THIS LINE: "But then I was struck by one of my more random and chaotic thoughts: all those dudes in The House of Mirth were going around collecting Americana and, like, that was just the crypto of its day."
Brilliant start to my day. Thanks. When I read your line, 'But we also know what happens in marriage plots when people marry unworthy people even for love. In Austen, you end up like Fanny Price’s mother—' I thought of Elizabeth Bennett's friend, clever and lovely, whose name escapes me, who married the odious reverend cousin because of her limited options. The price we pay....
Due to something I read this morning, I was thinking about my former life as an evangelical, and how those with money always seemed closer to God in the eyes of church members. And then I read this and the line "That having sex outside of marriage would forever wound us and destroy our futures. It was not souls that were at issue. It was our earning power, which in its way, was a manifestation of the degree of purity of our souls." And I can't quit thinking about it.
Brilliant reading of Lawrence Selden!! I think about him so often; I love your connection between his particular class status and his Americana collection. Spot on!
Reminds me, I read in the Second Sex that incest was considered especially immoral because to have relations with one inside the tribe, you were squandering the economic advantages of marriage. Perhaps, it's a cynical question, but has marriage ever been more than an economic contract that is romanticized and fictionalized by the arts?
Loved this especially the end when you bring in your aunts’ lectures to your cousins. I don’t think I’ve ever thought about sexual shame and financial shame as intermingled in this way.
The comparison to Caroline Bingley- where's the freaking lie, they list their accomplishments so much they even have that little addition where being a desirable man goes beyond the necessary finances and hobbies, like "to be a true alpha, he must possess a certain something in his air and manner of walking, the tone of his voice, his address and expressions, or the word will be but half deserved."
such a good read in so many ways! it makes me want to reread Lady Chatterly’s Lover and think about what it means to write against (I think) the marriage plot as a modernist project, and the sex and economics of it all...
The terror I felt. Something like the list of attributes of the terrible judge at the end of Blood Meridian, except about douchebaggerie. And this man, though claiming like the judge that he will never die, will definitely die, probably of chagrin.
"This man trades stocks for fun. This man goes to the gym and eats lean protein. This kind of man takes recreational testosterone so that he can maintain his edge. He is a lawyer. He is a trader. He is a fitness influencer. He has a Discord. He has a Slack. He has weaponized his Adderall prescription into a productivity influencing. He gives other men advice. He preaches to multitudes. He gets online and he yells at women. He gets offline and he talks too loudly too closely to women at bars and at parties. He is on Tinder. He is on Hinge. He is everywhere."
THIS LINE: "But then I was struck by one of my more random and chaotic thoughts: all those dudes in The House of Mirth were going around collecting Americana and, like, that was just the crypto of its day."
Brilliant start to my day. Thanks. When I read your line, 'But we also know what happens in marriage plots when people marry unworthy people even for love. In Austen, you end up like Fanny Price’s mother—' I thought of Elizabeth Bennett's friend, clever and lovely, whose name escapes me, who married the odious reverend cousin because of her limited options. The price we pay....
Due to something I read this morning, I was thinking about my former life as an evangelical, and how those with money always seemed closer to God in the eyes of church members. And then I read this and the line "That having sex outside of marriage would forever wound us and destroy our futures. It was not souls that were at issue. It was our earning power, which in its way, was a manifestation of the degree of purity of our souls." And I can't quit thinking about it.
> It was all very curious. The mingling of morality and economics
So very curious!
“how do we speak about [moral obligations] when our language has been so shaped by the market?"
pp13 Debt by David Graeber
Just fyi, for those thinking about the fiction of marriage: just finished THE LONG VIEW by Elizabeth Jane Howard. Damn. Highly recommended.
Brilliant reading of Lawrence Selden!! I think about him so often; I love your connection between his particular class status and his Americana collection. Spot on!
Reminds me, I read in the Second Sex that incest was considered especially immoral because to have relations with one inside the tribe, you were squandering the economic advantages of marriage. Perhaps, it's a cynical question, but has marriage ever been more than an economic contract that is romanticized and fictionalized by the arts?
Loved this especially the end when you bring in your aunts’ lectures to your cousins. I don’t think I’ve ever thought about sexual shame and financial shame as intermingled in this way.
The comparison to Caroline Bingley- where's the freaking lie, they list their accomplishments so much they even have that little addition where being a desirable man goes beyond the necessary finances and hobbies, like "to be a true alpha, he must possess a certain something in his air and manner of walking, the tone of his voice, his address and expressions, or the word will be but half deserved."
Just amazing. YOUR BRAIN!!!! ❤️❤️❤️
This essay was the palate cleanser I needed after I flipped past a Hinge profile with the dude posing with J*rdan Peterson 🤢
I delighted in every word of this. Thank you!
It’s reliably fun and worthwhile to read your thoughts.
Fascinating essay. I'm so glad to have discovered you and your musings on classic literature. I look forward to your books.
such a good read in so many ways! it makes me want to reread Lady Chatterly’s Lover and think about what it means to write against (I think) the marriage plot as a modernist project, and the sex and economics of it all...
The terror I felt. Something like the list of attributes of the terrible judge at the end of Blood Meridian, except about douchebaggerie. And this man, though claiming like the judge that he will never die, will definitely die, probably of chagrin.
"This man trades stocks for fun. This man goes to the gym and eats lean protein. This kind of man takes recreational testosterone so that he can maintain his edge. He is a lawyer. He is a trader. He is a fitness influencer. He has a Discord. He has a Slack. He has weaponized his Adderall prescription into a productivity influencing. He gives other men advice. He preaches to multitudes. He gets online and he yells at women. He gets offline and he talks too loudly too closely to women at bars and at parties. He is on Tinder. He is on Hinge. He is everywhere."