| The first excerpt represents the past or something you must release, and is drawn from Herland by Charlotte Gilman: about three-fifths of the population; with them only about one-
third, or less. And precious--! No sole heir to an empire's throne,
no solitary millionaire baby, no only child of middle-aged parents,
could compare as an idol with these Herland children.
But before I start on that subject I must finish up that little
analysis I was trying to make.
They did effectually and permanently limit the population in numbers,
so that the country furnished plenty for the fullest, richest life for all
of them: plenty of everything, including room, air, solitude even.
And then they set to work to improve that population in quality--
since they were restricted in quantity. This they had been at work on,
Herland |
The second excerpt represents the present or the deciding factor of the moment, and is drawn from Early Short Fiction of Edith Wharton by Edith Wharton: passivity, this almost human lassitude, seemed to me sadder than
the misery of starved and beaten animals. I should have liked to
rouse them for a minute, to coax them into a game or a scamper;
but the longer I looked into their fixed and weary eyes the more
preposterous the idea became. With the windows of that house
looking down on us, how could I have imagined such a thing? The
dogs knew better: THEY knew what the house would tolerate and
what it would not. I even fancied that they knew what was
passing through my mind, and pitied me for my frivolity. But
even that feeling probably reached them through a thick fog of
listlessness. I had an idea that their distance from me was as
|
The third excerpt represents the future or something you must embrace, and is drawn from Agnes Grey by Anne Bronte: poor creatures at their meals, making uncivil remarks about their
food, and their manner of eating; they would laugh at their simple
notions and provincial expressions, till some of them scarcely
durst venture to speak; they would call the grave elderly men and
women old fools and silly old blockheads to their faces: and all
this without meaning to offend. I could see that the people were
often hurt and annoyed by such conduct, though their fear of the
'grand ladies' prevented them from testifying any resentment; but
THEY never perceived it. They thought that, as these cottagers
were poor and untaught, they must be stupid and brutish; and as
long as they, their superiors, condescended to talk to them, and to
Agnes Grey |
