#molly gibson

[lochiels]

Wives and Daughters (1999)

[janeaustenjunkie]

Justine Waddell as Molly Gibson in Elizabeth Gaskell's Wives and Daughters

[thoumpingground]

It's about damn time!

[bethanydelleman]

Is Your Heroine a TRUE Heroine?

In the first chapter of Northanger Abbey, Jane Austen lays out all the criteria of being a HEROINE, almost all of which poor Catherine Morland does not meet. I have adapted these criteria into a simple yes or no test, which you can apply to your favourite heroine. Here is the test and the results for some Jane Austen, Brontë, and Gaskell heroines/female characters

Abusive parent/guardian - 1 point for each abusive parent or guardian, Dead parents - 1 point for each dead parent, and then 1 point for each of the following: Great Personal Beauty, Poor family, Heroic care of animals/nature, Taste for gardens, Extraordinarily intelligent, Plays music/sings, Draws/does art, Focused on schooling, Calm and quiet, Reads poetry

There are 12 criteria, though the possible score can be higher (for example, if you have lost a mother, father, and stepmother, that would count as 3 dead parents)

Jane Eyre, Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë Heroine Score: 11

Helen Graham, The Tenant of Wildfell Hall by Anne Brontë  Heroine Score: 10

Jane Fairfax, Emma by Jane Austen, Heroine Score: 9

Agnes Grey, Agnes Grey by Anne Brontëm, Heroine Score: 9

Anne Elliot, Persuasion by Jane Austen,  Heroine Score: 8

Mary Crawford, Mansfield Park by Jane Austen, Heroine Score: 8

Molly Gibson, Wives and Daughters by Elizabeth Gaskell and Fanny Price of Mansfield Park by Jane Austen Heroine Score: 7

Heroine Score: 6, Emma Woodhouse of Emma, Marianne Dashwood of Sense & Sensibility, Elinor Tilney of Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen, and Cynthia Kirkpatrick, Wives and Daughters by Elizabeth Gaskell

And then with Heroine Scores of 5 or less, we have Elinor Dashwood (5) of Sense and Sensibility, Catherine Morland (2) of Northanger Abbey and Jane & Elizabeth Bennet (2) of Pride and Prejudice

Example Data:

Disclaimer: you must use your own judgement for some answers. For example, does Anne Elliot count as poor since her father is heavily in debt? Also, some data is not readily available, we don’t know if Elizabeth Bennet reads poetry or not (my guess is no).These are my best estimates given the available data in each novel. Also, Jane Eyre is generally calm and quiet, she just has explosions sometimes, so I gave her that point.

Please add ratings of your own heroines if you want! I haven’t read Wuthering Heights so I can’t do the heroine scores.

[couldnt-think-of-a-funny-name]

those photos of ncuti millie and varada look like an engagement announcement I'm crying

[gingerylangylang1979]

Remember when Ebra's future at The Bear wasn't certain?

gif courtesy of @heardchef

Remember when this trailer hit and we freaked out?

I was worried about Ebra. I thought he would quit or maybe get fired because he couldn't keep up with the new pace. In season one he was a bit dismayed by all of the components in the chicken piccata. In the moment above there was foreshadowing that he wasn't confident about his place in the future. Things moved forward rapidly. He didn't thrive like Tina in culinary school. In a crueler kitchen he may have been forgotten when he disappeared but he wasn't. He was given space but he wasn't cut loose. People were concerned. Carmy asked about him. Tina reconnected with him. He still had a spot on the team, just one reimagined. I'm glad.

Edwin has high billing despite a small role. He's a legend in Chicago. I honestly think Ebra's the funniest character even though he doesn't get the big goofy, flashy moments. Please let him be funny again! But there is a story of immigration, sadness, and loss for him that is ready to be told. I don't think they will ever give him a big storyline but I do hope he at least gets a monologue to explain the whole thing or it gets revealed in bits and pieces along the way. Also, I think his style doesn't get enough love. He dresses like the older fly African and Caribbean men I see in my Brooklyn neighborhood. Bright colors, bold patterns, boho accessories. It's a vibe. I bet he smells good, too. And he's attractive. If I was his age...

