Dark Fantasy

I love dark fantasy novels. Maybe they are a bit trendy right now but I enjoy them. I prefer the setting to explore concepts of morality in complex situations. The darker fantasy book allows for more in-depth conversations about humanity and what makes a person human, who do we see as good and bad. Most importantly though I like the discussion on grey areas.

The Grisha Trilogy has a darker tone and explores some dark themes and Six of Crows has you following some perhaps morally questionable characters. The Savior's Champion is really a true dark fantasy that explores themes of humanity.

However, I think the book that most strongly highlights the complex themes and narratives that I love and really make a dark fantasy novel is Dragonwitch by Anne Elisabeth Stengl so I will be using that book as the foundation for my discussion. Dragonwitch is part of a series that I wouldn't overall characterize as dark fantasy but as an individual book, it is. My favorite line of the book that might actually be one of my favorite quotes ever just because it sets up the novel so well and really establishes the title character.

"Have you ever watched an immortal die? 
             You who have slain countless fey fold, tell me if you dare: Did you ever stand by and watch and immortal death? Did you see the blush of life fade to grey, the light of the spirit slowly wane? You have taken life, but have you seen it stolen from before your eyes? 
                I have" 

This just gives me chills as it really sets up the darker tone of this novel. Previous books in The Goldstone Wood series have had a much more bright tone. Not necessarily light themes but sunnier in the overall tone of the books. Not Dragonwitch. She is dark and you spend a lot more time getting to know the "villain" of the story and their backstory. The other characters that are the good guys of the story also start in a gloomy castle setting.

This is line is also our first introduction to the Dragonwitch who in previous novels is mentioned as a horrible person and a "bad guy", but this line adds another layer to her and adds depth. In the Goldstone wood world, dragons are people or fey who have given their soul to the Father of Dragons. Here we see some of why perhaps the Dragonwitch decided to become a dragon. By the end of the novel, you have a deep sympathy and love for her. Or at least I did. It didn't make her character any better of a person but rather a more sympathetic villain so to speak.

These are the two aspects of this dark fantasy novel that I love the most. There are many other aspects but I honestly need to do a reread of Dragonwitch.

What are your thoughts on dark fantasy? Do you have a favorite dark fantasy book?

Stereotyped Strong Female Characters with Moffat

images Copy Write BBC

I am a big fan of Doctor Who and Sherlock. Both of which are shows that involve Steven Moffat. I find that Moffat is talented in coming up with brilliant ideas however the execution and writing of them do not turn out as well as they could. I am in some ways a fan of him because of that brilliance, but that does not mean I don't have some big issues with some of his writing. In particular his writing of women and so called "strong female characters."

I have chosen the compare four of his most well known strong female characters: Amy Pond, River Song, Irene Adler, and Clara Oswald. Please know that while I am strongly criticizing these characters I have a very strong love for several of them. Particularly Amy Pond(read my post) and River Song. One can enjoy and like something and still be critical. 

 Let us start with the one major flaw that unites all of these women. Their characters plot lines all are dependent on male characters. Amy's story is wrapped up in the Doctor from childhood, River was basically born for the Doctor to kill him/marry him. Irene exists to challenge Sherlock Holmes and cause him problems. Irene has no backstory about who she is and where she is from she is solely there for Sherlock Holmes. Clara, oh Clara, you are as the Doctor puts is "his impossible girl" that is all that your character exists for to be impossible to the Doctor, and as Clara says was "born to save the Doctor." All of these strong female characters are not actually strong. If they were strong they would have much more independent stories/lives from the male characters. Their existence in the story would not be to aid the story of the main male character. Rather they would have their own stories and background separate from that of the male characters and their stories would exist not for the male characters but rather as a co-story with them. I think it is significant that Sherlock and the seasons 5-7 of Doctor Who do not do well on the Bechdal test. (Moffat has done much better in season 8) His so called strong Female characters would fall apart if we were to remove the male characters. 

