Concetti Chiave
- "The Moorland Cottage" by Elizabeth Gaskell explores themes such as family dynamics, religion, and women's societal roles in the 19th century.
- The story is set in an idyllic, isolated house on the moor, likened to a "German fairytale house," symbolizing beauty and unreality.
- The narrative contrasts various relationships, especially highlighting the favoritism of Edward by his mother over his sister Maggie.
- Edward is portrayed as arrogant and selfish, prioritizing wealth over following in his father's footsteps, and treating Maggie poorly.
- Maggie, despite being undervalued by her family, remains humble, religious, and steadfast in her personal beliefs and emotions.
"The Moorland Cottage" is a novel written by Elizabeth Gaskell, which was first published in 1850.
Temi principali del libro
The main themes addressed by this book are: the parent-child relationship, religion, the setting as an integral part of the narrative and the role of women in the society of the time.
The house on the moor is the residence where Maggie and Edward live with their mother, widow of Mr Browne, who was the curate of Combehurst.
This isolated house in the English countryside almost looks like a painting, a work of art drawn on canvas, as beautiful as it is unreal and idyllic and as the author explains, it was like a "German fairytale house set in the forest".
At least until a certain moment when the fairy tale will not have its happy ending.
The Brownes have as neighbors the Buxtons formed by Mr and Mrs Buxton. his son Frank, his cousin Erminia.
Contrasti e relazioni familiari
This novel is pervaded by contrasts, women versus men, Frank and Edward and the Brownne versus the Burton.
Edward is the favorite son, the mother defends him with the sword in every situation and until the end she prefers him to Maggie. He always justifies it, probably at some points in the novel I think it was Gaskell herself who spoke and not the character; we know well that to overcome the disappearance of the only son he started writing and turned it into a profession.
"Her mother had a certain respect for her, and she depended enormously on her. Yet it cannot be said that what she felt towards her was affectionate, Or, if she was, it was a bland and indolent feeling compared to the profound love and joyful pride for Edward. "
Edward is arrogant, selfish, conceited and interested only in money, he spends a period away from Combehurst to study and when he returns instead of following in his father's footsteps and becoming a curate, he decides to become a lawyer. But his character has not improved in fact, even Maggie notices it.
Despite all this, Edward also treats his sister badly does not consider her as a human being, but a person to be "manipulated" at will and to achieve their own goals.
Il ruolo di Maggie
Maggie, Edward's sister, is a humble and very religious girl, unable to hate anyone, unfortunately she grew up in a modest family and above all with her mother who does not consider her equal to her brother and who continues to repeat her as she should behave and what a woman can do with respect to a man. I really appreciated his steadfastness in claiming and following his feelings.
Domande da interrogazione
- Quali sono i temi principali affrontati nel romanzo "The Moorland Cottage"?
- Come viene descritta la casa sulla brughiera nel romanzo?
- Qual è il rapporto tra Maggie ed Edward con la loro madre?
- Come viene caratterizzato Edward nel romanzo?
I temi principali del romanzo includono la relazione genitore-figlio, la religione, l'importanza dell'ambientazione nella narrazione e il ruolo delle donne nella società dell'epoca.
La casa sulla brughiera è descritta come un'opera d'arte, simile a una "casa da fiaba tedesca nel bosco", bella e idilliaca, ma destinata a non avere un lieto fine.
La madre ha un rispetto per Maggie e dipende da lei, ma il suo amore e orgoglio sono principalmente rivolti a Edward, che è il figlio preferito e difeso in ogni situazione.
Edward è descritto come arrogante, egoista e interessato solo al denaro. Nonostante il suo periodo di studio lontano da Combehurst, il suo carattere non migliora e continua a trattare male la sorella Maggie.
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