"Jasper of the facile pen" - now that we're nearing the end, he has surprised us the least of all the characters, I think. His persistent confidence paired with his honest self-assessments balance his cynical approach to his business and his love life. And he is magnanimous! (he may launch Biffen's career and redeem Edwin's)
Maud ("You say nothing, but you add an insult") has leveraged her good looks to escape poverty, and Dora (no "doll of super finewax") may be on the path to literary success as she enjoys pulling on the strings of her marionette, Whelpdale, who may be on the verge of starting USA Today! Also, did we know that Dora so reviled Amy?
I am amused by impoverished writers who intersperse their conversations with Latin phrases and deride the uneducated ("incapable of sustained attention"). I am reminded of our own large supply of barista MFA's in literature who write peoples names on the sides of coffee cups
I agree with Yiyun, there is so much about publishing and readers with short attention spans that seems eerily modern. Some great humor as well: “The paper is rubbish,” remarked Jasper, “and the kind of rubbish— oddly enough—which doesn't attract people."
Jasper, like Reardon, is such a complex character. Self-aware, self-mocking, self-serving, and vain. But he also brings people together and lives enthusiastically in the world around him. He does kindnesses for his friends, however these kindnesses ultimately serve him. Seems he is trying to impress the newly wealthy Amy, explaining the motivation for helping both Reardon and Biffen.
It’s so easy for Jasper to be generous when his financial future is not concerned. When his economic prospects are involved, it’s a struggle. Marian is straight and true. She’s a great contrast with some of the other characters, esp Jasper.
-- Jasper’s reviews and his view of reviews -- so like today. Maybe he and Whelpdale will invent the blurb.
-- Chit Chat. I thought of People magazine rather than USA Today. But both are apt. And I’m old enough to remember when each came out and the scorn with which they were greeted by the educated classes. Yet who among us doesn’t eagerly look for People at the dentist’s office?
-- Whelpdale and Nora. He’s already dressing well and courting her in his own somewhat clumsy way. What else does he need to do to win her over beyond succeeding in his profession more securely?
-- Jasper’s work to get Reardon published posthumously and his letter to Amy. Such a clever guy. As he says, “It delights me to be generous when I can afford to be.” And when he sees 10,000 pounds in his future.
-- Jasper, the “future Aristarchus.” I had to look him up -- he was the first person to say that the earth turns on its axis and revolves around the sun. LOL.
Milvain shows that it's best to have plans and purposes, both long-and short-term, in order to succeed in the material world. He does not strike me as someone who invests much in relationships absent prospect of tangible return. His honorable and great services to Biffin and Reardon may have an ulterior motive.
Notice also from Milvain's actions that the writing industry takes care of its own. Conflict of interest never seems to be an impediment to reviewing a work. Ever notice how if the New York Times Book Review regards a work worthy of its attention there is almost never a negative review? Genuine criticism is a service performed by Kirkus.
Sorry for the cynicism. I share it without rancor.
Dora’s comment “Surely these poor, silly people oughtn’t to be encouraged in their weakness.” An interesting and progressive dilemma we live with every day as we wonder what the impact of our devices and social media will have the attention spans of people.
Breaking news: A “Mr Whelpdale” discovered as the inventor of social media! It’s for “the young men and women who can just read, but are incapable of sustained attention.” With this incredibly prescient invention, he gives them “the lightest and frothiest of chi-chatty information - bits of stories, bits of description, bits of scandal, bits of jokes, bits of statistics, bits of foolery. Am I not right?”
Interesting the part where Dora expresses qualms about Whelpdale's idea, but very quickly decides that there would be good in it .. which is baloney. No good ever came of such an idea, as we know too well.
I was curious about Board schools, and found this interesting little read:
Issues around education, class, and wealth did not disappear .. my parents (both British) attended village schools. A teacher noticed Dad was bright (had "brains" as Gissing would say) and told his parents he should sit for the grammar school exam. He did, passed, and was ushered into a whole other world - for free. Latin, French, History, Science - on and on. A wonderful education by any standard.
Was only for boys at that time (he started there in 1948)
Meanwhile, a few towns away, Mom was attending her own village school, unable to pass a test that would allow her to move on to secondary school (like middle and high school). She stayed in what was essentially elementary school until she was 14, then had no choice but to leave school for good.
She could be a shop assistant, or, her mother could miraculously find the money to pay for secretarial college, which she did .. Mom had her first job in a real estate office - at 16 years old. I don't think she ever spent any significant time with people her own age again.
What was Jasper's idea as bait for "quarter-educated" readers? Oh yes, "What the Queen eats "
Hmm. "The quarter-educated" is used throughout. Must have been a social term. Try to think of the equivalent today and it's difficult. Nobody really says 'the lowly masses' anymore. 'High school-educated' has a much more neutral ring to it. Sometimes you read about someone with 'no more than a sixth grade education'. Dare we say that people who more judgmental back in the 19h century than now (at least England)?
