'Every Job a Parable' by John Van Sloten

A Walmart greeter, a nurse, and an astronaut walk into a church. . . .

They each bring with them their own exhaustions and exasperations, their own uncertainty about whether and how their work matters to God. Good news: All work matters to God, because all work reflects some aspect of the character of God. God created the world so that it runs best when it mirrors Him, and we ourselves find the most fulfillment when we recognize God behind our labor.

John Van Sloten offers a fascinating and innovative reflection on vocation: Our work is a parable of God; as we work, we are icons of grace.

MY THOUGHTS:
This is a great read for anyone who finds their daily grind a bit of a drag, or can't help thinking of their spiritual self as separate from their daily, nine-to-five self. John Van Sloten believes we can stretch our minds to think of any job or occupation as a parable for the way God works. After all, he's always made himself known through real people doing real work.

First, Van Sloten knocks down the vocational hierarchy we might have all bought into at different times. It simply doesn't exist from a heavenly perspective, where every humble job has its own dignity and significance. Throughout the book, he interviews and observes people in many different professions, and then has fun revealing their essential goodness to them. To mention just a few, there are astronauts, flyer-deliverers, psychologists, residential landlords, cleaners, electricians, automative repairmen, florists, language translators, geophysicists and hairdressers. It's great to think we're all on an equal plane.

We are urged to study God's signature moves, so we can more easily notice the way our jobs reflect them. Then we can pull our attitudes about them back into sync, in case they've been a bit off. There are three roles I've held; cleaner, writer and parent, which many people can probably relate to, and I enjoyed reading the thoughts about them.

Cleaners (including anyone who cleans or regularly tidies up messes) reflect God's heart for people to have clean and healthy lives. We remove unnecessary, used trash to make room for pristine new surroundings, which is what God does on a larger scale. Cleaners everywhere bear witness to his world-restoring power, whenever we leave anything better than how we found it.

As writers, we share God's heart for creativity, and attempt to figure out the way his world works through story telling, and clarity of expression. Pondering how we're going to form our sentences allows us to catch glimpses of God's own thoughts, and spread them, for the things we're passionate enough to write about are often the things he's passionate about too.

And needless to say, as parents we enter into God's heart to care, nurture and love each others with a giving, sacrificial love.

It's a mood-lifting book to read, with plenty of cheerful ways to regard the things we might not feel all that cheerful about naturally. John Van Sloten is aware that in our darker moods, this may all come across a bit platitudinal. He advises us to keep stretching our broader perspective muscles to go with it anyway. I think it really does work, and if you look for your own job, you'll be quite likely to find it in this enthusiastic and comprehensive book.

Thanks to NetGalley and Tyndale House for my review copy.

4 stars

Stories with Mirrors

We all rely on our mirrors, and probably take them for granted. We've got to use them every time we get ready to go out, after all. But in stories, mirrors tend to be a bit spooky. I think they often show us things we'd rather not face about ourselves or the wider world. The idea of having a double, or doppelganger, in some inaccessible plane may also have something to do with it. Or maybe our personal feelings about our reflections help promote the love/hate relationships we sometimes develop with our mirrors. I find it interesting that so many of these fictional mirrors possess at least a tinge of the supernatural. 

1) Snow White
Her stepmother's magic mirror on the wall caused a whole lot of mischief. Its owner kept wanting the reassurance that she was 'fairest in the land' but mirrors are honest if nothing else. When it informed her that little Snow White had surpassed her in beauty, the jealous lady decided to do away with her stepdaughter. (Also see my list of famous mean girls.)

2) The Mirror of Erised
This penetrating mirror reflects the elusive sight a person most desires to see. Poor Harry Potter sees himself flanked by his loving parents, while his insecure friend Ron sees himself as the recipient of several awards. Professor Dumbledore explains that the mirror has to be isolated because it drives people mad. And when he tells Harry that he himself sees socks, he's not being entirely honest.

3) Coraline
This young Neil Gaiman heroine has been enjoying the mirror image of her real life in the old house. Everything is better, including the toys and food. But then the alternative mother offers to let her stay, with the condition that she allows buttons to be sewn over her eyes. Coraline finds her real parents trapped behind the mirror, writing, 'Help Us' on the glass. The whole game changes in a flash.

4) Through the Looking Glass
In this second part of Alice's adventures, she starts off wondering what life might be like on the other side of the mirror. To her surprise, she's able to step through and find out. You can be certain that what she finds is weird and surreal, including a wonderful garden and a tubby pair of twins.

5) The Phantom of the Opera
The dressing room of the young singer Christine Daae has been set up with a fake mirror. That appears to be a good thing until it's discovered that it allows the phantom to do his mischief. My review is here..

6) Anne of Green Gables
During the traumatic years before the Cuthberts adopted her, Anne Shirley pretended to befriend her own reflection in a mirror, even naming it 'Katie Maurice.' It helped her through some very rough times, but she eventually admits it fell far short of eventual real friends, like Diana, Jane and Ruby.

7) Narcissus
It's no stretch to say the the crystal clear waters of the lake serve the function of a mirror for this mythical hero. The gorgeous young man becomes fixated with his own reflection and wastes away for love of it. (See my list of the greatest narcissists.)