Not only are these characters unable to stand on their own with out the male characters, they also may as well be the same character. River and Irene are both intellectual women who are shown to be able to be on the same level as the intelligent male counter part. They are both geniuses. Strong female characters do not need to be geniuses in order to be strong characters. IQ does not make a strong character. All four women can be considered to have higher than average intelligence, but most especially River and Irene. 

All four of these women are quick witted and all make quips. They all think fast on their feet. They all love the danger and thrive it. You could blend Irene and River together and have a character that would not be inconsistent in anyway. The same could be done with Amy and Clara.These traits that they all share as characters are good traits, but the fact that all of Moffat's major female characters share these traits is a little disturbing. It is like he has the same base for a female character and just adds a little something different to each but at their core they are all the same. They are not individuals.

Moffat seems to have this stereo typed strong female character in his head. His idea of a strong female character is a women who has a high IQ, can keep up with the male characters, loves danger, thinks fast, can make quips, and have witty dialogue. That is not what makes a strong female character. Strong female characters are women who are all unique have strengths and weaknesses. They have an independent story. Strong female characters are like normal women. They don't need to be larger than life(though certainly those larger than life characters are enjoyable). They don't need to stand out in a crowd. They just have to be themselves. Women are diverse in so many ways and the strong women of today are not all the same. Strong female characters in media should be just as diverse. 

Moffat does not know how to create strong female characters. He only knows how to create archetypes of characters that are based on stereotypes/what he thinks these archetypes should be. His so called strong female characters lack the verity in characteristics and basically no character independence thereby making them not true strong female characters. Strong female characters are well developed characters, unique personalities, unique characteristics, are very much like women you meet in real life, and have no story line dependence on the male characters.

Why I love Amy Pond

I adored Amy Pond from the moment she appeared on Screen. I knew she and I would be good friends. She is a passionate and fiery red head. I actually died my hair to try match her. This is a post about my love for her and some of the things I wish had been done differently with her character. 

Copyright BBC

 Amy loved adventure and god excited to see new places and new things with the Doctor. She wants to help people and make the right decisions even if what is right is scary to face, such as in the episode The Beast Bellow. She is also clever and able to figure things out.

Copyright BBC

Amy is also not afraid to tell the Doctor what she thinks he needs to hear. She worries about him as she knows he is not careful. She is also loyal and love very deeply.

Copyright BBC 

I also love Amy's style. She wears such cute outfits. I have to admit that when I dyed my hair red I was doing it because I love Amy. I have a denim short skirt that I have nicknamed my "Amy Pond Skirt" and love to wear it.

Copyright BBC 

I have to say though that I wish Amy was much more independent of the male characters around her. While she is independent her story revolves around the Doctor. We don't know anything really about her family or the relationship she has with her family. In fact compared to Rose, whose family comes up frequently and participate in major story lines, Amy's family may as well not exist(which in fact they actually did). Amy does not have any plot lines that do not involve the Doctor or Rory. Her characters story is dependent on the male characters around her. She had so much potential as a stand alone character and yet Moffat created her to revolve around the Doctor and Rory.

Please know that I love Rory and he is probably my favorite male companion I just wish that Amy's character was not so dependent on him for a plot line. Rory was give the short stick as well in my opinion as he did not have much plot outside of Amy. I love them as a couple but they are individuals.

Elsa Immodest!

I don't know if you have ever hung out in conservative christian circles, but when Frozen first came out(which I know was a while ago) then you have probably heard someone say "Elsa's dress was so immodest!" I know I have heard it a few times. Is her dress really immodest though? I think it is important to point out that Elsa's dress is actually quite tame compared to some previous Disney princesses.

Images copyright of Disney

I actually found Elsa to be really modest. compared to the other directions Disney has gone in the past. Her dress is in fact no different than what Cinderella, Belle, and Aurora wore.

images copyright of Disney 

Now lets break it down....
She has long sleeves instead of now sleeves.
She is wearing a long skirted dress instead of a short skirt.
She has a slit in the skirt that only goes to her knee.
You can's see any cleavage instead of a lot of cleavage.
As far as I can tell this fits most modest dress cloths criteria. Maybe they are bothered by the fact that you can tell she is a women in the dress instead of dress that hides her curves. Her dress does not really break any modesty rules, instead I would say it follows them quite well.

