This week's Teaser Tuesday post comes from the pages of Middlemarch, which I'm reading for the Beowulf on the Beach Reading Challenge.Middlemarch is George Eliot's critical work that was published in 1871-1872 (as a series of smaller inter-woven books) as a look into, and critique, of provincial English life. Eliot (aka, Mary Anne Evans) was a 19th-century feminist of sorts, arguing that women have as much right to truth and knowledge as their silly male counterparts. Here's her take on the situation:
"Women were expected to have weak opinions, but the great safeguard of society and domestic life was that opinions were not acted on. Sane people did what their neighbors did, so that if any lunatics were at large, one might know and avoid them," (p. 7).Sounds like a truth still pretty applicable, even in today's society (in my opinion). We've come a long way since Evans was writing under a male pseudonym to get credibility, but we've still got a long way to go, baby.
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15 comments:
Yes we definitely have a long way to go!
I like to mix up my reading, so I try to get a classic in there every now and then.
Thanks for stopping by :)
Here's an article you may want to read at salon.com - it touches on gender, Twitter war, journalism, literature, family life and writing.
I've been meaning to read Eliot! This sounds good, are you enjoying it? (I also agree that we still have a long way to go!)
@Michael - Thanks for the link-up, I'll definitely read it.
@Avisannschild - Yes, I'm definitely enjoying it. It was a little slow going at first, but then I got into it and am really liking it. I find I have to read without any outside distractions because the language and content are dense--concentration is key.
Thanks for answering my question! I found the same thing happened to me when I read The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins last year. It was a great read but required way more concentration than most of the other books I normally read (and took a lot longer to read too). By the way, have you changed your username?
Great link, Michael, thanks for mentioning that article!
Thanks for the teaser - I haven't read Eliot yet. Here's my Teaser! ~ Wendi
I'm going to have to check out the challenge. It sounds very interesting. I am a big fan of the classics.
@Avisannschild - Yeah, I changed it from my name (Heather) to link up with the blog's URL to make it easier to find.
I'll have to check out The Woman in White.
Great book but I definitely don't have the concentration for Eliot right now, actually I can't concentrate on much of anything waiting for the baby, must be granny brain:(
ah, I love Middlemarch. This is a great teaser and thinking-point. I find that it's hard to justify a love of many classics to some extent because there are so many backward ideas embedded in so many of them. I was asked, today, how I can justify my adoration for Hemingway at al while considering myself a feminist. I'll have do a little bit of thinking on that one!
I thought I remembered that your name was Heather but I read so many blogs that I wasn't 100% sure. Thanks for clearing that up!
I have yet to read this book. It's on my list, though.
I've been wanting to read Eliot, but haven't yet. Thanks for the great teaser!
Oh dear - I certainly would have been mistaken for a lunatic then.
I read "Middlemarch" a couple of years ago, and --much as a lot of it went right over my head-- I enjoyed it, and am glad I read it. I hope you're enjoying it, too! :D
~MizB
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