"Too true, too chilling," indeed. I too, chuckled to myself at Gissing's oddly prescient (sadly!) sardonic vision of “democracy”: the capitalizing of “venomous banter” as entertainment “to assail an author without increasing the number of his readers [as] the perfection of journalistic skills,” which would (ultimately) appeal to “the democratic generation just maturing.” One hopes that democracy and its aspirational freedoms holds more for us all – including the “democratic generation just maturing.”
My response to Marian's labors was slightly less Dickensian than Yiyun's. I keep thinking about Heather’s previous comments regarding Gissing’s “sneaky” development of strength, talent, and wisdom in Grub Street’s women. Marian has captured my heart – her gentle, recognition of self-worth: “I can’t be a slave mother, and I can’t be treated unjustly,” coupled with her introspective bent (and ultimate self-awareness) when dealing with “wretched tumult”: “Had [Milvain] not himself said to her that he might be guilty of base things, just to make his way? Perhaps, it was the intolerable pain of imagining that he had already made good his words, which robbed her of self-control and made her meet her father’s rudeness with defiance.”
And finally, a young woman coming of age: Marian accepts her father’s resumption of his “wonted manner [as] sufficient evidence of regret on his part,” while embracing her newfound sense of self: “She was not all submission, [her father] might try her beyond endurance; there might come a day when perforce she must stand face to face with him, and make it known she had her own claims upon life.” Go girl!
That is a chilling line. No such thing as bad press, and yet...
"'Somebody's illegitimate son, I believe, replied the source of trustworthy information, with a laugh. 'Denham says he met him in New York a year or two ago, under another name.'" That made me laugh out loud. So goes one story about Jasper--he isn't half as adventurous as he might be!
Alfred and Marian's conflict is rendered adroitly. Alfred suspects Fadge of the review but can't resist vindication when it comes to Jasper. Meanwhile, Marian wisely understands his behavior towards her to be "spiteful." "A father actuated by simple motives of affection would never speak and look thus." She later regrets her own "resentful words," but finally decides, "it was as well that her father should be warned. She was not all submission; he might try her beyond endurance..." Yule may end up regretting much more.
https://twain.lib.virginia.edu/innocent/galaxy.html This is somewhat related: Mark Twain (1870) parody a British review of his book Innocence Abroad in Galaxy (a US) magazine. I’m still looking for the original British review. It must have been scathing! Gissing must have read this!
I have a deep admiration for restrained arguments, probably because it's outside of my skill set :) Gissing nailed it with the 'fisticuffs' between Marian and her father.
Clearly both of them have let their predispositions toward Jasper color their opinions. However, as a father myself, I have seen my own children grow into a higher level of maturity than I possess, so I can't forgive Mr. Yule for his pettiness and his childish responses to his daughter - he "was conscious of untruth in this statement, but his mood would not allow him to speak ingenuously..."
Flippancy may be a vice but in the hands of a master? I guess I must reconsider my admiration of Oscar Wilde, Churchill and many others. No doubt it can be the cruelest form of criticism but if cruelty is the intention, it leaves a wound that doesn’t soon heal.
A psychological insight shown by Alfred Yule - how he dwells on the negative review(er). It's certainly more fun to read those (if you're not the one being roasted) than the earnest ones, which comes across to me as ingratiating. It makes me think of anonymous trolls online, reviewers who are hard on the book, and equally hard on people. Yet, I find those riveting, while the anonymous New Yorker Briefly Noted book reviews, which come out so much later than the book can feel paltrier.
And what about Marian's refusal to submit, what has caused her to (suddenly/gradually?) snap, in her soft delicate way? I mean, I'd be the first to read her Study of French Authoresses, but her new attitude to her father, whose work she shared, for however long, gives some dimension to her desires. Her view is widening; the scales have fallen from her eyes, but is it toward the work, or the person, or both?
Impossible to read this book without astonishment about the social norms of the day. Unthinkable that a young woman (ie Marian) today would slavishly and (previously) unquestioningly do her father's bidding.
All of the women in this book are so clearly without agency in their world. Given this context, it is hard for me to judge the import Marian's watershed moment -
The chapter ends with a cliffhanger. Marian goes into the night to extract from Jasper if he is the one who wrote the review sardonically disparaging her beloved (ha!) father's work. Seriously, I did not expect this novel to be the page-turner that it is.
So many Victorian novelists presented us with strong, feisty women. I’m not surprised they were beloved at a time when women were so oppressed. Some must have been truly inspirational as they still are today.
As for Marion “slaving” for her father—growing up in the 50’s women still did not have many work options. We have made a lot of progress (thanks to our generation, yay) but poverty is still horrendous. I’m sure plenty of struggling families today expect teenagers and young adult to help support their families under awful conditions. Alfred’s heartlessness is another story.
I'm so sick of domineering fathers in literature and in real life. The question is not how attractive is the suitor Jasper but how unappealing is the paterfamilias Yule. To not have one friend to "unbosom all her sufferings" is unfortunate. Marian can't quite trust her mother who yet tries in her little ways to mend the household relations.
