#also i just need to say that the bbc lady restored my faith in literary criticism | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

fictionadventurer · 3 months

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The BBC lady blowing my mind by pointing out the parallels between the endings of North and South and Jane Eyre (man brought low after losing his fortune, woman has gained wealth and comes to his rescue so they're now on equal footing).

She also pointed out that North and South is a continuation of issues Bronte explored in Shirley (to the point that Helstone is named after a character there), so I guess I may have to read that book one day.

#elizabeth gaskell #charlotte bronte #north and south #jane eyre #guess i may just have to give that book another chance #after my annoyance with people approaching gaskell as a lesser austen #instead of as her own writer #it's finally sunk in that maybe i need to do the same to these works #i still don't think they'll be to my taste #but maybe i could like and dislike what they are #instead of what they aren't #also i just need to say that the bbc lady restored my faith in literary criticism #reading the intros of some gaskell books lately just left me going 'shut up about gender!'#this lady talked about gender in ways that made sense #and put the stories in context for the time period and literary landscape #i didn't agree with everything but everything made sense coming from the text #instead of putting their own lens and twisting everything to fit it

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