The Woodlanders - Thomas Hardy

The novel begins with a view of the forests surrounding Little Hintock, a secluded woodland village. A barber from the nearby town of Sherton Abbas travels into the woods to buy Marty South’s beautiful hair, since poverty forces her to sell it. Soon after, Grace Melbury, the educated daughter of a timber merchant, returns home from boarding school. She reunites with her childhood friend and fiancé, Giles Winterborne, whom Marty secretly loves. Grace notices that Little Hintock has changed during her absence, especially with the arrival of the sophisticated doctor, Edgar Fitzpiers, a man from a higher social class who now lives in the district. 

The main story is the complicated love story between Grace Melbury and the humble woodlander, Giles Winterborne. Grace is often treated like property by her father. Mr. Melbury spends a great amount of money on her education so she can become an educated lady, socially above the woodland people of Little Hintock. Because of this sacrifice, he begins to think that marrying Giles Winterborne would waste Grace’s education and social advancement.

Grace is also quite capricious about her future, and I think she is similar to her father in some ways. At times, this becomes a little annoying because Grace always acts like an obedient daughter and rarely stands against her father’s wishes. When Giles loses his house, Grace finally marries Dr. Fitzpiers. She seems relieved because the marriage follows her father’s choice, even though she barely knows the doctor well.

Characters from outside the woodland, such as Mrs. Charmond and Dr. Fitzpiers, look noble and educated from the outside, but inside they are emotionally complicated. Hardy shows a contrast between the simple woodland people and the more modern upper-class people, suggests that rich or educated people are not always better than simple rural people.

The woodland is the main setting of this novel. It is full of tall trees with little sunshine, so the atmosphere feels quiet, lonely, resilient, and a little dark. The district in the woodland area is called Little Hintock. The “woodlanders” are the people who live and make a living in the woods.

After reading The Woodlanders and The Return of the Native, I think Thomas Hardy feels important today because he recorded a rural world that slowly disappeared. He captured the lives, labor, and struggles of English peasants and village communities before industrial modern life changed everything. For example, Giles Winterborne works with traditional cider-maker, Marty South strips bark from trees, and other villagers work closely with timber and forests. In The Return of the Native, the furze-cutters also show the hard life of rural workers. Hardy vividly preserved ways of life that were later erased by modernization.

I do not know how Victorian society valued Hardy’s novels at that time. If we imagine living in that era, people may have read his stories as ordinary accounts of everyday rural life, just as modern people today write about the difficulties of life in the city. But because Hardy’s novels describe a world from more than 200 years ago, it's more interesting to me, reading them today feels like a window to past time.

Ruang Buku Megga Rated : ✬✬✬✬ (4/5)

Title :  The Woodlanders

Author : Thomas Hardy

Publisher : Everyman Library
Year :  1994 (First Published in 1887 )
Format / Pages : Softcover / 400 pages
ISBN :  9780460874595

Middlemarch - George Eliot

Middlemarch is an important landmark in nineteenth-century English literature. It shows the everyday life of people living in a provincial town in England and highlights their struggles and hopes. Through different characters from various social classes, George Eliot presents multiple points of view, helping readers understand how complex society and human relationships can be.

"Miss Brooke had that kind of beauty which seems to be thrown into relief by poor dress. Her hand and wrist were so finely formed that she could wear sleeves not less bare of style than those in which the Blessed Virgin appeared to Italian painters; and her profile as well as her stature and bearing seemed to gain the more dignity from her plain garments,...."

Nineteen-year-old Dorothea Brooke, a woman steadfast in her principles, astonishes all of Middlemarch by accepting the proposal of a forty-five-year-old man, the somewhat ill-bred scholar Rev. Edward Casaubon. This choice suggests that Dorothea’s feelings are not based on physical or romantic attraction. Instead, she idealizes the intellectual and religious qualities of the historian, seeing him as a kind of role model and believing that supporting his work will give greater purpose to her life. But, when Dorothea saw Will Ladislaw (the cousin of Casaubon), she felt the feeling like she never felt before.

Alongside this, another set of relationships develops around the Vincy family, whose members share a desire to improve their social position. Rosamond Vincy, who never imagined marrying a man from Middlemarch, becomes interested in a visiting doctor, Tertius Lydgate. Meanwhile, her brother Fred Vincy is lazy, fond of gambling, and deeply in debt, though he hopes to inherit his uncle’s estate. Fred wishes to marry Mary Garth, but he is still uncertain about how to deal with the responsibilities and difficulties of life. At first, the stories of the three main characters remain separate, each following its own path. However, the author gradually intertwines them, since they are all residents of the small town of Middlemarch and encounter one another on various occasions.

“If youth is the season of hope, it is often so only in the sense that our elders are hopeful about us; for no age is so apt as youth to think its emotions, partings, and resolves are the last of their kind. Each crisis seems final, simply because it is new. We are told that the oldest inhabitants in Peru do not cease to be agitated by the earthquakes, but they probably see beyond each shock, and reflect that there are plenty more to come.”

