#article content writing

[batbetbitbotbut]

Oops my hand slipped and I have ordered another four textile history books, in addition to the two I bought in person yesterday.

Of yesterday's books, I've already finished one and am 20% of the way through the other, so it's not like they've added to the TBR list. They were from a local independent secondhand bookshop which is probably on its last legs, it's practically a public service to buy from them.

Of today's books, one is book 2 of a trilogy of which I already have books 1 and 3, so it was inevitable really. One I have no particular excuse for, other than it was from the same seller as the first one and it looks like a near perfect entry level text for my interests. And two are a 2-volume set so they should only count as 1 book really, and normally they are £150+ but I found them for £75 so it's almost like I saved money rather than spent it, and the seller is a children's hospice charity which cared for a child I knew personally so buying from them is like doing another service...

[guiltyonsundays]

In defence of Will Ladislaw

George Eliot's characterisation of Will Ladislaw is one of the few aspects of Middlemarch that is not universally praised, with no less a person than Henry James commenting in 1873 that he lacked “sharpness of outline and depth of color”, making him the novel’s “only eminent failure.” And while Will's character is certainly not as clearly defined as some of the other characters in the novel, I believe that this was absolutely intentional on Eliot's part. Middlemarch is full to the brim of characters who believe they know exactly what they want—not least among them, our two protagonists, Dorothea Brooke and Tertius Lydgate, whose ardent ambitions and inflexible attitudes lead them into catastrophic errors of judgement and unhappy marriages.

By contrast, Will's lack of strongly defined goals and his changeability are almost his defining character traits. He's aimless and pliable, prone to rapid mood swings and drastic career changes, with even his physical features seeming to "chang[e] their form; his jaw looked sometimes large and sometimes small; and the little ripple in his nose was a preparation for metamorphosis. When he turned his head quickly his hair seemed to shake out light."

Will’s inscrutability is closely tied to his ambiguous status within the rigid class structure and xenophobic society of Victorian England, with his Polish ancestry and “rebellious blood on both sides” making him a target for suspicion. He is repeatedly aligned (and aligns himself) with oppressed, marginalised, and outcast populations—Jewish people, artists, and the poor.

He serves as a narrative foil for characters like Lydgate and Edward Casaubon, who prioritise specialist expertise above all and are consequently incapable of broad knowledge synthesis. He critiques Casaubon's life's work as being "thrown away, as so much English scholarship is, for want of knowing what is being done by the rest of the world." By contrast, Will serves as Eliot's defence of the value of a liberal education. One of the first things that we learn about him is that he declines to choose a vocation, and instead seeks to travel widely, experiencing diverse cultures and ways of life. He has broad tastes and interests, trying his hand at poetry and painting before eventually pursuing a career in politics.

He also functions as a narrative foil for Dorothea. Will is initially apathetic to politics, whereas Dorothea initially professes herself to be disinterested in art and beauty. This is perfectly encapsulated in their exchange in Rome, when Dorothea declares, "I should like to make life beautiful—I mean everybody's life. And then all this immense expense of art, that seems somehow to lie outside life and make it no better for the world, pains one", to which Will replies, "You might say the same of landscape, of poetry, of all refinement [...] The best piety is to enjoy—when you can [...] I suspect that you have some false belief in the virtues of misery, and want to make your life a martyrdom.”

By the end of the novel, Dorothea unlearns some of her puritanical suspicion of sensual pleasure, whereas Will becomes more serious, compassionate, and politically engaged, dedicating his life to the accomplishment of humane political reforms. They are both flawed individuals, who ultimately become more well rounded through their relationship with each other. Admittedly, Dorothea's influence on Will is more significant than his on her—and once again, I believe that this was intentional on Eliot's part.

In my opinion, the negative response to Will Ladislaw at the time of Middlemarch's publication (and in the centuries since) was and is profoundly informed by gendered expectations of masculine dominance in romantic relationships. Will's marriage to Dorothea has often been described as disappointing, with many readers and critics viewing the ambitious Lydgate as the embodiment of the ideal husband that Dorothea outlines at the beginning of the novel—a talented man engaged in important work for the betterment of humanity, to whom she can devote herself.

However, one of the central themes of the novel is that people are often mistaken in their beliefs about what they want, and Dorothea's marriage to Edward Casaubon certainly demonstrates that she would not in fact be happy living her life in submission to a man who does not respect her opinions. I firmly believe that Lydgate's misogynistic attitudes and expectations would have made it impossible for him to be happy in a marriage of equals with a woman like Dorothea. He is explicitly drawn to Rosamond Vincy because she has "just the kind of intelligence one would desire in a woman—polished, refined, docile."

By contrast, George Eliot made a deliberate choice to pair Dorothea with a man who is not ashamed to be influenced by her, and indeed looks up to her as his moral superior. Through Dorothea's influence, Will discovers his life's work. In turn, by marrying Will, Dorothea is able to pursue her true passion. As a result of their influence on each other, these come to mean the same thing—reform. Thus, George Eliot grants Dorothea Brooke a subversively feminist, politically progressive, and profoundly cathartic ending: a life of companionate marriage, sensual pleasure, and meaningful work, in which Dorothea can devote herself (within the limited means available to her as a woman in the 19th century) to the achievement of just and compassionate reforms that "make life beautiful" for everybody—herself included.

