Ornament and Silence: Essays on Women's Lives

by Kennedy Fraser

In 13 superb essays that first appeared in Vogue and The New Yorker, Kennedy Fraser explores the uniquely female voice and presence in literature and art. Interspersing vignettes from her own life with history and anecdotes surrounding such notable literary personages as Virginia Woolf and Edith Wharton, Fraser provides a personal, informative, brilliant, and compassionate book.

Genres: Nonfiction, Essays, Feminism, Womens, Classics, Biography, Philosophy

247 pages, Hardcover

First published October 29, 1996

About the author

Kennedy Fraser is an American essayist, and fashion writer.

Reviews

[persephone ☾ · Rating 3 out of 5]

marvelous when it came to the essays actually talking about women but confusing when some of them focused more on men than anything 🙃

[Al Maki · Rating 5 out of 5]

The book is a collection of pieces from the New Yorker and Vogue that illuminate the lives and relationships of a number of women, mostly writers or artists: Virginia Woolf's with her half brothers, the poet Nina Berberova's with the Russian Revolution, a fashion designer whose husband carried on a long affair with Greta Garbo, the author's with Wallace Shawn. I found them fascinating and moving. I think Fraser ought to be more widely read. Her tone reminds me of MFK Fisher while her technique reminds me of a lighter Joan Didion.

[Kayley · Rating 4 out of 5]

First off I'd like to say: for a book of "essays on women's lives", this focused on a lot of men lol.

I enjoyed most of the essays, though I didn't love the writing. My favorite essays were the ones on Virginia Woolf and Edith Wharton. As with most essay collections, I found a few dull and dragged-out. But I also feel as though I've read several biographies, and I got a peek into lives I otherwise never would've known about. Overall I enjoyed, but I don't think it's necessarily life changing.

I did highlight 80 passages on my kindle though–take that as you will

[Victoria Castillo · Rating 5 out of 5]

singlehandedly on the most thoroughly devastating account of womanhood as performance - ever overlooked, ever lonely, and one with divinity. i only wish that so much of our history wasn’t lost to the ornamental spectacle of it all. i’m thinking of all the women whose stories we’ll never know and hoping that somewhere in forever the louise colet’s of the world are sharing in spectacular camraderie over a cup of tea. i love my girlfriends!

[LILI]

newfound love for Miriam Rothschild. Even more love for Virginia Wolff and Edith Wharton

Newfound hate for Matisse and Flaubert. Eff henri Matisse. And esp eff Gustave Flaubert. Eff those guys.

But yooo stan Johannes Vermeer ❤️

[Jacob Aubut]

I read the first essay on Woolf.

[rita margaret · Rating 3 out of 5]

in terms of content and writing ability, this book was an obvious 5 stars, it’s impossible to deny the amount of work that was put out to write it and fraser did a brilliant job in these essays. however i usually rate books based on how much i enjoyed them, in this case it was pretty hard to keep up (if only the font wasn’t so small) and unfortunately i found myself bored every other essay. but that’s just me ! still an amazing work.

[Marnie · Rating 3 out of 5]

While it is true that I only liked four of these essays, it is also true that I liked the very much. This is abook for slow readers, for people with time amd patience, which I am really not. If you’re someone who likes to read a bit before bed, I think you might find something I missed in this book.

[Luisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

This collection felt like they asked the author who she wanted to invite over for a dinner/lunch party, dead or living, and she just ran along with that.

[sara · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really really enjoyed the essays about Virginia Woolf, Edith Wharton and Nina Nikolayevna and I admire the work and investigation Fraser did here but quite honestly, I would have given the book five stars if she didn’t write from an extremely white point of view. I felt that she was completely oblivious to race and class issues (though not all the time) and it made the quality of the essays grew weary, for me, at least. Not to mention she (of course) only writes about extremely white and privileged women. Also, to be a book about “essays on women’s lives” I feel like she spends way too much time focusing on men.

[Eve🦂 · Rating 4 out of 5]

ok so my top 4 are definitely:
-fritillaries and hairy violets
-valentina
-demented pilgrimage
-there at the new yorker

i demented pilgrimage is definitely the saddest out of them 4. it is about a young woman travelling around the world to discover things about her father only to discover that he was not the person she thought he was.

i though that the essays were more enjoyable the more the book went on personally. i particularly enjoyed the shorter ones such as Meat.

this book has also given me lots of other reading material :)

[Ella · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really did not expect to enjoy this book as much as I did. Ornament and Silence is a collection of essays written on the lives of influential western artists, most of which are women. From Designer Valentina to artist Johannes Vermeer, Fraser’s storytelling is sharp, elegant and immersive.