George Eliot hints at the unhappy marriages of both Casaubon and Lydgate. It seems that Dorothea and Rosamond both find married life different from what they expected. Dorothea is treated coldly by Casaubon; although she is eager to help him with his book, The Key to All Mythologies, he believes she is incapable of assisting him. Holding a religious position does not automatically make someone humble and empathetic, this the author hints Edward Casaubon seems very cruel to her cousin and Dorothea, because of his jelousy, he makes a will that Dorothea will not inherit Lowick Manor if she marries Ladislaw. 

On the other hand, Rosamond appears to be a cheerful wife, but she has been raised to think that a wife’s role is mainly to please and entertain her husband. She does not fully understand that medical work requires long-term effort and dedication. When Lydgate is absent, she seeks attention and distraction elsewhere. Because of this, many readers tend to dislike Rosamond, as her actions create further problems in their marriage. 

I really like the quote from The Maid's Tragedy by Beaumont and Fletcher that Eliot spills on the first chapter:

‘Since I can do no good because a woman, Reach constantly at something that is near it,’

because it strongly resonates with George Eliot as a woman, and with Dorothea Brooke herself. It reflects the limitations placed on women, but also their desire to still do something meaningful. After becoming a widow, Dorothea wants to turn her ideals into real social improvement, such as her donation for the hospital and  especially through estate management, which was unusual for a woman. With the help of Caleb Garth, she plans to build better cottages for the tenants. This also connects back to the first chapter, when she designs model cottages. In the end, she finally achieves what she wanted, as marriage is no longer a limitation.

How much can one intelligent, idealistic individual actually change a whole community? The way George Eliot describes the town is interesting because Middlemarch almost feels like a character in the story. It is a traditional provincial town where people strongly follow old customs and are suspicious of new ideas. People still gossiping and prejudice, they are not ready for the changes medicine that Lydgate brings from London. Many villagers still think doctors are similar to quacks. Lydgate, however, represents a more modern doctor who studies the human body to improve medical knowledge. In one part, he examines a dead body for research, but the people of the town think this is disrespectful. This shows how the townspeople do not understand new scientific methods and prefer to hold on to their traditional beliefs.

This book is nearly one thousand pages long, and at times it can feel quite verbose. However, Eliot’s ‘verbosity’ often works as a kind of intellectual commentary on human life. Eliot’s narrator often feels thoughtful and philosophical. It's different from what I read before,  The Mill on The Floss, in Middlemarch, Eliot (Mary Ann Evans) really wanted to show off her high education and her interested in mythology, classical philosophy and earlier literature which appear in both the narration and the characters’ conversations.

In the end, reading Middlemarch feels like taking a long train journey: the destination is far, but the changing views along the way keep it engaging, and by the time you arrive, you see things from a new perspective. I like the way this book ending with justice for Ladislaw and the happines for Fred and Mary. Five Star for Middlemarch !

“If we had a keen vision and feeling of all ordinary human life, it would be like hearing the grass grow and the squirrel's heart beat, and we should die of that roar which lies on the other side of silence.”

Ruang Buku Megga Rated : ✭✭✭✭✭ (5/5)
Title : Middlemarch
Author : George Eliot
Publisher : Penguin English Library
Year : 2012 (First Published in 1872)
Format / Pages : Softcover / 923 pages
ISBN : 9780141199795

Howards End - E.M Forster

Although A Room with a View didn’t make a lasting impression on me, I found Howards End to be much deeper and more philosophically engaging. Howards End looks at social problems and how people behave between classes, but it also goes deeper into the characters’ thoughts and feelings. The themes feel different too. The story talks about class and social differences , but it also deals with harder issues like responsibility and understanding between people during Edwardian era or early twentieth century

Howards End begins with a letter from Helen Schlegel to her sister Margaret, telling her about an impulsive romance with Paul Wilcox during Helen's visit at Howards End. However, Mr. Wilcox dismisses the relationship as unserious because Paul “hasn’t a penny” to marry. In the Wilcox family, a man must be financially independent before taking a wife, even though the family itself is wealthy.

The Schlegels live at Wickham Place in London—Margaret being the eldest, followed by Helen and their brother Tibby. The Wilcoxes live across the street for a time, and during this period Margaret becomes close to Mrs. Ruth Wilcox. Ruth sees something genuine and trustworthy in Margaret, something that reminds her of the spirit of Howards End-the property of Ruth Wilcox, and the house where she was born. This connection leads Ruth to leave Howards End to Margaret in her will—on a piece of paper written by her hand. This becomes the source of the conflict between the Wilcoxes and the Schlegels. The Wilcoxes assume that the house belongs to them and treat Ruth’s deathbed wish as sentimental nonsense rather than a real inheritance. 

