I've been so busy lately- all in a good cause I assure you. Blogger is doing strange things this evening and will not allow me paragraphs or umlauts. I am most seriously displeased (well, I have learned something from Miss Austen ;) So- What have I been up to? I've been reading a lot of essays on the Brontes, including the selections I have of 'Myths of Power' by Terry Eagleton. He makes some valid points, but the absurd things he says distract me, and in no small measure annoy me... especially how he hates Charlotte Bronte. Now, it's fine to say that in some particular way she doesn't live up to your standards. And it's okay to say that her sisters were better writers... if you must (but really, what is the purpose of ranking them in that way?). But, please, when you are supposed to be talking about Anne, or Emily, don't suddenly break in with the Charlotte bashing. I'm pretty sure that my indignation is not only the result of the fact that I ADORE Charlotte's work. I am not unreasonable, but it is simply bad critical practice. That is my major objection to this piece. The second is that his arguments about Charlotte are so unsubstantiated as well. He completely fails to prove to me that Anne's religious characters are humble while Charlotte's are self-agrandising. I see no such indications of self-agrandisement in the text. If he reads the text and envisions Jane, truly, gloating in her mind about the misfortunes of the Reeds he is free to do so, but if he expects me to accept it as part of his argument he had better prove it to me. I have so much more to say, but the lack of proper paragraphs is driving me crazy! I meant this to be far more coherent. I blame the heat.