My favourite short story would have to be Nina Berberova’s, but I thoroughly enjoyed them all. Adding to this, Fraser includes shorter snippets of moments in her life, recalling her time working for ‘the New Yorker’, sisterhood and her childhood in the British countryside. There is something for everyone; from writers and novelists, to naturalists and painters. Almost every art form is represented.

For me, this book threw me right into Gossip Girl and I understand why the writers would have Audrey Hope reading this book, it’s full of references to the old European aristocracy which thrived in the US.

However, I definitely would’ve liked more references to early feminism and female political figures in general, whilst the idealisation of the white ruling class was off putting at times.

Nevertheless, in terms of what she has chosen to write about, I would say that this is one of the best short story collections I have read.

4.5/5

[chriselle m. · Rating 3 out of 5]

"...self-destructive women than their brilliant relative, they yet found the old women ways of keeping themselves from living life. Shutting down behind self-pity and secret shame; sacrificing themselves to childish mothers and selfish men; vaguely yearning , self-medicating; painting someone else's pictures; obediently tracing a magic circle, afraid, entranced. There are so many different ways to drown." YUPPPPP

[Mimi · Rating 4 out of 5]

a wonderful group of essays by a former writer for the New Yorker. a 4.5

[Amaya Veiga · Rating 4 out of 5]

This past week, I decided to go beyond my comfort zone and decided to read this lovely, intelligent, anthology by the one and only Kennedy Fraser. The book focuses on the lives of women, both famous such as Edith Wharton, and those less well known, but not any less interesting. Fraser's writing is beautiful, thoughtful and a pleasure to read. 
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The book is filled with a love of literature and an incredible attention to detail. The way in which she describes each story making you feel as if you are there, a silent observer watching the author's formation of writing come together was a very curious experience. I found myself particularly moved by her writing about Anne Bronte. It seemed extremely delicate and precise, giving me the sensation of being able to see crystal clear into each persons life revealed from within their words on breadths of paper that seemed too little for such big subjects.

I would recommend this anthology to anyone who wants to read something incredibly intelligent and detailed, but not without some literary criticism mixed with a dash of fun-loving "ch chat". This is the sort of book you can pick up and read a section in the evening. I read the first essay at a mexican restaurant while third wheeling with my parents :D

If any of that sounds appealing then definitely check it out :))

[Lelia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Kennedy Fraser creates a lovely circle, ending her book of essays in a way that sent me back to the beginning ready to start reading all over again. I love her notion that reading and writing other women’s lives helped her claim her own life/voice.

Somewhere(?) I read someone(?) who said she picks up Ornament and Silence whenever she needs to remind herself what beautiful writing looks like. Fraser does write beautifully and, although some of the essays in the middle of the book were less engaging to me, I felt Fraser’s years at The New Yorker, honing her voice, learning to choose the exact word to convey her meaning were fruitful. But I also appreciated the challenge of finding her authentic voice when it was male editors who helped her learn to write. Of course every writer has to learn which edits make her writing better and which are simply the preference/style of the editor. That’s why this book invites rereading - every story seems to be about the effort to discover an authentic self through layers of conditioning. Sometimes the challenge is external - surviving the Russian Revolution and WWII - and sometimes it’s internal or personal - the editorial notes by a husband that make you shut your writing away in a drawer for years.

[sush · Rating 4 out of 5]

i really enjoyed ornament and silence and found it to be a rather worthwhile enlightening and enriching reading experience. kennedy fraser’s obvious talent in writing shines through the most when she recounts biographical background with a feminist lens, in a manner that makes me wishes i could be capable of doing. the first quarter had the most impact on me. especially the piece on nina berberova, a russian writer whom i had never heard of but was a force that lead an interesting life among the likes of influential 20th century russian figures. along with a personal essay of kennedy fraser on sisterhood.

however there are three pieces with primary male subjects which came as a surprise to me as i believed the book would exclusively have focus on women.