Leonard Bast first meets the Schlegels when he comes to Wickham Place to retrieve his umbrella after Helen mistakenly takes it at a concert. The sisters become interested in him because he seems thoughtful and eager to improve himself. They invite him into conversations about books and life, which makes Leonard feel respected. 

The three families in Howards End, each from a different social class, really interest me because they show how people live and think in completely different ways. The Wilcox, the upper-class represent as practical, materialist, and power. Their bussines somehow is building the empire. The Schlegels,  upper-class but not as royal as Wilcoxes, they are more like bohemian, they value arts, books and philoshopy. The Bast or Leonard Bast is the lower-class, he is poor but sometimes loses himself while reading, he believe with reading he want to become "something". 

The heroine of this novel is Margaret, at the begining in the novel she 28 years old but her personality is mature, she is able to connect the people from different classes, and brave enough to confront about idealism with her husband who is very phatriach. She is contrast with Wilcoxes who think success and wealth are proof of superiority, Margaret thinks every person has value, whether rich or poor. Mr. Henry Wilcox remarks that "there are always the rich and the poor", and this reflects his worldview, believe that class divisions are natural. I think he benefits from this system, because his companies rely on lower-class workers.

This outer life, though obviously horrid, often seems the real one —there’s grit in it.

Helen Schlegel is too romanticize her life, and fancying the idealistic life where everyone is equal. Offcourse by reading books too much, we can't solve every problem in this life, but with reading we gain an educated mind, emphaty for our hearts, and appreciate the artistic in life, those are what Forster said about "the inner life" that holds our feelings. Helen insist to help Mr. Bast whatever its cost. Different from her sister, Margaret brings something new to the Wilcox family—she feeds their minds, comforts their hearts, and reminds them that life is more than just work and keep getting whealty, these are also what Forster said to us, that The Wilcoxes just have "the outer life" shaped by work, duty, and society’s expectations. Because the true harmony comes when we learn to connect the two, the inner and the outer life.

"Only connect! That was the whole of her sermon. Only connect the prose and the passion, and both will be exalted, and human love will be seen at its height. Live in fragments no longer. Only connect, and the beast and the monk, robbed of the isolation that is life to either, will die."

The Schlegels’ idea of “Only Connect” suggests that people from the lower class, like Leonard Bast, can be helped through meaningful connection with those from the upper class. The rich may offer advice or guidance, but misunderstandings still happen because a real gap exists between the classes, such as different experience and practical knowledge. Leonard is intelligent, but his idealism and ambition clash with the Wilcoxes’ practicality and the realities of his own situation. The novel asks whether someone from the lower class in that era could truly “rise,” or whether the rigid social structure makes such upward movement extremely difficult. 

The novel ends at Howards End, returning to where it began. Forster wants readers to understand the philosophy of a house—not merely as a building, but as a place filled with history and meaning. Ruth and Margaret value the house because they believe it represents continuity, harmony, and connection. This contrasts with the Wilcoxes, who see the house only as a piece of property.

In the end, I find Forster’s writing  is easy to read, well structured though heavy issues and sharp social commentary. He often describes London in 1910 as cloudy and polluted because of motor-car smoke, which makes the city feel busy and heavy. In contrast, he shows the English countryside as calm, relaxing, and peaceful. This difference highlights how Forster sees the countryside as a place where people can find clarity and connection.

Ruang Buku Megga Rated : ✬✬✬✬(4/5)
Title : Howards End
Author : E. M Forster
Publisher : Penguin English Library
Year : 2012 (First Published in 1910)
Format / Pages : Softcover / 382 pages
ISBN : 978-0141199405

The House of Mirth - Edith Wharton

Edith Wharton’s The House of Mirth moved me profoundly. Ever since I finished the novel a few days ago, I haven’t been able to stop thinking about it as I try to make sense of my feelings. There is no doubt that I was captivated by it—so much so that my thoughts have been entirely absorbed in trying to understand it. To truly comprehend its depth and to fully grasp it I could not do without cliffnotes, literary charts or watch the biography of Edith Wharton from historical channel for masterful help.

The complexity of Lily Bart

Gillian Anderson as Lily Bart,
The House of Mirth (2000)

“She was so evidently the victim of the civilization which had produced her, that the links of her bracelet seemed like manacles chaining her to her fate.” (Book I, Chapter 6)

Lily Bart, 29 years old is looking for a husband. She is trapped by the very society that made her. The bracelet, a symbol of beauty and wealth, becomes a chain that holds her down. Lily wants to live honestly and be free from society’s pressure, but she depends on it at the same time. She knows what is wrong with the world she lives in, but she cannot escape it. It is complex, because she lives between what she wants and what she believes is right. 

“She had learned that a woman’s dignity may cost her all she has; but that the absence of it is the costlier thing.”  (Book II, Chapter 7)

In the begining of the novel, Lliy is on the way to attend a house party which her friends, Judy Trenor as a hostes. In this occasion, it is a sadly normal things that a woman in the society like her to seduce a whealty men for a husband, not actually 'sex seduction', but a social performence, expected to marry well. Lily want to attract Percy Gryce, she meet him in a train, but her conversation interupted by Bertha Doreset, one of Lily's friends in her socilite circle who wants to keep Lily from rising higher.

