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We learn that their mother, Cynthia, left the rector for a penniless man when the girls were children. The rebellious Yvette and her older sister, Lucille, are trapped in the rigid life of a rectory dominated by a grim granny referred to as the Mater.

Think Lady Chatterley’s Lover, only sillier. It is actually a typical Lawrence story of forbidden sexual attraction between a middle-class woman and a lower-class man. Mind you, I enjoyed The Virgin and the Gipsy, but Lawrence’s sexual philosophy can seem ridiculous when concentrated in a novella. I also like Sons and Lovers, his beautiful coming-of-age novel.Īnd then there’s The Virgin and the Gipsy. The Rainbow, its prequel, is even more stunning. It is one of the strangest, loveliest, most seductive books I’ve ever read. And then I was enraptured by the novel Women in Love, though I tried to be cool about it, because my best friend thought it was very funny.

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My obsession began when I saw the movie Women in Love, starring Glenda Jackson, who won the Oscar for Best Actress, Oliver Reed, Alan Bates, and Jennie Linden. Why, why, why did I not get on a train to Nottingham, his birthplace, when I was in England? Well, he didn’t like Nottingham much. His style can be intense, but I appreciate intensity. I love his poetry, novels, and travel writing. Lawrence is one of my favorite English writers. Loos hits a home-run with little Lorelei, knocking New York high society and all the expectations of class and women’s “station” on their heads.I’ve already done my summer reading: three silly books that would have been better saved for that horsefly-haunted fishing lodge I will find myself in soon.īut they are no less frothy than most of what will be promoted this summer!ĭ. They are good with their money, and the women just want to spend it all (“diamonds are a girl’s best friend”). When Lorelei goes abroad and runs into Americans, she is simply delighted because, as she puts it, “what’s the point in traveling to other countries if you can’t understand anything the people say?” The men, of course, are gallant, chivalrous, well-educated and well-bred. The women are incredibly selfish, stupid, ignorant, and innocent of all things. This is a reverse-feminist novel the parody and satire are over-the-top. I include her, though, because I think what Anita Loos did with Lorelei, and with the 'Gentlemen Prefer Blondes'/'But Gentlemen Marry Brunettes' duet, was incredibly brave for the time. I suppose, speaking just in terms of the character herself, Lorelei is not much of a heroine. I simply must include Lorelei because she is absolutely hilarious. Lorelei Lee From 'Gentlemen Prefer Blondes' (1925) by Anita Loos This is not so much female submission as it is romantic idealism, and it poses questions about the nature of public and private spheres.

She can want to belong to someone or something.

She is equal parts hard and soft she can stand up and fight publicly for what is right and yet, in intimate relationships, she can let go and be delicate. To me, Zenobia represents an idea of personhood, not just womanhood. Many read this as Hawthorne’s condemnation of feminism or as commentary that the project is fruitless. She, in a way, becomes prey to the very symptoms of womanhood which she had been known to rail against. She gives lectures and speeches on women’s suffrage and equal rights yet, when confronted for the first time with real love, she shows a very honest, touching realness. I almost like Zenobia for demonstrating the opposite of what Marian Forrester demonstrates in 'A Lost Lady.' Throughout the novel, Zenobia appears to be a strong, modern feminist. Zenobia From 'The Blithedale Romance' (1852) by Nathaniel HawthorneĪh, the beautiful Zenobia.