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3.53 AVERAGE
3.53 AVERAGE
A complicated novel that harkens back to Old Virginia, Willa Cather's birthplace. This is the story of unhappily married slave owners and their unraveling domestic lives. Cather has captured strong memories of the slavery era, with both romantic vignetting and hard glimpses at its cruder sides.
With "Sapphira," the title character, we get another portrait of a once-grand woman reduced to desperate measures by time and circumstances. It's also a fine study of encroaching disability. "The Slave Girl" portion offers a sensational quasi-slave narrative that reminds me of the novel Pamela. The depictions of slavery in general are problematic but worth critical reading and contemplating.
I felt the epilogue was too quick, wrapping up the Civil War andletting Sapphira off the hook too easily . As in [b:The Professor's House|48203|The Professor's House|Willa Cather|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1328729214s/48203.jpg|342924], the brief sketch of early Washington DC was fascinating.
This is the last book in the Willa Cather Novel Reading Challenge 2012 and it is Cather's last novel.
With "Sapphira," the title character, we get another portrait of a once-grand woman reduced to desperate measures by time and circumstances. It's also a fine study of encroaching disability. "The Slave Girl" portion offers a sensational quasi-slave narrative that reminds me of the novel Pamela. The depictions of slavery in general are problematic but worth critical reading and contemplating.
I felt the epilogue was too quick, wrapping up the Civil War and
This is the last book in the Willa Cather Novel Reading Challenge 2012 and it is Cather's last novel.
emotional
medium-paced
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I read this book because of Toni Morrison's analysis of it in Whiteness and the literary imagination. Extremely interesting to read it through her eyes: how the author uses the black characters for her own purposes and carries on the 'happy slave' trope, etc.
As for Cather, the book is of course dated and disjointed (a late work); however, it was interesting- actually the most interesting of her books I eever read.
As for Cather, the book is of course dated and disjointed (a late work); however, it was interesting- actually the most interesting of her books I eever read.
Rating: 4* of five
I suspect that the passing of time has improved my ability to read what writers don't write. This book's many creaks and wobbles mattered to me as a younger reader, whereas now I'm not really that interested in cataloging failures.
As one important example of this trend in my analyses, the concept of a woman "marrying beneath her" once made me furious: If you don't want what's offered, don't say yes! Now I see a shade of grey I never thought to look for: How else is a smart woman going to stay on top? That shift in perception alone made this less a mean old bat's vicious competitive streak running roughshod over all about her and more a natural leader's recognition of a threat to her power.
Cather was old and ill when she wrote this roman à clef. She likely knew that the end was nigh and felt the strong need to get this one down on paper before she lost it into the winding-sheet, that final dreamcatcher. I love reading first and last books by dead authors. Nothing makes a career trajectory so clear as experiencing the starting gun's firing and the bullet's landing place in close temporal proximity.
I suspect that the passing of time has improved my ability to read what writers don't write. This book's many creaks and wobbles mattered to me as a younger reader, whereas now I'm not really that interested in cataloging failures.
As one important example of this trend in my analyses, the concept of a woman "marrying beneath her" once made me furious: If you don't want what's offered, don't say yes! Now I see a shade of grey I never thought to look for: How else is a smart woman going to stay on top? That shift in perception alone made this less a mean old bat's vicious competitive streak running roughshod over all about her and more a natural leader's recognition of a threat to her power.
Cather was old and ill when she wrote this roman à clef. She likely knew that the end was nigh and felt the strong need to get this one down on paper before she lost it into the winding-sheet, that final dreamcatcher. I love reading first and last books by dead authors. Nothing makes a career trajectory so clear as experiencing the starting gun's firing and the bullet's landing place in close temporal proximity.
Review Previously Posted On: The Young Girl Who Loved Books
This book was written in 1940, and things have changed quite a bit since then. This is a tough read given the current events unfolding in 2017. I don't agree with how the author uses racism in this book. I winced at the racist protagonist and somehow hoped there would be a change or moral to the story which seemed to never come to fruition. While I enjoyed the story, there were stereotypes that were hard to ignore. This is not one of her best works in my opinion, but in the context of when it was written, this is not too bad of a read.
This is a book which takes place in the pre-Civil War South. The main character is a woman named Sapphira, she is the wife of a small town miller. She is a troubled but well-rounded character. She is disabled and suffers from dropsy, which is an older term for edema, which is when fluid builds up in your legs and feet. She is cared for by a slave girl. Sapphira brought about twenty slaves with her to the marriage. Which I found to be an interesting fact. She is jealous of her maid named Till, the daughter is an attractive, mixed young woman. This daughter is named Nancy, her job is to care for the millers, bedroom and occasional office. Due to Sapphira's life confined to a wheelchair, she has every opportunity for easy dropping and casual gossiping. When she overhears a conversation linking her husband's name with Nancy, Her world begins to spin out of control at her own doing. More trouble happens when the nephew of Sapphira decides to pursue a relationship with sweet Nancy.
It is important to remember this was one of Willa Cather's last novels. This story is a fictionalized version of a story Willa Cather was told as a young girl. Because she uses such dated and derogatory language, I think modern readers are turned off. I believe Cather had a purpose in exploring the book's theme of racism, she was trying to create an outline as to who the southern slave owner thought. How did their beliefs shape who their slaves were treated? How did the way treated affect their self-esteem? How did people think in such ways? I honestly believe Willa Cather was trying to create a dialog pertaining to racism.
A sweet story, filled with real deep issues. A good read for anyone.
This book was written in 1940, and things have changed quite a bit since then. This is a tough read given the current events unfolding in 2017. I don't agree with how the author uses racism in this book. I winced at the racist protagonist and somehow hoped there would be a change or moral to the story which seemed to never come to fruition. While I enjoyed the story, there were stereotypes that were hard to ignore. This is not one of her best works in my opinion, but in the context of when it was written, this is not too bad of a read.
This is a book which takes place in the pre-Civil War South. The main character is a woman named Sapphira, she is the wife of a small town miller. She is a troubled but well-rounded character. She is disabled and suffers from dropsy, which is an older term for edema, which is when fluid builds up in your legs and feet. She is cared for by a slave girl. Sapphira brought about twenty slaves with her to the marriage. Which I found to be an interesting fact. She is jealous of her maid named Till, the daughter is an attractive, mixed young woman. This daughter is named Nancy, her job is to care for the millers, bedroom and occasional office. Due to Sapphira's life confined to a wheelchair, she has every opportunity for easy dropping and casual gossiping. When she overhears a conversation linking her husband's name with Nancy, Her world begins to spin out of control at her own doing. More trouble happens when the nephew of Sapphira decides to pursue a relationship with sweet Nancy.
It is important to remember this was one of Willa Cather's last novels. This story is a fictionalized version of a story Willa Cather was told as a young girl. Because she uses such dated and derogatory language, I think modern readers are turned off. I believe Cather had a purpose in exploring the book's theme of racism, she was trying to create an outline as to who the southern slave owner thought. How did their beliefs shape who their slaves were treated? How did the way treated affect their self-esteem? How did people think in such ways? I honestly believe Willa Cather was trying to create a dialog pertaining to racism.
A sweet story, filled with real deep issues. A good read for anyone.