Lily Bart and Lawrence Selden

On the same day, before taking the train to Bellomont, Lily meets Lawrence Selden. She is waiting at the station after visiting her aunt, Mrs. Peniston, when she suddenly spots him among the crowd. Selden invites her to his nearby flat for a cup of tea, and because she doesn’t want anyone to see them together.

“Isn’t marriage your vocation? Isn’t it what you’re all brought up for?”

 (Selden, Book I, Chapter )

“Ah, there’s the difference—a girl must, a man may if he chooses.”She surveyed him critically. “Your coat’s a little shabby—but who cares? It doesn’t keep people from asking you to dine. If I were shabby no one would have me: a woman is asked out as much for her clothes as for herself. The clothes are the background, the frame, if you like: they don’t make success, but they are a part of it. Who wants a dingy woman? We are expected to be pretty and well-dressed till we drop—and if we can’t keep it up alone, we have to go into partnership.” (Lily, Book I, Chapter)

The conversations between Lily Bart and Lawrence Selden are among the most fascinating parts of The House of Mirth. Besides providing an overview of the double standards in the early twentieth century, through their dialogue, Edith Wharton emphasizes the contrast between individual ideals and the corrupt social system that shapes their lives.

He sat up with sudden energy, resting his elbows on his knees and staring out upon the mellow fields. “My idea of success,” he said, “is personal freedom."

“Freedom? Freedom from worries?"
"From everything—from money, from poverty, from ease and anxiety, from all the material accidents. To keep a kind of republic of the spirit— that’s what I call success."

It is clear that Lily and Selden stand on opposite sides of that world: while Lily is trapped within the glittering but merciless society she depends on, Selden remains outside, observing and judging it with moral detachment. Selden’s belief in a “republic of the spirit” represents a vision of freedom based on integrity and inner worth rather than wealth. Yet tragically, Lily cannot fully embrace that ideal—she knows that Selden is not wealthy enough to sustain the luxurious life her upper-class world demands. So, they are intellectually and emotionally equal, but unequal socially and  freedom.

The Character's mirror  and The Social Game

In The House of Mirth show that not everyone who looks kind really is. People in Lily's world care more about gossip and appearance than honesty or friendship. Everything around her feels like a masked ball, where everyone wears smiles to cover their true faces, that the beautiful world of the rich is often just a disguise for greed and competition.

“It was one of the laws of Lily’s world that she must amuse her friends, but never let them see that they amused her.”

Edith Wharton uses Bertha Dorset, Carry Fisher, and Gerty Farish as three different paths that Lily Bart could take — like multiple choices offered by society. Each woman represents a possible way for Lily's future. Bertha chooses wealth and power through lies and manipulation. Gerty chooses honesty and kindness, but lives a poor and lonely life. Carry learns how to adapt — she is not cruel, but she plays the social game just enough to live comfortably. Wharton shows that for women like Lily, every choice leads to loss: if she chooses goodness, she loses comfort; if she chooses wealth, she loses freedom. None of the options offer real happiness. In this world, beauty and charm are social currency, and one misstep leads to ruin. Lily begins as a skilled player but gradually realizes that the game itself is corrupt.

Conclusion:

In the end, The House of Mirth is not merely the story of one woman, but also a reflection of the world and circumstances she navigates. Through Lily Bart’s experiences, Wharton critiques the shallow values of the society she once belonged to. She also gives readers plenty of room to imagine, using subtlety and ambiguity, especially in the ending, which invites interpretation. Her elegant, suggestive style makes readers active participants in understanding the story. This is what gives her writing enduring power, allowing it to remain relevant and widely discussed more than a century later. 

Ruang Buku Megga Rated : ✬✬✬✬✬(5/5)
Title : The House of Mirth
Author : Edith Wharton
Publisher : Penguin English Library
Year : 2012 (First Published in 1905)
Format / Pages : Softcover / 400 pages
ISBN : 9780141199023

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The Karamazov Brothers - Fyodor Dostoevsky

In The Karamazov Brothers, Dostoevsky employs four main characters to weave his story and express his philosophical vision. First is Fyodor Karamazov, a corrupt and selfish father who neglects his three sons. His eldest, Dmitry, born from his first wife, is passionate and impulsive; Ivan, the second son from his second wife, is an intellectual skeptic who struggles with faith; and the youngest, Alyosha, is gentle and spiritual, embodying Christian love. Though the brothers share the same blood, they do not share the same beliefs or values.

