tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6017927177231080668.post7329009789743997358..comments2024-02-06T11:57:25.334-05:00Comments on The Frumanista: Nice Can Be Interesting Princess Leahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17217157534383672867noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6017927177231080668.post-76864126879237618032015-11-18T10:29:12.677-05:002015-11-18T10:29:12.677-05:00DS: From my fuzzy high school memories, Pip is act...DS: From my fuzzy high school memories, Pip is actually interesting because he starts out as a nice kid, then let's money go to his head, discovers his error, and sheepishly becomes a mensch again. I think. But Dickens virtuous characters were without depth, no struggle, just automatically full of mercy and kindness. <br /><br />Anon: I do say that while Scarlett isn't likable, she is admirable; while the rest of the South finds her convention-defying actions to be unsupportable, she refuses to go hungry again just for form's sake. However, was there any upside to her being a brat before the war broke out? She was selfish before, and selfish after; nothing changes. <br /><br />Okay, I really have to read "Daniel Deronda." I couldn't stand Gwen in the film adaptation, but you can see how she got there. A beautiful child who is favored by her timid mother along with the rest of the world. In the end, she is not so different than Scarlett; she does what she has to do for survival. Yet why was she horrible before the family fortunes go kaput? <br /><br />But at the end she tries to become better. Scarlett just vows to track down Rhett. <br /><br />Mirah, yet, goes through great hardship but it doesn't harden her. I don't know how dull she appears in the book, so I have to give that a read, but I liked her on film. Her quiet dignity compared to Gwen's loud obnoxiousness appealed to me. Princess Leahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17217157534383672867noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6017927177231080668.post-17969565923504560662015-11-17T21:05:43.412-05:002015-11-17T21:05:43.412-05:00My brother's comment after reading GWTW (due t...My brother's comment after reading GWTW (due to my recommendation because of his interest in the Civil War era, it was probably the only romance he'll ever read), was that as selfish of a person as Scarlett could be, at the end of the day she did what she needed to keep her family/home alive. They were all depending on her and if not for her, they wouldn't have made it. Which I can't disagree with.<br />As far as characters being "good" that isn't really important to me, as long as they are interesting. One of my favorite literary characters of all time is Gwendolyn from Daniel Deronda and her part of the first half of the book is titled "The Spoiled Child" quite aptly. She is totally spoiled and breaks people's hearts and uses them but she's so much more fascinating than the ultra dull Mirah.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6017927177231080668.post-18628209389011407482015-11-17T10:14:47.397-05:002015-11-17T10:14:47.397-05:00I know you dislike Dickens anyway, but his heroes ...I know you dislike Dickens anyway, but his heroes and heroines have a reputation for being bland and irritatingly pious. One reads Dickens for the supporting characters, not the heroes (or the plots). Although Pip in <i>Great Expectations</i> is at least supposed to be an annoying snob (I really need to re-read that now I'm old enough to understand it properly).Daniel Saundershttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07087956908558706584noreply@blogger.com