But nothing of that, gentle reader.

[oloriel]

Hm. Hadn't expected Jane Eyre to be such a good read. Or rather, hadn't expected myself to be such an avid reader when it comes to a Victorian female Bildungsroman. But I actually find it easier to read than last semester's cyberpunk (which was by no means bad, though).
And I'm so [unreasonably] proud of myself for being able to understand the French - yay for the re-emerging of my fourth language!

Although, when it comes to the Bronte sisters, I'd really like to read what they wrote about their invented secret hidden kingdom of Gondal. Apparently, it had a language, and they had written stories and exessive historical accounts for it. And unfortunately, all that is burned and lost. [And yes, it's the "gond-" that really makes me curious, though I love invented kingdoms anway: Invented secret kingdoms named something with "gond-" must be good.]

Since I'm in the Victorian age anyway: kaneda and eliathanis, when shall we three meet again, to watch Pride and Prejudice?

Shakespeare quote of the week: "But since [nature] pricked thee out for women's pleasure/ Mine be thy love and thy love's use their treasure." Or, as Jackson-sensei translated it: "I love you, but nature has given you a cock, so only women get to enjoy you." Poor Shakespeare.

And one final word: Brai!

- - -


Hm. Hätte nicht erwartet, dass Jane Eyre so gut zu lesen ist. Oder vielmehr, ich hätte nicht erwartet, dass ich einen viktorianischen Frauenbildungsroman so gern lesen würde. Aber tatsächlich liest es sich angenehmer als der Cyberpunk letztes Semester (obwohl der keineswegs schlecht war).
Und ich bin so [kindisch] stolz darauf, dass ich das Französisch in dem Buch problemlos verstehe - ein Hoch auf die Rückkehr meiner vierten Sprache!

Wobei, wenn es schon um die Brontes geht, ich eigentlich am Liebsten das lesen würde, was sie damals für ihr erfundenes geheimes verstecktes Königreich Gondal geschrieben haben. Soweit ich weiß, hatten sie dafür eine eigene Sprache, und sie haben Geschichten und ausführliche historische Berichte geschrieben. Und leider ist das ganze verbrannt und verloren.
[Und ja, es ist vor allem das "gond-", dass mich neugierig macht, obwohl ich erfundene Königreiche sowieso liebe: Aber erfundene geheime Königreiche mit "gond-" am Anfang müssen einfach gut sein.]

Da ich eh schon im Viktorianischen Zeitalter bin: kaneda and eliathanis, wann treffen wir drei wieder zusamm' und schaun und Pride and Prejudice an?

Shakespeare-Zitat der Woche: "But since [nature] pricked thee out for women's pleasure/ Mine be thy love and thy love's use their treasure." Oder, wie Jackson-Sensei so schön übersetzte: "Ich liebe dich, aber leider hast du einen Schwanz, also haben nur die Frauen was von dir." Armer Shakespeare.

Und das letzte Wort: Brai!


- - -

Comments

[eliathanis.livejournal.com]

Also so einen Abend mit dem Essen für Dich zu kombinieren, fände ich gut. Ist die Frage, wann du dafür bei uns vorbeischauen magst. Nächste Woche: Sonntag, Montag, Dienstag Abend? Später?

We wove a web in childhood...

[ksol1460.livejournal.com]

The dry unbudding almond wand
Has touched eternity. (http://www.fathom.com/feature/122071/)

Not all burnt, not all lost by any means. The legends of Glasstown and Angria are well known and available. They were originally plays; what we'd call LARP today. They were also stories, written in very small handmade books, using print best suited to the Lord's Prayer on a dime. Of Gondal, we have little more than a rumor; but that's because Emily and Anne may have written of it only as poetry.

From Emily's and Anne's notes, we know Gondal was still being enacted when they were in their twenties. Emily's Gondal poems were later discovered by a snooping Charlotte, who was inspired to suggest that all the sisters might earn money by publishing their poetry. Emily was intensely private about her world but finally agreed to the idea. When their poems weren't accepted they started in on novels.

They didn't think to include Branwell in their publishing scheme, having written him off as a drunkard and opium addict; but he had preceded them all without their knowing. His poetry had been published in newspapers for years, including ones which the sisters and their father read faithfully. He used the Angrian handle "Northangerland", which should have told the family who it was.

These countries were reality to the Brontes, of substance and importance equal to daily life experience. Such was their devotion that when they were forced to suspend play for any protracted length of time, they often became ill. When Charlotte went to high school, she and Branwell assumed this meant she was 'grown up', so they should destroy Glasstown; but it soon returned to life, expanded into the Empire of Angria. Years later, as a teacher at that school, Charlotte's diary notes reveal her desperate longing for Angria, and Emily at the same school fell to serious depression and anorexia and had to be sent back.

The handmade books were kept by Charlotte's husband after her death. In desperate financial straits, he sold them to collectors later, and often either accidentally or purposely passed off Branwell's work as that of one of the others.

Many of the Angria writings were published in a collection called Miscellaneous and Unpublished Writings of Charlotte and Branwell Bronte. Translation was somewhat sloppy, much of Branwell's work was attributed to Charlotte, and there have been many other complaints from Bronte scholars about these volumes, but for years they were the only ones available.

The Brontes' Web of Childhood (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0846204878/qid=1083178576/sr=1-1/ref=sr_1_1/103-8797581-6075821?v=glance&s=books) Analysis of how the earlier writing evolved into the novels we know today.

Emily's Poems (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0231103476/103-8797581-6075821?v=glance) This has all the Gondal material.

Legends of Angria (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0804617279/qid=1083178785/sr=1-1/ref=sr_1_1/103-8797581-6075821?v=glance&s=books) Novellas by Charlotte and Branwell give the most important events in Glasstown and Angrian history.

Hand of the Arch-Sinner (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0198122586/qid=1083178862/sr=1-5/ref=sr_1_5/103-8797581-6075821?v=glance&s=books) Two Angria novellas by Branwell.

Infernal World of Branwell Bronte (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B00005XIOI/qid=1083178862/sr=1-1/ref=sr_1_1/103-8797581-6075821?v=glance&s=books) Daphne du Maurier examines Branwell's life.

Branwell's complete works (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0815302258/qid=1083175629/sr=1-2/ref=sr_1_2/103-8797581-6075821?v=glance&s=books) have come out in beautiful (and expensive) editions from Garland: you can still get Branwell's Poems (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0824045904/qid=1083178862/sr=1-6/ref=sr_1_6/103-8797581-6075821?v=glance&s=books) in a new edition most meticulously translated.

Check abebooks.com, they may have some of these things more reasonably priced.

Good luck.

Re: We wove a web in childhood...

[oloriel.livejournal.com]

Wow, thanks a lot! And here I went believing what I'd learned in my first year at university... looks like I have a lot of reading to do! Thanks again...