Even his heroine, however, is punished for her foolishness.

Here’s a quick rundown of some famous 19th century heroines, their smarts/beauty quotient, and their fate.

Elizabeth Bennett – Clever and Beautiful – Ends up happy

Lydia Bennett – Foolish and Beautiful (?) – Ends up happy

Jane Eyre – Clever and Plain – Ends up happy

Catherine Linton – Foolish and Beautiful – Ends up unhappy/dead

Madame Bovary – Foolish and Beautiful – Ends up unhappy/dead

Emma Woodhouse – Clever and Beautiful – Ends up happy

Marian Holcombe – Clever and Plain – Ends up happy (though not married)

Dorothea Brooke – Clever and Beautiful – Ends up happy

Rosamund Vincy – Foolish and Beautiful – Ends up unhappy

In most cases, the foolish are punished and the clever rewarded, regardless of physical beauty.  The one (I’d say pretty famous) exception that perfectly fits Daisy’s definition of a beautiful fool is Lydia Bennett.  I’m not sure if she’s noted in the book as actually being particularly beautiful, but she clearly has charms enough to attract a cad like Mr. Wickham.  Luckily for her, she has a quality Daisy does not.  She is foolish enough that she has no idea she has married a scalliwag, and she may never figure it out.  She will live her life blissfully ignorant of her husband’s poor character.  This is Daisy’s dream for her daughter and by extension, herself – to be beautiful enough to marry comfortably and foolish enough to be ignorant of her husband’s flaws and failings.

Twentieth-century fiction departs dramatically from the moralizing of the 19th century.  Daisy’s statement (and by extension, Fitzgerald’s) sounds like a reaction to modernism, to the type of world where even in fiction the bad guy can win (he certainly does in The Great Gatsby) and the fool can come out on top.  But what about in real life?  Real life is so diverse and varied, it’s impossible to prove that one or the other type of woman is happier or more successful.  I have known examples of all kinds, though I can say from personal experience the only women I know who bothered to consider this question were the smart ones.

I can say for myself, beyond a doubt, that I would rather be smart and plain than sexy and stupid.  Most of us would probably characterize ourselves as somewhere in the middle on both traits anyway.  How about you, dear readers?  Who is happiest, and which would you prefer to be?

Top Ten 19th Century Hotties on Film or TV

18 Monday Mar 2013

Posted by Katherine in Literature, Movies/Television, Victorian Hotties

≈ 13 Comments

Tags

19th century literature, Alan Rickman, Christian Bale, Colin Firth, Daniel Day-Lewis, Gene Wilder, Literary adaptation, Mr. Darcy, Orson Welles, victorian hotties

I love seeing great books adapted into movies.  Seeing the story played out with the nuances of facial expressions and body language lends a drama I can miss when reading the book.  Older novels are particularly good to see acted, because it is easy to miss the humor or the irony in a written scene if you are not fully familiar with the customs or etiquette of the period; I often find the context to be more clear within a movie.  Plus, I love seeing handsome actors in cravats and frock coats.  There have been so many adaptations of the great 19th century works of literature that it can be hard to pick favorites, but we are up to the challenge.  Below are the Vicky A’s choices for Top 10 Male Leads in a 19th century Film or TV Literary Adaptation, aka the Top TV/Movie Victorian Hotties.

10.  Christian Bale as Laurie from Little Women

Before he was Batman or an American Psycho, he was every girl’s favorite boy-next-door, Laurie from Little Women.  Apparently what it takes to win the heart of a March sister is to grow a goatee and become a wastrel.

9. Gene Wilder as Victor Frankenstein in Young Frankenstein

There have been a lot of Frankenstein movies, but for us, the definitive Victor Frankenstein is actually Victor FrAHnkensteen.  Gene Wilder is simultaneously debonair, hilarious, and insane — the perfect man!

8. Orson Welles as Rochester in Jane Eyre

We’re dipping into the archives for this one, because I’m a bit concerned that this list is too heavily biased towards recent movies.  There have been a ton of Jane Eyres, and I don’t necessarily think this one is my all time fave (I love the Masterpiece Theatre version with Toby Stephens which I just saw for the first time recently), but I do love me some Orson Welles.  Citizen Kane-era, pre-liquor commercials Orson Welles.

7. Daniel Day-Lewis as Newland Archer from The Age of Innocence

Oh, Daniel Day.  DDL is amazing in everything he does, so if you haven’t seen this version of Age of Innocence, you can imagine the intensity he brings to the role of Newland Archer.  Also, I have a feeling all the top hat wearing he does in this movie helped him really nail the role of Lincoln.  Note: We know The Age of Innocence was written in the 20th century.  Indulge us, please.

6. Ralph Fiennes as Heathcliff from Wuthering Heights

When asked to choose a favorite Heathcliff, Ralph Fiennes is our pick.  It’s too bad he went on to be Red Dragon and then Voldemort for 8 movies – that kind of ruined him for me.

5.  Brendan Fraser as Trevor Anderson in Journey to the Center of the Earth

HAHAHAHAjustkidding, I would never put Brendan Fraser on this list.

5. Mark Strong as Mr. Knightley in Emma

I am aware that Mark Strong has a minor male pattern baldness situation going on even in this movie, but I kind of don’t care; he’s a total fox.

4. Gabriel Byrne as Professor Bhaer from Little Women

Yes, another one from Little Women.  Clearly, I saw this movie at too impressionable an age, and I still love Gabriel Byrne as the kindly Professor Bhaer.

3.  Alan Rickman as Colonel Brandon from Sense and Sensibility

Alan Rickman can read me Shakespearean sonnets anytime.  How it took Kate Winslet so long to come around to this guy, I have no idea.  I’m pretty sure I thought he was superhot even as a teenager.

2. Benedict Cumberbatch as Sherlock Holmes

He hasn’t been around as long as some of the others, and as they age like fine wine, Benny is just hitting his stride.  Is that too mixed a metaphor?  The point is, who doesn’t absolutely adore Cumberbatch in this role?

Sorry, that photo slipped in.  I can’t control myself around Benny.  Focus…

1. Colin Firth as Mr. Darcy

The number one spot is easy.  Who can deny that Colin Firth is the one and only Darcy?  And who doesn’t remember the first time she saw that LOOK of his?  In college, I spent hours discussing that look with the girls in my dorm.  Colin Firth is number one on our list no matter what the subject of the list actually is.

Ok, we want to hear from you!  Who did we miss?  Are we way off?  Who is in your top 10?

 

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