Gentle Readers, my recent posts have been long. Hence a shorty.
1) A current trend in literary criticism examines famous authors through the lens of modern science, assigning genius to a selection of today’s high-profile syndromes. The Guardian recently featured a book called SHAKESPEARE’S TREMOR AND ORWELL’S COUGH: THE MEDICAL LIVES OF FAMOUS WRITERS in which the author, physician John J. Ross, ventures an assessment of Emily Bronte that makes me want to whip him with my writing apron, grab his plexor and treat him to an hour of his own knee reflexes.
“She (Emily) was a homebody, tongue-tied with strangers, attached to her routines of cooking, cleaning, writing and walking on the moors. To Ross, these traits suggest that Emily may have had Asperger’s syndrome, which he believes, could help explain elements of her writing style in Wuthering Heights – for example, her portrayal of the lovers’ passion as irrational and destructive—as well as her stubborn focus on her work and her refusal to consult a doctor for her TB.”
My response to Dr Ross:
EMILY DID NOT HAVE ASPERGER’S! PASSION IS ALWAYS IRRATIONAL AND DESTRUCTIVE! I, TOO, WOULD BE TOTALLY ATTACHED TO THE AWESOME ROUTINES OF COOKING, WRITING AND WALKING ON THE MOORS IF I COULD HAVE THAT LIFE! EMILY HAD THE LIFE!
P.S. Dr. Ross, I hate to tell you this but NOBODY LIKES TO THE GO TO THE DOCTOR’S except for hypochondriacs and Emily wasn’t one.
Gentle Reader, I would not shout so rudely in caps if I didn’t feel it necessary to convey the message all the way to Dr. Ross’s ear. He needs to understand that a woman’s “stubborn focus on her work” is a blessed thing not to be equated with an over diagnosed syndrome, but with Genius in this case, and entirely deserving of our admiration and gratitude, not our pity!!!
A tasty tidbit or two from the Comment is Free section
From Rhiannon Lucy Cosslett:
“Romance hasn’t so much died as changed its trousers, and just because young women are doing things on a more equal basis, rather than relying on men to take us to fancy French restaurants, doesn’t mean we’re not falling in love as much as ever… I knew he (my boyfriend) was the one when he drunkenly stood on a chair and declared himself more of a feminist than me. There’s no greater aphrodisiac than gender equality, boys and girls. And if that’s a sign of a sexocalypse, then you can lead me to my bunker, because I am done.”
Beautifully put, Rhiannon.
From Hannah Betts:
On Paula Byrne’s book THE REAL JANE AUSTEN
“In fact as Byrne contends, Jane Austen was spirited, cultured, courageous, well-travelled, globablly politically aware, anti-slavery, au fait with hardship, mental illness and sexual scandal, fond of London and the theatre, proto-feminist in her attitudes to marriage, interested in both fame and earnings, and entirely capable of coquetry and hangovers.”
DON’T EVEN TRY TO GET NEAR JANE WITH YOUR PLEXOR, DR ROSS!
And now for our recipe…from the western favourite, Sunset Magazine (January 2013)
Apple Oven Cake
(serves 4-6/ 30 minutes)
3 tbs. butter
¼ cup packed light brown sugar
¼ tsp. cinnamon
1 sweet apple such as Fuji, peeled and sliced
3 large eggs
¼ tsp salt
½ cup each – flour and milk
1 tbs. each – lemon juice and powdered sugar
1) Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Melt butter in 12-in ovenproof frying pan over high heat. Add brown sugar and cinnamon, swirling to combine. Add apple and cook until starting to soften, about 3 minutes.
2) Meanwhile, in a blender, whirl together eggs, salt, flour and milk. Pour egg mixture into pan and bake until puffed and brown about 15 minutes. Sprinkle with juice and powdered sugar.
I tried this cake last weekend and we all found it delicious. It is both simple to make and calls for ingredients one usually has on hand. Rather than lemon juice, I doused it with Calvados (apple brandy),which we appreciated more than we can express.