The Power of Skirts

Interesting article that manages to discuss skirts, feminism and communism all in the same breath.

Ladies and Gentlemen...

...may I present Miss Jane Austen! While perusing one of my favorite blogs I quite inadvertently stumbled over this lovely article about why the world needs Jane Austen. More specifically it concerns itself with the examples of true gentlemanlike, as well as ladylike, behavior that Austen illustrates in her characters. As any Janite knows not all of Austen's characters are mannerly and amiable slaves of the social dictates of Regency England. She infuses her stories with a colorful cast of rascals, rakes, snobs, bombasts, twits and last, but certainly not least, those who are truly good. With these characters Austen draws for her readers a very distinct picture of the roles that men and women should play, and the many ways in which one can miss the mark. She shows how to be a true gentleman or lady we must have a strong sense of the moral good, as well as a firm idea of duty, honor and modesty.

Why We Need Jane Austen

Strength: Part I

(NB: This is the first of a 3-part series, examining three pieces of literature with dual female protagonists and how their strengths complement each other by following archetypal patterns .)

Last summer, I re-read the Lord of the Rings trilogy. If you haven't read them, do yourself a favor, and read them. Your soul and heart with thank you for it. If you haven't visited them in a long time, why don't you stop by and call on them again. You'll discover new and exciting things in them each time you read. One of the chief themes that struck me this time around was the relationship- the differences, similarities, and connections between the two main female protagonists, Arwen and Éowyn. (Although, to be technical, I suppose that in the books Galadriel is more of a female protagonist than Arwen. And Galadriel definitely embodies female strength-she's the Wisdom figure. So, we'll touch on that as well.)

Many of the young women I know who are fans of the books find Eowyn the most attractive. Of all the woman role models in the Lord of the Rings, she's appears to be the most active and dynamic. Éowyn is a tom-boy's heroine. She gets out there with the men and gets the job done. However, Éowyn sacrifices a bit of her femininity doing so. Aragorn describes her as an iron maiden. She has steeled herself to endure the fate that faces Rohan. She's frozen her heart, for fear of being hurt. In the Houses of Healing, Éowyn fully recovers. Not only does she recover from her physical battle wounds, she unthaws. The love of Faramir nourishes and heals her-warms her heart once more. The love story between Faramir and Eowyn is so precious. He's not about to tame her-he simply pulls her over to his side. He sees this fierce warrior who, like any good mother bear, will fight tooth and claw to protect her loved ones. If he can win her heart, he knows that her loyalty will be forever his. And he melts her. She hardens herself riding into battle, and it takes the gentle sunlight of Faramir's love to melt the stone-cold statue and find the tender maiden underneath.

Éowyn is an example of the female archetype of the woman warrior. In times of great hardship and peril, a woman takes it upon herself to save. To protect. To challenge evil. Joan of Arc is a real-life historical example of this. Another literary example is Antigone, the heroine of Sophocles's tragedy.

Here's one main point that hit me when re-reading the trilogy: both women get what they want. That may seem unimportant, but it's not. It's highly unusual. Many characters never get what they want in books. Half the characters in Lord of the Rings don't get exactly what they want. For example, all Sam wants is to be with Frodo, and the saga ends with the two of them being sundered by a sea. Éowyn desires honor and valor. She sees her house falling into ruins, and it cuts her to the core. She longs for romance, for love, for brave deeds, a dire fight, fell adventures that will be remembered forever in song, and a life full to the brim.

Arwen wants one thing: Aragorn. To be with the man she loves. And her fight for him is one of endurance and patience. Women, like swans, excel at hunkering down and enduring hardships for long stretches. Swans migrate 3000+ miles. Women make it through 3+ childbirths. The power of women is the power to outlast adversity, to live through horrors, trials and tribulations, and endure it all with calm, equanimity and boundless courage. Calm and quiet, mystery and secrecy-these are at the core of classic feminine strength. Women are also much more relationship focused. Instead of striking out and winning glory and honor for herself, Arwen uses all her power to assist Aragorn on his mission. She is the perfect teammate-thinking only of the one she loves, and working with all her might to make sure he succeeds. She is generous enough to desire his success, because even his success is her happiness. Even though the price of this happiness is her death.

Arwen's more of a mover and shaker-the brains, not the brawn. And that's a crucial theme running through Lord of the Rings-mind over matter. The strength of her will is often remarked on. And there's little said about her, but one feels her power and her strength when she is mentioned. Hers and Aragorn's story is one of two individuals standing the tests of time. They have loved each other for so long. And Arwen is willing to face death in order to be with him. Like Éowyn, this woman has no fear of death. She would rather spend a lifetime with the man she loves than an eternity without him. That takes incredible quiet strength. She is willing to give her life for him. That is love.

