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Life and Death of Harriet Frean
Life and Death of Harriet Frean | May Sinclair
2 posts | 9 read | 5 to read
Well, I'm glad my little girl didn't snatch and push. It's better to go without than to take from other people. That's ugly.' Harriett is the Victorian embodiment of all the virtues then viewed as essential to the womanly ideal: a woman reared to love, honour and obey. Idolising her parents, she learns from childhood to equate love with self-sacrifice, so that when she falls in love with the fiance of her closest friend, renunciation of this unworthy passion initially brings her a peculiar sort of happiness. But the passing of time reveals a different truth. Ironic, brief and intensely realised, The Life and Death of Harriett Frean (1922) is a brilliant study of female virtue seen as vice, and stands with the work of Virgina Woolf and Dorothy Richardson as one of the great innovative novels of the century.
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AshleyHoss820
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What a poignant little novel! It tells the story of Harriet Frean from birth to death. What‘s interesting (and sad) is Harriet‘s insistence on “behaving beautifully” and self-sacrificing, to please her parents. Our behavior and decisions don‘t just affect ourselves. 159/1,001 #1001Books

CafeMom I haven't heard of this list book. Sounds like a good one. 6y
AshleyHoss820 @CafeMom I bought the app ($5) and it has the complete list from all of their editions! I enjoyed this one! 6y
ValerieAndBooks I have that app too (love it!) but somehow don‘t remember ever seeing it (it‘s definitely there though!) @AshleyHoss820 @CafeMom 6y
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AshleyHoss820 @ValerieAndBooks It‘s funny because, were it not for The List, I would‘ve missed this little gem entirely! 😄The app keeps me from double-buying! 😂😂😂 When you own over half the books on the list, you start to forget what you have...🙄🤦🏻‍♀️📚 bookish problems... (edited) 6y
ValerieAndBooks @AshleyHoss820 over half?! That‘s impressive even if some are still TBR! I looked at mine and I only have 18.4% that are combined books read and in my TBR 😂. And yes the app does help when at the bookstores, especially for authors with several books on the list 😊! (edited) 6y
AshleyHoss820 @ValerieAndBooks I know! It‘s become a bit of a project/obsession! Whenever I get birthday money or Christmas money, I head over to ThriftBooks. 😂🤣 The majority of them are TBR (and I‘m not counting books I‘ve read before I knew about the list, I‘m re-reading them.) but I‘m going to try and make some headway this summer before heading back to school to become a High School English teacher! (Go figure, right!?) I think 18.4% is impressive!! (edited) 6y
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BarbaraBB
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What a confronting read in only 100 pages. This is the story of Harriett Frean (no surprise there) who lives in the 19th century as so many girls under the oppressive weight and strength of the chains of family love, of the craving for parental approval. By denying the love of her life for moral reasons (and thus the approval of het parents), Harriett stays alone for the rest of her life. 👇👇👇 #1001books

BarbaraBB The way she grows old is so confronting: she grows bitter and judgemental (for example, someone has a cat, she hates thats person because a cat is a surrogate for a baby, the baby she never had). She sees her friends aging and hates them for it. Because they grow fat or are complaining all the time. The only one she isn‘t very critical of, is herself. Because she has high morals als everyone must know. 7y
BarbaraBB I recognise some elements of this story in my own environment and that makes it a painful read sometimes. Is this the way life goes?? I certainly hope not. 7y
Kaye As for your question about life ? As for being married, it‘s got good and bad points. We probably all truthfully question our life decisions at times . I don‘t hate people with pets. Some days I wish I had one, but I don‘t want added responsibilities. I raised a family. I‘m done 👍 Being 60 now, I have to say most of the people I went to school with have gained weight .I think older people complain due to dwindling time, health,finances, etc. CONT 7y
Kaye We all just bumble through life trying to do the best we can. Whether married, single, rich, poor, kids, pets, life in general, we all have a place to fit in that makes us most content. I don‘t think we need a wedding ring or a dog or a million dollar home. The contentment comes from inside. 7y
BarbaraBB @Kaye What a beautiful respons. And so hopeful. Much better than how Harriett point of view. I knew yet somehow it frightened me. The bitterness and cynism. Thank you again! 7y
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