Arabella!! Please get over yourself, and out of those books part 2

As stated in my last blog Arabella's mind has been twisted by being held in such seclusion by her father's doing. All she had to do was read and study romance books, and that she did, to the point that her perception of reality is distorted. I already stated that she pulled a major embarrassing stunt on poor Mr. Hervey, now her next crazy and arrogant assault would be carried out on the marquis' gardener.

" When she walked in the garden, had frequent opportunities of seeing this young man, whom she observed with a very particular attention. His person and his air had something, she thought, very distinguishing. When she condescended to speak to him"-22

So when she roamed the garden, the garden im sure he labored over to make beautiful, she would watch him "with a very particular attention". So she was paying him close attention, more than he paid her. Somehow she took this situation and twisted it into a crazy scenario of obsessive love for her.

"She remained perfectly convinced that he was some person of quality, who disguised in the habit of a gardener, had introduced himself into her father's service, in order to have an opportunity of declaring a passion to her which must must certainly be very great, since it had forced him to assume an appearance so unworthy of his noble extraction"-22

So she thinks that he only took this job because he was so in love with her! How full of herself is she?

"She often wondered, indeed that she did not find her name carved on trees, with some mysterious expressions of love"-23

Arabella is so far gone into her books that she thinks he will resort to such childish antics to express himself. Arabella's head is so far up her own tail that she thinks the garedener should fall ill because he can't express his love for her openly. She has her mind made up that she must reject his offer of love, the offer of love that he hasn't even offered her. Before the gardener even held a real conversation with Arabella she has decided that she will "banish him from her presence."-23 because he may think that in time he will be able to have her. I just found this so comical. I don't know if Lennox is poking fun at the over acting found in romance novels, or she is just using these encounters to show that Arabella is self centered. I'm sure by the time I finish the book I'll know.

Arabella!! Please get over yourself, and out of those books part 1

In my last post we saw how Arabella broke down the physical description of Mr. Hervey. She was intrigued by him and assumed he was of some significant status because of his attire. When Mr. Hervey just so happens to ride across Arabella one day she has it in her fairy tale mind that he is so infatuated with her beauty that he is going to take her. As a matter of fact he didn't even know that it was her, he just saw the figure of a woman who looked fair.

"Mr. Hervey, who happened to be at some distance, observing a lady on horseback, who made a very graceful figure, he rode up to her in order to have a nearer view."-19

All the dude wanted to do was see who this hot chick was from afar. Doing what men do, he scoped her out and got a little closer to see the goods. It just so happened to be Arabella. Lennox even goes on to say

"Arabella suddenly seeing him, and observing he was making up to her, her imagination immediately suggested to her that this insolent lover had a design to seize her person"-19

She screamed and caused a humiliating scene for Mr. Hervey. I thought this was genius as far as plot distortion because I just knew that they were going to have some type of romantic encounter, but she monkey wrenched that from the getup. She is so full of herself to think that she is so beautiful that he became so madly in love with her that he had to kidnap her. She called hin a ravisher. She is so indulged in her make belive books that her perception of reality is distorted to the highest degree. After reading that part I felt sorry for poor Mr. Hervey because his reputation had to suffer from such a stupid incident

Am I seeing materialistic/arrogant similarities in Arabella, Pamela, and Syrena???

In the opening of The Female Quixote we are told that Arabella has just turned seventeen and hasn't had many opportunities for men to approach her. Not even two paragraphs in, the story's focus jumps to a description of a man Arabella notices watching her.

" This gentleman was young, gay handsome, and very elegantly dressed; She blushed with a very becoming modesty; and, pleased with the unusual appearance of so fine a gentleman;"-Page 8

The way she examines Mr. Hervey from the intro may be a clue to her character. Early in reading I think I am seeing some resemblances of Pamela and Syrena's materialistic qualities and superficial characteristics in Arabella. The way she described Mr. Hervey could've just been an honest observation of him but what pushed it over the edge to me was that right after his description is given, Lennox jumps to Arabella's outfit description.

"Her dress, tho singular, was far from unbecoming. All the beauties of her neck and shape were set off to the greatest advantage by the Fashion of her gown, which in the manner of a robe, was made to fit tight to her body; and fastened on the breast with a knot of diamonds" -9

Now clearly we see that she definitely has some materialistic ways. Even though she is of a higher status her arrogance is what stands out when Lennox states she wore a "Sarsenet hood, somewhat in the form of a veil, with which she sometimes wholly covered her face, WHEN SHE SAW HER SELF BEHELD TOO MUCH ATTENTION"-9

If she's at church the focus should be on the word and the preacher or minister or whoever is delivering the word. What type of person would draw so much attention to themselves in such a place. She's wearing a tight fitting gown as we read on page eight, and was fastened at the breast which probably revealed some cleavage. It seems to me that she wants, likes, and bathes in the attention that she is getting at church.

Francis Burney's usage of the epistolary Novel

Evelina displays another creative way to use the epistolary technique. Early on in reading I am seeing how the story is about Evelina but it's not being told through the mind or eyes of Evelina like Pamela or Anti Pamela. Its like lady Howard is kind of narrating the story through her letters to Rev. Villars. It gives the novel a creative twist because it's like we're learning about Evelina's actions and characteristic developments at the same time he is. It gives a very current feel to the novel, we're not omniscient in this novel so we don't know how Evelina will turn out as a person or what is going to happen to her, which builds up anticipation because I have no idea of what this book is really about yet.

It seems as though we are watching Evelina develop into a woman through the eyes of her designated guardian. I just though that was another cool way to use the epistolary technique in a novel, paralleled to Haywood's and Richardson's.