Galadriel has a similar strength to Arwen's. She is wisdom and light. She is the Athena-like character in the story. Slightly removed from normal human emotions and passions. Goddess-like, tender and jovial, yet powerful and stern. In the Wisdom books of the Bible, Wisdom is often characterized as female or feminine. Galadriel is the archetypal Wisdom figure in the trilogy.

Recently, Mara and I were discussing Antigone, since I just read it in class, and was caught up in the amazing wondrousness of that play. We compared it to Pride and Prejudice, but as I revisited this blog post, I realized that all three of these pieces of literature have heroines that follow the same archetypes. Thus was born the idea of this series on femininity and feminine strength in literature. Stay tuned for more!

The Simple Joys of Maidenhood

Over spring break, I discovered this little lovely website. Okay, okay, a lot of these reasons are rather bizarre and kind of stupid, BUT I think the idea behind these jokes are valid. Girls (smart girls) bond over the awesome fact that they're girls. Silly girls spend their days griping about how the female sex has been oppressed by patriarchal society or some such nonsense. I don't even know. Okay, okay, I'm being too flippant. I should acknowledge there have definitely been societies throughout history that have been radically downright cruel towards women. And my heart burns with indignation. And there are women in Muslim countries who face untold atrocities, and my heart aches for them. And women who undergo stoning, or mutilation, or enforced rape are being violated and oppressed in the most disgusting and cowardly way possible. But that just proves how great it is to be a woman. Good men appreciate (albeit with a twinge of wry bemusement), and are rapt in awe. Evil or weak men want to bring down women and seek to oppress them. I think it's radically unfair to our Muslim sisters-and all women who face those dangers- to even pretend that we're oppressed. The majority of women in America are fortunate beyond our comprehension. We should be grateful, so grateful for the opportunities and freedoms that we have.

AND we should giggle with sheer delight and joy that we are women. (Heh. I just realized this blog post might not be the most relatable to the gentlemen who are part of this blog's readership. Whoops. Feel free to stop reading now if you want.

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Are you still reading? Awesome.)

Women are a community-a sisterhood. There are so many times I sit at lunch/dinner/coffee/pie with one of my nearest and dearest sisters of the heart and we bond over the fact that we are women, we love being a woman, and begin to list a thousand big and little things why being a woman is awesome. We have solidarity with each other, and when someone attacks our sisters, we bristle with unsounded wrath. "Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned," you know. In fact, playwrights ever since Aeschylus have gotten what a force to be reckoned with an unhinged woman is. Clytaemestra is a ferocious, fascinating, remorseless killer who murders her husband, and has no qualms about taking an axe to her son's head. Euripides tells the story of Medea, who kills her two innocent boys in order to break her faithless husband's heart. Yikes. I feel as though I've digressed by ranting about these insane women, and I feel as thought they're not supporting my point that being a woman ROCKS. Whoops. Well, here's evidence that being a woman rocks. People make songs about it, so dude, there's gotta be something there. Rogers and Hammerstein penned: "I Enjoy Being a Girl," and then there's the classic "How Lovely to Be a Woman," which is one of my personal favorites. Kim sings: "How lovely to be a woman/and smile a woman's smile." There's some sort of delicious, intriguing and solely feminine mystique captured in a woman's smile. And in the very fact of being a woman means your something of a mystery. Mystery and secret are at the core of womanhood, which is why secrets mean so very much to girls. And when someone confides a secret to them, women hold it to their hearts-a bond forms between them and their confidante.

And beauty. Beauty is so, so important for a woman. We are called to bring beauty to the world. Although it is undeniable that men can be incredibly beautiful (I'm sure you ladies can easily think of several gentlemen that prove this point. Ahem.), women have a beauty all their own. I'm trying to attempt to explain it, but I feel like I will fall short of the endeavor. So I'm leaving that subject to sit and ruminate in our minds. We'll touch on that another day.

In conclusion, I enjoy being a girl. That's all this post really is- a thanksgiving and celebration for being a woman. There's nothin' like it, kids.

P.S. Also, stay tuned for a post coming soon-that's been in the works for 8 months now. Yipes!-about Arwen, Eowyn, and womanhood. See how nice a segue this post is for that post? Eh? Eh? Thanks for reading-now get off the computer and go enjoy your day. Bask in the sunlight. Take a walk. Sing a song. Dance in the grass. Feed some birds. Live life.

Old and the New

"Good," said Aslan, "If you had felt yourself sufficient, it would have been a proof that you were not."

