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hc128 's review for:
Our Mutual Friend
by Charles Dickens
3 instead of 4 stars because of
I did enjoy Bella and Lizzie better as female leads than Florence, for example, in Dombey and Son. Neither was quite an angel--Bella's liveliness and character development make her interesting, and Lizzie's physical strength, skill with a boat, and bravery counteract her extreme self-effacement and self-sacrifice. When Lizzie and Bella meet for the first time (Book the Third, Chapter IX), it's laughingly obvious this book was written by a man--they are dazzled by each other's beauty and that's what they first want to remark upon to each other ("'It's quite new to me,' said Lizzie, 'to be visited by a lady so nearly of my own age, and so pretty as you. It's a pleasure to me to look at you.' / 'I have nothing left to begin with,' returned Bella, blushing, 'because I was going to say that it was a pleasure to me to look at you, Lizzie...'") Female readers out there--is this how you strike up friendships?? Maybe women in the 1800's did, but I'd need some primary documentary evidence.
I didn't see anything attractive in Eugene. Though he's witty, it's in an apathetic, cynical (and sometimes cruel and condescending) sort of way. He doesn't do anything productive or useful, except through his attraction to Lizzie. He is careless and irresponsible with her heart for his own immediate gratification. He hardly behaves honorably towards her. For that matter, neither does. I suppose he's such a "useless" person so that Lizzie can improve him, but he totally does not deserve her.
It was actually especially irritating that Eugene, John, and Bradley Headstone were all expressly rejected at some point (or multiple points) by the women they sought, but doggedly persisted anyway, in their own ways. While two were supposedly romantic, and one decidedly creepy, what I appreciated most was when John visibly respected Bella's wishes by communicating with her as little as possible.
Riah's reflections near the end about how "Christian countries" view Jews sadly still seems apt regarding basically every minority group. Riah reflects: "For it is not, in Christian countries, with the Jews as with other peoples. Men say, 'This is a bad Greek, but there are good Greeks. This is a bad Turk, but there are good Turks.' Not so with the Jews. Men find the bad among us easily enough--among what peoples are the bad not easily found?--but they take the worst of us as samples of the best; they take the lowest of us as presentations of the highest; and they say, 'All Jews are alike.'" A pleasant surprise to see so explicit a commentary, when Dickens no doubt still used stereotypes with his Jewish characters.
In terms of the ending, I found it rather hypocritical that
My review has mostly sounded negative, but I did enjoy Dickens' usual weaving together of all the characters and humorous wordplay. Lady Tippins' use of "you morose backwoodsman" as an epithet near the end was a delightful reward for getting through the 800+ pages.
Spoiler
the deep deception against Bella. While it makes for such a dramatic twist at the end, it's hard to pass over that she was manipulated (by 3 of the people she cares for most, no less) into falling in love with and marrying a man whom she had decisively told she wasn't interested in, and who perpetuates the deception longer than he'd originally planned to partly just to revel in his own "triumph." Yes, this book is a product of its times... But still.I did enjoy Bella and Lizzie better as female leads than Florence, for example, in Dombey and Son. Neither was quite an angel--Bella's liveliness and character development make her interesting, and Lizzie's physical strength, skill with a boat, and bravery counteract her extreme self-effacement and self-sacrifice. When Lizzie and Bella meet for the first time (Book the Third, Chapter IX), it's laughingly obvious this book was written by a man--they are dazzled by each other's beauty and that's what they first want to remark upon to each other ("'It's quite new to me,' said Lizzie, 'to be visited by a lady so nearly of my own age, and so pretty as you. It's a pleasure to me to look at you.' / 'I have nothing left to begin with,' returned Bella, blushing, 'because I was going to say that it was a pleasure to me to look at you, Lizzie...'") Female readers out there--is this how you strike up friendships?? Maybe women in the 1800's did, but I'd need some primary documentary evidence.
I didn't see anything attractive in Eugene. Though he's witty, it's in an apathetic, cynical (and sometimes cruel and condescending) sort of way. He doesn't do anything productive or useful, except through his attraction to Lizzie. He is careless and irresponsible with her heart for his own immediate gratification. He hardly behaves honorably towards her. For that matter, neither does
Spoiler
John act honorably toward BellaIt was actually especially irritating that Eugene, John, and Bradley Headstone were all expressly rejected at some point (or multiple points) by the women they sought, but doggedly persisted anyway, in their own ways. While two were supposedly romantic, and one decidedly creepy, what I appreciated most was when John visibly respected Bella's wishes by communicating with her as little as possible.
Riah's reflections near the end about how "Christian countries" view Jews sadly still seems apt regarding basically every minority group. Riah reflects: "For it is not, in Christian countries, with the Jews as with other peoples. Men say, 'This is a bad Greek, but there are good Greeks. This is a bad Turk, but there are good Turks.' Not so with the Jews. Men find the bad among us easily enough--among what peoples are the bad not easily found?--but they take the worst of us as samples of the best; they take the lowest of us as presentations of the highest; and they say, 'All Jews are alike.'" A pleasant surprise to see so explicit a commentary, when Dickens no doubt still used stereotypes with his Jewish characters.
In terms of the ending, I found it rather hypocritical that
Spoiler
the reward for not desiring wealth was obscene riches. I suppose the nuance is that wealth doesn't spoil everyone, but wasn't Bella as happy as she could be in her modest cottage in Greenwich? It seemed that John after all wanted to be rich so he could shower Bella with gifts. I suppose where the fortune would end up had to be solved, and it ended up with the "deserving" while all the undeserving lost their money.My review has mostly sounded negative, but I did enjoy Dickens' usual weaving together of all the characters and humorous wordplay. Lady Tippins' use of "you morose backwoodsman" as an epithet near the end was a delightful reward for getting through the 800+ pages.