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Packing packing...
Jun. 26th, 2012 09:37 pmPacking up my apartment. Also cleaning it. My winter of dedicated tea-drinking has left an apparently indelible ring around the drain of the sink. >.<
Also listening to Edith Wharton The Age of Innocence. (I've just discovered the joy of listening to audio books while I drive. Why didn't I realize this earlier? Think of all the books I could have ingested during my commute!) Has anyone else read this? Did you feel a deep and compelling urge to throttle Newland Archer?
He gets engaged to May, who seems like a perfectly charming person, only to immediately fall in love with her beautiful and exotic cousin Madame Olenska - but despite realizing that his feelings for Madame Olenska will poison his marriage with May, he goes ahead with his engagement anyway even though May offers to release him. Because...because...it's never explained exactly why it would be too much effort to extract himself from a marriage that's preordained to be unhappy, but clearly it is.
This preordination, let me add, is entirely of Newland's making: he could be happy with Mary if he was willing to try, but no. Newland Archer would much rather wallow in his adoration of Madame Olenska (and assume that she's fated to be with him, no matter how clearly she says WE CAN NEVER BE TOGETHER), sneer at May for being shallow and insufficiently artistic (never mind Newland also lacks depth, compassion, and artistic talent himself), and luxuriate in his own exquisite misery than make an effort to be a good husband and a good man.
...I hope the books ends with May and Madame Olenska running away to Monte Carlo together. They both deserve someone so much better than Newland Archer.
Also listening to Edith Wharton The Age of Innocence. (I've just discovered the joy of listening to audio books while I drive. Why didn't I realize this earlier? Think of all the books I could have ingested during my commute!) Has anyone else read this? Did you feel a deep and compelling urge to throttle Newland Archer?
He gets engaged to May, who seems like a perfectly charming person, only to immediately fall in love with her beautiful and exotic cousin Madame Olenska - but despite realizing that his feelings for Madame Olenska will poison his marriage with May, he goes ahead with his engagement anyway even though May offers to release him. Because...because...it's never explained exactly why it would be too much effort to extract himself from a marriage that's preordained to be unhappy, but clearly it is.
This preordination, let me add, is entirely of Newland's making: he could be happy with Mary if he was willing to try, but no. Newland Archer would much rather wallow in his adoration of Madame Olenska (and assume that she's fated to be with him, no matter how clearly she says WE CAN NEVER BE TOGETHER), sneer at May for being shallow and insufficiently artistic (never mind Newland also lacks depth, compassion, and artistic talent himself), and luxuriate in his own exquisite misery than make an effort to be a good husband and a good man.
...I hope the books ends with May and Madame Olenska running away to Monte Carlo together. They both deserve someone so much better than Newland Archer.
