Behind the Names

Names have always interested me. In stories, there's usually a lot of thought behind the names of the characters, because it is supposed to reflect something about the character, so I decided that I'd go through with my findings into the names.

First is Joseph Andrews. Joseph is most commonly known from the person in the Bible, and there are a few parallels. Like Joseph from the Bible, J. Andrews was kicked out of his home against his will. They were also both servants in a way (Bible Joseph was a slave, but you could argue the similarities). Bible Joseph was also the most favored out of his brothers, and, while Joseph Andrews can't compare to Pamela (obviously), he is still one of the most admirable characters in the story because you want him to come out on top at the end because he is so nice and tries his best to be good.

Second is Abraham Adams. Like Abraham from the Bible, they are both known for their steadfast in their faith, even if Abraham Adams is more on the naive side. He always believes everything will work in the end, even if he could have prevented the problem if he had more street sense.

Third is Fanny Goodwill. We learned what fanny is during class, so I'll refrain from reiterating it. It really just points out that she's the girl character, and really the only good girl character with seemingly pure motives. Her last name is quite obvious. She has a general goodness about her and good intentions. She only wants to find her Joseph.

Fourth is Sir Thomas Booby. Thomas was a person from the Bible, being one of the 12 disciples. He was known for his loyalty, which we see this characteristic in Thomas Booby when he trusts his wife's word and sends Joseph out into the world. There is the Saint Thomas who fought for the rights of the Church during King Henry 2's reign. There's also his last name, which reflects on his character. When you call someone a 'boob', it can mean that they are stupid or idiotic, and sense he fell for his wife's false claims, he was being stupid indeed. I'm not going to do there other Booby's since I just went over that last name.

Fifth is Mrs. Slipslop. I just want to say that I think her name is very silly. It reflects her character because she is very, well sloppish. She's a nasty woman who wants Joseph.

Sixth is Peter Pounce. His last name is obvious since he puts on airs to make himself seem more higher class than he is. He 'pounces' up when can. Peter is also a person from the Bible. He was basically the leader of the apostles, and Peter Pounce would no doubt jump at the chance to lead a group of high class citizens into certain fashions.

I also wanted to point that Parson Trulliber's name meant somewhere along the lines of fat farmer, according to some foot notes in the book.

Mrs. Grave-airs gives us a sense of...well...a lady with grave airs. Not someone you would go out of your way to hang out with.

While that's not all the characters, I tried to hit some of the earlier ones, and the main ones.

Poems are just difficult

I thought that for this entry, I'd just go over Lady Mary Wortley Montagu's poem because I have a hard time understanding poetry. The first stanza seems pretty straight-forward. He's all dressed up for a date with Betty. It also wasn't lost on me that Montagu describes his appearance, just as Swift said that women were pretty.

The second stanza it says that he had wrote her a lot of letters trying to impress her, but she never invited him over (I think). I don't get the line "Jenny her maid could taste a rhyme/And, grieved to see him lose his time". Is it saying that the maid was flattered by his letters? Was it usual for a maid to her Lady's letters? And the stanza ends by saying that he has to pay to see Betty. I'm really not sure how to take that. It kind of sounds like a prostitute, but then again maybe Betty just hopes to get something out of the pointless meeting, the something being money.

The third stanza is when they meet up. He has the money and the second they meet he starts saying stuff she expected and had probably read in his letters. He does give her the money which she takes. Then it says "And in her trunk rose up to lock it". What is her trunk? Maybe a car trunk? It ends by saying she came back to him, expecting a warm welcome as before.

The fourth stanza the narrator feels like she has to put in a disclaimer. At least, that what it feels like to me. "Alas for wretched humankind,/With learning mad, with wisdom blind!/The ox thinks he's for saddle fit/(As long ago friend Horace writ)". I find that whole part very confusing. The first two lines feel like she's saying that people are stupid. Then the last two lines I can't even guess at. After that part, it says that men only assume that women want to hear them speak. At the part with the toupee, it sounds like she's saying he has a big head and goes on to assume the stuff afterwards? That is, the stuff about philosophy and politics. But then she ends it with "That all is right, his head is wrong". So she says that....oh I don't even know. Something she previously stated was right and then men are getting it wrong.

In the fifth stanza she states that no one even bothers to learn their place, but "Strain for wisdom, beauty, spirit" and end up losing praise that should have been theirs because they overstepped and look foolish.

The sixth stanza says that they should follow their instincts because their instinct would tell them when to stop pushing the boundaries where they belong.