Alyosha is the chosen hero of the story—handsome, kind-hearted, and deeply spiritual. Dostoevsky introduces Father Zosima as a revered elder monk, believed by many to perform miracles. The plot begins with the Karamazov family meeting Father Zosima, who serves as both witness and counselor in a scandal involving Fyodor and Dmitry. The scandal centers on their rivalry over the same woman, Grushenka, whose beauty and charm ignite jealousy, lust, and resentment between father and son. This moral and emotional conflict becomes the foundation of the novel’s tragedy. 

Review : The Return of The Native - Thomas Hardy

In The Return of the Native, the reader is introduced to Egdon Heath, a dry and isolated land where the characters live. The soil is poor and farming is hard, so many people make a living by cutting furze, a tough shrub used for fuel. This simple, difficult work shows how closely their lives depend on the heath. 

Eustacia Vye lives with her grandfather, Captain Vye, in a cottage on Egdon Heath. Because she is different from the other villagers—beautiful, proud, and mysterious—people gossip about her and even say she is a witch. This shows how she does not fit in with the simple life of the heath and why she dreams of escaping it. Eustacia longs to go to Paris, dreaming of a brighter and more exciting life than the lonely heath can offer. But she cannot go on her own—her future depends on finding a man who will marry her and take her there. For her, love is not just about romance, but also a way to escape and reach the life she desires.

The title The Return of the Native mainly refers to Clym Yeobright, whose return brings a fresh breeze to the dry and lonely heath. After spending years in Paris, he comes back with new ideas and energy, raising hopes and stirring changes in the quiet life of Egdon. Eustacia uses her charm and beauty to draw Clym closer, hoping to shape his path toward her own desires. She sees him as the one who could take her away from the heath, and with her seductive presence she tries to guide him, like stepping stones, toward the dream she longs for.

Lady Chatterley's Lover - D.H. Lawrence

Connie’s marriage to Clifford was shaped more by social expectation than true love. At first, she tried to be a loyal and supportive wife, unfortunately Clifford returned from the war, paralyzed. Their relationship lacked physical intimacy as Clifford became more absorbed in his writing and intellectual world. Connie still young and full of life, began to feel lonely and invisible till Connie met Mellors, the gamekeeper of Wragby and Clifford’s servant, and over time, their quiet understanding grew into a deep and unexpected love.

It’s like—I don’t fully agree with what Connie to Clifford. I feel pity for Clifford—a  but is crippled, powerless, and impotent. He’s trapped in his own pride and intellect, unable to truly connect with Connie emotionally or physically. On the other hand, I also sympathize with Connie, who feels no joy or warmth at Wragby. It’s not entirely her fault; a man like Clifford never truly tried to understand her needs as a woman. Connie longs for freedom—to live by her own choices rather than stay imprisoned in an unhappy marriage. True love rarely comes in a lifetime, and when she found it in Mellors, she felt lucky. She surrendered to it, even if it meant giving up her social status, because for the first time, she truly felt alive.

Connie was raised with a sense of freedom, nothing could stop her from choosing her own happiness. She decided to follow her heart and trust in Mellors, the only man she truly loved. Some might say this is selfish in a world led by men, but the truth is, we women also have a choice—to live fully, not just to endure.

Lady Chaterley's Lover is not only about adultery and intimacy; it also serves as proof that Connie and Mellors relationship becomes a lens that subtly explores issues of class difference, economic disparity, the changing geographical landscape of old England, and the emotional damage caused by industrialization and social expectation. They reach a kind of primordial happiness—simple, natural, and deeply human. Away from the noise of society and industrial life, they find joy in each other’s presence, both physical and emotional bond.

Okay, maybe I’m a bit weird for liking this scandalous author, and I feel a little ashamed for reading this book. But somehow, despite the controversy, the story speaks to something real. I think, the readers in the early 20th century were not ready for Lady Chatterley's Lover because social and moral values at that time were much more conservative, especially involving a married woman and a working-class man, and were considered inappropriate and even scandalous. I don't know in this century, book like this become a common though I rarely read contemporer fiction, but the question is "why" ? people nowdays is more liberal to express their art and tought,  and the publisher does not censor strictly and basicly sales the book based on provit oriented. Nevertheless, classic authors stand out not just for their breakthroughs in literature, but also for their courage to speak about taboo subjects that reflect real human experiences. The more controversial, the more interesting for me, and the more forbidden the more I want to read. This is the second reading from D.H Lawrence, I would like to read more books from him. I also curious with The Rainbow.

"One may go against convention, but one must keep up tradition.”

Ruang Buku Megga Rated : ✬✬✬✬(4/5)

Title : Lady Chatterley's Lover

Author : D.H Lawrence
Publisher : Signet Classics

Year : 2011 (First Published in 1928)
Format / Pages : Softcover /368 pages
ISBN :  9780451531957

Review Crime and Punishment - Fyodor Dostoevsky

“Pain and suffering are always inevitable for a large intelligence and a deep heart. The really great men must, I think, have great sadness on earth.”

