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Book Review
Jul. 1st, 2018 01:06 pmCan You Forgive Her?
by Anthony Trollope
A vacation that involves two long flights and many bus and subway rides is the perfect time to tackle a very long Victorian novel. Can You Forgive Her? centers around Alice Vavasor, a moderately wealthy young woman, and her matrimonial choices (and related financial choices). The narrative also weaves in the romantic choices of Alice's very rich and noble cousin Lady Glencora. Alice must choose between two suitors: her ambitious rascal of a cousin George Vavasor, and the scholarly, quiet gentleman John Grey. Lady Glencora is similarly faced with a choice between a steadfast gentleman and a dissolute wastrel. However, in Glencora's case, the steadfast gentleman is her ambitious and proper husband, while the dissolute wastrel is her former love, who wishes her to run off with him. Mixed in with these central narratives are the dramas of Parliamentary elections and politics, a contentious inheritance plat, and two trips to Switzerland.
I enjoyed this book more than I thought I would. The details of all the characters' relationships and thought processes were surprisingly engrossing. This is not a novel of daring adventure, and yet Trollope makes even the smallest events interesting and significant to the plot. I also especially appreciated the way in which Trollope, whom no one would mistake for a feminist*, centers and really delves into the thoughts, emotions, relationships, and decisions of his his female characters. Also, he is fully sympathetic to both Alice and Glencora, even when they are making or contemplating really bad decisions. He shows a complete understanding of both their internal motivations and the external forces that drive their actions.
*I wouldn't call him a misogynist, either. Rather, he is pretty much aligned with the general values and views of his time.
by Anthony Trollope
A vacation that involves two long flights and many bus and subway rides is the perfect time to tackle a very long Victorian novel. Can You Forgive Her? centers around Alice Vavasor, a moderately wealthy young woman, and her matrimonial choices (and related financial choices). The narrative also weaves in the romantic choices of Alice's very rich and noble cousin Lady Glencora. Alice must choose between two suitors: her ambitious rascal of a cousin George Vavasor, and the scholarly, quiet gentleman John Grey. Lady Glencora is similarly faced with a choice between a steadfast gentleman and a dissolute wastrel. However, in Glencora's case, the steadfast gentleman is her ambitious and proper husband, while the dissolute wastrel is her former love, who wishes her to run off with him. Mixed in with these central narratives are the dramas of Parliamentary elections and politics, a contentious inheritance plat, and two trips to Switzerland.
I enjoyed this book more than I thought I would. The details of all the characters' relationships and thought processes were surprisingly engrossing. This is not a novel of daring adventure, and yet Trollope makes even the smallest events interesting and significant to the plot. I also especially appreciated the way in which Trollope, whom no one would mistake for a feminist*, centers and really delves into the thoughts, emotions, relationships, and decisions of his his female characters. Also, he is fully sympathetic to both Alice and Glencora, even when they are making or contemplating really bad decisions. He shows a complete understanding of both their internal motivations and the external forces that drive their actions.
*I wouldn't call him a misogynist, either. Rather, he is pretty much aligned with the general values and views of his time.
