Literary Love

In honor of the "holiday" a true literary lover cannot forget to sprinkle a little bit of classic romance throughout the day. So, to do this I thought it would be fun to post a page that I happened upon today while perusing my Twitter timeline (follow me @etara18 to hear more of my random thoughts and antics). The article covers the Top 10 kisses in literature. 

Clipped from: flavorwire.com (share this clip)

So, feel free to read, and tell me what you think. I have full faith that today is a day that it is a-ok to be 100% cheesy. And I mean, most of my favorite literature is romanticism, so I'd be quite the hypocrite if I said I didn't enjoy this stuff. 

However, my one criticism, is that I would've added a few to the list, tweaked it a bit. So here are my (my very few) additions: 

1. Wuthering Heights, Emily Bronte ... 

If you didn't see that coming, refer to the previous 2 posts

In Ch. 15 Catherine exclaims, "Kiss me again, but don't let me see your eyes! I forgive what you have done to me. I love my murderer--but yours! How can I?"

And then in the next chapter Heathcliff says, "And I pray one prayer--I repeat it till my tongue stiffens--Catherine Earnshaw, may you not rest as long as I am living; you said I killed you--haunt me, then! The murdered DO haunt their murderers, I believe. I know that ghosts HAVE wandered on earth. Be with me always--take any form--drive me mad! Only DO not leave me in this abyss, where I cannot find you! Oh, God! it is unutterable! I CANNOT live without my life! I CANNOT live without my soul!"

oh.my.gosh.

 I dare you to tell me that your Valentine said those last two lines to you over overpriced roses and dark chocolate covered strawberries. Heathcliff is a rare breed. And so is Catherine. And holy cow when they come together it is like two cosmic universes colliding and all of the passion in the world just bursts into the air. Intense.

2. Pride and Prejudice, Jane Austin

I am cheating. This is clearly not a "kissing" scene, as (arguably) Darcy and Elizabeth never kiss as was proper in their time prior to marriage. 

None the less, I love this quote:

"In vain I have struggled.  It will not do.  My feelings will not be repressed.  You must allow me to tell you how ardently I admire and love you."-Darcy

Big, tough Darcy has just come to terms with the fact that despite what he wishes to think, love really does conquer all. It is a feeling that cannot be repressed or pushed aside. Once felt, it can consume you until acted upon. 

Oh, Darcy...you are one dashing fellow. 

Happy Valentine's Day!

 I hope that the person of your dreams (or of your fav. book) will be there with you! 

Me, I have a race car driver :)

Lucy Snowe... Weird or Wonderful?

On the adventure of speaking about Villette, by Charlotte Bronte, I feel it is most fitting to begin with Miss Lucy Snowe; the wonderfully dark protagonist of the novel.
Miss. Snowe undergoes much pain and heartache early on in the novel, and finds herself leaving home after familial deaths. On her adventure, she is not truly aware of where she will end up, but knows that she must go somewhere.
I'd like to take a moment to interject here. Although many argue her "weirdness" (my thesis advisor included), the girl had guts. Can you imagine packing up all of your belongings and just going away to somewhere totally new, presumably permanently, alone? I couldn't. Granted I am going to Rome in March by myself, and will travel through Munich and Brussels (another sidenote) but I know that I have a set destination, and will return home after 10 days. Lucy, did not.
Anyway, I digress. Back to the point.
Miss Snowe wound up at a boarding school for young women under the direction of Madame Beck. Since the language of choice was French, and Lucy was from England, she was instantly out of place with her accent. However, she soon found a niche in teaching English to the pupils, and not too long after found a companion. Graham Bretton, her youthful friend, from when she lived with he and his mother as a young girl.
But will time have changed the friendship between Lucy and Graham?
Seul l’avenir nous le dira .. Only time will tell.

And so it begins...

The first post is always the most awkward. 

I feel like it's a time to "get to know you" or that moment of small talk upon first meeting someone. So, let's just get those formalities out of the way. 

I love to read and write. 

If you do too, please join me on this adventure. Any of your input, suggestions, ideas, foundries, etc., would be greatly appreciated and welcomed. My hope is to form not just an online forum, but eventually a space that emulates an online book club, where literary buffs and book worms can come together and discuss thoughts in an open environment. 

So here we go. 

To start it off, I thought I would share that I am in the beginning stages of writing a thesis. 

Exact topic, to be determined. 

However, overall the book paper will be about the Bronte's. That wonderful family hailing from the realm of British Literature filled with gothic building structure, and romantic fiction. The family is so filled with folk lore in and of themselves, it is hard to not find their literature enthralling, even if the concept of tragically romantic novels makes you want to lean over and vomit, just a little. The sisters themselves are iconic. But I must present my bias right now. 

I am partial to Emily. Wuthering Heights is my favorite book...ever. I can recite most of chapter 9 by heart. 

"Whatever our souls are made of, his and mine are the same."

Hits ya to the core, eh?

However...book number one is going to be, DRUM ROLL PLEASE (ba da da da da..)

Villette, by Charlotte Bronte

Happy Reading!