Unabridged Opinions

I’m a heavy 19th century literature reader.  I have, in the past, been known for taking 19th century literature twice at my university (what? There were different professors! we read different books!), but none of these books were on the list. Oddly, none of Gaskell’s books were on any of the lists at all, which is a problem I have fortunately solved by reading every one I could get my hands on.

This month’s Gaskell is the famous Cranford. Set in a slow, sleepy town, it evokes everyday life in all of its placid glory and secret heartache. Normally, I would have been slightly disappointed that there is no central romance to the story.  Instead, it is a tale of friendship and the love that a town can have for those who live in it.  In the end, I found that satisfying, if poignant, and really enjoyed the deft way that Gaskell drew each of her characters.  They were all complete and had history–there was no character you could point to as having represented a specific moral.  This does not mean that the book escapes from that favourite 19th century habit of making sure that lessons are learned; the book has plenty of instances of the younger generation learning from the mistakes or examples of the older, but that there is no one character that is defined by his or her mistakes and repentance.  They are all just, normal. Refreshingly, completely, normal. And normal people make mistakes and correct them throughout the course of their lives.  As do the people of Cranford.

Rose in Bloom,  by Louisa May Alcott, is a different sort of novel.  Although it shares a setting and a flavour that could be termed “village life” with Cranford, the only word that can describe this book is vigorous. There is a palpable energy in the novel, whether it be for temperance, good works, or the education of children.  Rose in Bloom is also a sequel (of Eight Cousins), but works well as a stand alone book because so much time (and a European tour) passes between one book and the next. It begins with Rose returning from a European tour. Far from the timid mouse her cousins managed to intimidate when younger, she is now an eligible and wealthy young woman–a fact which does not escape the eight cousins and numerous aunts and uncles she is rejoining.

Rose’s struggles, even if firmly routed in the time period of the book, are universal in nature.  She is tempted by a life of frivolity and the most attractive of her cousins, but she strives, always, to live a life that she can be proud of.  It is interesting to watch Rose’s decisions and the tenacity with which she sticks by her choices.  Although it would, in many ways, be easier and completely acceptable to allow herself to be guided by her relatives, Rose strikes her own path and follows her instincts.  All of this is done in Alcott’s charming and idealistic prose.  It is hard not to love someone who strives so hard to be good, and it is hard not to love a book that makes you feel like leaping up and vowing to be a better person. The energy that a reader takes away from the book is as palpable, positive, and wholesome as the story itself.