tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4798744626372711858.post5056792806628085226..comments2022-01-09T15:55:12.856-08:00Comments on Brilsby's Whims: Review: Au Bonheur des Dames, by Emile ZolaSimon Brilsbyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12922819494593801127noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4798744626372711858.post-21422187251699054792016-08-05T05:52:05.265-07:002016-08-05T05:52:05.265-07:00That Denise is not a round character owes perhaps ...That Denise is not a round character owes perhaps to Zola's newfound optimism. In his Naturalism phase, Zola could write round females, but they (like all his characters back then) were base creatures, driven by selfishness and biology, rather than any morality or reason. Au Bonheur des Dames is an optimistic novel; Zola needed a place to put his forward-facing idealism, his hope for us rising Fallen. He put hope in Denise, and so made her less than human when he made her more than human.Simon Brilsbyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12922819494593801127noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4798744626372711858.post-81157636665127718662016-08-05T04:01:56.729-07:002016-08-05T04:01:56.729-07:00The need is mutual, but because this concept of me...The need is mutual, but because this concept of men owning the women, that they are buying her, is considering her as a goods, to cure his sexual desire and inner need… is as unhealthy as the advertisement promising you that their products will fix everything. They must reach a mutual respect in their relationship (not just love), and that is the brilliance of Jane Austen (mutual respect and moderate wealthy is also crucial for a reunion, but of course, anything is preferred than a marriage without affection… Love is the foundation, basic, but not the only thing). Denise is a failure in the sense that she is not an equal to Mouret (but I have not read the novel), (Elizabeth is the equal of Mr. Darcy, who would say that Elizabeth Bennet is supposed to be the sympathetic every girl?)<br />Her inability to admit her love must be because she does not feel to be respected by Mouret, rather than her own weakness. Or is she playing the ‘you are too good, that I do not feel like to deserve you…’ card? Or even it is because if she admits, the novel would finish much quicker. But either way, she must achieve self-respect before being love (like Elizabeth has her own pride despite that she know Mr. Darcy has superior social position), and Jane Austen asserts more than one love line in her novels, and all the novels wish only to cope Elizabeth and Darcy’s line fails in such aspect (North and South is at disadvantage in such aspect). Denise in being an idealised female loses her chances to become a human, or at least an equal for Mouret. Jane Bennet should not marry Mr. Darcy, therefore, Denise should find her Mr. Bingley instead. But that is unfair to Denise, she deserves her own happiness and Mouret reforms or let’s say he becomes sensitive towards other people’s need, and therefore redistributes the power between employees and employer (by the way, whether you like relationship, or humans belong a symbol of something larger totally depends on you… just for this individual case, as the same praise that could give to North and South, is to picture a human sketch of both sides and the female heroine is the only the point of view character, or their bounding character, the inbetweener…). Thus the marriage becomes the class reconciliation, and female becomes thus less as an individual, but a being trying to balancing two identities (however, this is an assumption I have formed without reading the novel), and I shall stop here.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05950740333899110792noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4798744626372711858.post-29477719929262068632016-08-05T04:01:38.745-07:002016-08-05T04:01:38.745-07:00“Impartiality” is merely an atmosphere, that when ...“Impartiality” is merely an atmosphere, that when we choose our point of view, the destiny is decided that it would only benefit one or two characters, and we are all biased beings, which our ignorance and prejudice would creep into our creation. Whether to judge or not judge, if not to judge the persons… then system must be judged. The highest level of objectivity or impartiality would only achieve one thing — that a writer would never pick up their pen. The tendency is to try to achieve the purity of music, but whether you agree or not, it depends.<br />How to tell a love story after Pride and Prejudice? Let even trace back to Beauty and The Beast, or even Cinderella, a man reforms himself in loving a woman. If we put in chorological order (as we are tracing back, yes, there is a controversy that Cinderella is a much older tale than Beauty and The Beast), female characters begins to play a larger and larger role in a more personal interaction with the male characters. Cinderella benefits from her marriage, as all these female characters generally do. What is it in our story model that a wealthy man marring a woman with ‘only beauty’ to recommend themselves? But they are symbols in a level, men symbolises position, wealthy, power, intelligence, handsomeness… while women embraces gentleness, sensibility, kindness, ‘softness’, innocence, beauty… But there is an imbalance of distribution (economic distribution), that most of traits for men are material, and for women are spiritual. There is a fundamental cruel side of matrimony for women, but keep in mind, Jane Austen does not write a woman’s story, but human’s story, (for both men and women), that she is well-aware that because of the heritage law, the second son of the family suffers the same obligation of trying to marry a rich heiress.<br />Therefore, marriage is to some extent, a redistribution of power in these cases. However, this could be extended, as male symbolises the ruthless capitalism (as Mouret is the man behind or even in front of Au Bonheur des Dames), and female symbolises the worker or the people, or the good noble people (as Denise holds a lower position, but also a heart of gold). People are not slaves and they are humans, exploiting them is exploiting your own emotion and human’s lives, (strikes, reforms, riots… North and South has captured this side), and both sides need love (emotion) and wealthy (material) as humans always do. So, Denise and Mouret reunion has a metaphorical level of reading.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05950740333899110792noreply@blogger.com