I have never actualy read russian classics or anything like this book in my entire life till in 2024 I got acquainted with Leo Tolstoy and Dostoevsky, and from now on russian classics may have the big impact for my own. My first impression when reading The Crime and Punishment was how gloomy it was, how squalid at some place at St. Petersburg was when this book really invited me to dive into it, and we are also taken in depth into the depths of Raskolnikov's thoughts.

"it's better to face your demons instead of perpetually running away from them."

Crime and Punishment is told by a third-person narrator and follows a young student named Rodion Raskolnikov. He lives in St. Petersburg and comes from a poor and troubled family. His family cannot afford to pay for his school anymore, which makes him feel hopeless. He also becomes very upset when he finds out that his sister, Dunya (Ducheka), is being forced to marry a rich man just for money, to help the family. This makes Raskolnikov feel angry and lost, and it leads him to make difficult and dangerous choices in the story.

REVIEW (ULASAN NOVEL) O Pioneers! by Willa Cather

"A pioneer should have imagination, should be able to enjoy the idea of things more than the things themselves."

O Pioneers! is a profoundly feminist novel that was published in 1913 by American author, Willa Cather. This is the first book from the Great Plains Trilogy series, one pack with The Song of The Lark and My Antonia. This book refers to many northern European immigrants who traveled to settle in Nebraska. Pioneers means the first generation who first owned the wild land, which means the land is free. Instead of succeeding in their new land by farming, many of them failed to conquer it. It's because they have no experience of farming, and basically many of them come from the working class and didn't know how to manage the prairie. But, many of them become successful landowners.

Alexandra Bergson, the protagonist of this novel, promised her father on his deathbed to manage the praire which her father failed. She lived along with her brother, Lou, Oscar and little Emil Bergson. She works and toils through the prime years of her life. When her brother lacked foresight and judgement, she could take on the role of a patriarch, making critical decisions about the land, labor and finance.

The feeling of being at one with nature makes Alexandra ignore her personal feelings. The land for her is much more than just physical space. She has a deep emotional and almost spiritual connection to the land. The land became her identity, and her responsibility to future generations.

"The land belongs to the future, Carl; that’s the way it seems to me. How many of the names on the county clerk’s plat will be there in fifty years? I might as well try to will the sunset over there to my brother’s children. We come and go, but the land is always here. And the people who love it and understand it are the people who own it—for a little while.” (Alexandra)

I like it when the novel is like a super account of human life from the past. A book like this is more than just reading. We not only see the point of view of people who struggle through life and their way of living, but also the depiction of places, the landscape and the circumstances. Willa Cather is the brilliant author who wrote the very first account of The Great Plains of America.

https://nebraskastudies.org/en/1850-1874/who-were-the-settlers-who-was-daniel-freeman/the-immigrant-experience/

Ruang Buku Megga Rated : ✬✬✬✬(4/5)

Title : O Pioneers!

Author : Willa Cather
Publisher : Book-of-the-Month Club
Year : 1995 (First Published in 1913)
Format /Pages : Hardcover / 309 pages
ISBN : 9780739433249

Review dan Ulasan Novel Mary Barton - Elizabeth Gaskell

Mary Barton, a poignant novel and the first Elizabeth Gaskell work that was published in 1848. This is the second novel that I have read from her. As always, her narrative is well constructed and easy to read. Elizabeth Gaskell is good at mixing romance with social critique and political commentary, so, she has never disappointed me so far.

The original title of this work is Mary Barton: A Tale Of Manchester Life. True to the title, the work portrays the lives of people in Machester as an industrial town. Gaskell underscores their working class, poor people, their starvation, their slumming area, their pride, their social gap, also the way of living between workers and masters. The author realistically depicts the conditions in the city of Manchester during The Great Depression in 1839.

The titular character, Mary Barton, is Gaskell's heroine. A young and beautiful woman from working class family, ambitious become a "lady", and want to marries whealty men who can escaped her and her family from poverty. When her mother died, Mary lives with her only father, John Barton as a workers at the mill and the representative for workers' rights and joining Chartism movement.

Mary had an affair with the mill owner's son, Harry Carson, assuming that he would marry her. Readers may think that Mary is shallow, but she doesn't have another choice. She thinks she can make it with her beauty. It's sad to think her mother and her older brother died because there was not enough money to buy medicine. Mary rejected Jem Willson, who loved her, for Henry. 

Henry Carson's privilege contrasted sharply with the dire poverty and hardship of workers. They envy the ease of life of the upper class while they are suffering. Food shortages and malnutrition. Why don't the masters increase their wages? Then, something terrible happened, something that turned Mary's life. Can she be the 'lady' she wants to be?

What had happened to the life of Mary Barton, had changed her personality. Her bold and her integrity win the hearts of the readers, and she deserves the title of heroine. Mary is surrounded by her neighbors and friends who are loyal and support her. There are many subplots which are told about Mary's blind friends, Margaret, who has a beautiful voice, Alice Willson who become the mother role model for Marry, and the mysterious disapperance her aunt, Esther.