I think though that this dress has some significance to her character in the movies.

images copyright of Disney

Elsa's outfit from the beginning of the movie is her completely covered. She literally does not show any skin outside of her face. She has her neck covered, her hands. She is not in contact with the outside world. When she changes her outfit she shows her neck and has a slit in her dress. Her sleeves, while still long are transparent. She is allowing her self contact with the world around her. She is breaking out of the walls she built around herself to protect herself.

Overall this post is to say that Elsa's dress is not immodest and that her dress has significant meaning to her character. My other question is why we are so concerned about what a character wears there are much bigger issues with Disney's choice of how they present their characters. Such as the inaccurate proportions or their female characters. Elsa's waist is much smaller than what is natural proportionally. I think there are bigger issues than what a character is wearing.

What are your thoughts on the use of clothing in Frozen?
Elizabeth

Warehouse 13 H. G. Wells

I don’t know if any of you watch the show Warehouse 13 so I will give the briefest description/summary possible. Here goes.

Warehouse 13 is a show that is best described and a sci-fi and fantasy mix. There are objects that have certain powers to do weird and freaky stuff. There some kind of science behind the objects and what they do but that is really complicated. The Warehouse stores the objects to keep the general public safe. There are agents of the Warehouse that collect the objects. It is a dangerous job and there are bad guys along the way. I would say it is a fun show and if you are also familiar with the show Eureka it is in the same universe and that show.

Warning I would also like to warn you that if you plan on watching this show my post contains spoilers. If you don’t care about spoilers or the show then read on! (please note that the word spoilers should have been read in River Songs voice) End Warning

Now that you know the basics of the show I can now explain what H. G. Wells has to do with it. *Deep breath* H. G. Wells was preserved by some process called bronzing to prevent her from doing some not so nice stuff to the world. now in the future another bad guy has debronzed H. G. to help him cause havoc on the world.

Now you may be wondering why there are pictures of a woman in this post because H. G. Wells is a guy right? In the real world yes however in Warehouse 13 the writers have gender bents(am I using that correctly?) H. G Wells to be a woman whose first name is Helena. In the story H. G. Wells is actually a brilliant scientist whose older brother Charles wrote the famous books about her actual inventions.

She is my absolute favorite character from this show. She is totally badass, kickass awesome. I lover her despite the fact the most of the time we are wondering whose side she is really on and if she is a good guy or a bad guy. I find her to be a relatable character with depth and feeling. When she is the bad guy she is not the bad guy who just wants to destroy the world because she is insane. She is in pain because she lost her daughter(she was not married) whom she loved dearly and was unable to save. She has been grieving the loss for a very long time and is angry at the world for letting such a horrible death happen to her innocent daughter.

She is also good because she does help and does care about other people but is very lost in her grief. H. G. Wells is smart and brilliant and knows what she is doing. She is trained in different fighting methods and is very good at what she does. She is also a human being who as suffered a lot of pain. On and interesting fact in the show it is hinted, if I remember correctly, that she is bisexual.

Warehouse 13 has done a wonderful job creating a fantastic fictional character based on a real person with a few changes. I would recommend Warehouse 13 and a fun show to watch with a few weird really weird and slightly creepy episodes.

Lots of love!

~Elizabeth

Julius Caesar & The Hunger Games

So for School we were working on the play Julius Caesar by Shakespeare. As we were reading the play my sister and I started to pick up on things that made us think of The Hunger Games. We had several discussions amongst ourselves as to who was who, and this character really doesn't fit, and how they aren't exact replicas but the similarities are really cool. Now I am going to share with you some of the things I, and my sisters, noticed.

I am going to go through it character by character from the Hunger Games comparing them to character(s) in Julius Caesar. I would like to note that if you have not read the books do not read any further. There are spoilers. 

