The Princess Bride

Goldman's portrayal of women in The Princess Bride is very interesting. His portrayal of women suggests a feeling of dislike. For example Buttercup is beautiful, yet very naive and unintelligent. Buttercup constantly needs to be rescued, and in that sense she is the typical fairytale princess. The other women in the novel are also depicted in a negative tone for example, Prince Humperdink's stepmother, Queen Bella. Queen Bella's character is nice but she is also manipulative. When Prince Humperdink's father is dying Queen Bella translates for him. The reader is told that the king is mumbling, therefore it isn't really known what he wants from his son, but Queen Bella speaks for him telling Humperdink it is his fathers wish for him to marry. She manipulates him by saying he must marry a specific princess, she is puppeteering Humperdink. Another woman who is shown in a negative light is Fezzik's mother. She is portrayed as a horrible mother who is trying to make her son a famous fighter. She is very mean to Fezzik and un-motherly. Fezzik tells her he wants to stop fighting and she tells him he better continue or she and her father will leave him alone. Which is Fezziks greatest fear.
Goldman portrays most of the women in this novel in a negative aspect. Some of the woman are shown as beautiful yet stupid, manipulative and mean. It seems as though Goldman thinks very little of women to depict all his female characters in such a way. However in Goldman's defense, his relationship with his own wife Helen, may be the reason why he portrays women in such a way. She is portrayed as domineering, a good psychologist but a cold wife.

Wicked

So far I have really enjoyed reading Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West. I think Maguire has done a very good job relating the two stories together, the movie, The Wizard of Oz and the Wicked Witch's side of the story. I like how Maguire gives an explanation for everything and relates Wicked to the film. For example in class today when we discussed Glinda's dress. That comes directly from the film, Glinda is first seen wearing a humongous pink and poofy dress. I think Maguire is also doing a great job developing Elphaba's character. So far I feel he has given a thorough explanation of how and why Elphaba becomes the character she is portrayed to be in the film. I also like Maguire's portrayal of the Wizard, in the movie the Wizard is kind and wants to help Dorothy. In Wicked he is one of the bad guys, and Elphaba is one of the good guys, or at least the character you are rooting for. I feel that Maguire has done an excellent job erasing his readers previous thoughts and feelings of the Wicked Witch of the West, and he makes her human and easy to see as the protagonist. I have enjoyed Wicked very much and would like to read his other novels particularly the sequel, Son of a Witch.

The Moonstone

I enjoyed reading The Moonstone. What I liked most about The Moonstone was the way Wilkie Collins developed the involvement of each character in the theft of the stone, specifically Godfrey Ablewhite. While reading The Moonstone I did begin to become suspicious of Godfrey, but I didn't expect his reasons for the theft to be as detailed as they were. I initially thought that Godfrey was the thief, because he seemed to escape the the investigation, he wasn't really questioned. Also there was so much focus on Rosanna, Rachel and Franklin, yet Godfrey's role in the novel still seemed to be important.
Although I knew Godfrey was somehow involved, I was surprised when I found out the specific details of his involvement and the double life he led. I assumed Godfrey was a gold digger because he wanted to marry Rachel so badly, and also because his engagement to another heiress had been broken. I didn't expect him to be living off the trustfund of a boy whom he was the guardian of. In the end of the novel I liked how Godfrey was discovered wearing a disguise, but I was upset that Godfrey died, even though he was the villain, I guess I would have liked to have seen some sort of trial for his crime.

Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyide

The novel Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, is reminiscent of the novel Frankenstein by Mary Shelly. Frankenstein was published in 1818 and Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde was published almost 70 years later in 1886. Although I am not sure if Stevenson ever read Frankenstein, it is possible that he did and used the novel as inspiration when he wrote Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.
For example both novels have dark gloomy atmospheres and are about doctors who create monsters. Another similarity between these two novels is, both Mr. Hyde and the Monster from Frankenstein, cause havoc in the towns where they live. Mr. Hyde tramples a young girl and also kills Sir Danvers. The Monster in Frankenstein also commits murder, he kills some people in his town as well as members of Dr. Frankenstein's family.
Another similarity I found between these novels is that both doctors did not originally fear the monster's they created, nor did they find them repulsive, as the other people who encountered them did. An example of this is, when Dr. Frankenstein created his Monster he created him from parts he thought were beautiful, and he thought that his creation was beautiful. In Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hide, Dr. Jekyll says in his confession letter to Mr. Utterson "And yet when I looked upon that ugly idol in the glass, I was conscious of no repugnance, rather of a leap of welcome. This, too, was myself. It seemed natural and human. In my eyes it bore a livelier image of the spirit, it seemed more express and single, than the imperfect and divided countenance I had been hitherto accustomed to call mine (pg. 88)." In this quote Dr. Jekyll is explaining that at first he didn't see the evil side of Mr. Hyde, his other half, nor did he think that he was ugly.
Another example of how these two novels are similar is that neither doctor could escape the monster they created and as a result, they die. After continuous consumption of the potion, Mr. Hyde takes over Dr. Jekyll's body and the good doctor dies because he can not be the man he once was. In Frankenstein, Dr. Frankenstein eventually dies from an illness brought on by grief and the exhaustion of chasing the Monster he created.