[Alisa Cupcakeland · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was the first book I picked up while dealing with an awful depression so I have some special love for it. I gotta admit I think many essays focused on men despite being supposedly about Women's Lives.

My favorite essays were the ones about Virginia Woolf, Edith Wharton, Germaine Greer and the one the author writes about her relationship with her sister. I also put a lot of post its in the book which for me is always a good sign, because it means I thought many of the passages were memorable.

[Carissa Tridina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Took a while for me to get through this. This was a mkxed bag for me, some essays I loved - like the Virginia Woolf, Nina Berberova and Germaine Greer ones - others were dense to get through.

If you’re looking for diversity, you’re not going to find it in here. Most, if not all, of the essays are on the women in a circle of uniform, privileged white men. But the writing is rich and vivid, great to read slow with one essay at a time.

[Frida · Rating 3 out of 5]

As with most essay collections, some essays were wonderful, while others were more dense and unassuming; however, Fraser is a talented writer and really does manage to bring these stories to life. It’s rather interesting reading about the different lives of the people written about. My personal favourites were the essays, Valentina, Going on (Nina Berberova) and The Poet of Everyday Life (Johannes Vermeer).

[Dominique · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really dig this format. Felt incredibly enlightening. It’s rare I walk away from a book feeling like I learned something about myself but having this context for some of the most influential female writers of the 20th century changed me and my relationship w writing. I skipped every essay about a man. why are they in here? They didn’t need to ONLY pull from her Vogue portfolio. She could’ve written some new shit to pad it. Anyways I highly suggest the Edit Wharton essay. Cool shit.

[ANNA fayard · Rating 4 out of 5]

“[The history of most women is] hidden either by silence, or by flourishes and ornaments that amount to silence.”
—Virginia Woolf

Some of these were quite good. Really really liked two of Fraser’s personal essays, namely the last essay “There at the New Yorker: The Novel I Never Wrote for William Shawn” and “My Sister, Myself.” Also liked the first essay on Nina Berberova (“Going On”) and one of the middle essays on Johannes Vermeer (“The Poet of Everyday Life”).

[Rebecca Russavage · Rating 5 out of 5]

I bought this on a whim after it was included on a list of books writers at a certain publication reread regularly. This was good writing—not excellent, but well above par. And that is enough of a reason to read it. The women it features are magnificent and most of them unknown to me (a side effect of reading books that were respectably popular in the nineties). The thoughts are honest, and the imagery compelling.

[Jennie · Rating 3 out of 5]

“Much of women’s side of history has been lost in anonymity and self-deprecation— hidden either by silence, or by flourishes and ornaments that amount to silence.”
You can see this is accurate as I had no clue about any of the context in the short essays about women’s lives. I didn’t like that it focused a lot on their relationship with men but that’s how things were back in the days I suppose. Kind of slow paced and not super interesting but an ok read overall.

[Luísa Russo · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really admire about the women whose lives Fraser chose to examine so closely is how they all seem to be connected by the unapologetic ways in which they each lived and loved. These women were iconoclasts who deftly navigated their lives' challenges, and despite living in a much-changed world since then, I find their examples to be highly inspiring.

[Dina · Rating 2 out of 5]

For a books about women’s lives it seems to center a lot around men. And also which women are we also referring to. It seems to me that it is only white women. What about south Asian women, East Asian women, African women. This book lacks diversity and good essays.

There was only one that was decent essay and that was, my sister and myself.

[amy]

Ornament and Silence is ostensibly a collection about women's lives. I liked the essays, but I don't know that they really fit together as a collection. I did find the essays about people I knew about beforehand more interesting because I had a better sense of why it mattered. I had to look up a few of the people Fraser discusses, and those essays were harder to get into.

[karina ❀ུ۪ · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.25⭐️
This collection of essays is so beautifully written, but I’d lie if I rated it higher. I feel like something was missing and sadly, this book didn’t impress me as much as I was hoping it would.

[Cameron England · Rating 3 out of 5]

Virginia Woolf and Edith Wharton (first 2 essays) were the only 2 I really took interest in and were good essays. I read on until a little over halfway until the Paul Scott essay and then just completely lost interest. For these to be essays on women’s lives there was a LOT about men.

[Evva Geraerts · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some essays I found very boring and just not for me but others i really loved.