![]() It’s been mapped, people, it’s been done to death. ![]() Ibsen and Flaubert imagined Hedda Gabler and Emma Bovary (get it? Emma?), ages ago. To say nothing of Edith Wharton and Age of Innocence. Richard Ford does a far better job with the species, albeit one conceptual town over. Updike and Cheever wrote this guy to pieces. Repressed and dominated woman, alienated anxious man. I was so mad by the time I reached the end of the book that my memory of the plot is foggy, but I do recall that Richard falls off a roof when attempting to steal the weathervane from his more successful rival’s new house.Īnd there you have the primary stereotypes of privileged European-derived families, one, two, and done. Ineffectual, alienated, foolish protagonist nonetheless. The patriarch, Richard, serves as protagonist. This one tells the story of a New England High WASP family wedding. No denying, it’s entertaining.ĭid you know that comedies often end in weddings or dances? Yes. Seating Arrangements, on the other hand, is more of a melodramatic comedy. Along the way, loved ones die, tables are set, glorious Jil Sander clothes get worn. I’m still shaking my head over that part. She and her lover cook, make love in fields, and for some reason wind up dirty and entwined in a cave. So the lovely Russian, known now as Emma, leaves her husband, family and beautiful house for a young chef. A distinction we don’t make here in America. The term bourgeois applies because the money comes from textiles, not land or title. I Am Love tells the story of a Russian woman, married for something like 25 years to the patriarch of a wealthy Italian family. ![]() Coincidentally, and recently, I happened also to have read Maggie Shipstead’s book, Seating Arrangements. This weekend I finally caught up with I Am Love, Tilda Swinton’s movie about an Italian “haute bourgeoise” family. We’re throwing in a book and a movie review for good measure. ![]() Those of you new to the blog, I ask your forbearance. Those of you old-timers who find the theme annoying, please (as Faux Fuchsia would say), Look Away Now™. It’s been a while since I addressed my odd High WASP culture. ![]()
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