Question – What is your autumn / winter comfort read ?
Today is the 11th of September (No you have not gone back in time I started this post a while ago } the nights are drawing in , the rain is pounding against the windows and autumn is fast approaching. I love so many things about Autumn/Fall , I love the golden leaves that fall off the trees , the bitter crisp morning air , the festivities like Halloween and bomfire night , the fashion getting to wear chunky knit jumpers and Ugg Boots and waste hours watching horror films. I love to write at this time of year and I like to read , I probably read more books in the Autumn than summer and I love a nice chunky classic to devour.
I’m only going to discuss three classics , probably my favourite three and they are Great Expectations , Jane Eyre and Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde.
I’ve discussed Jane Eyre and Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde before on this blog so I’m going to begin with Great Expectations. Luckily I got to study all three of these novels in the past and to be honest they all link into each other as they are all gothic novels that feature realism. In Great Expectations there is the obvious gothic setting of Miss Havishams house which Pip visits and is stuck in time with everything decaying. Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde also has a very gothic sinister setting with the cobbled streets and blistered destained doors. Also the weather is used to create an uneasy and eery atmosphere and heighten fear in the reader especially fog ! In Great Expectations opening chapter the marsh is foggy and confusing for young Pip “The mist was heavier yet when I got out upon the marshes, so that instead of my running at everything, everything seemed to run at me.” this shows the setting is disorientating which would have made it frightening for a child. In Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde the door is “blistered and distained” and could be seen as a gateway into a more evil world.
In Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde there is the clear theme of good and evil and it shows that even clever professional well off people can commit crimes and appearances aren’t everything . In Great Expectations Magwitch is seen to be bad in the first chapter when he threatens to have Pips guts and is seen as an evil convict , however at the end of the novel it is revealed that he has never forgotten Pips hospitality and good deeds and is Pips secret benefactor and allowed Pip to escape his impoverished life as a blacksmith and go to London to become a Gentleman.
There is definitely something to be learned here. In current society most criminals have came from poverty and are demonized whereas the more well off are seen to be “good Samaritans” even though they have been born into luxury and opportunity so are less likely to go down routes like crime , this life also leads them to be ignorant and judgemental of those in less well off positions.
Miss Havishiam is also a symbolism of this. She manipulates and plays with Pips life and takes advantage of him. She teaches him how to become and gentleman and leads him on for years only to agree to pay for Pips apprenticeship when he is old enough. She is bitter because of her own failures in life and this leads her to be cruel to Pip. In current society a lot more of the population are highly educated and can use this to oppress others.
This time of year can be tough the little daylight can be very depressing , so I always turn back to books and music I’ve enjoyed in the past and give me comfort. I posed a question to you at the start what is a book you enjoy reading at this time of year ? Comment below. Thanks for reading and give this post a like if you enjoyed 🙂
