'Excellent women' - Chapters 19 - 27

a little off topic?
some nightly brainstorming at half past two:

The book is like a few days of my life, when all and nothing special happened. I did my job, did someone a favour (or two), meet friends who just got a new baby. Wondering how one would feel in this new business, wondering wheter or not I'm jealous of...
In the dark hours of some sleepless nights I watched shopping-tv, wondering who would buy all those sh.. things.
It's my life but I sometimes couldn't recognize it/me at all. I don't want a baby or someone other's life, nevertheless the apples in my neighbour's garden are always sweeter than mine

I'm afraid I'm unable to describe my thoughts clearly so they don't fit at all

I still wonder whether this "excellent women" bit is a quote from somewhere else. Muffin , somehow I don't think what you found on Leo is relevant here.
It is referred to again in chapter 18, p 170, with some explanation: "It was not the excellent women who got married but people like Allegra Gray, who was no good at sewing, and Helena Napier, who left all the washing up."

And some more in chapter 20, p 189:
"You could consider marrying an excellent woman?" I asked in amazement. "But they are not for marrying."
(...)
"Poor things, aren't they allowed to have the normal feelings, then?"
"Oh yes, but nothing can be done about them."

So excellent women must be spinsters, and they must be what Jane Austen calls "accomplished", I suppose - or perhaps not? "Accomplished" in the books of Jane Austen means being able to play the piano, to embroider... not necessarily anything "useful". Pym's "excellent women" certainly have practical skills.

An example of how wonderfully irrationally Mildred's mind works: chapter 20, p 192, when Everard talks about whether the Napiers' marriage is at an end - all Mildred is worried about is: "And perhaps this time the worm-eaten desk will fall to pieces."

I've learned something... Chapter 22, p 208, "I racked my brains". I was convinced until this morning that the saying was "I wrecked my brains", and I'm sure I've been pronouncing it that way... I must look up "rack" in the dictionary later.

This is how far I've got... I may finish the book later today, if not, tomorrow.

Zitat

Original von MaryRead
Pym's "excellent women" certainly have practical skills.

And I thought, perhaps that´s the point. Not being married is perhaps the only way to do what they really like. Marriage may shorten their possibilities and therefore they cannot be "excellent" anymore.

edit: written some text

excellent = something like "professionel" in this case?
excellent in "doing housework", care for others, arrange jumble sales.

I didn't get it yet

Zitat

Original von Muffin
excellent = something like "professionel" in this case?
excellent in "doing housework", care for others, arrange jumble sales.

I didn't get it yet

I wonder wether their role during the war may explain it. The "excellent women" had done a great job in caring for society and they now may be feeling too necessary to be wasted only on one man?

Hey, I didn´t like the book, but I´m thinking a lot about it

I've found this...

Zitat

Let me remind you of the excellent woman, according to God. Look at verse 10, Proverbs 31, "An excellent woman who can find her worth is far above jewels, the heart of her husband trusts in her and he will have no lack of gain. She does him good and not evil all the days of her life. She looks for wool and flax and works with her hands in delight. She's like merchant ships, she brings her food from afar. She also rises while it is night and gives food to her household and portions to her maidens. She considers a field and buys it. From her earnings she plants a vineyard and girds herself with strength and makes her arms strong. She senses that her gain is good. Her lamp doesn't go out at night. She stretches out her hands to the distaff and her hands grasp the spindle...meaning she's weaving. She extends her hand to the poor and stretches out her hands to the needy. She is not afraid of the snow for her household, for all her household are clothed with scarlet. She makes coverings for herself. Her clothing is fine linen and purple. Her husband is known in the gates when he sits among the elders of the land. She makes linen garments and sells them and supplies belts to the tradesmen. Strength and dignity are her clothing. She smiles at the future, she opens her mouth in wisdom. And the teaching of kindness is on her tongue. She looks well to the ways of her household and doesn't eat the bread of idleness. Her children rise up and call bless her, her husband also, and he praises her saying, `Many daughters have done nobly, but you excel them all.' Charm is deceitful and beauty is vain, but a woman who fears the Lord, she shall be praised. Give her the product of her hands and let her works praise her in the gates."

Source

Except that the "excellent woman", according to the bible, is married, of course. Apart from that, it seems to fit, though - she is a hard-working, no-nonsense person who doesn't use charm and beauty to "excel" in life but altruism and the work of her hands.

Ok, I'm done. And I'm rather disappointed. Nothing happened, not just in terms of action but also in character development the personalities in this book stayed rather the same from start to finish. Wasn't that entertaining not did I learn much from it. And to some extent that's reflected in the discussion here which went rather slow - because there was not much to say about this book.

The end left me feeling unsatisfied. I was hoping for Mildred to fall in love with Everard. But nothing really happens. Again, characteristic for the novel overall and characteristic for my disappointment with it.

OK, girls... I decided to stop now reading the "Excellent women".

Maybe it's only the wrong book at the wrong time - but it is boring. For a long time I only thought it is just one of these unostentatious books. But I read... and read... and nothing happens at all. The characters and the story alone do not arrest my attention enough to proceed reading.

I didn't quit on purpose - but as feared before I didn`t have too much time to read - thus I must admit that I am still not done with it.
Sorry for that.

I will have more time in about 2 weeks and if something crosses my mind then I will add it to the list However it was quite interesting to read your opinions and I must say that this sort of reading is really nice and interesting