All the thematic expositions, of birth, death, social class, and love, are centered on Mary Barton. The tale about master vs workers as if it never ends. From The Movement of Chartism through this day, workers are getting better rights from year to year. This book is an interesting read, made me a little bit smarter. Sadly, because too many characters died, nevertheless, it ended up beautiful.

Ruang Buku Megga Rated : ✬✬✬✬✬(5/5)

​Title : Mary Barton
Author : Elizabeth Gaskell
Publisher : Penguin Popular Classics
Year : 1994 (First Published in 1848)
Pages : 372 pages
ISBN : 9780140621020

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Review Jude The Obscure - Thomas Hardy

The story revolves around the protagonist, Jude Fawley. He dreamed become a scholar at university in another town, Christminster. It's says dream because Jude is from a working class family, and didn't afford to pay his tuition. Jude teaches himself Classical Greek and Latin in his spare time, while working in his great-aunt's bakery, with the hope of entering university.

His one reckless action in his youth, committed on the seduction of a butcher girl, had set his dream apart. Jude marries Arabella Donn, after she lies that she's pregnant, they have unhappy marriage, then Arabella leaves him. This sets in motion the events that form the main storyline until Jude meet his cousin, Sue Bridehead. This moment marks the beginning of Jude's deep emotional attachment to Sue, a relationship that becomes central to the novel. 

The first impression the reader forms on Jude is a person who is firm with his dreams but powerless because his circumstances and societal expectations have thwarted him. His sincere actions call for a lot of sympathy. Sue's independence shifts to defiance of traditional gender roles. She is an extremely intelligent woman who rejects Christianity and flirts with paganism. She is both admirable but deeply flawed. Hardy also associates Sue with many of his heroines, like Tess d'Urbervilles (Tess of d'Ubervilles) and Eustacia Vye (The Return of The Native). The rest of the characters: Richard Phillotson, Arabella and Little-Father-time are overshadowing their bleak life and their bright dream. All of them are flawed, but Richard Phillotson is an ambiguous character, making it difficult to label him as right or wrong. His choices are shaped by societal norms.

"I can’t bear that they, and everybody, should think people wicked because they may have chosen to live their own way! It is really these opinions that make the best intentioned people reckless, and actually become immoral!’   (Sue, Part Fifth chapter VI, pg. 293)

The entire content of this novel is still about Jude Fawley and his obscurity in philosophy and society. Jude's and Sue's unconventional love story encourages readers to question traditional norms. The pursuit of dreams and societal judgment resonate deeply with modern readers. Hardy seems to propose that we should battle against our tragic fate. At some time. He shows that the battle itself is futility.

I am very grateful that Thomas Hardy has published many books! His books always pushed my reading slump away, his flowy narrative and his beautiful depiction of rural Dorset in the 19th century are something I can't find in contemporary books. But, Jude The Obscure is too emotional, tragic had left me in tears.

"Their philosophy only recognizes relations based on animal desire."

Ruang Buku Megga Rated : ✬✬✬✬ (4/5)

​Title : Jude The Obscure

Author : Thomas Hardy

Publisher : Alma Classics

Year :  2019 (First Published in 1895)

Pages :  448 pages

ISBN : 9781847498076

Review Novel Klasik North and South - Elizabeth Gaskell

North and South is a Victorian realism novel written by Elizabeth Gaskell. It is quite dark and satire, but spiced up by romance. The story begins in South, the protagonist Margaret Hale has lived happily in beautiful southern village, Helstone. She was the daughter of a Clergyperson, but suddenly her father leaves the Church of England because his unexplained doubts and cricis conscience, so he decided to become a tutor in a nothern town, Milton. 

Milton is an industrial town that is mostly in cotton manufacturing. The Milton atmosphere dominates the main story, most of the smokiness and pollution. It's opposite from southern Helstone which is clearer, greener and fresher. There is a wealthy and influential manufacturer, John Thornton, master of Marlborough Mills, whose destiny is intertwined with Margaret. John Thornton is one of Mr. Hale's student. Margaret and Thornton are at odds with each other. He saw the beauty of Margaret, but was annoyed with her initial prejudice.

‘A more proud, disagreeable girl I never saw. Even her great beauty is blotted out of one’s memory by her scornful ways.’  (John Thornton, Pg. 99)

https://www.morganodriscoll.com/art/laurence-stephen-lowry-industrial-town/57184

Margaret finds the town of Milton is strange, the new condition that she must deal with. She is upset by its poverty and dirty environment. The poor people of the south are not as terrible as in the north. Margaret befriends the daughter of the worker, Bessy Higgins. When Bessy worked at a cotton mill, she was too polluted by the 'fluff'. The workers must face dangerous working condition at the cotton mill.

