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Book Review
Jul. 9th, 2010 09:43 pmThe Life and Death of Harriet Frean
by May Sinclair
This short novel concerns the life of Harriet Frean, a woman of the late nineteenth century. It's told in succinct, almost plain style, using select episodes to illuminate a whole life. It is also a dark and harsh critique of late Victorian morals and propriety as well as an examination of the dark side of familial bonds. Harriet makes several choices according to the repressive and self sacrificing dictates of her parents' Victorian values. However, instead of improving the lives of those affected, she only succeeds in making herself and the other involved parties miserable. These situations I think reveal the inherent selfishness that can lurk behind the moral imperative "to never think of oneself". In Harriet, following that precept through self-sacrifice and repression is not about bringing about the best outcome for others, it is about preserving her own personal moral purity and beauty.
This novel also reminded me a lot of Molly Keane's Good Behaviour, which also centered around a self-deluding spinster whose life was narrowed and impoverished by too much dependence on parents and too much devotion to a moribund notion of proper and beautiful behavior.
by May Sinclair
This short novel concerns the life of Harriet Frean, a woman of the late nineteenth century. It's told in succinct, almost plain style, using select episodes to illuminate a whole life. It is also a dark and harsh critique of late Victorian morals and propriety as well as an examination of the dark side of familial bonds. Harriet makes several choices according to the repressive and self sacrificing dictates of her parents' Victorian values. However, instead of improving the lives of those affected, she only succeeds in making herself and the other involved parties miserable. These situations I think reveal the inherent selfishness that can lurk behind the moral imperative "to never think of oneself". In Harriet, following that precept through self-sacrifice and repression is not about bringing about the best outcome for others, it is about preserving her own personal moral purity and beauty.
This novel also reminded me a lot of Molly Keane's Good Behaviour, which also centered around a self-deluding spinster whose life was narrowed and impoverished by too much dependence on parents and too much devotion to a moribund notion of proper and beautiful behavior.
