So I have a new paper topic! Just got it approved. I'm going to do.... wait for it... "the courtesan." Yup, that's a nice word for a prostitute. It should be a pretty good topic, though, because there are lots of artistic representations of prostitutes and brothels from this time. Degas, Manet, etc, were all captivated with this image, probably because it evoked the decadence of the age, as well as captured the objectification of women during this time. ANYWAY, Professor Bloch liked the idea, so we'll see how it goes.
Today I read a lot of Le Grand Meaulnes, our last full book. I liked it a lot, but I kept waiting for something to happen! The prose was beautiful, but it was very melodramatic and eerie, as though something was about to happen, but I just finished it, and nothing really did! I'm guessing Professor Bloch will argue that it's evocative of the gulf between imagination and reality that Proust went on and on about in Swann in love. Apparently, Proust thought that the "idea" of something was always better than the reality. He found reality so disappointing that he spent the last eighteen years of his life in his bedroom.
So I just saw Mrs. Mosley! She's here visiting Anne, and she told me to say hi. She's leaving on Monday, so she'll just miss you, but she wants to get together with me some time this weekend. Anyway, I've just finished the book, and I'm going to try and start researching my new topic now.
It's Chris's birthday today! I just sent the girls another postcard.
<3
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