Eliza, Terri, and Anna. What's new?
Let's start off this blog entry with a tribute to Eliza Dolittle:
One day I'll be famous,
I'll be proper and prim;
Go to Saint James' so often
I will call it Saint Jim...
Who knows why this verse has been running through my head for the past two days. Sometimes I feel like Eliza--dreaming of the day when I'll be rich and famous and able to blow off the heads of all the annoying Henry Higginses in my world...
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Ad Memoriam:
Terri Schiavo
1963-2005
8 Take heed, you senseless ones among the people;
you fools, when will you become wise?
9 Does he who implanted the ear not hear?
Does he who formed the eye not see?
10 Does he who disciplines nations not punish?
Does he who teaches man lack knowledge?
11 The LORD knows the thoughts of man;
he knows that they are futile.
12 Blessed is the man you discipline, O LORD ,
the man you teach from your law;
13 you grant him relief from days of trouble,
till a pit is dug for the wicked.
14 For the LORD will not reject his people;
he will never forsake his inheritance.
15 Judgment will again be founded on righteousness,
and all the upright in heart will follow it.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
While reading Anna Karenina yesterday night, I tried to piece together some of the book's redeeming qualities. Here are a few:
~the exploration of justice vs. injustice. Anna's adultery justly gives her a huge amount of grief. Her brother's adultery doesn't give him any. Twisted into this dilemma are women's rights issues: Anna as a woman cannot get away with adultery. Stepan as a man CAN get away with it. On one hand the reader feels terribly sorry for Anna because she IS something of a victim. But on the other hand, she's getting what she deserves. However, Stepan's wife suffers unjustly because she is unable to free herself and her children from a blatantly licentious husband. That woman is a true victim of injustice, but she has no recourse BECAUSE she's a woman. Meanwhile, her husband cannot be brought to justice.
~DEATH. This theme comes up in the beginning when a man is run over by a train, and then Anna says it's an "ill omen." Then death very pointedly reappears in Part Four. And in Part Eight it helps to wrap up the story. :P This theme goes much deeper when re-examined in its various contexts.
~the perceptive analysis of Russian culture in general: Aristocratic society. Slum life. Peasants. Moscow and St. Petersburg. Officers and officials. Intellectual elites.
~the worthiness of life's pursuits. All the characters in this novel take different paths, and Tolstoy tells the truth about every one. In the end the reader is left wondering...
~true vs. false religion: Some of the social elites in this book pretend to be Christians because it helps their position, gives power, and so forth. Some pretend for the sake of tradition. Some aren't Christians and still try to live a good life for its own sake. And some actually are (or become) Christians.
~the characters are very clearly described, interesting, colorful beings.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
One day I'll be famous,
I'll be proper and prim;
Go to Saint James' so often
I will call it Saint Jim...
Who knows why this verse has been running through my head for the past two days. Sometimes I feel like Eliza--dreaming of the day when I'll be rich and famous and able to blow off the heads of all the annoying Henry Higginses in my world...
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Ad Memoriam:
Terri Schiavo
1963-2005
8 Take heed, you senseless ones among the people;
you fools, when will you become wise?
9 Does he who implanted the ear not hear?
Does he who formed the eye not see?
10 Does he who disciplines nations not punish?
Does he who teaches man lack knowledge?
11 The LORD knows the thoughts of man;
he knows that they are futile.
12 Blessed is the man you discipline, O LORD ,
the man you teach from your law;
13 you grant him relief from days of trouble,
till a pit is dug for the wicked.
14 For the LORD will not reject his people;
he will never forsake his inheritance.
15 Judgment will again be founded on righteousness,
and all the upright in heart will follow it.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
While reading Anna Karenina yesterday night, I tried to piece together some of the book's redeeming qualities. Here are a few:
~the exploration of justice vs. injustice. Anna's adultery justly gives her a huge amount of grief. Her brother's adultery doesn't give him any. Twisted into this dilemma are women's rights issues: Anna as a woman cannot get away with adultery. Stepan as a man CAN get away with it. On one hand the reader feels terribly sorry for Anna because she IS something of a victim. But on the other hand, she's getting what she deserves. However, Stepan's wife suffers unjustly because she is unable to free herself and her children from a blatantly licentious husband. That woman is a true victim of injustice, but she has no recourse BECAUSE she's a woman. Meanwhile, her husband cannot be brought to justice.
~DEATH. This theme comes up in the beginning when a man is run over by a train, and then Anna says it's an "ill omen." Then death very pointedly reappears in Part Four. And in Part Eight it helps to wrap up the story. :P This theme goes much deeper when re-examined in its various contexts.
~the perceptive analysis of Russian culture in general: Aristocratic society. Slum life. Peasants. Moscow and St. Petersburg. Officers and officials. Intellectual elites.
~the worthiness of life's pursuits. All the characters in this novel take different paths, and Tolstoy tells the truth about every one. In the end the reader is left wondering...
~true vs. false religion: Some of the social elites in this book pretend to be Christians because it helps their position, gives power, and so forth. Some pretend for the sake of tradition. Some aren't Christians and still try to live a good life for its own sake. And some actually are (or become) Christians.
~the characters are very clearly described, interesting, colorful beings.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
posted by Unknown at 10:09 AM
5 Comments:
Hmm... Anna Karenina sounds interesting (Sarah has been telling us about it).
I love verse eight of the psalm that you quoted. Sorry if this isn't making much sense. :-)
I love the whole of Psalm 94! It's one of my very favorites.
And yes, Anna Karenina is VERY interesting. Keeping the various characters' names straight is a a mind boggling endeavor, but as of right now (Part Five) I'm finally starting to catch on. Haha.
Interesting review of Anna Karenina.
I'll have to show it to my mother and see what she thinks of it.
How come Russians tended to be so hard on women? Didn't Tolstoy himself expect his wife to take care of all sixty kids or something ridiculous like that?
(I'm not against large families, but sixty is rather much, especially in days before indoor plumbing and corner grocery stores!)
Terri Schaivo...
Did you happen to hear the article on NPR about her last night? They did a bio for her.
I would hate to have my life itemized like that- why does everyone need to know if I was shy and overweight (as they kept saying she was)?
Make me a nobody, and I'll be happy.
Remember, P.T.: God is in control.
Actually Tolstoy only had thirteen children, several of whom died in infancy. I don't envy his wife's position, though.
Yes, Russians have a very Eastern view of women, though that is changing today as the world becomes a smaller and smaller puddle...
Officially Geekified has an essay on being nobody which I particularly enjoyed.
Yes, God IS in control! (Thank Him that I'm not!!)
I'm a Henry Higgins myself. But I love that inscrutable image of her pretty, smug face and the sound of that warbling Cockney. And the way she dreams of murdering her English professor is so... silly!
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