[bmpmp3]

sorry to be a bit of a hater but i do wish youtubers weren't so scared of making their videos just like, "reviews", whys everything gotta be a "video essay" all the time. every day my recommendations are filled with 40 minute videos titled "_____: An Underrated Masterpiece" where the first like five minutes are reading the wikipedia definition of "masterpiece" in a somber voice with dramatic themed text on screen. please just tell me how good or bad you think something is and use the rest of the runtime to explain why. you dont need to put on all these airs

[maythedreadwolftakeyou]

advice on writing character death scenes from the official Warrior Cats app. if you care

[pickled-flowers]

I am starting to feel a lot of you haven't read stone butch blues?

[brahmasawakening]

Nishleela Anantakara, The Divine Mother

[fifteenloove]

So both Carlos and Iga said that there is no difference at all with the court and it's still slow??? Oh wow, who could have ever imagined that media and fans who love conspiracies might have had sensationalized a simple statement regarding the change of surface provider!

Or maybe the little mafia men who work overtime with the establishment heard that Jannik wasn't playing in the end and resurfaced the court again overnight. One or the other

[kaiserin-erzsebet]

I got a video recommended to me on YouTube that was effectively saying "stop romanticizing Sisi. She wasn't a good empress."

And I have to ask: Do people sincerely think that those of us who like Elisabeth think she was a good empress? I think most of us find her compelling because her personality was so ill-suited for such a structured and confining role. We know she was absent, that she tried to escape it, and that her mental health suffered because of it. These are not knocks against her; they're part of why her story resonates with people.

It feels a bit like saying "Marilyn Monroe wasn't a good actress" or "Princess Diana wasn't good at following royal protocols" because sure, that might be true, but it isn't really the point of why people find these figures interesting.

[kindahoping4forever]

📸: Jeff Kravitz/Getty Images for iHeartRadio

[kirkwallguy]

no shade because it's a fun concept and id probably consider participating if my deadlines weren't beating me to death rn but seeing a fan-hosted "tranquil week"event is so extremely funny i love dragon age. that's like supernatural fans hosting a lobotomy week

[purplepink-blueberry]

fuck it imma yap

when i was like 16, i wrote my first article about asexuality. it provided a brief overview (probably not done very well, retrospectively, but i was 16) (also the article probably doesn't exist anymore)

im basically 23 now. and im working on an article (but, like, slightly academic this time) about asexuality (and my favourite concept in humanities thus far, the capabilities approach)

i am sleep deprived, i am in pain from my period, i am feeling horrible physically.

but i am reading and taking notes and fuck, this is so exciting and it's gonna be amazing (i hope, anyway)

heh, wish me luck!

and yes, this is how i am procrastinating on writing my bachelor thesis. if asexuality was considered more political, i'd write my BA thesis about that... now i'm working on gender and education in Slovakia

[shwoo]

I did another story for @flooftober! For the fourth day. My random number generator came up with Snorpy for this one, and one of the prompts is... Leg. Sounds fun!

I don't really like the prose here, but I guess that's the point of daily prompt things. Just get things done without needing them to be perfect.

Prompt list

Title: Unregulated digestion of cell components Summary: Snorpy would like to know why Floofty has a severed leg in their hut.

.

Floofty said "You need not work yourself into a frenzy about any morally dubious road you believe me to be taking. It is my own leg. I removed it safely and cleanly." And more painlessly than they'd been expecting.

Snorpington sputtered for several full seconds. He walked closer to Floofty's hut, and said "Are you mad? You might have bled out, your wound could have become infected, the shock might--"

"All of which I accounted for!" Floofty interrupted. Clearly Snorpy was going to work himself into a frenzy regardless of what they said. "Honestly, you act like I don't know my soft tissue from my ossified."

"The second Eggabell isn't around, you jump to self-mutilation!" Snorpington continued, undeterred.

"If you must know, brother, I have wanted to attempt this experiment for some time!" There was something going wrong between their brain and their mouth. Their perfectly composed, collected retorts were coming out angry and defensive. "Eggabell dissuaded me on several occasions, but observe:" They indicated their regrown leg, which today had taken the form of a grape. "Unambiguous proof that Bugsnax are capable of medical miracles far beyond the capabilities of modern science! What is an appendage in the face of that?"

Snorpy threw up his paws. "They have you well ensnared, don't they, Floofty? There are more important things than the advancement of science at the expense of all else."

He kept saying that, when he knew full well that there was no more efficient way to benefit the grumpus race than through science. "Such as?"

Snorpington struggled to speak for a second or two, then sighed and said "I'm not having this argument with you again, Floofty. If you wish to destroy yourself, that is your business."

"Correct," Floofty responded.

They'd been able to almost allow themself to hope that if Snorpington knew what kind of discoveries they'd made, he'd come to his senses. But it seemed he was still choosing to ignore reality.

And that was fine. He could make up his own mind. They didn't care. They didn't care.

[politicalprocrastinator]

Anyway I kinda hate how quickly our culture moves on nowadays where media cycles turn over so fast Rachel is officially saying goodbye to a film that only came out three months ago

[miss-biophys]

Beautiful view on the water canal from my home office today.

Calm place for some scientific writing. I am working on a grant application and an article with my latest findings.

[brahmasawakening]

Dorak The Unbreaking, The Earth King

[lizbethborden]

I found my schoolwork folder from my old laptop and I'm not saying everything I ever wrote was so great, but. I was honestly cooking with some of this. I did some fiction I did some memoir and I wrote some bangin term papers