Le mieux blog dans le monde!

Finally finished the novel Drood by Dan Simmons. It is a historical fiction of the relationship between Victorian novelists Wilkie Collins (the narrator) and Charles Dickens, who was in a train wreck and according to the story meets this mysterious being named Drood who is attending victims of the train wreck. Dickens then seems to be living in an alternative reality where Drood is an Egyptian priest who follows an ancient religion and is talented in mesmerizing others. By the end of the novel, the reader is unsure about the authenticity of Dickens's or Collins's accounts about this mysterious character or life in general.

There were many parts of the novel that encouraged me to seek out additional information:
* The Great Stink of London. There was summer in the mid-1800s where the smell emanating from the sewage and graveyards of London was so horrendous that finally a bill was passed in Parliament to invest in an improved public sanitation system. See the article London's 'Great Stink' and Victorian Urban Planning by Professor Martin Daunton.
* Wilkie Collins. Although the narrator of the novel, Wilkie Collins doesn't merit a whole lot of respect from the reader. He is painted as an inferior author compared to his friend Charles Dickens (although he certainly had a handful of popular works in his time); a major opium addict, which in the end shades his sense of reality (he begins seeing a doppelganger: "The Other Wilkie, which he claims he has seen his entire life but really probably only started hallucinating when his opium addiction spiraled out of control); and a murderer (although this isn't historically correct; in fact in the end, I'm not sure he really murdered his servants' daughter).
* Charles Dickens. The only Dickens I have been able to finish is A Christmas Carol, which I didn't think was wonderful. Maybe I should try something else, like the Pickwick Papers which his readers seemed to love. Dickens also was a lout (what man at that time wasn't?). He left his wife (who lost her attractiveness after bearing him 10 children) for a younger actress. Actually, he forced his wife out and forbade his children from seeing her, although according to an A&E Biography featuring Dickens, the children resumed their relationship with their mother after his death. Still, Dickens is shown to be a genius writer so I feel a need to explore his works and compare him to who I consider to be the all time genius writer, William Shakespeare.
* Opium. The Romantic and Victorians writers seemed to all be hooked on opium. Mostly I wanted to know what an opium dream was like without having to experience it firsthand. Historical information about opium usage can found at the Opium Museum. Not sure how accurate the following article is but the experience of the columnist appears to be like the experience of Collins in Drood: Confessions of an eBay opium addict by Peter Thompson.

Drood was very well-written (but it is very long mind you). Plus, any book that encourages its readers to research further information merits a starred review in my mind.

Anyone who believes the primary purpose of a woman is to be wed and to bear children or that she is defined by her husband contributes to the oppression of women, making her a second class citizen in their society. Think of all the heartache and depression that women who lack the opportunity to learn a profitable skill, to think and voice her own opinions, and to live independently suffer from.

Ideally, all women should learn to live independently. She should learn a skill so she can find employment if she so desires and/or when it becomes necessary for her to maintain her and her family's quality of life. She should learn money management skills. She should experience life and develop "street smarts" so she can navigate her society on her own. A woman must be confident that she can make a meaningful contribution to her society; that when problems arise she a) already possesses the skills, b)she is confident she can gain the skills; c) believes she can at least fake the skills to survive; and d) that she is resourceful enough to find an adequate support group and aid.

Perhaps the greatest triumph of the women's lib movement in the United States (and one that hopefully we don't take for granted) is that a woman was no longer limited to developing merely her domestic talents (including sacrificing herself for the sake of her children or piggish husband). Her options slowly but surely expanded to encompass a variety of educational opportunities. No longer is she limited to the reputable so-called "female" occupations of teaching, nursing, or secretarial duties. Now many women are doctors, lawyers, soldiers, CEOs, hold government office, have graduate degrees, and so on and so forth. Now women are recognized for their accomplishments outside of marriage and family life, nor is she expected to live through her husband and children. A woman can choose to be a stay at home mom, to remain single and pursue a career, or do both.

Yes, sacrifices are always made in relationships and probably moreso in a marriage and with children. However, a woman is no longer earning room and board by keeping house and cooking for her husband who works 8 hours a day and then comes home, puts his feet up, and expects to be doted until bedtime. A wife and mother has traditionally worked 12 hours a day and been on call the other half of the day.

This anger comes after watching yet another show about how women in third world countries are treated (chattel to their fathers and then to their husbands) and comparing these experiences with those of what I observe here in the States. Women in different regions of the U.S. seem to value different lifestyles, some of which are just a few steps away from what women in third world countries suffer--a truly sad phenomenon when American women have so many paths to choose from.

All women should recognize that they have a voice. They should expect respect and an equal partnership in their marriages and other romantic relationships. They should be able to respect their husbands, not just because of their husbands' occupations but for how their husbands act when in the privacy of their own homes. Husbands should be expected to take on the role of father, meaning they too are "on call" as soon they get home (when does a woman have time to make up the sleep she loses when staying up with the kids?) and carry their fair share of domestic chores (and fair is relative to the family).