I'm immediately confused when the seventh stanza starts. "The reverend lover with surprise/Peeps in her bubbies, and her eyes,/And kisses both, and tries---and tries." What? The reverend lover? What is a reverend lover? What are bubbies? Babies? It's just very confusing. It stays confusing until the diaglogue because I can tell he's blaming the women for his venture into the women's dressing room (in reference to Swift's poem of course).

In the last stanza, the nymph, or woman, responds, but I have no idea what "The blame lies all in sixty odd" means. Betty kicks out her suitor, but he demands the money back because they didn't do anything (Is she a prostitute?) She says she won't give it back because all he did was yell at her. He then says that he'll be revenged for his humility (I love the line "you saucy quean") and says that he'll describe her room (so that means that the suitor is the narrator in Swift's poem, it all suddenly makes a little more sense!). It ends with Betty saying that she's glad he'll write about it, because she couldn't care less.

I know that most of this will probably be clarified on Monday, but for now, I'm still pretty confused in certain parts and stanzas.

Pinchwife

I wanted to a character analysis on Pinchwife from The Country Wife. I feel there is more to him than to be summed up in 'he is covetous of his wife'. From early, we find out that he doesn't like the city at all, and is only there because of some suit of law (lawsuit). It begs the question of what did he do to get it? As far as I'm aware, it's not said, at least in the first two acts. Could it have been something to do with his wife? He does seem very...obsessive? He even goes so far as to try and convince everyone that she's hideous and awkward. He even says that she's ill mannered and says that he won't teach her 'breeding' because the ignorant wife is the best. Although, with men like Horner about, it's hard to lay blame completely on him. He could be a little more lax with her however. Because we know he is older, he seems out of place because everyone else seems younger. Pinchwife seems to have more old fashioned views about women and marriage as do Horner and Harcourt. He also later goes on to talk about how much he hates fops. It makes me think that he holds the image and idea of a man highly. I can see him not liking fops because of how they dress and, to quote him, "Such as sped their Estates before they come to them are Cuckholds before they're married." He doesn't think them smart at all. Perhaps it their hair? Or their fashion? Or even how they act? Who knows. But then, Pinchwife makes a remark in act 2 that his lies he told above seems very close to his opinion on women. "Well, there is no being too hard for Women at their own weapon, lying, therefore I'll quit the Field." It was an offhand remark to clue us into his thoughts. With remarks like that, coupled with the lies he's spreading about her, and how he treats her to her face, the fops he hates so much seems like better men, because while they have ill intentions, they at least treat you like a smart human.

What does it mean?

Petrarch Rima 160

The basic plot of this poem is that the speaker sees a woman who is so smittingly beautiful that he tries to follow her, even though she bades him not to, and he follows until he falls into a stream and loses sight of her.

When it talks about a pure white hind, and later on at the 'touch me not' part, it makes her seem pure and unsullen in the 'unripe' season. Which would mean that the speaker was chasing after the perfect purity, just out of his grasp, but since he was a miser already, he couldn't obtain it.

Then it goes on to talk about the diamonds and topaz encircling her neck, spelling out the words 'touch me not'. Diamonds always represent love and topaz is representative of wise, smart choices. Both play into the purity theme because love is a pure thing, and wise choices lead to a wise, lasting love unlike the unwise choice of a one-night stand.

Beheading

As I was reading Beowulf, I noticed that after he killed Grendel's mother, he specifically sought out Grendel's body and took his head. Why would he do that? He already killed Grendel, so it's not like he had to finish the job. He didn't need proof because they had already celebrated Grendel's death and Beowulf's victory. If there was any doubt, then King Hrothgar wouldn't have set up the victory feast. So the only other thing that I could think of why Beowulf would seek it out, was if there was some type of symbolism behind the action.

Beheading was seen as a symbol of pride and victory. It was a trophy that he could hold up. So, when Beowulf sought out Grendel in the cave and cut his head off his dead body, it was Beowulf's absolute proof and his pride that he killed Grendel. It's not that anyone doubted him, but it brought him some closure, and it was a better trophy than the beast's arm.

Then what of Grendel's mother? Of course, it could also be seen as a trophy, but he didn't bring her head from out of the cave. Some have seen it as Beowulf cleaving off lust's head, since she was a female monster, and thus swearing off having children, which he never had.

We could also say something similar about the beheading of the dragon that ended up killing Beowulf. He beheaded the dragon, which dragons are likened to greed more often than not, and he never ended up taking the horde. Of course that's because he died, but his people, whom he represented and fought for and ruled over,  never even took it, instead let it stay buried within the mountain.