Alright, I have a few questions and if there is anybody able to supply me with answers I would be MUCH obliged. Firstly (and forgive me, this is an old thought- I haven't posted in a while), what do the "infant dreams" signify? APPARENTLY whenever somebody has a dream about children, they are doomed... I'm wondering if this is a reference to women, (because women bare children and whatnot) and the responsibilities of motherhood? Or is Bronte trying to send us a subliminal message about dependence/independence (since children are generally completely dependent on others)? I dunno, I dunno... I certainly would LIKE to however... any thoughts?
SECONDLY. I do not understand why Bronte always refers to that town as S-- . What's the point of concealing the name of the town? All it does is trip me up when I'm reading-- is there a point? Again, I dunno. I just dunno... I certainly would LIKE to however... any thoughts?
Lav. I am sorry about my overuse of ellipses here ☹ --- and I'm sorry about that emoticon
hehehe
1 comment:
Emma, your second question first: Using dashes to conceal the name of a town or a shire is merely a convention many novelists used at the time. It's not so much about concealing place names as it is about trying to 'universalize' them. That is, if Bronte's readers happen to live in a particular place, and she mentions it by name, the fear is that their preconception of the locale will get in the way of them buying into her descriptions.
As for the second matter, I honestly don't know. You're right to pick up on the apparent significance of "infant dreams"--but maybe you need to explore this further and come up with an answer that will enlighten us all.
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