I have been flailing around trying to decide what books to slow read a chapter a day and what to read straight through as I have time. Here I am,entranced by the gooseberries mentioned in this section. We had gooseberry,raspberry, and blackberry bushes in the back yard. The raspberries and blackberries got eaten before they could come into the house, often by me lol.
Gooseberries are very sour. The gooseberries sourness was their defense against birds and children.
Eventually we would pick the gooseberries and my mother would make jam out of them. It sounds so idyllic, to me anyway. Only I know all the other stories taking place at the same time. It reminds me to consider what else is happening in the book, that didn't get written as text on the page.
I wish more of nature was familiar to me, but I will take the gooseberries I can connect with through memories. Thank you for sharing your passion for this book. It makes it special for me also. I am excited to read and see what comes next!
They are a spherical round berry, with shades of yellow, green, and orange depending on ripeness. More subdued than the showy raspberries or blackberries.
What a superb introduction to this hugely complex novel. I love the fact that you are so enraptured by the writing that you say you could write something about practically every word: it is a wealthy text, indeed, and the opening section has so much going on in it. There are multiple classic Gothic tropes, but so much else, too. Emily Bronte's writing can, I think, be pretty confusing when we first encounter it and, like many truly great texts, can only be fully comprehended after multiple readings, but we all have to start somewhere, and a guided reading is an excellent way to begin.
I can't thank you enough for this insightful comment, Elizabeth! I am having a wonderful time teasing out the *sometimes* difficult-to-comprehend aspects of Brontë's text and making sense of it all for new readers and (re)readers alike. Thank you so much for your support!
I really appreciate your efforts to do this, Jessica. I have read W.H a couple of times before, but your essays are adding to my understanding, for which I thank you. I note that you said that Emily had refused to attend Church, and I imagine that this caused great consternation in a household at the head of which was a church minister. Can you give me further details about this, please?
I am certainly not a Brontë scholar, but my understanding (based largely on Edward Chitham's biographies) is that while the Brontë children were 'taught' Methodism, they were not all adherent to church attendance.
Chitham surmises Emily may have withdrawn from religion under the overcritical teachings of her aunt (after the Brontë children's mother died). Branwell and Emily both 'dissented' from the church.
Their father was tolerant of his son's and daughter's aversion to attending church; I think, because (at least in Emily's case) she did not reject Christian faith but rather embraced a wider worldview which encouraged her to explore her feelings toward the faith she'd been raised within--including years (after her mother's death) spent under Aunt Branwell's influence. Chitham also notes that Emily, who was greatly influenced by Shelley's writing, condemned his overt atheism, despite often being disenchanted herself by Christianity.
That is incredibly interesting. Patrick B. must have been a rare man indeed, in the context of his times. Having read some of Emily's poetry, I can see the influence of Romanticism in her idealogy. Thanks again for enlightenment.
I have been flailing around trying to decide what books to slow read a chapter a day and what to read straight through as I have time. Here I am,entranced by the gooseberries mentioned in this section. We had gooseberry,raspberry, and blackberry bushes in the back yard. The raspberries and blackberries got eaten before they could come into the house, often by me lol.
Gooseberries are very sour. The gooseberries sourness was their defense against birds and children.
Eventually we would pick the gooseberries and my mother would make jam out of them. It sounds so idyllic, to me anyway. Only I know all the other stories taking place at the same time. It reminds me to consider what else is happening in the book, that didn't get written as text on the page.
I wish more of nature was familiar to me, but I will take the gooseberries I can connect with through memories. Thank you for sharing your passion for this book. It makes it special for me also. I am excited to read and see what comes next!
Oh, thank you for sharing...I had no idea gooseberries taste sour! I think they are so pretty...I bet the jam is lovely. What color is it?
The jam is a tan/brown color with, for me, a distinctive taste.
They are a spherical round berry, with shades of yellow, green, and orange depending on ripeness. More subdued than the showy raspberries or blackberries.
What a superb introduction to this hugely complex novel. I love the fact that you are so enraptured by the writing that you say you could write something about practically every word: it is a wealthy text, indeed, and the opening section has so much going on in it. There are multiple classic Gothic tropes, but so much else, too. Emily Bronte's writing can, I think, be pretty confusing when we first encounter it and, like many truly great texts, can only be fully comprehended after multiple readings, but we all have to start somewhere, and a guided reading is an excellent way to begin.
I can't thank you enough for this insightful comment, Elizabeth! I am having a wonderful time teasing out the *sometimes* difficult-to-comprehend aspects of Brontë's text and making sense of it all for new readers and (re)readers alike. Thank you so much for your support!
I really appreciate your efforts to do this, Jessica. I have read W.H a couple of times before, but your essays are adding to my understanding, for which I thank you. I note that you said that Emily had refused to attend Church, and I imagine that this caused great consternation in a household at the head of which was a church minister. Can you give me further details about this, please?
I am certainly not a Brontë scholar, but my understanding (based largely on Edward Chitham's biographies) is that while the Brontë children were 'taught' Methodism, they were not all adherent to church attendance.
Chitham surmises Emily may have withdrawn from religion under the overcritical teachings of her aunt (after the Brontë children's mother died). Branwell and Emily both 'dissented' from the church.
Their father was tolerant of his son's and daughter's aversion to attending church; I think, because (at least in Emily's case) she did not reject Christian faith but rather embraced a wider worldview which encouraged her to explore her feelings toward the faith she'd been raised within--including years (after her mother's death) spent under Aunt Branwell's influence. Chitham also notes that Emily, who was greatly influenced by Shelley's writing, condemned his overt atheism, despite often being disenchanted herself by Christianity.
That is incredibly interesting. Patrick B. must have been a rare man indeed, in the context of his times. Having read some of Emily's poetry, I can see the influence of Romanticism in her idealogy. Thanks again for enlightenment.
I love the images you're including in these posts!
Oh, thank you for letting me know!!
So confused how to join the read a long
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