Stuff About Books and Literature

Stereotypes? Image by Imagaday In Anita Brookner's novel, Hotel du Lac, the attitude and narrative of romantic novelist, Edith Hope, correspond with society's stereotypical view of women. For Edith Hope, the romantic novelist of Hotel du Lac, writing offers a form of self-expression through escapism. Through this medium Edith exposes the limits of her experience and imagination. A woman unequipped psychologically to fight against tradition, she complies with and supports social norms through the content of her work. Edith's Novels Support Cultural Prejudices Edith’s narratives of love and romance disregard women in positions of power; instead, they fuel gender role socialisation by reinforcing societal myths. Through her novels, Edith recreates the ideal world she craves for, an environment overflowing with love and protection: “[Edith’s] idea of absolute happiness is to sit in a hot garden all day, reading, or writing, utterly safe in the knowledge that the person...

The Catcher in The Rye. Image Lesley Lanir Did you know that each year hundreds of attempts are made to remove contemporary and classic books from school reading lists and libraries? When books are removed this restricts the access of these crafted works to others. Each year, the The American Library Association's Office for Intellectual Freedom records hundreds of attempts by individuals and groups to have books removed from library shelves and from classrooms. The ALA publish an annual list of those books which have received the most reports. They also publish a list of the most challenged classics , many of them you have read, here are the top 20: 1. The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald 2. The Catcher in the Rye, by J.D. Salinger 3. The Grapes of Wrath, by John Steinbeck 4. To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee 5. The Color Purple, by Alice Walker 6. Ulysses, by James Joyce 7. Beloved, by Toni Morrison 8. The Lord of the Flies, by William Golding 9. 1984, by George Orwell 11....

Books - challenged and banned. Image Lesley Lanir Did you know that libraries and schools in the US receive requests to have undesirable books removed from their shelves or even banned. Every year banned book lists are complied by The American Library Association. The ALA has released its annual " State of America’s Libraries Report 2013 " and one of the topics covered in the report is the "Banned Books Top Ten List of Frequently Challenged Books." This lists the top ten books that people have requested not to have on their library shelves or on the school curriculum. The top 10 banned book list is put together annually by the ALA Office for Intellectual Freedom (OIF). OIF collects reports on book challenges from librarians, teachers, concerned individuals and press reports. Regarding banned and challenged books the ALA state that: "A challenge is an attempt to remove or restrict materials, based upon the objections of a person or group. A banning is the remova...

Image by David Martyn Hunt How can we see the spatial impact of social pressure in Hotel du Lac through motherhood? Hotel du Lac , by Anita Brookner, gives insight into the stereotypical thinking and behaviours that women adopt in order to conform to society's demands. Although at different ends of a continuum, young, beautiful, anorexic Monica and Mrs. Pusey, a widow of “indeterminate age” (17), are both victims of a system controlled by patriarchy. Worthless Widows Mrs Pusey was raised in an era which conditioned young women to become wives and mothers and left them with what Florence Nightingale refers to in her 'family manuscript,"Cassandra," “nothing to do” (Norton 1606). Mrs Pusey’s life echoes the words of Florence Nightingale who asked, “Why have women passion, intellect, moral activity - these three - and a place in society where no one of these three can be exercised?” (Norton 1606). Once married, Mrs Pusey became “completely preoccupied with t...

Tall, thin, beautiful anorexic . Image by Rega photography The female characters' traits in Anita Brookner's novel, Hotel du Lac, allow the reader to understand how society forces women into stereotypical behaviour. Edith Hope, along with the other female guests of Hotel du Lac, exemplifies not only gendered stereotypes but also the fact that despite societal reforms women continue to be marginalised. Tall, Thin, Beautiful Anorexic Edith’s character traits and those of her fellow female guests clearly reveal the effects of environmental constraints. Hidden behind make-up and sophisticated composure, Monica, “the tall thin beauty” (66) “has what is politely referred to as an eating problem” (80). According to Bertram Cohler and Henry Grunebaum, in The Psychology of Mothers, Grandmother, and Daughters: Personality and Childcare in Three Generation Families, 1981, “a [young] woman who shows . . . hunger disturbance . . . is likely to have had a mother who could no...

Exiled to A Swiss hotel by a lake. Image by Ted Drake Anita Brookner's Booker Prize winning novel, Hotel du Lac, reveals how a woman's mental and physical space are limited so as to conform to societal norms. In Anita Brookner’s novel,   Hotel du Lac , 1993, the friends of the protagonist, Edith Hope, a romantic novelist, have exiled her to a Swiss hotel so she can reflect on her ‘misdeeds.’ Considering her apparent 'rebellious' nature, how and why does Edith fit into her new environment? Hotel du Lac Guests are Lonely Women Hotel du Lac’s “recommended” visitors (23), the majority being displaced women, only enhance the hotel’s sombre, out-of-season atmosphere. Edith’s acquaintances at the hotel deem her an appropriate guest for this micro-society, since she “will live up to [its] standards” (15). Edith fits in nicely since she meets these 'standards' through her portrayal of modesty and conformity and her “extremely correct” appearance (1...

Hotel by a lake. Image by David Martyn Hunt Anita Brookner's Booker Prize winning novel, Hotel du Lac , reveals how a female writer's lack of self stems from childhood experiences and stereotyping. In Anita Brookner’s novel, Hotel du Lac (1993), Edith Hope, a romantic novelist, resides in a Swiss hotel in preparation for her return to society. Edith seems to choose to accept her role as a diminished woman despite her achievements, an acceptance that stems from her home life as a child. Edith an Angry Immigrant’s Daughter Edith, the daughter of immigrants and even more so as a woman, has become an unconscious victim of marginalisation. She grew up as a minor within a minority – a circle enclosed within a circle. But even though displaced sociologically, Edith should have benefited from the contiguity of a female, presumably her mother. For Giuliana Giobbi, mentioned in “Blood ties: a case-Study of Mother Daughter relationships in Anita Brookner," by Sara Mai...