I think Ebra's arc last season says a lot about the show and the people behind it. Carmy could have let Ebra go. There was a lot going on and he could have just saw a rogue element and dropped that ass. But who would Carmy be to judge? He was the most rogue element all season and was the weakest link at Friends & Family. Instead, Carmy still found value in him. Tina could have rubbed in her all star status and promotion but she didn't. She saw a friend struggling, not competition. She had the vision for him in his current position.

Storer saw Edwin in a local play when he was a kid, thought he was the most magical actor he'd seen, remembered him, kept up with his Chicago career, and sought him out for this role. He didn't have to do that. He could have hired a more widely known talent but he gave his childhood favorite actor the opportunity. He remembered and honored him.

I see a lot of how Storer is with his talent in how Carmy is as a leader. Carmy is deeply flawed but he does invest in his people. He could have fired the old crew from day one. But he didn't clean house and hire a bunch of Sydney's (he only needed one). He could have started with an entirely new crew when he decided to rebrand, but he didn't he decided to fast track his found family. Storer wanted people he had worked with to work on The Bear. Jeremy (his award winning lead), Ayo (breakout star, IMO romantic lead, and future director thanks to Chris), Ramy (director), and Molly (romantic interest) are people he worked with in the past, sought out again, and saw how they could build on what he saw in them before.

Anyways, this was partially an ode to Ebra/Edwin and partially me getting warm fuzzies over Storer as a generous show runner and Carmy as a generous anti-hero.

[scenesandscreens]

The Bear, Season One (2022)

Directed by Christopher Storer & Joanna Calo

[nightgalen]

Molly Millions from William Gibson’s Neuromancer! 

[kapitanbank]

been reading Neuromancer and I do think these assholes are kinda neat

[picspammer]

The Bear S2 E2 Pasta Directed by Christopher Storer

[nirbanox]

The Bear S02

[janeaustenjunkie]

Molly Gibson in Wives and Daughters

[boardchairman-blog]

**Shots of the Episode**

The Bear (2022)

Season 2, Episode 5: “Pop” (2023) Director: Joanna Calo Cinematographer: Andrew Wehde

[bethanydelleman]

The Britishness of this moment is striking me deeply:

Mr. Gibson knew all implied in these words, and felt that there was no effectual help for the state of things which had arisen from his own act [marrying imprudently]. It was better for them both that they should not speak out more fully. So he kissed her, and said,—

"That's right, dear! I can leave you in comfort now, and indeed I've stayed too long already gossiping. Go out and have a walk—take Cynthia with you, if you like. I must be off. Good-by, little one."

His commonplace words acted like an astringent on Molly's relaxed feelings. He intended that they should do so; it was the truest kindness to her; but he walked away from her with a sharp pang at his heart, which he stunned into numbness as soon as he could by throwing himself violently into the affairs and cares of others.

Mr. Gibson: I started to feel a little too much, so I strangled those feelings and put them back down in the deep. As God intended.

[zshooes]

I couldn’t get this scene out of my head after finishing neuromancer

[rosepompadour]

what are your favorite heroines written by fitzgerald? and by thomas hardy? and by dickens? and by your other favorite authors? ♡

i cannot believe i’ve had this blog for 84 years and i've never done an official ranking of my girls! i limited myself to twenty characters (one per author), but if an author has more than one amazing heroine, i will be talking about all of them. so let’s start at the beginning, a very good place to start! 💗 

1.) estella havisham. my forever girl, my number one heroine when it comes to serious literature, and the blueprint for all my bitchy rich girl faves - of which there are many on this list. but no one compares to estella! you might be a spoiled brat, but have you been bent and broken into a better shape? 

2.) natasha rostova / kitty shcherbatsky. i think i would ultimately choose natasha if it ever came to that - she’s just a richer character, and one of the only major literary heroines who has a killer sense of humor - but kitty is my sweet pink marshmallow. it’s a very close call!

3.) cosette / eponine. again, i can’t choose. i think eponine is the more complex and sophisticated character, but cosette is so GOOD! she’s just loveable, which is a very hard quality to pin down. i love them both so much. 10/10 for each!