"Syrena's gettin a lil sloppy on the pimpin"

Throughout the story Ms. Tricksy stressed the importance of being above the average pretty woman and avoiding men's passes. Syrena started out doing well in carrying out these stealthy gold digger maneuvers. As the story unravels I'm beginning to see some Ms. Tricksy's teachings ignored by Syrena. she already broke the rules by continuing her conversations with Vardin after her mother told her to leave him alone. She pacified her self by saying that she was only still talking to Vardine to see what extra gifts she could squeeze out of him. - she broke the master pimp's rule and we see how that turned out for her.-mistake one

"Syrena's impatience would suffer her to wait no longer, and having enquir'd where Lord R-- lodged, for he kept no House in Town, drest herself in as alluring a manner as she could, and went to make him a Visit."- A direct violation of pimpin rule number two.

"she (ms. tricksy) told her that none but those who were not ashamed to be thought common, ever went to visit Men at their Lodgings"

Once again Syrena pacifies her mind with sloppy, childish notion. "she imagined that going to him in that manner, would give him a high Idea of the extreme Passion she had flatter'd him with, and that also it would make her seem to act without Disguise, and that she was too innocent even to know there was any indecency in what she did.

This quote from the narrator goes on to confirm the stubbornness and the naivety unfolding in Syrena that I previously suspected would be her downfall,"So all the Arguments Mrs. Tricksy made use of were to no purpose; the pert Baggage told her she was capable of managing now for herself, and would walk with Leading-Strings no longer." Syrena's hard head, I think, is going to bring an embarrassing end to the dynamic duo's pimpin reign.

(Sorry for the lack of page numbers but I ended up having to read the story off the internet.)

Is Syrena falling for the oke-doke???

Everyone knows from the first few pages of the story that Syrena was bred from birth to be a man eater, but as the plot rolls on I'm beginning to get the inkling that Syrena is not the machine her mother built her to be, and "mamma" feels the same.

"Dear child, I received your letters,and am very much surprised to find you have gone so far in a love intrigue, in such short a time:" (65)

Syrena is mind blown over the fact that her admirer watches her and offers her fine stockings. I think this story is going to end up showing that Syrena's mother's "gold digging" teachings have actually made Syrena naive and in too much of a rush to find love and riches. Syrena is falling for every line Vardine drops on her. I noticed that she begins to have some reservations about her mother's advice of not seeing him anymore.

"and that if I could once be brought to love him, he would make me a happy woman"(68)

"why then said she, must I be debarr'd from speaking to a man that loves me?" (71)

I think that Syrena is beginning to use the material things that she is offered as a way to continue rendezvousing with Vardine. "A little conversation with him sometimes would certainly instruct me better how to behave to the sex, than a thousand lessons-besides i might get some small presents from him." (71)

" I shall hear what he has to say and it may be managed so as to get something from him"(71)

I believe this direct defiance is a sign of Syrena's future tear from her mother's mind control, because for a minute wee see that she has some type of feelings for the man outside of his financial concerns. He tells her all these sweet things and how much he loves her and even gives her money. But as soon as she expects to receive the other portion of money from him he bounces. Not only does he bounce, he does it in such a way that says to me as a reader WOW!! Did he just play her like that??!! Then he sends a letter which may be true about him having to leave because of his position in the army but he will "renew" his acquaintance with her (82). I haven't finished reading the whole story yet but I know there's more to this than we see.

The Virtuous Syrena

I have to say that I am not even half way through Anti Pamela, but the first two pages have tickled me more than I expected. The story's first paragraph begins very blatantly with the line "Her mother, though in very mean , Circumstances, when she was born, flatter'd herself with great things, from the growing beauties of her sweet babe;"(53) The story is already showing the greed and conniving ways of the mother will be bred into Syrena with lines like, "Being therefore left entirely to the care of a parent, who had been a woman of intrigue." (53) With just these few lines I can see where this story is going, as far as being anti Pamela. I think that its very funny and very entertaining. The Virtues of Syrena are polar opposites of Pamela's virtues.

"The girl was not out of her bib and apron, before she instructed her in lessons, which she had the wicked satisfaction to find, her pupil knew not only how to observe , but also improve." (53) This is my favorite line so far! It seems as though this story could've been written in our era as comedic response to Pamela! If I were Richardson I'd be pissed off if someone paralleled my book in this fashion because it's honestly a little more entertaining. I think the intro of the characteristics of the women is genius. I don't know why the more sinister virtues appeal to me so much more than Pamela's "innocent" virtues. Maybe it's because I didn't fully believe in Pamela's innocence that makes this so much more acceptable, maybe I just don't believe that women of our time are so virtuous. I know times were different back then, but I can't help but to apply these stories to our time and things that I know. In fact at the time these stories were written I think that's what made them so popular; people applied them to their own lives. The authors succeeded in creating something that makes the readers pull characters and themes out of the book, rather than become a part of the book.

In the few pages I've read, I can tell that I'm going to enjoy this reading more than Pamela (sorry Richardson). I think that Richardson would have had to reverse the importance of the innocent and angelic virtues of Pamela to get the message across more thoroughly to our generation. The newer version would've been more like a pretty, sleazy, whorish woman has been sleeping with Mr. B while occupying the job of his servant. He likes it, she likes it. The day comes for him to choose a bride to be. He walks in the room, casually passes her, and proposes to the quiet, conserved, virgin woman next to her. This would be the 2009 version of anti Pamela. In my mind its just more believable than the perfect, virtuous angel Richardson created.