Cinna: Cinna was the first to draw us in, it was his name. There are two Cinnas in Julius Caesar, one is a conspirator, the other a poet. Cinna in the Hunger Games designs cloths that are so beautiful it is a kind of poetry, but he also is later in the series a rebel hence a conspirator. It was interesting to see two characters in one.

Katniss: After much thought my sisters and I decided that Katiniss best fit with Brutus. They are both the tragic heroes of the story. They are both caught between two groups. One is persuaded to stab Caesar; the other is brought to rebellion.

Now am going to go off on a tangent for a minute so bear with me. In Shakespeare's time to kill a leader in such a way was completely intolerable. It was considered down right wrong, it didn't really matter how bad they were, though people could be brought to a point were it might be exusable but even that was thought of as a very extreme.  People would automatically dislike Brutus when he kills Caesar, so Shakespeare had to make Caesar as dispicable in his play as possible. Now in our day and age people might not have as much of an issue with overthrowing a leader. We have seen some very bad leader who should, and sometime are overthrown(Hitler for example). Because we have seen such things as dictatorship, we would have less of a problem with people rising up against a leader. Brutus has become more understandable for us now.

Capitol (or Snow): This was a difficult one. eventually I decided that Caesar was the Capitol/Snow. If you read the paragraph above it might make more sense.

Rebels (or Coin): For rebels/Coin  I have decided that that would be Cassius and the other conspirators. They bring Brutus to their side so that they may use in image of goodness, honesty, and honor to make their cause seem good to the people(which it may or may not be, though Cassius's reasons for killing Caesar are of a jealous nature).

Peeta: Peeta was the most difficult to identify. As far as I can really tell Peeta has not counterpart in the the play Julius Caesar. Though he shares some characteristics with a few characters.

Mark Antony is talented with words. It is most easily seen in the famous speech he makes "Friends, Romans, countrymen! Lend me your ears!." He manipulates the crowd with his words so that they want to kill Brutus and the conspirators. Peeta is good with works as well and can manipulate crowd just as well as Antony can, but Antony is never really close to Brutus. In this case Portia is like Peeta. Portia is loyal to Brutus. She loves him and cares deeply about what troubles him. In this They are alike. Peeta is not one character, his is several characters mixed up together.

That is really all I have. I am sure there are more characters I could put together, but those were the ones that stuck out to me.

Blessings
~Elizabeth

An Award from The Cultured Enthusiast

I have been awarded the Liebster Blog award from Paula at The Cultured Enthusiast! Thank you so much! :) 

The Rules: 

1. Share 11 random facts about yourself

2. Answer the 11 questions asked by the person that tagged you.

3. Tag 11 people

4. Ask them 11 questions

Random facts about me

1. I love to sing.

3. I love any kind of water, lake, ocean, river, a glass of water. 

4. I have discovered that I like to play Bananagrams.

5. Books are my addiction. 

6. I get annoyed with people who only watch move and don't read the books. Even books I don't care for or ever want to read. Like Twilight.

7. Music is also an addiction. 

8. I feel very passionately about education

9. I like to write poems sometimes, though I am very bad at it. 

10. I like to read multiple books at the same time. 

11. I am reading currently about 7 books right now. That is not even counting the nonfiction books I read for school. 

Questions from Paula

1.What are your most treasured books?

Hmm...That is a difficult question. I have so many that I love that is impossible to say. looking at our shelves though I would have to say Jane Eyre, Till We Have Faces, North & South, Chronicles of Narnia, Percy Jackson and the Olympians series, and probably at least a dozen more. There are so many that I love and enjoy. 

2.What books have you read more than once?

Can I include currently rereading? 

-Jane Eyre 
-Pride and Prejudice 
-North and South
-Percy Jackson and the Olympian series
-The Hunger Games series
-Angel on the Square
-The Chronicles of Narnia
-probably more

3.What’s your favorite bookstore?
um... I really prefer Barnes and Noble, although I do really like the little book stores that you come across here and there. 

4.Do you buy books online?
I personally have never purchased a book online, but I would say that I mother has bought books for the whole family online. So kind of. 