The first morning of spring break, my little brother asked me to put in a DVD for him to watch. "Renée," he said, "can you put in the DVD that says 'Prince Caspian and the Voyage of the Dawn Treader'?" I took pause, confused. Then I realized he wasn't referring to the new movies, but to the old-school BBC DVDs. Do any of you remember those? Anyone? With the buck-toothed Lucy, the amazing '80's-esque hair, the 2D animated FX, and the Aslan who couldn't move his mouth? I have very fond memories of them. And to be perfectly frank, I greatly prefer them to the newer movies.

Objection: *scoff* "Renée! You can't be serious! I mean, just look: *points to the cartoon-like special effects* Need I say more?"

I won't argue. The newer Chronicles have production values that are astronomically better than the old BBC miniseries'. But I think amidst all the slick CGI images, and the state of the art visuals, something is lost. The new Chronicles of Narnia don't feel like the Chronicles that I read growing up. Some books you read are sensory experiences in the fullest sense of the word: not only do you see and hear the text, there are certain smells, locations, or foods that remind you of the books, or that you experience while reading the books. The Chronicles are like that for me-there are definitely certain feelings and images that remind me of the Narnia stories. And these are books that have a very definite, tangible aura about them, unlike any other I've experience in a book. Those books defined my childhood, and I think one of the most beautiful aspects of the books is their simple clarity and their gentle spirit mixed in with the epicness. The new movie have lost that simple "homeishness" of the books. I think the old movies capture that spirit beautifully. They've got the wistful magic of pipes playing the opening theme, rather ordinary young children playing the four siblings, a stiff, but somehow majestic and fatherly puppet-lion portraying Aslan. The countryside looks so familiar, yet strange and fairy-tale-ish nonetheless.

But the greatest difference between the old and the new struck me when I heard Aslan tell Caspian that "If you had felt yourself sufficient, it would have been proof that you were not." That line, so full of Lewis' cutting wisdom and deep insight. The new movies lack that essential Lewis-ness. They loose the Christian atmosphere of the Chronicles. Aslan is a weaker character-Father Christmas doesn't credit Aslan for the return of Christmas; the witch doesn't shake with dread at the mention of Aslan's name; Mr. Beaver's line about Aslan not being "safe" is cut, and when the witch cites the Deep Magic, Aslan snarls: "Don't tell me about the Deep Magic! I was there when it was written," as if He was a petulant teenager. They've diminished the majesty and the power of Aslan-they've weakened Him. And by weakening Christ in the story, the story is weakened. Part of the story is lost, and that's tragic.

In conclusion, I was so proud of my baby brother for putting in the old movie. Kickin' it old school. Like a champ. No school like the old school.

Summer Style

My friends, the season of summer is fast approaching. Thus, we enter into a new fashion season.

I am excited to announce to you that long skirts/dresses are the pieces to have.

There were lots of stores at the mall which had long dresses and skirts! Yah!

Even the American Eagle* website, had these skirts:

Let this beautiful summer season begin!

*American Eagle(in my opinion) has not been known for having modest, feminine clothes in the past. In fact, when I have gotten gift cards there I typically have to buy jewelry or some other accessory.

Light Lenten Literature (with a side of Alliteration)

My, my, but we've been actively posting lately. I wonder if it's the weather, or a desire to avoid schoolwork?

Anyhoo, I've just popped in to recommend Peter Kreeft's The Snakebite Letters. Why, yes, it is written in the style of Lewis' Screwtape Letters, thank you for noticing. Screwtape just happens to be one of my favorite books ever (and that's saying a lot, coming from the girl who can't make up her mind whether to go for the caesar salad or the caesar salad wrap), so this book has been sitting on my "to-read" pile for a while now. Since I work in the college's library, I snagged our copy sometime at the beginning of the semester and finally settled down to it a few weeks ago.

Although I didn't find it as engrossing as Lewis' original (in most of the letters, Kreeft tries too hard to be Lewis-writing-for-a-modernish-American-audience, and the cleverly diabolical viewpoint is a leetle forced on his part, but I loved the extravagance of Kreeft's descriptive phrases, as I tend towards that style of writing myself), it was still pretty good. The letters on the liturgy and all of its faults, failures, and flaws (as well as how to look past them to what is really going on during Mass) were especially interesting and enjoyable. So, while I wouldn't recommend running out and buying this book for your Lenten meditations, I would definitely pick it up should you happen across a copy.

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In more-than-slightly-related news, Fr. Longenecker  has a series of (very) short columns at patheos written in Screwtapian (if it's not a word yet, I just made it one) style. Personally, I find his take on the genre a bit more true-to-the-original and...zingy than Kreeft's. First installment here, with a complete list of articles here.

