Sayers, Dorothy - Gaudy Night
Tue, Mar. 28th, 2006 12:04 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
oyceterI liked this much better than all the other Sayers I've read, possibly because it's so different from all the others. It didn't hit the "OMG SQUEE" button in me, but I love it in a more quiet way. It's a surprisingly quiet book, and an extremely satisfying read.
I'm usually not that big on stories set at an academic institution and focus on the academics, possibly because I'm jealous, or really, who knows. But I really loved how big a role Oxford played in Gaudy Night and how much the book was about the intellectual versus the emotional, the different choices you can make with your life.
Harriet ends up celebrating a reunion in Shrewsbury, the all-female college at Oxford (made up by Sayers), and gets caught up in a round of increasingly malevolent pranks intended to publically embarrass the college. Despite this being touted as the big Harriet/Peter book, there is relatively little Harriet/Peter interaction. In fact, most of the book is on Harriet, on her attempts to figure out what is most important to her, where her values lie, and what she'll end up doing about them. Peter is, of course, a large part of these decisions, but I really appreciate that Harriet's attempts to decide if Peter will fit in her life are only part of the decision. He's affected by her choices, but he's not necessarily the sole driving factor of them.
This is probably a stupid thing to say, but GN is a remarkably feminist book. Obviously, I do realize that feminism existed back in the 1930s, but the commentary on women's career choices and how said choices affect husbands and children and what society thinks of women who don't go for motherhood are sadly contemporary. Yes, progress has been made, but on the other hand, recent articles on how feminism has ruined the nuclear family would fit right in Harriet's world and Harriet's dilemma.
And, oh, I liked Harriet before because she is stubborn and grumpy and not bowled over by Peter's charm, but I adore her now. I had a problem with Have His Carcase because of the imbalance in Peter and Harriet's relationship. It wasn't just that Harriet was resentful of how much she owed Peter, it was that she thought he was so far above her in terms of class, charm, intelligence, and everything. I still wish there were more in Peter's point of view as to why he fell for Harriet so quickly (maybe I need to reread Strong Poison), but I like that Peter loves her for her integrity and honesty.
One of my favorite scenes in the book isn't the final one on the bridge (though that's a good one). Rather, it's the one in which Peter directs the discussion of the various dons and scholars to that of professional integrity, and how they would choose if they had to sacrifice the personal or the professional. I especially like that the question isn't phrased in a way to make it a choice between a family life and a career; instead, the professional realm consists of one's values and one's notion of integrity. And I love that Harriet can't put the personal over what she thinks is right, and that that is why Peter trusts her so much. It actually reminds me a great deal of Freedom & Necessity (that probably should be the other way around, given the publication dates), in which James says that he couldn't love Susan if she put him over her own beliefs.
I had a problem with the mysteries in other Sayers, mostly because I could honestly care less who killed whom and for what reason. Thankfully, there's a wonderful thematic resonance in this one; the culprit literally attacks the world of Shrewsbury and the female, non-nuclear-family space there. And while I had problems with Peter always being the one to solve the mystery in prior books, his solving the mystery here works because it is too close to Harriet and she can't conceive of someone making the choices that the culprit does.
Hrm. It looks like I have actually descended into incoherent squee ;). But oh, I loved the layers in this book, I loved all the things it talked about and had to say, I loved watching Harriet grow and choose, and I loved watching a romance between two people who needed an equal relationship and would fight for one.
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sophia_helix's review
I'm usually not that big on stories set at an academic institution and focus on the academics, possibly because I'm jealous, or really, who knows. But I really loved how big a role Oxford played in Gaudy Night and how much the book was about the intellectual versus the emotional, the different choices you can make with your life.
Harriet ends up celebrating a reunion in Shrewsbury, the all-female college at Oxford (made up by Sayers), and gets caught up in a round of increasingly malevolent pranks intended to publically embarrass the college. Despite this being touted as the big Harriet/Peter book, there is relatively little Harriet/Peter interaction. In fact, most of the book is on Harriet, on her attempts to figure out what is most important to her, where her values lie, and what she'll end up doing about them. Peter is, of course, a large part of these decisions, but I really appreciate that Harriet's attempts to decide if Peter will fit in her life are only part of the decision. He's affected by her choices, but he's not necessarily the sole driving factor of them.
This is probably a stupid thing to say, but GN is a remarkably feminist book. Obviously, I do realize that feminism existed back in the 1930s, but the commentary on women's career choices and how said choices affect husbands and children and what society thinks of women who don't go for motherhood are sadly contemporary. Yes, progress has been made, but on the other hand, recent articles on how feminism has ruined the nuclear family would fit right in Harriet's world and Harriet's dilemma.
And, oh, I liked Harriet before because she is stubborn and grumpy and not bowled over by Peter's charm, but I adore her now. I had a problem with Have His Carcase because of the imbalance in Peter and Harriet's relationship. It wasn't just that Harriet was resentful of how much she owed Peter, it was that she thought he was so far above her in terms of class, charm, intelligence, and everything. I still wish there were more in Peter's point of view as to why he fell for Harriet so quickly (maybe I need to reread Strong Poison), but I like that Peter loves her for her integrity and honesty.
One of my favorite scenes in the book isn't the final one on the bridge (though that's a good one). Rather, it's the one in which Peter directs the discussion of the various dons and scholars to that of professional integrity, and how they would choose if they had to sacrifice the personal or the professional. I especially like that the question isn't phrased in a way to make it a choice between a family life and a career; instead, the professional realm consists of one's values and one's notion of integrity. And I love that Harriet can't put the personal over what she thinks is right, and that that is why Peter trusts her so much. It actually reminds me a great deal of Freedom & Necessity (that probably should be the other way around, given the publication dates), in which James says that he couldn't love Susan if she put him over her own beliefs.
I had a problem with the mysteries in other Sayers, mostly because I could honestly care less who killed whom and for what reason. Thankfully, there's a wonderful thematic resonance in this one; the culprit literally attacks the world of Shrewsbury and the female, non-nuclear-family space there. And while I had problems with Peter always being the one to solve the mystery in prior books, his solving the mystery here works because it is too close to Harriet and she can't conceive of someone making the choices that the culprit does.
Hrm. It looks like I have actually descended into incoherent squee ;). But oh, I loved the layers in this book, I loved all the things it talked about and had to say, I loved watching Harriet grow and choose, and I loved watching a romance between two people who needed an equal relationship and would fight for one.
Links:
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sophia_helix's reviewTags:
Re: PS; OT
Wed, Mar. 29th, 2006 06:26 pm (UTC)