‘Fluff,’ repeated Bessy. ‘Little bits, as fly off fro’ the cotton, when they’re carding it, and fill the air till it looks all fine white dust. They say it winds round the lungs, and tightens them up. Anyhow, there’s many a one as works in a carding-room, that falls into a waste, coughing and spitting blood, because they’re just poisoned by the fluff.’ ( Page 118)

Margaret tried to please herself by talking with Bessy, Since then, Margaret became concerned about poverty and the health of manufacturing workers, and then, she had the opportunity to hear about the strike (the workers refuse to work) from the perspective of a working family. Because her father was a good friend of John Thornton, Margaret became close to the Thornton family. She met Mrs. Thornton, John's mother and his sister, Fanny. Gaskell shows two sides and two points of view between the workers and the masters. We see the way the workers view their masters, and what the workers thought about the master.

....Th’ women are as bad as th’ men, in their savageness, this time. Food is high,—and they mun have food for their childer, I reckon. Suppose Thorntons sent ’em their dinner out,— th’ same money, spent on potatoes and meal, would keep many a crying babby quiet, and hush up its mother’s heart for a bit!’ (Bessy, pg. 177) 

‘Yes; the fools will have a strike. Let them. It suits us well enough. But we gave them a chance. They think trade is flourishing as it was last year. We see the storm on the horizon and draw in our sails. But because we don’t explain our reasons, they won’t believe we’re acting reasonably. We must give them line and letter for the way we choose to spend or save our money...."

'Do you give your servants reasons for your expenditure, or your economy in the use of your own money? We, the owners of capital, have a right to choose what we will do with it.' (John Thornton, pg. 137)

Technological advances that drove the industrial revolution made entrepreneurs gain multiple profits, with very fast and large production. The workers in the north were no longer slaves, they worked with machines. But workers are humans, not machines. If there's something that they disagree with the master, they must riot and rebel because it's the only way the master would hear. If they united, they have the power to shut down industrial. So, this could be a weapon against the master when they want a higher wage.  

The North and South is not only about northern versus southern, but also about master versus workers. If it was a competition, who would be the winner? If there's any win-win solution to both of the welfare? The balance of industry lies in the workers and masters. A mill cannot run without a master, and a master can not operate a mill alone. Master and workers are like a symbiosis mutualism. They must work together to achieve the balance. But, the thing is, how the master treats them. Do they treat as a slave or just mere machines?

‘Mr. Thornton,’ said Margaret, shaking all over with her passion, ‘go down this instant, if you are not a coward. Go down and face them like a man. Save these poor strangers, whom you have decoyed here. Speak to your workmen as if they were human beings. Speak to them kindly. Don’t let the soldiers come in and cut down poor-creatures who are driven mad. I see one there who is. If you have any courage or noble quality in you, go out and speak to them, man to man.’ (Margaret, pg. 209)

I think Margaret's existence in Milton could be a mediator between master and workers. She is strong-minded, incredibly cares for working-class people, but she is very bold when she speaks about humanity and poverty to upper-class people. The story about poverty caught the reader's sympathy. What I like about John Thornton is, he is a family man. I admire his hard work from zero to become a successful businessman. He is a figure who puts his mother first, quite like mama's boy but he is a kind of man who doesn't talk much but acts. There's a character that I do not quite like. She is Mrs. Hannah Thornton, because she was underestimated Margaret, she considers Margaret a peny-less woman and do not equal to her son. 

This is my first experience reading Elizabeth Gaskell novels. So long I've been curious about her writing. I really enjoyed my reading process. Obviously, it's not disappointing, I love it so much, it's really expanding my 19th Victorian reading which I like the most. Sure, I will read many of her masterpieces novels in the future.

Fun fact: Elizabeth Gaskell wanted the novel to be titled after the heroine, Margaret Hale, but Charles Dickens, the editor of this series, insisted on North and South.

Rating Ruang Buku Megga : ✬✬✬✬✬ (5/5)

​Title : North and South

Author : Elizabeth Gaskell

Publisher : Penguin Popular Classics

Year :  1994
Pages :  521 pages

ISBN : 9780140620191

Review dan Ulasan Novel Klasik Tess d'urbervilles by Thomas Hardy

Tess of d'Urbervilles is a romance classics novel, naturaly portray the peasant life of fictional town called Wessex. The protagonist, a young Teresa Durbeyfield is innocent and pure, because what her family believe that they are decesdent of d'Urbervilles, the old house who came from Normandy with William The Conqueror as appears by Battle Abbey Roll. Tess live with her drunkard father, mother and her little brother and sister.

She had errand to seeking for financial support and fortune, she began a journey towards d'Urbervilles  mansion to klaim kin. Little does she know, at d'Urbervilles mansion, her apparence captivated in Alec d'Urbervilles' eyes, a men who turns up her world up-side down. Tess gets a job as his mother poultry keeper.  Tess's life at Tantridge was quite pleasant, her income may help to support  family. But, an incident came, she impregnated by Alec, the incident is not by her will and she does not love Alec, Tess is swore that she never ever see him again. Tess return home and give birth Alec's child, the poor child named Sorrow only given a short life.