Victorian Studies

When I enrolled at university, I chose nineteenth-century English and nineteenth-century history. The Dean took me aside and told me to change to medieval because I could just do nineteenth-century in my own time if I chose to.* (I realised years later that the Dean was a medievalist who was channelling people into his area).

I have just realised that I am - after a delay of a mere twenty years - I am doing this. I have a regular nineteenth-century challenge! I am doing the kind of wide reading that gives you a real background in the area. Woo!

Edited to say: That sounds so egotistical! I am gradually doing a wide range of reading but the next step will be critical analysis.







* Which I think is true. You can just pick up the Brontes but I can't imagine many people make their way through Chaucer without help.

Pearl and Identity

Pearl has been playing with identity recently. In the past few weeks we have been:

* Snow White (Pearl), Prince (me), and Tiny Dwarf (Ruby)
* Gooseberry (Pearl), Apple (me) and Pear (Ruby)
* The Mother (me), the Baby (Pearl usurped the role) and the Sister (delegated to Ruby)
* Elephant (Pearl), Camel (me) and the Zoo Keeper (Ruby).

I admire her imagination though it does make it hard to know what to call her.

I think she is building up to a question about daddies. She used to not include them in her play families at all. In fact, for ages she was puzzled when she saw fathers in books. 'Who is that? What is he doing with the Mama and the baby?'

Now she includes them sometimes, along with Nannas and Pops. Eventually I think she will ask why our family does not have one.

Despite having rehearsed the answer for quite a while - families come in different shapes, our has a Mum and two daughters, others have different forms - I find I am not looking forward to it. I think I'd rather stick with being the Camel.