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New Grub Street Part 1 - Chapters I-VII
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Madge UK
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Jan 24, 2015 09:47AM
Gosh! Thankyou Jana, it isn't as good as that!!:)
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Thank you Madge, you have opened an entirely new concept for me to think and read about. Your bkg information is definitely as interesting as the book. The book is fun too. I think both Milvain and Reardon have a point. One must be practical. There should be some thought on the sustenance of his livelihood. Reardon I think is very whimsical. As soon as he gets some money he quits his job or some other steady sypply if money. I would love to give him a shake and tell him about his bills. Milvain on the contrary is very practical, but whether he has any talent remains to be seen. He understands the necessity for self promotion whether it is a good thing or not, and also meets up with the necessary people to get his things done.
Thanks Bharathi. I think the poverty suffered by Reardon would discourage him from self promotion or meeting new people. Weakness due to lack of food and lack of a decent suit would be drawbacks to socialising. The much criticised inertia observed in poor people ('scroungers') is often caused by bad diet linked to depression. Milvain has independent means and is not reliant upon his writing. I wonder, does poverty lead to better writing? Will the rags worn by Reardon and Biffen lead to riches later on? Or should they give up writing and take steady jobs as clerks? One thing seems certain, it is better not to encumber yourself with a wife and child until you have a regular income from writing.
I agree Madge. I can understand also that diet could lead to depression. Also the earlier concept of physical activity. I think that physical activity to a large part decreases the occurrence of depression. That said, I think Reardon had a reasonably good job in the hospital, especially with an understanding boss, he should have stuck with it. He makes his trip to Greece and Italy the reason for his lack of inspiration. I rather think it is ill-advised marriage to Amy (though she is not a bad person, rather not suitable to someone with Reardon's temperament) that seems to be his barrier.
There are quite a few instances of successful Victorian writers who worked whilst writing (Everyman may know something about this) but I don't recall a study showing a comparison between those who worked and those who didn't. Women, who mainly didn't work, were not conspicuously more successful than men who did.
I've finally got to the end of this section and am racing to catch up with the next.I've found it difficult to get into this novel. Part one seems to be largely scene-setting, with a lot of character presentation and backstories. I'm with Madge on the "little less conversation, please" front. Everyman made a good point about it being better to listen to people to get hints as to their characters and motivations than to listen to someone else tell you about them. But there's so much constant chatter! They all seem to be talking but not doing. A bit like Reardon.
I can't make up my mind about Jasper Milvain. He seemed thoroughly contemptible in his blasé attitude towards people and their work. I enjoyed Gissing's descriptions of how he moves and speaks to reflect this. The words "easy", "easily", "with ease" come up a lot. He doesn't walk, he strolls or saunters. He does genuinely seem to care about Reardon though, and his fear of falling in love with Marion might prove to be a chink in his slouchy armour. Is he going to be a character who surfs through life whatever it might throw at him as appears at the moment, or is Gissing setting him up for a fall?
I associate the name Jasper with moustached Victorian villains so I am expecting a fall:) The Victorians appreciated hard work and perhaps wouldn't take kindly to a character who had too easy a life. Or is he a cynical example that men of his kind prospered whilst hard work went unrewarded?
Madge wrote: "I associate the name Jasper with moustached Victorian villains so I am expecting a fall:)."Quite! I associate it with surnames like Despard, also moustachio-twirlingly villainous :-) Maybe it's because they sound like "dastardly"?
I'd been thinking a bit about the names in general: Milvain sounds Norman in origin (new order, new money, oppressors); Yule has distinctly Old English connotations (traditional but wintery) and Reardon... Irish I presume, but you'd be able to confirm that. So, the outsider, the oppressed and... the poor.
Good points. Authors often use names significantly, don't know whether Gissing did.
Wow,Pip. The name analysis is fantastic. I also think they are significant. I am thinking that it will turn out the way the names are used. I am curious.
Pip: From the Internet Surname Database:M’Ilvain with omission of the apostrophe. The name appears in Edinburgh in 1644 (Edinb. Marr.), and Alexander Milwayen in Carsduchan is in record in 1765 (Wigtown). See also Macilvain.
Reardon: This interesting name of Medieval Irish origin is an alternative form of Riordan, which in Irish Gaelic is O'Riordain. The earlier form, O'Rioghbhardain, reveals its derivation from 'Rioghbhard', meaning Royal bard, with the 'O' denoting 'descendant of'. The sept of O'Riordan belongs exclusively to Munster.
Biffen: Recorded in the spellings of Biffen, Biffin, Biffon, Baffen, Bufffin and probably others, this is an English medieval surname. It has at least two possible and quite separate origins. The first is from a Norman-French nickname term of endearment, "bon-fin" and translating literally as good and delicate. This phrase was introduced into England after 1066, and achieved some popularity in the three centuries when French was the spoken language of the upper classes. The second possible origin is from an Anglo-Saxon personal name "Bofa". This was a popular first name of great antiquity and one which just about survived the Conquest, when many such 'Saxon' names were lost through a combination of political correctness and self preservation!
Yule: Recorded in many forms as shown below, this is an English surname. It is of early medieval origins, and derives from the 12th century word "yule", meaning Christmastide, but ultimately from the pre 7th century "geol" and the Norse-Viking "jol". The surname would have been given as a nickname to someone who was born on Christmas Day, or had some other connection with this time of year. This was originally the name of a pagan midwinter festival, which was later appropriated by the Christian Church for celebration of the birth of Christ. The creation of surnames from nicknames was a common practice in the Middle Ages, and many modern-day surnames derive from personal characteristics of one sort or another.
Drat! So I was wrong about Milvain. Two out of three isn't bad though ;-)Thanks for the info Madge - I love etymology and the origins of names.
I wonder if Gissing knew about the 'royal bard' connection? Biffen is the name of an aristocratic family who have been in our House of Lords since 1066 so he would have known that one. He was a classics scholar, fluent in Greek and Latin so historical analogies would have come easily to him. Apparently even in his darkest days he never pawned his Greek or Roman classics like Homer and Cicero and always kept his volumes of Shakespeare.
Madge wrote: "I wonder if Gissing knew about the 'royal bard' connection? Biffen is the name of an aristocratic family who have been in our House of Lords since 1066 so he would have known that one. He was a cla..."The "royal bard" question is an interesting one. If he was something of a linguist, he may have chosen the name specifically either ironically or as an element of foreshadowing (hope springs eternal....).
I'm actually wondering if a biography of Gissing might not be more interesting than his novel!
Plus, Milvain has "vain" in it... I don't know if that was intentional, but it does describe the character.
Dominika wrote: "Plus, Milvain has "vain" in it... I don't know if that was intentional, but it does describe the character."And "mil" - a thousand. A thousand times vain!!