5.Do you stop reading books half way through?
I have. Most of the time though I finish them because I hate to leave things unfinished. 

6.What’s the last movie you watched?
uh....I mostly watch TV series so I am having trouble remembering the last movie I watched. I think the last thing I watched Despicable Me with my family.

7.What’s your favorite genre?
Of books or TV? If is is books then I would have to say historical fiction, novel, and fantasy. 
For TV, that is such a wide variety of things it would be a really long list. though Sci-Fi, and Period Dram appear to make up most of what I watch. Also most anything done by the BBC. 

8.In which movie/book would you like to live in?
I have pretty much thought about living in every book or movie I have ever seen, some more so than others, so this question is a really really difficult one. I really can't think of one I would like to live in more. 

9.Which character do you think has a great style?
Interesting. I have not really thought about that, and I have not really paid much attention to a characters style so I will just say what characters like best. 
If I go with strictly book characters, I am faced with a difficult problem, I am going to say Elinor Dashwood, she is sensible, kind, and knows how to behave herself. If I go with strictly movie characters....hmm. Daniel Jackson, he is smart, loves ancient history, and is a pretty nice guy. 

10.Do you go to the movies by yourself?
No, I have either gone with my family, or with the youth group at my church. 

11.In the movies: popcorn or no popcorn?

I don't really like popcorn. It can be messy, and sticks in my teeth. Also it can be expensive at the move theater. 

Questions for those I tag

1. Would you call yourself an eclectic person? 
2. Do you prefer cloths with dark undertones or bright? 
3. Would you call yourself an optimist, or a pessimist, or neither?
4. What is your favorite summer treat? 
5. Beach or mountains? 
6. Your in line waiting to take the SAT and a random stranger asks to borrow you phone. What would you do? 
7. What is more practical information for the public to know? Health or how a nuclear reactor works? 
8. Do you think trees have a personality to them? What would you say the personalities of a pine, a maple, and a willow? 
9. What is something that fascinates you most?
10. What kind(s) of music do you prefer to listen to? 
11. How fast of a reader would you call yourself? 

Who I tag

1. Mel at But when the young lady is to be a heroine 
2. Anastasia Ricks at In the Shadows of life
3. Miss Woodhouse at Elinor, Elizabeth, and Emma
4. Joy at Fullness of Joy
5. Stephanie at The King's Bookworm
6. Cari at A writing maiden 
7. Tess (my mom) at Circling through this life
8.Raewyn at My Spare Oom
9. Abby at Newly Impassioned Soul
10. ThinkGreen at Think Green Love Purple
11. Samantha at Reilly Clan 13

Anyone else though that likes the questions that I have asked, is more than welcome to participate in this tag. Just send me the link to your post in the comments. :) 
Blessings
~Elizabeth 

PS. I looked up what Liebster means, and so far as I can tell it is a German word that means sweetheart, beloved person, darling. 

Elinor, Marianne, and I

As my blog readers must all ready know, I am an Elinor person. I love and adore Elinor, I admire her strength and if I could pick an older sister I would want Elinor to be my older sister. However, even though I relate more to Elinor that does not mean that there are not things that I like about Marianne . At first glance Marianne drove me nuts. She was so dramatic and overly romantic, but when I looked closer I found I had somethings in common with her. But as I got to know her more I found things that I had in common with her. 

For starters music. I love music. I love to play the piano. Marianne loves to play the piano. Marianne also loves poetry, and Shakespeare. I adore poetry, and am head over heels for Shakespeare. In these things I must agree with Marianne. I cannot imagine life with out either of them! The world would be very very dull indeed! However I must say I could do without Marianne's ideas of romance.

I would like to consider myself a combinations of Marianne and Elinor. Having Elinor's sense and steady character, but also Marianne's love for poetry and music.

