tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8027299943447728658.post4368988512451508217..comments2023-10-10T20:43:00.969-04:00Comments on Books and Chocolate: Villette Readalong Week 3Karen K.http://www.blogger.com/profile/13483190930383406559noreply@blogger.comBlogger9125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8027299943447728658.post-23589727260940663412011-02-25T15:54:53.430-05:002011-02-25T15:54:53.430-05:00Jason -- thinking is dangerous. You could make yo...Jason -- thinking is dangerous. You could make yourself sick! (Just kidding. And I don't think you're being rude, that is an excellent point. I had no idea Nightingale thought bad smells made you sick. Though smelly stuff was probably germ-ridden, right?) And you're right about the patterns of behavior -- they used to blame illnesses on the four body humours, or the humours being out of whack, or some such.Karen K.https://www.blogger.com/profile/13483190930383406559noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8027299943447728658.post-83977707929049434262011-02-24T17:20:56.601-05:002011-02-24T17:20:56.601-05:00Ms Karen - Thinking about it more last night, and ...Ms Karen - Thinking about it more last night, and from reading Hippocrates recently, the other thing that strikes me is that the art of diagnosis didn't really exist - often they really had no IDEA why people go tsick - this is the age when Florence Nightingale, a genius of public health, explained illness as being a result of bad smells, you know? So since people are a pattern-seeking animal, probably it would be easy (and honest if mistaken), to think it was related to sorrow, or any number of other things, I would think. Not to invalidate or argue wtih your point, I hope I don't sound like I'm being rude. You just have my brain thinking, now.Keshalyihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00900218197083383905noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8027299943447728658.post-62472790649383369782011-02-24T16:29:35.370-05:002011-02-24T16:29:35.370-05:00Jason -- I realize people died a lot younger then,...Jason -- I realize people died a lot younger then, but it just seemed like it was always some kind of mysterious fever, always a fever, and that it would just strike after a shock. Not just women, I think Oliver Twist falls into a fever and then Mr. Brownlow takes care of him. <br /><br />Amanda -- I'm beginning to think it's a whole Victorian thing, like the amazing coincidences. It's all over Dickens too.<br /><br />Wallace -- it reminds me of how people would say if you didn't stop crying you'd make yourself sick. How is that possible? Dying of a broken heart? I suppose if you already had a heart condition you could drop dead of a heart attack if you had terrible news. Or maybe people just have no will to live any more and didn't take care of themselves, so they got sick, and that's what killed them. <br /><br />Alexandra -- well, she's very young, only in her early 20s, so maybe she's being overly dramatic, like a teenager. I think you're right, she is taking herself too seriously.Karen K.https://www.blogger.com/profile/13483190930383406559noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8027299943447728658.post-23502821848052743782011-02-24T16:18:24.816-05:002011-02-24T16:18:24.816-05:00Interesting what you said about the play, how she ...Interesting what you said about the play, how she enjoys herself only to regret it. I noticed the same thing in a paragraph she she actually laughs (!), only to become more depressed the next minute. Is she punishing herself? Maybe she just takes herself too seriously...Alex (The Sleepless Reader)https://www.blogger.com/profile/03083761152675156469noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8027299943447728658.post-84206440171502771852011-02-24T13:51:11.729-05:002011-02-24T13:51:11.729-05:00I keep thinking of Wuthering Heights while reading...I keep thinking of Wuthering Heights while reading this book too. Kind of hard not to, though. Depression, storms, Bronte Sisters. <br /><br />At least she hasn't died from being sad (yet), that always astounds me as well. How did people always die from being sad (when first coming down with some terrible fever or cold, like you mentioned)???Wallacehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03863174371731131344noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8027299943447728658.post-40714495019548251152011-02-23T21:38:38.348-05:002011-02-23T21:38:38.348-05:00I finally quit the book about 3 chapters after thi...I finally quit the book about 3 chapters after this section. This section bored me to tears, though I must admit, I LOVE the name Isadore.<br /><br />And I agree about the whole convenient illness thing. That bothers me in Gaskell's books too, and most 1800s books. It really does feel like a plot device.Amandahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07026099426503180472noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8027299943447728658.post-1684867382064651412011-02-23T19:59:01.578-05:002011-02-23T19:59:01.578-05:00Ms Karen - given the precarious health of upper-cl...Ms Karen - given the precarious health of upper-class women at the time, perhaps it IS more realistic than one would expect? I know I've gotten physically ill from psychological shock, in the past, and I certainly don't have a delicate constitution particularly.Keshalyihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00900218197083383905noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8027299943447728658.post-77435348783877562362011-02-23T18:35:35.862-05:002011-02-23T18:35:35.862-05:00Susan -- I tried not to give away too much in the ...Susan -- I tried not to give away too much in the summary. I am a complete spoiler-phobe. I read most if it pretty quickly, I'm sure if I didn't have Persephone reading weekend I'd have plowed through and I'd have been almost done by now. <br /><br />BTW, where are you in Texas?Karen K.https://www.blogger.com/profile/13483190930383406559noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8027299943447728658.post-24248509343806819162011-02-23T17:59:31.248-05:002011-02-23T17:59:31.248-05:00I read the first two paragraphs and then "shu...I read the first two paragraphs and then "shut my eyes." :) My dds and I have just finished Jane Eyre which is making me want to read some more Bronte while I'm in "Bronte-mode." I remembered y'all were doing a read along and went to look at the schedule to see if I can catch up with y'all. I'm not sure yet (I have to keep up with our high school literature and we start Hard Times next week), but I may try. If I could get to the "caught up place" then I think I could manage since the schedule looks to have fairly manageable chunks. Ah, but Persephone weekend comes first. Go ahead and say it with me... "so many books, so little time..." :)<br />I'm sure I would've enjoyed your summary if I had allowed myself to read it - I'll be back when I get there.Susan in TXhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09550766549670690646noreply@blogger.com