The books that counted
Apr. 17th, 2025 07:03 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
scripsiIn my previous post you can find a link to the 102 books I feel have affected me the most. Mostly fictional, and a lot are books I read quite young. And as I love to talk about books, and listing these have made me think about them a lot, I will amuse myself, and perhaps some of you too, with talking about some of these books in particular. And first out will be Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë and Gaudy Night by Dorothy L. Sayers.
I’m lumping these two books together because no other literary characters have had so much impact on me personally. If I was to name my role models, then it would be Jane Eyre and Harriet Vane. I read them when I was around 13-14, and they made a deep impact on me, and has, I know, had a direct impact what kind of person I wanted to be.
I came to Jane Eyre through the 1983 TV-series with Timothy Dalton and Zelah Clarke, which I loved with a passion, and made me hunt down the book. It’s still the adaptation I think is the best, as it covers nearly all of the book, while most movie adaptations just focus on the love story. Anyway, I read the book, and feel even more in love with Jane. I’ve often seen Jane being accused of being too meek and wishy-washy, but I think that's so wrong. She is quiet, and clearly an introvert, but she has a very strong sense of self. Even as a small, abused child she has a sense of self-worth, and she never budges. She has integrity and independence, and even if she loves Rochester deeply, she never allows that to derail her from what she feels is right. If she had been meek and weak-willed she would have submitted to him, but instead she leaves. I’ve always loved that about her, and I still do.
I’ve never changed my perception of Jane, but I’ve profoundly changed my view on Rochester. Teenage me found him profoundly romantic, nowadays I think he is rather horrible. He has a sense of right and wrong, which dictates some of his actions, like taking care of his illegitimate daughter, but he is also perfectly willing to deceive Jane to get what he wants. There is also that scene where he seems on the verge of actually raping her. In my teens I thought Jane overreacted a bit when she fled, but as an adult I think she is acutely aware of how much power Rochester has by being a rich male, and how utterly helpless she would be if he decided to keep her against her will. No, I'm not a fan of Edward Rochester anymore. (I don’t, however, blame him for his treatment of Bertha. From a modern POV he does treat her horribly, but if you consider how mentally ill people were treated in the early 19th century, he is actually treating her much better than most. Mental asylums were hellholes without any actual treatment, and even though Bertha is locked up, there is no indication that she lacks food and comfort, and she has an one on one attendant, even if Grace Pool isn’t completely reliable.)
I found Gaudy Night because after reading my parent’s collection of Christie in the bookshelf which contained crime novels, I moved on to the books after, which happened to be Sayers. (Then I moved to the books in front, which is how I started on Raymond Chandler.) My parents only had Strong Poison, Gaudy Night and Busman’s Honeymoon, and as I had no idea the books had an internal order, I chose the one which the title I liked the most. The Swedish translation is “Kamratfesten” which means something like “a feast of friends”, and it appealed to me. And I didn't get half of what happened in it. I got the actual mystery, but all the discussions that went on that seemed to have little to do with it, mostly went over my head. But I still loved it. Somehow I realized that I would be able to unlock the book if i had been older and more experienced, and so Gaudy Night was the book I grew up with. I re-read it at least once every year for at least a decade, and little by little the book fell into place for me.
The last bit was when I finally read it in English and realized the Swedish translation is missing several scenes. Scenes that often are references later on, which makes for some confusion. If you haven’t read Gaudy Night, the book is really a discussion, on several levels, and including the mystery, of a woman’s place in society. Is an equal relationship possible? Can a woman have both a career and marriage? Basically every conversation in the book revolves around it, and we are given several viewpoints. And, sadly, a lot of it is still relevant though the book is 90 years old.
Harriet Vane with her honesty and integrity has been as important to me as Jane Eyre. Harriet isn’t flawless, she struggles with low self esteem and a temper, and I love her so much. She has always felt so real to me, And opposed to Rochester, Lord Peter Wimsey has remained a favourite romantic hero.
I’m lumping these two books together because no other literary characters have had so much impact on me personally. If I was to name my role models, then it would be Jane Eyre and Harriet Vane. I read them when I was around 13-14, and they made a deep impact on me, and has, I know, had a direct impact what kind of person I wanted to be.
