h8erade: faux academia edition

[mimesere]

So, I don't actually hate Virginia Woolf. She is never going to be a desert island author for me, but I don't hate her. The only reason I bring her up is because today I totally got into a brawl we had a discussion of Mrs. Dalloway in class.

It ended up being Team Yay Peter vs Me, and I mostly took the position of, "Peter is a dickhead and, IMO, a worse choice for Clarissa than Richard." But it did degenerate into, "But Clarissa and Peter were more passionate!" and me going, "More passionate does not equal BETTER," and also, "IT IS NOT A ROMANCE OMGWTF." Which argument train, happily, I got my teacher on as well.

And then I finally summed up my position with regards to the romantic, erotic, and passionate interludes of one Mrs. Clarissa Dalloway as, "Both men are dickheads though I maintain that Richard is marginally less of a dick than Peter, Clarissa is a lesbian anyway, and whatever, like Sally's a prize."

I am totallly not on board the mocking of hostessly skills or on Clarissa's life choices as it seems to me that the basic argument against them was, "But she would have been a better realized person with Peter to challenge her!" I do not buy it and I don't find myself entirely in charity with the idea that to be a whole and realized human being, one must choose against conventionality. It did not seem to me -- as was put forth by Team Yay Peter -- that Clarissa Dalloway was ditzy or frivolous. Do I think she was happy? No. But neither do I think she would have been happy with Peter (or, truthfully, Sally, though I think Sally would have lasted longer).

And anyway, Peter has no job and strikes me as being a useless ass.

...I really, really hated him, man.

ETA: also, I am totally bored and hyper and people should come talk to me on AIM (screen name = mimesere).

Comments

[hesychasm]

I suspect in my heart of hearts I'm Team Yay Peter, because I remember on my first read of Mrs. Dalloway I just sort of burst out in a surprise crying fit over her unfulfilled life and all. But you're exactly right, it's not an either/or love triangle situation; her life is her life and she deals with it in her own superhostess way. That's the POINT.

This comment brought to you by me watching the Oprah chickfest with all The Hours actresses on Youtube.

[mimesere.livejournal.com]

*G* I think I would not have had the vehement reaction I did if Team Yay Peter in class didn't take it as a given that a) Clarissa was unhappy and unfulfilled *and* contributed nothing to society, b) that she would have been if she'd gone off with Peter instead, and c) that in order to be a fulfilled person, one has to embrace unfettered bohemia. They were as dismissive of everything Clarissa could and did do as Peter was and that irked me so much I just ended up arguing with them on every point.