"Jasper of the facile pen" - now that we're nearing the end, he has surprised us the least of all the characters, I think. His persistent confidence paired with his honest self-assessments balance his cynical approach to his business and his love life. And he is magnanimous! (he may launch Biffen's career and redeem Edwin's)
Maud ("You say nothing, but you add an insult") has leveraged her good looks to escape poverty, and Dora (no "doll of super finewax") may be on the path to literary success as she enjoys pulling on the strings of her marionette, Whelpdale, who may be on the verge of starting USA Today! Also, did we know that Dora so reviled Amy?
I am amused by impoverished writers who intersperse their conversations with Latin phrases and deride the uneducated ("incapable of sustained attention"). I am reminded of our own large supply of barista MFA's in literature who write peoples names on the sides of coffee cups
I agree with Yiyun, there is so much about publishing and readers with short attention spans that seems eerily modern. Some great humor as well: “The paper is rubbish,” remarked Jasper, “and the kind of rubbish— oddly enough—which doesn't attract people."
Jasper, like Reardon, is such a complex character. Self-aware, self-mocking, self-serving, and vain. But he also brings people together and lives enthusiastically in the world around him. He does kindnesses for his friends, however these kindnesses ultimately serve him. Seems he is trying to impress the newly wealthy Amy, explaining the motivation for helping both Reardon and Biffen.
It’s so easy for Jasper to be generous when his financial future is not concerned. When his economic prospects are involved, it’s a struggle. Marian is straight and true. She’s a great contrast with some of the other characters, esp Jasper.
So many great nuggets in this chapter!
-- Jasper’s reviews and his view of reviews -- so like today. Maybe he and Whelpdale will invent the blurb.
-- Chit Chat. I thought of People magazine rather than USA Today. But both are apt. And I’m old enough to remember when each came out and the scorn with which they were greeted by the educated classes. Yet who among us doesn’t eagerly look for People at the dentist’s office?
-- Whelpdale and Nora. He’s already dressing well and courting her in his own somewhat clumsy way. What else does he need to do to win her over beyond succeeding in his profession more securely?
-- Jasper’s work to get Reardon published posthumously and his letter to Amy. Such a clever guy. As he says, “It delights me to be generous when I can afford to be.” And when he sees 10,000 pounds in his future.
-- Jasper, the “future Aristarchus.” I had to look him up -- he was the first person to say that the earth turns on its axis and revolves around the sun. LOL.
Milvain shows that it's best to have plans and purposes, both long-and short-term, in order to succeed in the material world. He does not strike me as someone who invests much in relationships absent prospect of tangible return. His honorable and great services to Biffin and Reardon may have an ulterior motive.
Notice also from Milvain's actions that the writing industry takes care of its own. Conflict of interest never seems to be an impediment to reviewing a work. Ever notice how if the New York Times Book Review regards a work worthy of its attention there is almost never a negative review? Genuine criticism is a service performed by Kirkus.
Sorry for the cynicism. I share it without rancor.
Dora’s comment “Surely these poor, silly people oughtn’t to be encouraged in their weakness.” An interesting and progressive dilemma we live with every day as we wonder what the impact of our devices and social media will have the attention spans of people.
Breaking news: A “Mr Whelpdale” discovered as the inventor of social media! It’s for “the young men and women who can just read, but are incapable of sustained attention.” With this incredibly prescient invention, he gives them “the lightest and frothiest of chi-chatty information - bits of stories, bits of description, bits of scandal, bits of jokes, bits of statistics, bits of foolery. Am I not right?”
Interesting the part where Dora expresses qualms about Whelpdale's idea, but very quickly decides that there would be good in it .. which is baloney. No good ever came of such an idea, as we know too well.
I was curious about Board schools, and found this interesting little read:
https://visitvictorianengland.com/2019/04/04/victorian-board-schools-educating-the-masses/
Issues around education, class, and wealth did not disappear .. my parents (both British) attended village schools. A teacher noticed Dad was bright (had "brains" as Gissing would say) and told his parents he should sit for the grammar school exam. He did, passed, and was ushered into a whole other world - for free. Latin, French, History, Science - on and on. A wonderful education by any standard.
Was only for boys at that time (he started there in 1948)
Meanwhile, a few towns away, Mom was attending her own village school, unable to pass a test that would allow her to move on to secondary school (like middle and high school). She stayed in what was essentially elementary school until she was 14, then had no choice but to leave school for good.
She could be a shop assistant, or, her mother could miraculously find the money to pay for secretarial college, which she did .. Mom had her first job in a real estate office - at 16 years old. I don't think she ever spent any significant time with people her own age again.
What was Jasper's idea as bait for "quarter-educated" readers? Oh yes, "What the Queen eats "
Martin Amis used to draw blood with his reviews - The War Against Cliché: Essays and Reviews 1971-2000” (2001).
Hmm. "The quarter-educated" is used throughout. Must have been a social term. Try to think of the equivalent today and it's difficult. Nobody really says 'the lowly masses' anymore. 'High school-educated' has a much more neutral ring to it. Sometimes you read about someone with 'no more than a sixth grade education'. Dare we say that people who more judgmental back in the 19h century than now (at least England)?