Who am I kidding, it's cold! Not freezing, definitely, but the occasional gusts of wind is enough to trickle vibes down my spine. Oh well, at least I have a reason to wrap a scarf around my neck..
As you can see, I wore the shorts today. As you cannot see, I wore white flip flops. The rather preppy look worked but because of the cold weather, the pages I held in my hand during class kept shaking. A movement so subtle, that everyone in class notices.
Some of you might've noticed that most of the pictures I've taken are from my camera phone. Yes, the quality's nothing much... Though it does snap a couple of snazzy close-ups, like the belts and the necklace from yesterday's post. I always use the "Close Objects" feature on food, my way of tormenting myself whenever I'm feeling snack-ish...
For my Late American Literature class today, we studied the works of two regionalist writers - Sarah Orne Jewett (A White Heron) and Mary E. Wilkins Freeman (A New England Nun). The former wrote about a little girl, Sylvia, who had to choose between two loves while the latter entailed a frame of Louisa's life as she ponders about her future marriage. Both were vividly expressed and the color just threatened to erupt from the writings... Remarkable. One of my favorite passages from Wilkins's story is:
"When Joe Dagget was outside he drew in the sweet evening air with a sigh, and felt much as an innocent and perfectly well-intentioned bear might after his exit from a china shop.
Louisa, on her part, felt much as the kind-hearted, long-suffering owner of the china shop might have done after the exit of the bear."
Really! The image of Joe Dagget's exit couldn't be more adorable! I know my fiction writing professor, Emily Danforth (awesome, awesome instructor btw), says "adorable" or "cute" isn't a very nice thing to describe someone else's work but, come on, I keep picturing Yogi Bear walking out the door. No hat could cover my expanding smile.
Wilkins's story is about Louisa Ellis who reunites with her fiance of 14 years, Joe Dagget, and feels uncertain about her marriage to him. Both clearly still have feelings for the other, but neither is sure or ecstatic about "Here Comes the Bride" playing next month with chocolate-mouthed ringbearers running down the aisle. I somehow stereotype five-year-olds for the job... Both search for an excuse to call off the wedding. This is where town diva Lily Dyer comes in.
Dang it Dagget! Are you cheatin' on your woman?
Apparently not, as Joe remains faithful to Louisa, even if their love has waned. But in the end, Louisa and Joe separate. Are they still friends? Do they still call each other? Yes, yes, they do. It is an amiable separation. Oh btw, this is set in late 19th century, just so you know.
Our professor, Dr. Stevenson, then asked if there was any contemporary film or tv show that paralleled the love triangle. One answered "My Best Friend's Wedding", in which, I agree to a certain degree. But I think another tv show whose plot synchronizes nicely with Wilkins's would be "Drop Dead Diva". The love triangle in that show is insane... Here's my attempt at summarizing it:
Shallow Deb dies and revives in overweight, but super-smart lawyer Jane Bingum's body because of some mess up in heaven. Deb's fiance, Grayson, works in the same law firm as Jane but of course, Jane (who's really dead, but contains Deb's soul and memories) can't reveal her true identity to Grayson because that would be breaking multiple divine laws... So to speak. Anyway, Grayson meets this new girl, Vanessa, and after a while, proposes to her. Jane's heart implodes as just the other night, Grayson tells her that he couldn't get over Deb, which is Jane, in a size eleven.
Confused? Here's an easier equation:
Deb/Jane = Louisa
Grayson = Joe
Vanessa = Lily
So really, Wilkins would've been a writer for DDD, had television existed then. Don't believe me? Read "A New England Nun" AND watch DDD. You compare.
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