What I'm Reading: 'Agnes Grey' by Anne Bronte

Anne Bronte is the least famous of the three literary sisters, and I would never claim that she has written anything that comes close to Jane Eyre. But that said, if Jane Eyre is your cup of tea, then Anne Bronte should be on your radar, because it is more of the same. Agnes Grey shares not only its family of authorship, but also its plot following the sober and austere trials of a poor governess. I will admit, Agnes can become tiresome. She insists on being a governess to help her family, even though they consistently remind her that it isn't necessary, so I had many moments of eye-rolling at her trials.  She's a bit preachy too, as so many heroines of her era are wont to be, but she isn't able to strike that important Jane Austen heroine balance of wit and morality. I prefer heroines who intend to do the right thing, and sometimes fail, but Agnes just keeps doing the right thing, over and over, and funnily enough, to her own detriment. I have a strong feeling she's going to marry a vicar in the end, but we'll see.

Also, yes, I've used that photo before. I recommended the Bronte sisters back in August and now I"m taking my own advice and I didn't feel the need to take a new photo of the same old book.

Books on Books: 'The Madwoman in the Attic' by Sandra Gilbert and Susan Gubar

I first came across The Madwoman in the Attic via Madeleine's thesis project in The Marriage Plot, but I'm surprised that I made it through four years of humanities studies without having read it, as I, much like the fictional Madeleine, spent a lot of time with books that were described as "discourses." The Madwoman in the Attic is the O.G. of feminist readings of fiction, and its influence cannot be overstated. I've been thinking a lot about it recently as I was reading Claire Messud's The Woman Upstairs, whose very title and premise are something of an homage. The book is largely concerned with female authors like Jane Austen, the Brontes, and Virginia Woolf, and it's a really excellent follow-up to anyone who has already read and enjoyed some of the major women writers of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.

It's easy to find a first edition at any decent used book store (especially those in college towns), but do yourself a favor a pickup a newer copy that include their revised introduction, which should give you a better taste of the cultural impact the book had on feminism and literature.