Blesssings
~Elizabeth

Charles Dickens Birthday Quiz

It is Charles Dickens week over at The Old-Fashioned Charm! I hope some of you will skip over and have a look at what she has going on! I planed on posting the answers to her questions sooner, but life just got crazy! Any way I hope you enjoy! :)

1. How were you first introduced to Charles Dickens? 
Well I must admit that though I had heard of Charles Dickens, my first true encounter with something related to him would be A Muppet Christmas Carol. :) I totally love the blue, furry Charles Dickens, who hangs out with a rat! haha!! You cannot help but love Gonzo. 

2. Which Charles Dickens novels and stories have you read? Which are your favorites?
I have read 

• Bleak House
• Great Expectation 
• Oliver Twist

3. Which Charles Dickens novel(s) do you most want to read? 
     I really really want to read Little Dorritt. I have started it and and a 5th of the way into it. I would also like to read

• David Copperfield 
• A Christmas Carol
• A Tale of Two Cities

4. What is your favorite Charles Dickens quotes?

"Reflect upon your present blessings of which every man has many - not on your past misfortunes, of which all men have some."

"There might be some credit in being jolly"

5. Which Charles Dickens film adaptations are in your top three? (If you have never seen one which 3 would you most like to see?)
I have only seen one and that is Bleak House 2005 done by the BBC(!!!). So I will list three other I would Like to see

• Little Dorritt (the most recent one)
• I would like to find a good version of Oliver Twist. (Any recommendations?)
• There are several versions of Great Expectations

6. Who are your top three Dickens heroines? and Why?

• I think I very favorite is Esther Summerson. She is sweet, caring sensible, and humble. Everything that I should like to be. 
• Amy Dorritt is my second favorite. She is shy, and sweet, and does not like to press herself on others. 
• hmmmm a third one..... I can't think of a third one that I like. 

7. Who are your top three favorite Dickens heroes? Why?

• I love Arthur Clennam. He is kind, considerate, and friendly. He is also well traveled which I find very cool. 
• Oliver Twist is sweet, polite, and despite that life seems to go against him, still manages to make it through all the same, without turning into Fagin, or the Artful Dogger. 
• Pip is alright, he is not quite as good or kind as Clennam, or Oliver. He is a little bit more human. He has his imperfections. 

8. Which Three Dickens villains do you most love to hate? I find I have trouble really seeing who the villians are in Charles Dickens.I know who the "good guys" are, but the bad guys are kind of muddled. The only clear ones for me were in Oliver Twist. I disliked Sykes a lot, I felt sorry for Fagin in the end. I believe Tulkinghorn in Bleak House was the bad guy, but I felt sorry for him too. 

9. Which Dickens characters do you find the most funny? 

• The Guy in Oliver Twist who always says he is going to "eat his head." I cannot remember his name!
• Mr. Boythorn from Bleak house always made me smile. :) 
• The Artful Dodger would make me laugh a few times too. 

10. If you could authorize a new film adaptation of one of Charles Dickens novels, which would it be? It would be Bleak House. As much as I love and enjoy the 2005 version there were just a few things about it that bothered me. Such as Esther's relationship with Mr. Johndyce. It didn't really fit with how I saw it in the book. There were a few other things too, but I can't remember what they were. 



11. If you could have lunch with Charles Dickens today, what question would you most want to ask him?  How in the wide world did you come up with such complicated stories? Really it is quite confusing sometimes Mr. Dickens! 


12. Have you ever read a Dickens biography, or watched a biographical film about him? I am ashamed to say I have not. Though it has been in the back of my mind to do so, for a while now, I have just not gotten around to doing it. 

Blessings 
~Elizabeth 

Jane Austen questions #3

Time for more Jane Austen Week questions. This is the last of them so I hope you enjoy! :)


6. Top three Jane Austen Adaptations, and why?

Pride & Prejudice 1995 it one of them. I feel that this one is the most faithful the the book, and Colin Firth did an amazing job with Mr. Darcy, he got his character down. I love all the costumes, and it all ways is good for a laugh too. It is my families favorite.

I have not seen any other adaptations, so I cannot compare here. I love all the actors in this one they all did a great job portraying the characters. I love the scenery, and the costumes, but they don't always look very Regency to me. I really really love Emma Thompsons portrayal of Elinor.