I came to Jane Eyre through the 1983 TV-series with Timothy Dalton and Zelah Clarke, which I loved with a passion, and made me hunt down the book. It’s still the adaptation I think is the best, as it covers nearly all of the book, while most movie adaptations just focus on the love story. Anyway, I read the book, and feel even more in love with Jane. I’ve often seen Jane being accused of being too meek and wishy-washy, but I think that's so wrong. She is quiet, and clearly an introvert, but she has a very strong sense of self. Even as a small, abused child she has a sense of self-worth, and she never budges. She has integrity and independence, and even if she loves Rochester deeply, she never allows that to derail her from what she feels is right. If she had been meek and weak-willed she would have submitted to him, but instead she leaves. I’ve always loved that about her, and I still do.
I’ve never changed my perception of Jane, but I’ve profoundly changed my view on Rochester. Teenage me found him profoundly romantic, nowadays I think he is rather horrible. He has a sense of right and wrong, which dictates some of his actions, like taking care of his illegitimate daughter, but he is also perfectly willing to deceive Jane to get what he wants. There is also that scene where he seems on the verge of actually raping her. In my teens I thought Jane overreacted a bit when she fled, but as an adult I think she is acutely aware of how much power Rochester has by being a rich male, and how utterly helpless she would be if he decided to keep her against her will. No, I'm not a fan of Edward Rochester anymore. (I don’t, however, blame him for his treatment of Bertha. From a modern POV he does treat her horribly, but if you consider how mentally ill people were treated in the early 19th century, he is actually treating her much better than most. Mental asylums were hellholes without any actual treatment, and even though Bertha is locked up, there is no indication that she lacks food and comfort, and she has an one on one attendant, even if Grace Pool isn’t completely reliable.)
I found Gaudy Night because after reading my parent’s collection of Christie in the bookshelf which contained crime novels, I moved on to the books after, which happened to be Sayers. (Then I moved to the books in front, which is how I started on Raymond Chandler.) My parents only had Strong Poison, Gaudy Night and Busman’s Honeymoon, and as I had no idea the books had an internal order, I chose the one which the title I liked the most. The Swedish translation is “Kamratfesten” which means something like “a feast of friends”, and it appealed to me. And I didn't get half of what happened in it. I got the actual mystery, but all the discussions that went on that seemed to have little to do with it, mostly went over my head. But I still loved it. Somehow I realized that I would be able to unlock the book if i had been older and more experienced, and so Gaudy Night was the book I grew up with. I re-read it at least once every year for at least a decade, and little by little the book fell into place for me.
The last bit was when I finally read it in English and realized the Swedish translation is missing several scenes. Scenes that often are references later on, which makes for some confusion. If you haven’t read Gaudy Night, the book is really a discussion, on several levels, and including the mystery, of a woman’s place in society. Is an equal relationship possible? Can a woman have both a career and marriage? Basically every conversation in the book revolves around it, and we are given several viewpoints. And, sadly, a lot of it is still relevant though the book is 90 years old.
Harriet Vane with her honesty and integrity has been as important to me as Jane Eyre. Harriet isn’t flawless, she struggles with low self esteem and a temper, and I love her so much. She has always felt so real to me, And opposed to Rochester, Lord Peter Wimsey has remained a favourite romantic hero.
no subject
Date: 2025-04-17 06:29 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2025-04-17 07:18 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2025-04-17 11:28 pm (UTC)I only came to Wimsey as an adult, and while I love all the books now, it was the books with Harriet Vane that really made me click with Peter.
Also definitely had the same experience re: my interpretation of Rochester...
no subject
Date: 2025-04-18 04:36 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2025-04-18 01:55 pm (UTC)Yessssssssssssss! My girl!!!!
Somehow I realized that I would be able to unlock the book if i had been older and more experienced, and so Gaudy Night was the book I grew up with. I re-read it at least once every year for at least a decade, and little by little the book fell into place for me.
Yes!
The last bit was when I finally read it in English and realized the Swedish translation is missing several scenes. Scenes that often are references later on, which makes for some confusion.
Why would they do that???
You have good taste in heroines!!!
no subject
Date: 2025-05-10 01:48 pm (UTC)The Brontë sisters sur eknew how to wtite anti-heroes...
no subject
Date: 2025-05-10 01:51 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2025-05-10 01:57 pm (UTC)No idea. It's not long parts so it doesn't significantly change the length of the books. It's the conversation harriet has with an old schoolmate who married the Welsh farmer, the bit on the river where they encounter Lord Peter's old schoolmate, and the scene in the antique store where Harriet and Lord Peter meet Reggie Pomfret. And as both the first and the last of those scenes are referenced later in the book, it makes it a bit confusing they are gone. Though it was a nice surprise the first time I read it in English and found there were more of my favourite book!
no subject
Date: 2025-07-22 01:28 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2025-07-22 12:59 pm (UTC)