Pilgrimage - Deadlock 2019

[Kristel]

Discussion/comments.

[Diane]

Rating: 4 stars


This is one of my favorite installments, so far. Miriam develops a relationship with one of Mrs. Bailey's boarders, a Russian Jew. They have many delightful conversations about books, religion, politics, etc. I especially enjoyed the discussions about literature. On a side note, I found it interesting that I read two different books this week that discussed Tolstoy's unusual choice taken in the naming the main character in Anna Karenina.

There were some race discussions that made me uncomfortable, but I had to remind myself about the time frame in which the book was written and the prevailing attitudes of the time.

I continue to see improvement in Richardson's writing quality.

[Amanda]

I'm inclined to agree with you Diane. I wasn't feeling this section at first, but by the end it was one of my favorites (I think 1 and 3 would be the other 2 that stand out so far for me).

I remember earlier on in the book we were all discussing why this is considered a feminist work when a lot of the earlier sections are just Miriam trashing other girls. But, in this section we really see Miriam start to question patriarchal norms and even the word "feminist" is explicitly used in such an early work. I thought that was very cool.

I left the book itself at work, so I might come back to this thread with more specific thoughts later, but there are a few things that I do remember sticking out that I thought were worth mentioning.

One of these is a conversation near the end where Miriam (and Shatov I believe?) are talking about at their core, if the most important thing a woman can be is a wife and mother. And Miriam disparages that even men who think they are feminists think that, and he pushes back that isn't that ultimately true. Sadly, I think society still kind of fetishizes motherhood to a degree that we still implicitly teach that (at least in North America). She comes back with essentially "no, that' s just what men have assumed because they don't understand a woman's lived experience, and most women wouldn't know how else to think about it". I thought that was very poignant: particularly for the time, but still today as well.

I remember there also being an interesting conversation about what was pretty much Christian feminism that I thought was interesting. I mean, the framing of "who's better to women: Jews or Christians?" was dated and a bit uncomfortable, but the idea itself that early Christianity appealed to women because they could be equals in heaven if the lived righteously is historically astute. Many early Roman Christians were slaves and women for this reason.

I'm also happy she didn't marry Shatov even though I liked him overall. A man who is largely progressive, but still doesn't believe in your absolute equality is not a compromise worth making in my view. Sadly, I feel like a lot of women are still making compromises like that though.

[[deleted user]]

For once I agree with everyone :) this volume of the book really grew on me and I appreciated the debates between Miriam and Shatov although as the others have mentioned some of these were uncomfortable racially.

I would still only give this 3 stars but at least it didn't feel like a chore to read.

Here are some quotes that struck me:

"Because some women had corns, feminine beauty was a myth; because the world could do without Mrs Hermans' poetry, women should confine their attention to puddings and babies. The infernal complacent cheek of it. This was the kind of thing middle-class men read."

"It ought to be illegal to publish a book by a man without first giving it to a woman to annotate."

"They have absolutely no souls at all. I never saw an American soul. The Canadians have." So Canadian women speaking looks painful but the Americans have no soul way to improve relations Miriam.

"Her anticipations fell dead. It was the name of a woman...Anna; of all names. Karenine. The story of a woman told by a man with a man's idea about people."

"At present there is England, both for the Jewish speculator and the refugee pauper. But for those who look at facts, the end of this possibility is in sight. The time for the closing of this last door is approaching." Very insightful

"The thought of no God made life simply silly. The thought of God made it embarrassing."

"You see Miriam, if instead of beating me, you will tell me your thoughts, it is quite possible that mine may be modified." Communication is so important.

[Gail]

At first I liked this section less than some of the others. It was less charming as Miriam developed opinions and judgements of her own rather than being the faltering and vulnerable young woman of the previous chapters. However, ultimately I found it more satisfying due to those very opinions. I in particular liked her understanding something about who she was when she wrote which was stronger and more independent that the person who only voiced and often voiced inadequately (her own judgement). I felt her relationship with Mr. Shatov was much more mature than others she has had, in that she recognized what exactly he was able to offer her, opening up her own thoughts to herself. It would have been a rare man that could have understood Miriam's version of feminism during that time. Miriam did not believe in the feminism of the time because it relied on women being seen as subjugated and needing men to free them. Miriam saw women as whole in and of themselves without the need for men, husbands, children at all and that it was men's beliefs that had to change not women's conditions. I am not sure I understood or described this well and I am not sure I agree
with this, but it was an interesting twist on what exactly makes people equal.
Her being committed to a conservative and idealistic concept of "England" was rather irritating but certainly a reflection of the times while her comment about the black man in the cafe was extremely harsh - was that of the times? It seems to me very ugly even for the time.
I missed the relationship with her sisters. As they matured and struggled, she became rather judgmental towards them, which is certainly realistic but not as refreshing.
Her relationship to London continues to be wonderful.
I loved the part where she jumps on a bus to escape Mr. Shatov...
Also the part where she is fired and manages to use the English gentleman's hatred of conflict against Mr. Hancock to get reinstated....especially the part about not being able to pretend to be cheerful.

This paragraph seemed to reflect her writing as a whole although in the book it describes learning french:
"It was like a sea. each sentence a wave rolling in, rising till the light shone through its glistening crest, dropping to give way to the next oncoming wave, the meaning gathering, accumulating, coming nearer with each rising falling rhythm; each chapter a renewed tide, monotonously repeating throughout the book in every tone of light and shade the same burden, the secret of everything in the world."

[Pip]

I have fallen far behind in my reading and reviewing, but I felt well pleased when I finished Deadlock today. I am reading through the lens of thinking how my granddaughter, who is living in London at the moment, might read this book. I justified the purchase by thinking I would pass the books on to her, and have already given her the first two volumes. I continue to marvel how Richardson can sum up internal dialogues in ways that remind me of my own thoughts, particularly when she is feeling uncomfortable in social situations. Her discussions about race a la Nietzsche, and the pull between religion, philosophy and science were the most intriguing part of this volume. She fell in love with Shatov through their parrying about ideas but then "Love was the secret of things". I am interrupted again - will return another day!

[Pip]

Other quotes i enjoyed: In discussing gender roles, "At least she saw. But what was the use of not being deceived? How in the vast spread of humanity expose the sham? How escape, without surrendering life itself, treachourous countenancing of the fiendish spectacle? What good would death do?' "That men never have, never can, understand the least thing about even the worst woman in the world?" "It was not fair that men did not know the whole of this secret place and its compact. Why was God in league only with women?'