Northanger Abbey

Many literary critics have said Jane Austen's Northanger Abbey critiques the Gothic novel. Having only read the first 58 pages of Northanger Abbey, hardly any Gothic elements are mentioned, but these elements are expected to appear in the second half of the novel. Despite the lack of themes and elements in the first half, Austen begins her critique through the character Catherine Morland. Catherine Morland is a young woman of seventeen who has grown up and spent her entire life in the country. Catherine's features are plain but she is described as almost pretty. The narrator also mentions that as a child she was a tomboy but is now paying closer attention to her looks and has developed a love of reading, especially Gothic novels. Catherine is very naive and innocent, her opinion and view of the world comes from her limited education and the novels she has read. When Catherine goes to Bath with the Allen's it is almost as though she envisions herself in a Gothic novel. The Gothic novels Catherine has read have given her unrealistic expectations about what will happen, and who she will meet during her trip to the busy town of Bath.
Austen begins her critique by inventing characters of supposed interior motives for her character Catherine to imagine and invent. Catherine envisions herself in a Gothic novel by creating typical characters of Gothic novels from the actual people that she meets. For example Catherine is introduced to Isabella Thorpe and the two instantly become best friends. The relationship between Isabella and Catherine is reminiscent of the relationship between Isabella and Matilda in the novel The Castle of Otranto, by Horace Walpole. Both Isabellas are a little over the top and depict themselves as "woe as me what would I do without you" but neither girl is really in need of her friend and is actually in competition with the other girl. In The Castle of Otranto Isabella competes with Matilda for the love of Theodore and in Northanger Abbey Isabella puts herself in competition with Catherine because she wants to be seen as the prettier girl.
Another example of how Austen portrays the elements of a Gothic novel through the character Catherine is by developing Catherine's relationship with Mr. Thorpe. At first Catherine likes Mr. Thorpe because he compliments her but as she gets to know him she realizes that he is actually rude and pompous. In Catherine's mind she is setting Mr. Thorpe up to be the villain of her personal Gothic story. For example, how he won't stop the carriage when she asks him to, so that she can actually go on her previous engagement with Mr. Tilney. Catherine sets up Mr. Thorpe as the villain who will try and keep her away from her true love.
In addition to the characters Catherine creates out of Isabella and Mr. Thorpe, Catherine also does this with Mr. Tilney. Catherine falls in love with Mr. Tilney immediately. Catherine is setting up Mr. Tilney the hero of her story, the one who will save her from the evil Mr. Thorpe and his manipulative over the top sister.
Austen's invention of Catherine, is interesting. From a psychological point of view Catherine's vision of her trip to Bath as a Gothic novel, is probably a result from her love of reading Gothic novels and longing to be like the characters in the stories.

The Castle of Otranto

While reading The Castle of Otranto, I was reminded of another novel I have read called The Other Boleyn Girl, written by Philippa Gregory. The Other Boleyn Girl is about two sisters Anne and Mary Boleyn, who compete for the love of Henry VIII. Anne Boleyn is the "victor" and she convinces Henry to divorce his wife and Queen, Katherine of Aragon, and to marry her instead. The Castle of Otranto reminds me of The Other Boleyn Girl because Manfred is a lot like Henry VIII.
Both kings ruled as tyrants obsessed with having a male heir to rule their kingdoms after they were gone. When Manfred's son Conrad, dies, Manfred decides to divorce his wife Hippolita and marry Isabella, who was supposed to marry Conrad. Manfred's decision to divorce his wife is exactly like the decision Henry VIII makes. After being married for many years, with only one child, a daughter; Henry VIII decides to divorce Katherine of Aragon and marry Anne Boleyn, convinced that they will have a son. Like Henry VIII, Manfred is convinced that if he marries Isabella they will also have sons. Henry VIII has Anne Boleyn beheaded for false charges because he decides he needs to get rid of her. Anne Boleyn also only had a daughter and Henry wanted to marry someone else and have a son. Henry VIII finally has a son when he is married for a third time however his son dies before he becomes king. The daughter he had with Anne Boleyn, Elizabeth I, ruled England for many years and is known as one of England's greatest rulers. Like Henry VIII, Manfred also ignored his daughter Matilda. Perhaps if Matilda did not die she and Theodore could have become great rulers. Manfred and Henry VIII are similar in character because both men wouldn't stop for anything until they had male heirs.

Tristram Shandy

I have a feeling that this will be a very short blog, because I have no ideas for an entry. I think it is pretty safe to say that, of all the stories I have ever read, The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman was the most difficult to comprehend. I hardly understood any of the story. I found that I was often reading pages of the novel and not taking away anything from the text. It was extremely frustrating. I feel that this is mostly because of the digression in the novel. Tristram constantly tells the audience that he is going to begin to tell a story and then he will go off on a tangent about something else and never come back to that particular story; or he will come back to that story several volumes later. Another example of how Tristram Shandy, is difficult to read is because Tristram rambles on and on. I could be wrong but, I remember that there is a part of the story where Tristram's father and his uncle Toby are having a conversation and walking down the stairs, if I am remembering correctly it takes Tristram's father and uncle several pages just to walk down the stairs!
Although conventional for the time period in which the novel was written, the writing style is a little absurd, its hard to follow and it doesn't make sense. I eventually gave up on trying to understand Tristram Shandy, and I read the SparkNotes version. Which made the story easier to comprehend but not much more enjoyable.