Alphabet Meme
Got this from Scary, who gave me the letter "C". I must list five fictional characters and give a little blurb about them.
1. Clara Trueba from The House of the Spirits: I don't think I've cried harder over a character death (except for Snape, of course) than this lady right here. I was on an aeroplane going God only knows where and lost all control. I loved her strangeness, the mysticism about her, but most of all I loved her husband, Esteban. He's on my list of top ten favourites as far as attractiveness goes. You really got the sense that he wouldn't mind having you over his knee. Anyway, back to Clara; she was never in love with Esteban, though he sought desperately to possess and force her to love him. He was originally in love with her sister, Rosa the Beautiful, who was poisoned and died.
2. Cathy Earnshaw from Wuthering Heights: One of the best femme fatales in Victorian literature, she is the subject of one of my favourite novels and one of my favourite songs. Kate Bush sings the tale of Cathy's passion for Heathcliffe even after her death, and if you haven't heard of it, I say it's worth a listen. Anyway, back to the character. I always had a love/hate relationship with Cathy, who was so impetuous and arrogant, but in a way strikingly sympathetic. Though, not so much after she betrays Heathcliffe. Ouch...
3. Claudine from Claudine at School, Claudine in Paris, Claudine Married, and Claudine and Annie: I read these books when I was about fourteen and was thoroughly enchanted by the heroine Claudine. Her stories are actually somewhat a roman a cleff for the author's--Collette's--life. Claudine, in my opinion, was the epitome of "cool." She was carrying on a lesbian affair with one of her teachers, then finds love with her father's friend Renaud in Paris. She then marries him but begins an affair with an Austrian woman named Rezi, with Renaud's consent and amused aquiescence. In the last book, the story is told by Annie,who through her relationship with Claudine, recognizes her own husbands controllng and abusive nature. Claudine was sensual, viacious, precocious, lovely, and everything I wanted to be at that age. If you haven't picked these up before, I highly recommend them.
4. Connie from Lady Chatterley's Lover: You would think that I would love this story. After all it is about sex, and I, like most people, love reading sexy novels. Unfortunately, this one fell flat for me. I'm glad that Lawrence finally gave the unfaithful woman a happy ending, but other than that, I think he did women a disservice. My favourite bits are when her lover, Mellors, talks about how much he hates having sex with Lesbians, when Connie and Mellors lace primroses in their pubic hair, and when Connie, throughout the entire novel, comes to her "crisis" without any clitoral stimulation. Gee, she is a special broad. Anyway, Lawrence consistently makes the point that there is only ONE way to have his sex and any deviation from that is monstrous. Cheers!
5. Candide from Candide: I saw a lyrical opera performance of Candide a while back and fell in love with the story again. I forgot how very clever and amusing it was. I loved the story and it gives us some of the most amusing characters in French literature. Who doesn't love Pangloss? Anyway, it's the story of Candide and his conclusion that "we must cultivate our garden" which is such a striking phrase.
Just leave a comment if you want a letter.
1. Clara Trueba from The House of the Spirits: I don't think I've cried harder over a character death (except for Snape, of course) than this lady right here. I was on an aeroplane going God only knows where and lost all control. I loved her strangeness, the mysticism about her, but most of all I loved her husband, Esteban. He's on my list of top ten favourites as far as attractiveness goes. You really got the sense that he wouldn't mind having you over his knee. Anyway, back to Clara; she was never in love with Esteban, though he sought desperately to possess and force her to love him. He was originally in love with her sister, Rosa the Beautiful, who was poisoned and died.
2. Cathy Earnshaw from Wuthering Heights: One of the best femme fatales in Victorian literature, she is the subject of one of my favourite novels and one of my favourite songs. Kate Bush sings the tale of Cathy's passion for Heathcliffe even after her death, and if you haven't heard of it, I say it's worth a listen. Anyway, back to the character. I always had a love/hate relationship with Cathy, who was so impetuous and arrogant, but in a way strikingly sympathetic. Though, not so much after she betrays Heathcliffe. Ouch...
3. Claudine from Claudine at School, Claudine in Paris, Claudine Married, and Claudine and Annie: I read these books when I was about fourteen and was thoroughly enchanted by the heroine Claudine. Her stories are actually somewhat a roman a cleff for the author's--Collette's--life. Claudine, in my opinion, was the epitome of "cool." She was carrying on a lesbian affair with one of her teachers, then finds love with her father's friend Renaud in Paris. She then marries him but begins an affair with an Austrian woman named Rezi, with Renaud's consent and amused aquiescence. In the last book, the story is told by Annie,who through her relationship with Claudine, recognizes her own husbands controllng and abusive nature. Claudine was sensual, viacious, precocious, lovely, and everything I wanted to be at that age. If you haven't picked these up before, I highly recommend them.
4. Connie from Lady Chatterley's Lover: You would think that I would love this story. After all it is about sex, and I, like most people, love reading sexy novels. Unfortunately, this one fell flat for me. I'm glad that Lawrence finally gave the unfaithful woman a happy ending, but other than that, I think he did women a disservice. My favourite bits are when her lover, Mellors, talks about how much he hates having sex with Lesbians, when Connie and Mellors lace primroses in their pubic hair, and when Connie, throughout the entire novel, comes to her "crisis" without any clitoral stimulation. Gee, she is a special broad. Anyway, Lawrence consistently makes the point that there is only ONE way to have his sex and any deviation from that is monstrous. Cheers!
5. Candide from Candide: I saw a lyrical opera performance of Candide a while back and fell in love with the story again. I forgot how very clever and amusing it was. I loved the story and it gives us some of the most amusing characters in French literature. Who doesn't love Pangloss? Anyway, it's the story of Candide and his conclusion that "we must cultivate our garden" which is such a striking phrase.
Just leave a comment if you want a letter.