4.) eustacia vye, followed so closely by tess that the difference is infinitesimal. tess is the greater heroine (goodness made interesting - name a bigger challenge in literature!), but god, i fucking love eustacia. the chapter introducing her in return of the native is still the single best in-depth breakdown of a character’s personality that i have ever encountered in a novel.

5.) anne shirley, because she’s been with me my entire life and has taught me more about happiness than any other character i’ve ever come across. “the iron has entered into my soul, diana!”

6.) isabel archer. does she make poor decisions? yes. would she have been better off without the money? double yes! but the drama is what makes her shine. i know this book is dense, but read it anyway - because if you don’t, you’ll never meet isabel, and you will miss out on one of the richest experiences of your life. it’s not a light read, but it is my favorite read.

7.) emma bovary, my favorite mess. she’s mean and unrealistic and a little stupid, but that scene at the end where she just cracks open and all her anger comes spilling out is what makes her amazing. the french have a flair for tragedy (c'est dans le fucking titre in the case of les mis!), but nothing compares to the heartbreak of watching emma, who thinks that death will be like falling asleep, when she feels the arsenic start to work and realizes she was wrong: “oh! it is beginning!” it will not be an easy death. she is not an easy character. but mon dieu, i adore her! 

8.) catherine barkley. brett ashley is hemingway’s best female character, but catherine is the one who has my heart. she’s incredibly romantic and feminine and starry-eyed (with the most beautiful hair in all of literature!), but what makes her great is that this dreamy quality is a deliberately willed reaction to intense trauma. she CHOOSES to love. she is proof that you can be a girly girl and still be made of iron and steel. she’s so smart and courageous, and i am forever obsessed with her!

9.) sibyl vane, the girl who died for believing in fairy tales.

10.) tatyana larina rounds out my top ten for leaving onegin on read after he left her on read. the russians have the best heroines. i will not budge on this!

11.) yvonne de galais. she’s a ten (or in fournier-speak: “the fairy, the princess, the dream of love itself!”), but she can’t hold on to her man. 💔

12.) emma woodhouse. i’m not a huge austen fan, but i feel like out of all the girls on this list, emma would “get” me the most and go out of her way to befriend me. we are, unfortunately, very much alike.

13.) beatrice. do you know how much i suffered over choosing just one shakespeare heroine? an impossible task, but a girl who loves to laugh as much as bea does deserves to be number one. (it’s why the très witty rosalind is a close second, followed by the more tragically-inclined ophelia.)

14.) rosemary hoyt. this was the hardest one. i ultimately went with rosemary because she has all the qualities of the quintessential fitzgerald girl (young, fun, glamorous, spoiled, beautiful), but she’s much more likeable than rosalind, gloria, daisy, or even my beloved jordan. also in the top three are eleanor savage, who would be number one if she had her own book (“here am i with the brains to do everything - too bright for most men, and yet i have to descend to their level!”), and cecilia brady, hollywood princess extraordinaire and the west coast equivalent of nick carraway.

15.) amy march, america’s least favorite sister - and my personal favorite. this country has no taste. no wonder amy left!

16.) linda radlett. a little awful, but terribly funny and, in a weird way, kind of admirable in her single-minded ~pursuit of love. my mom wanted to watch the lily james version, thinking it would be a nice downton-esque period drama, and i had to tell her v. bluntly that there is nothing nice about the pursuit of love and that i couldn’t watch it with her because i knew she would hate linda. some things are just too sick-making!

17.) miss holiday golightly, travelling!

18.) lucy honeychurch. aside from being a genuinely cool girl who rejects the second-worst man in all of literature (the ultimate worst being angel clare), she also has the greatest name in the canon, which guarantees her a position in my top twenty.

19.) marguerite gautier, just because she’s actually marie duplessis and my love for marie is boundless and obsessively documented.

20.) franny glass. there aren’t many girls who possess the crazy level of self-confidence required to order a glass of milk in a restaurant while wearing a glam raccoon coat, but franny is one of the few. i related to her an embarrassing amount when i was a teenager, and while the association has faded, she remains my favorite glass sibling to this day.