"Too true, too chilling," indeed. I too, chuckled to myself at Gissing's oddly prescient (sadly!) sardonic vision of “democracy”: the capitalizing of “venomous banter” as entertainment “to assail an author without increasing the number of his readers [as] the perfection of journalistic skills,” which would (ultimately) appeal to “the democratic generation just maturing.” One hopes that democracy and its aspirational freedoms holds more for us all – including the “democratic generation just maturing.”
My response to Marian's labors was slightly less Dickensian than Yiyun's. I keep thinking about Heather’s previous comments regarding Gissing’s “sneaky” development of strength, talent, and wisdom in Grub Street’s women. Marian has captured my heart – her gentle, recognition of self-worth: “I can’t be a slave mother, and I can’t be treated unjustly,” coupled with her introspective bent (and ultimate self-awareness) when dealing with “wretched tumult”: “Had [Milvain] not himself said to her that he might be guilty of base things, just to make his way? Perhaps, it was the intolerable pain of imagining that he had already made good his words, which robbed her of self-control and made her meet her father’s rudeness with defiance.”
And finally, a young woman coming of age: Marian accepts her father’s resumption of his “wonted manner [as] sufficient evidence of regret on his part,” while embracing her newfound sense of self: “She was not all submission, [her father] might try her beyond endurance; there might come a day when perforce she must stand face to face with him, and make it known she had her own claims upon life.” Go girl!
I like her too. She is smart, wise, gracious, and becoming bolder!
That is a chilling line. No such thing as bad press, and yet...
"'Somebody's illegitimate son, I believe, replied the source of trustworthy information, with a laugh. 'Denham says he met him in New York a year or two ago, under another name.'" That made me laugh out loud. So goes one story about Jasper--he isn't half as adventurous as he might be!
Alfred and Marian's conflict is rendered adroitly. Alfred suspects Fadge of the review but can't resist vindication when it comes to Jasper. Meanwhile, Marian wisely understands his behavior towards her to be "spiteful." "A father actuated by simple motives of affection would never speak and look thus." She later regrets her own "resentful words," but finally decides, "it was as well that her father should be warned. She was not all submission; he might try her beyond endurance..." Yule may end up regretting much more.
https://twain.lib.virginia.edu/innocent/galaxy.html This is somewhat related: Mark Twain (1870) parody a British review of his book Innocence Abroad in Galaxy (a US) magazine. I’m still looking for the original British review. It must have been scathing! Gissing must have read this!
I have a deep admiration for restrained arguments, probably because it's outside of my skill set :) Gissing nailed it with the 'fisticuffs' between Marian and her father.
Clearly both of them have let their predispositions toward Jasper color their opinions. However, as a father myself, I have seen my own children grow into a higher level of maturity than I possess, so I can't forgive Mr. Yule for his pettiness and his childish responses to his daughter - he "was conscious of untruth in this statement, but his mood would not allow him to speak ingenuously..."
Flippancy may be a vice but in the hands of a master? I guess I must reconsider my admiration of Oscar Wilde, Churchill and many others. No doubt it can be the cruelest form of criticism but if cruelty is the intention, it leaves a wound that doesn’t soon heal.
A psychological insight shown by Alfred Yule - how he dwells on the negative review(er). It's certainly more fun to read those (if you're not the one being roasted) than the earnest ones, which comes across to me as ingratiating. It makes me think of anonymous trolls online, reviewers who are hard on the book, and equally hard on people. Yet, I find those riveting, while the anonymous New Yorker Briefly Noted book reviews, which come out so much later than the book can feel paltrier.
And what about Marian's refusal to submit, what has caused her to (suddenly/gradually?) snap, in her soft delicate way? I mean, I'd be the first to read her Study of French Authoresses, but her new attitude to her father, whose work she shared, for however long, gives some dimension to her desires. Her view is widening; the scales have fallen from her eyes, but is it toward the work, or the person, or both?
Impossible to read this book without astonishment about the social norms of the day. Unthinkable that a young woman (ie Marian) today would slavishly and (previously) unquestioningly do her father's bidding.
All of the women in this book are so clearly without agency in their world. Given this context, it is hard for me to judge the import Marian's watershed moment -
i love marian's bartleby moment. I'd rather not!
The chapter ends with a cliffhanger. Marian goes into the night to extract from Jasper if he is the one who wrote the review sardonically disparaging her beloved (ha!) father's work. Seriously, I did not expect this novel to be the page-turner that it is.
So many Victorian novelists presented us with strong, feisty women. I’m not surprised they were beloved at a time when women were so oppressed. Some must have been truly inspirational as they still are today.
As for Marion “slaving” for her father—growing up in the 50’s women still did not have many work options. We have made a lot of progress (thanks to our generation, yay) but poverty is still horrendous. I’m sure plenty of struggling families today expect teenagers and young adult to help support their families under awful conditions. Alfred’s heartlessness is another story.
I'm so sick of domineering fathers in literature and in real life. The question is not how attractive is the suitor Jasper but how unappealing is the paterfamilias Yule. To not have one friend to "unbosom all her sufferings" is unfortunate. Marian can't quite trust her mother who yet tries in her little ways to mend the household relations.
I am delighted to have “discovered” Gissing, an author I had never read. Like finding a new Dickens novel.
Me too!