"Deerbrook" was one of a list of novels about English country life that was recommended by Elaine from Random Jottings. From that list I have read "One Fine Day" and now have finished this novel, the only novel written by 19th century writer Harriet Martineau. The book was written in 1839 so it came after Jane Austen, but before Charlotte Bronte and George Eliot.
In a previous post about "Deerbrook," (when I was only 200 or so pages into it) I wrote about that while Austen's novels are primarily about the path to marriage, "Deerbrook" is about the marriage itself. In fact, I was only 1/2 right about that. Cleverly Martineau focuses on the experience of two sisters so that in one case she writes at length about the marriage, the other about the path that may or may not lead to marriage. In that earlier post I also noted that I liked the fact that the book presents the point of view of the men as well as the women - this continued throughout the book and was for me a positive feature.
"Deerbrook" is over 500 pages long so that Martineau can fully develop a wide range of characters who interact with the Ibbotson sisters and play important parts in the novel. One of the attractions of this wide range is that it is not limited to one social class so that the reader gets a fuller picture of life in the village and the interaction among the classes. The picture of the village of Deerbrook is clearly not idealized as we see the people at their worst, first in their treatment of the local doctor and then in their self destructive behavior when a plague like illness hits the village.
The first instance was somewhat eye opening in terms of destroying some images of life in country villages. Most of us, I believe, think of English village life (or rural life in the US) as relatively peaceful with crime and related dangers more present in urban areas. But when violence to property and threats of violence to people break out in a remote rural location there is little or nothing in the way of civil authorities that one can appeal to or rely on.
I enjoyed the book a great deal although it was heavy going in some places as there are long sections where either the narrator or the characters get very philosophical with very little dialogue. As I noted earlier, it started off quickly, but then seemed to slow down, however the last half went very fast with my attention gripped by trying to figure out what was going to happen.
In addition to the drama or dramas of the story, the book raised a number of interesting philosophical propositions such as:
Women are taught a lot about marriage, but little about love.
Forgiveness is always easiest for the happy.
Both the ignorant and the wicked rely on superstition in times of crisis.
I was surprised to read that Martineau was supposedly an atheist later in life, because behavior guided by belief in God seems to be what is most prized and rewarded in "Deerbrook."
This is a book well worth reading and once read, the reader will probably join me in mourning the fact that it is was her only novel. I am more than a little surprised that it hasn't been turned into a movie or a mini series.
In a previous post about "Deerbrook," (when I was only 200 or so pages into it) I wrote about that while Austen's novels are primarily about the path to marriage, "Deerbrook" is about the marriage itself. In fact, I was only 1/2 right about that. Cleverly Martineau focuses on the experience of two sisters so that in one case she writes at length about the marriage, the other about the path that may or may not lead to marriage. In that earlier post I also noted that I liked the fact that the book presents the point of view of the men as well as the women - this continued throughout the book and was for me a positive feature.
"Deerbrook" is over 500 pages long so that Martineau can fully develop a wide range of characters who interact with the Ibbotson sisters and play important parts in the novel. One of the attractions of this wide range is that it is not limited to one social class so that the reader gets a fuller picture of life in the village and the interaction among the classes. The picture of the village of Deerbrook is clearly not idealized as we see the people at their worst, first in their treatment of the local doctor and then in their self destructive behavior when a plague like illness hits the village.
The first instance was somewhat eye opening in terms of destroying some images of life in country villages. Most of us, I believe, think of English village life (or rural life in the US) as relatively peaceful with crime and related dangers more present in urban areas. But when violence to property and threats of violence to people break out in a remote rural location there is little or nothing in the way of civil authorities that one can appeal to or rely on.
I enjoyed the book a great deal although it was heavy going in some places as there are long sections where either the narrator or the characters get very philosophical with very little dialogue. As I noted earlier, it started off quickly, but then seemed to slow down, however the last half went very fast with my attention gripped by trying to figure out what was going to happen.
In addition to the drama or dramas of the story, the book raised a number of interesting philosophical propositions such as:
Women are taught a lot about marriage, but little about love.
Forgiveness is always easiest for the happy.
Both the ignorant and the wicked rely on superstition in times of crisis.
I was surprised to read that Martineau was supposedly an atheist later in life, because behavior guided by belief in God seems to be what is most prized and rewarded in "Deerbrook."
This is a book well worth reading and once read, the reader will probably join me in mourning the fact that it is was her only novel. I am more than a little surprised that it hasn't been turned into a movie or a mini series.
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