Quickly Commonplacing #6

Classic sci-fi, The Chosen before The Chosen, and a Valentine's Day themed poll

Well, we survived the Norovirus thanks to apple juice, breastmilk antibodies, unusually good sleep patterns from my youngest, and Amazon’s “If You Give A Mouse A Cookie” show. I forgot how humiliating violent intestinal illness is, particularly when I don’t have the luxury of sitting in bed and reading/sleeping off the sickness. Is it weird to be nostalgic for being sick with the stomach bug in high school? Because I definitely was. In any case, we made it, and I was given a salutary reminder of how much my supposed “virtue” is dependent on my physical health and basic sleep needs being met. Something to meditate on and pray about for sure.

Current Reads:

1. Reread: Perelandra By: C.S. Lewis (Part of February’s

   Reading Revisited
   pick)

   1. I deeply enjoyed my return to Lewis’ “Space Trilogy” in Out of the Silent Planet, and am chugging right along with Perelandra. Having read Tolkien’s letters since my first read of these books, it is a genuine treat to see the ways in which Ransom reflects the personality and beliefs of the Professor (even if Tolkien was a bit ambivalent about this portrayal). In Perelandra, I am finding myself especially interested by the Edenic portrayal of Venus’ intoxicating environment and how Ransom, a fallen man, discerns what is the right way to respond. In a culture of instant and repeated gratification of so many bodily and mental pleasures, Ransom’s decision not to enjoy a particular Venusian pleasure a second time is countercultural. Furthermore, the passage offered a literary examination of conscience, because intemperance and self-indulgence, particularly in the realms of internet scrolling and snacking, are sins I struggle with.

2. New Read: The Father’s Tale By: Michael D. O’Brien (February’s Well-Read Mom pick)

   1. I am still trying to decide how I feel about this book. On the one hand, I love the various references to well-loved authors and works of literature. The chapters set in Oxford, England, were a delight. And I truly appreciate a Catholic author writing accurately (and movingly) about what a living faith in the life of an ‘ordinary’ man looks like; both its joys and its sorrows, its comforts and its confusions. On the other hand, while I am drawn to many of the secondary characters, I am struggling to really connect with the POV protagonist. In addition, the pacing of the novel is too slow for me. I don’t mind big books, but I want the length to feel purposeful and/or entertaining, and there are parts of The Father’s Tale that (for me at least) don’t fit into either of those two categories. Finally, I am finding the dialogue can, at times, pose a challenge. It can feel completely unrealistic, as if O’Brien is trying to shoehorn in certain themes, ideas, or references rather than letting them arise ‘naturally.’ If I wasn’t reading it for book club, it might be one of those books I put down to ‘try again later.’ However, it would definitely be a book I would want to ultimately finish.

Recent Commonplace Quotes

1. “John, dear, you don’t hate Judas-not really. You can’t bear the idea of hurting him. You don’t understand his sin or his despair, because you’ve never been truly wicked. The Master’s the only good man I ever met who knew how miserable it felt to be bad. It was if he got right inside you and felt all the horrible things you were doing to yourself…But I don’t suppose Judas ever let him in. He was too proud. I think it was harder for him than for people like Matthew and me and that poor robber on the cross. We know we’re so awful anyhow that it’s no good pretending we’re not, even to ourselves. So it doesn’t matter if other people come in and see what we’re like inside.” (Mary Magdalene in Dorothy Sayers’ play cycle about Jesus, specifically The King Comes to His Own)

   1. C.S. Lewis read Dorothy Sayers’ twelve play cycle, The Man Born to Be King, “in every Holy Week since it first appeared.” I can’t think of a better endorsement of this extraordinary work of fiction, written to be performed as a radio drama. As

      Kelsie Hartley
      described it, it’s like “The Chosen before The Chosen.” And as much as I enjoy “The Chosen,” Sayers’ work is much more sophisticated, moving, and biblical. I plan on listening to the original broadcast come Holy Week, though I highly recommend reading the plays. Sayers’ introduction to the cycle as a whole, and her ‘show notes’ for each play, are included in the book version, and they really add depth to the plays. The quote above was one that took the bottom right out of me. I can so easily fall into the trap of self-righteous self-satisfaction, keeping Christ at arm’s length because I don’t think I really need him. But Christ came for the sick, and if I am not to fall into Judas’ sins of pride and despair, I must stop “pretending” I am well. Then, and only then, can Jesus extend his empathy, and experience the suffering of my sinfulness with me.

2. “Haven’t I dreamed of you myself? You are right, I dreamed of you long ago, when I lived five years all alone in his country home. I used to think and dream, think and dream, and I was always imagining someone like you, kind, good and honest, and so stupid that he would come forward all of a sudden and say, ‘You are not to blame Nastasya Filippovna, and I adore you.’ I used to dream like that, till I nearly went out of my mind…And then this man would come, stay two months in the year, bringing shame, dishonour, corruption, degradation, and go away. So that a thousand times I wanted to fling myself into the pond, but I was a poor creature, I hadn’t the courage.” (Nastasya Filippovna, The Idiot, By: Fyodor Dostoevsky)

   1. I didn’t love The Idiot, particularly compared to other Russian novels I’ve read. I did love the discussion I had about it as part of a book club at my hometown’s library. And I did find this particular quote incredibly moving. The speaker, Nastasya, is discussing her traumatic past living as the “kept woman” of a wealthy Russian aristocrat (“this man”) from the ages of fifteen to twenty. The “idiot” of the novel, the innocent Prince Myshkin, pities and loves her, offering to marry Nastasya (the “you” she is addressing in the quote). But poor Nastasya, like so many abuse victims, cannot believe she is worthy of being loved. She takes responsibility for the reprehensible actions of her abuser onto herself, feeling ashamed for that which was not her fault. It is a quote worth meditating on in a culture rife with sexual brokenness, particularly for Christians tempted to judge the inner hearts of others by the outer actions we might find objectionable.

Excellent Earworms:

1. Music: This lovely song by Alan Doyle

2. Podcasts: I was happy to discover the “Pints With Jack” podcast after listening to David Bates introduce “The Space Trilogy” with the Reading Revisited ladies

Substack Shares:

• Porn is a horrific evil. This is an hill I will die on. In this piece,

  Emily Hancock
  does an excellent job explaining why our culture’s insistence otherwise is absurd.

Feminine Opposition to Porn is Not Hysterical

• I have a very sensitive and tender-hearted five-year-old. He once cried during a Winnie-the-Pooh TV show episode in which Rabbit had to let a baby bird he took care of 'go free. So finding books and movies that don’t set him off can be a tough task. It was really encouraging to read another Mom going through a similar experience and discovering some tried and tested resources.

When Your Child Can't Handle Stories

• A fabulous resource to get our future Janeites ready to encounter the queen herself. I would also add Anne of Green Gables, Cicely Mary Barker’s The Flower Fairy Books, and Frances Hodgson Burnett to the list.

A Child's Prerequisite Reading for Jane Austen

Polling the People

In honor of Valentine’s day, I thought I’d ask a fun question related to the reading of romance stories.

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