This one is a definite family favorite. We all laugh and enjoy the humor, and as far as I can remember it is very close to the book. I really did not like the 2008 one. Emma drove me crazy in that one, and I felt like they completely ruined her character. I didn't like Emma in that one at all, and I didn't like Mr. Knightly either. I think the only character I liked was Harriet Smith.

7. Top 3 Jane Austen characters that "take delight in vexing" you?

George Wickham: He is so slimy sweet, and then you find out what kind of a man he is!

Willoughby: I really must admit that I feel sorry for him, but I am also very very angry for him running around and breaking girls hearts! Really I am very mad at him about that!!

Henry Crawford: I am so mad at him for breaking girls hearts for amusement!!!!!! I wonder if he would feel the same if someone broke his heart?

8. Jane Austen sequels....Do you like them or not? I have never read any of them. My mom has read a couple of Pride and Prejudice ones and she like them. I think it would depend on if it was faithful to the characters.

9. Do you have a favorite spot to keep all your Jane Austen "stuff"? I don't really have Jane Austen "stuff", but if I did I would keep it on my head board(which is like a personal bookshelf. I love it!).

10. Which Jane Austen character Are you most like? I would have to say I think I am most like Elinor Dashwood. I really really adore her!! I try to be sensible and calm.

11. What was your introduction to Jane Austen? My first introduction was watching Pride and Prejudice 1995 with my mother. I was about 7 or 8 I think.

Blessings

~Elizabeth

Jane Austen Advise column

I like this idea of taking a character, who is not one of Jane Austen's, write a question, and have a character, who is a Jane Austen character, answer. I am not sure that I will be very good at it but I will give it a try. I have picked Catherine #2 from Wuthering Heights, because I have recently read the book, and she was the only character I liked. I chose Jane to answer because I feel she is the easiest character that I feel I know well enough to do this with. I am not completely pleased with it, but it is the best that I can come up with. I did enjoy doing it though very very much!

Dear Jane Austen Advise Column,

My name is Catherine Linton. I have a very very terrible problem! I was forced to marry someone, who I loved and I thought loved me, he is now dead, and I am now forced to live with my abominable father-in-law named Heathercliff! He positively hates me, and cannot stand the sight of me! I am so very very miserable. I have not see any of the people I truly love, and my dear dear father is dead! There is this horrible man here who keeps spouting about religion, and the devil. And a young man who has no learning what so ever, but wants to learn, I think he is an absolutely funny for trying. He is really quite annoying, and I make fun of him when ever I find him trying to teach himself how to read.I am quite ashamed of him even though everyone says he is my cousin! I am at a loss for what to do!

Catherine Linton

Dear Catherine,

I am so sorry about your late husbands death. I send you my deepest condolences! I am very sorry that you were forced to marry someone I am at a loss for what to say, but I suppose it is not so bad since you love him, but you are not sure about his love? I am sure that your father-in-law is not so bad, perhaps it is because he has just lost his son that he is so angry right now, and that seeing you just reminds him of what he has lost. I would just be kind the the man who is so religious he may have some good things to say so do not dismiss him completely, I know how much some people can be annoying when all they talk about, and think about is just one thing. You should not be so hard on your cousin. He is trying to help himself where he feels lacking, and if you are embarrassed about his ignorance you should encourage him and help him not make fun of him. I would try to be kind to everyone, when you are kind to others they will be kind to you.

Let me know what you think, and how I could improve it!

Blessings

~Elizabeth

Jane Eyre Week.

To day starts Jane Eyre Week. Novel Pretender is hosting this delightful event. I am very exited about it, and can not wait to get started.

Jane Eyre is held up as a very romantic novel, but it is not just that. There are many different themes that Charlotte Bronte writes about in her most famous novel. I think that it is the fact that there are so many themes in this book that make it such an amazing novel and not the romance. You probably could write books on the themes that are in this book.

I am going to post my Jane Eyre themed post a little later, I just wanted to give you all a heads up on what was going on. And please come join in at Novel Pretender.

Blessings

~Elizabeth