To Sleep, Perchance to Dream

Dreams feel real while we're in them. It's only when we wake up that we realize something was actually strange.

Throughout human history, dreaming has fascinated and mystified humans. One of my friends tells a story of when her older brother was 5. He came down from his bed one night and told his parents: "Mommy! I saw pictures on my eyelids when I slept!" How fascinating and sweet that a small little boy had to be told that the pictures on his eyelids were a different kind of reality.

In a sense, dreaming mirrors the reality of life. When we dream, we enter a different sort of reality that's a part of our larger reality. When we wake from dreaming, we come back to the waking world, the "real world." But, just as dreams end, this life will pass by, when we die will we wake into the reality that we're actually meant for. The illogic of dreams we find jarring when we are aware that there is a greater world we are meant for. When we realize that there is a greater, deeper, more real reality that we are born for, then this world will seem like a passing dream.

Rose, the sanguine young heroine of Shadow of the Bear, ponders, "Have you ever felt that there was something going on in life that not everyone was aware of?...As though there’s a story going on that everyone is a part of, but not everybody knows about—a sort of drama, a battle between what’s peripheral and what’s really important. As though the people you meet aren’t just their plain, prosaic selves, but are actually princes and princesses, gods and goddesses, fairies, gypsies, shepherds, all sorts of fantastic creatures who’ve chosen to hide their real shape...Or have forgotten who they really are." The possibility that there is a deeper reality to our world is exciting and exhilarating. When we shuffle off this mortal coil, we will enter something so real, this world of ours now will seem like a passing shadow.

Now we dream, soon we will awake. That's the hope.

Embarking on Adventure

"An inconvenience is only an adventure wrongly considered. An adventure is only an inconvenience rightly considered." ~G.K. Chesterton

So, I'm sitting in the basement of my dorm, waiting to find out where I'm going to room next year. And I was grumbling under my breath: " blarrrggghhhhh" And then I thought, "What a major inconvenience." And then I thought: "Correction: what an adventure." And it definitely is an adventure. Coming in freshman year and having your roommate for the year randomly chosen for you is also an adventure. I've been lucky enough that my roomie's been a comfort and a support this year. Who doesn't mind when I accidentally knock over trash bins in the room when I come in at 2:00 in the morning. That's called patience, my friends. And I think it takes a lot of that stuff to live with me.

So, now the adventure continues. So, here we sit. Casting dirty looks at any girls who mention thinking about considering eyeing the rooms where we want to live. Stressing out about how many doubles are left. Fretting. Worrying. And then, at some point, a giant wave of apathy slides over us and we cease caring. Stressing out is exhausting.

That said, it's much easier to stress out about an inconvenience than to turn it into an adventure. It's much a much lazier choice to stress out about life and it's little sorrows and setbacks than to think of them as steps of an awesome journey. Ever since the beginning of the semester, I've felt that God's leading me to a grand adventure. And then I realized: right now is the adventure. All the little triumphs and sorrows of daily life are the adventure. As Jo sings in the musical Little Woman: "My great adventure has begun." My adventure is well-underway. I'm entering into the last quarter of freshman year. This adventure has started. And I'm ready for it.

The Feast of St. Patrick

On this most blessed day which honors that holy man and first bishop of Ireland, St. Patrick, I thought I should share with you some Irish blessings.



An Old Irish Blessing
May the road rise up to meet you.
May the wind always be at your back.
May the sun shine warm upon your face,
and rains fall soft upon your fields.
And until we meet again,
May God hold you in the palm of His hand.



A Wish for a Friend
Wishing you a rainbow
For sunlight after showers—
Miles and miles of Irish smiles
For golden happy hours—
Shamrocks at your doorway
For luck and laughter too,
And a host of friends that never ends
Each day your whole life through!



An Irish Prayer
May God give you...
For every storm, a rainbow,
For every tear, a smile,
For every care, a promise,
And a blessing in each trial.
For every problem life sends,
A faithful friend to share,
For every sigh, a sweet song,
And an answer for each prayer.




From St. Patrick's Breastplate
Christ be with me
Christ before me
Christ behind me
Christ in me
Christ beneath me
Christ above me
Christ on my right
Christ on my left
Christ where I lie
Christ where I sit
Christ where I arise
Christ in the heart of every man
who thinks of me
Christ in the mouth of every man
who speaks of me
Christ in every eye that sees me
Christ in every ear that hears me
Salvation is of the Lord.



An Old Irish Blessing
May love and laughter light your days,
and warm your heart and home.
May good and faithful friends be yours,
wherever you may roam.
May peace and plenty bless your world
with joy that long endures.
May all life's passing seasons
bring the best to you and yours!