Early this year, I went through a sideshow called the House of Mirrors with my son. He actually started getting disoriented and was relieved to get out. He said he felt like smashing all the mirrors to escape.  

The weird superstition that breaking a mirror results in 13 years of bad luck, proves that I'm not the only one who finds mirror stories a bit creepy. Story book mirrors are just asking to be broken, since they're made of glass. So I'll finish the list with some legendary mirror smashers. 

8) Dracula 
His shaving mirror gives young solicitor Jonathan Harker the frightening revelation that his host is actually a vampire. Count Dracula comes up behind him while he's shaving, and has no reflection! Yikes! That's one of their key traits, and the count smashes Harker's shaving mirror for giving his game away.

9) Dorian Gray
The main character is well aware of the phenomenon that's happening. While he keeps his good looks, his portrait grows older and more repulsive looking. To keep track of the changes, Dorian desperately uses a hand mirror to compare his appearance with his picture's. That mirror comes to a smashing end during the course of the story. My review is here.

10) Richard II
The moment he's forced to give up his crown, the unfortunate king of England asks for a mirror. He expects to see that he's aged dramatically as a result of the sudden shock and grief. But he looks pretty much the same, and smashes the mirror, so that the shattered shards more accurately reflect his roiling emotions.

11) The Lady of Shalott
This ravishing beauty from Tennyson's poem is imprisoned in a tower by a mysterious curse, and can't look directly out at the world. She relies on her mirror to reflect the people of Camelot as they pass by, but regards them as mere shadows of the world. When handsome Sir Lancelot rides past, she can't resist the temptation to spin around and look at him directly. Big mistake. It causes the mirror to 'crack from side to side' and Elaine's death is imminent. That Lancelot broke more than just hearts.

12) Cosmo
He is the hero of a story within a story. The tale of Cosmo takes place in Phantastes by Rev George MacDonald. Poor Cosmo falls in love with a beautiful lady who lives on the other side of his bedroom mirror. He begins buying furniture and decorations especially to please her, but one day the mirror is stolen. It leads to an exhausting search in which he carries a hammer, determined to smash the mirror and free her, if he's ever in the position. See my review of Phantastes.

That's just me trying to set up another mirror idea for this blog post. Do any of these mirror stories to want to step in for more? Have I missed any you'd like to add? And finally, what is your own attitude to mirrors? Are they friends, foes, or both?  

'Jamaica Inn' by Daphne du Maurier

Her mother's dying request takes Mary Yellan on a sad journey across the bleak moorland of Cornwall to reach Jamaica Inn, the home of her Aunt Patience. With the coachman's warning echoing in her memory, Mary arrives at a dismal place to find Patience a changed woman, cowering from her overbearing husband, Joss Merlyn. 

Affected by the Inn's brooding power, Mary is thwarted in her attention to reform her aunt, and unwillingly drawn into the dark deeds of Joss and his accomplices. And, as she struggles with events beyond her control, Mary is further thrown by her feelings for a man she dare not trust....

MY THOUGHTS:
I read this novel years ago in my teens, and decided to find out how it's stood the test of time.

Mary Yellan has agreed to her dying mother's final request. Mrs Yellan wanted her daughter to find a home with her sister at Jamaica Inn, on the lonely Bodmin Moor. But they had no idea what she'd be walking into. On the way, Mary discovers that the place has an evil name, and the coaches normally just hurry straight past. It's all she can do to make the driver stop to let her out.

Her menacing Uncle Joss Merlyn turns out to be a huge thug with swift mood changes, and the formerly merry Aunt Patience cowers before him like a whipped dog. Joss is involved in a smuggling racket that turns out to be far worse than Mary could have imagined, incorporating the infamous wreckers on the Cornish coast. There's a cast of despicable characters, including a nasty peddler who's a bit like Peter Pettigrew from Harry Potter, rat-like description and all.

The setting is the real hero. Cornwall looms everywhere, and it's not just filler. Without it, the story would be nothing. It's always a perfect match for what's going on, ominous, dark and mysterious. The descriptive passages are great to read, because they make the landscape come alive. When we read it, we might as well be in Cornwall, and if we're lucky enough to get a chance to visit, we recognise it instantly from du Maurier's writing, whether or not we've been there before. (I went once, when I was 20.)

I'd forgotten what a lot of walking Mary does. She travels a huge chunk of the story on her own two feet. Nor did I remember what a strong and fearless heroine she is. Events might shock, sicken and disgust Mary, but nothing frightens her or keeps her down for long. It takes looking back from an older age to realise what a bleak predicament she's in for a 23-year-old. This girl has just lost everything. She's an orphan whose mother has recently worked herself to death in a farming lifestyle that never gave her a break.Youthful idealism has been knocked out of Mary, if she ever had any to start with. She has plenty of common sense and a good dose of cynicism, but I feel a bit sad this time round, as if she obtained it too early. Maybe that's why the romance thread is quite intriguing.

In traditional stories, starry-eyed heroines are anxious to embrace romance and fall for men they deem worthy of their affection. In Mary's case, everything's the opposite. She has no romantic ideals at all, yet somehow still manages to fall for a self-confessed loser. How is that even possible? Especially when a repulsive, older version of the man she loves is always throwing his weight around. The deterrent is none other than her uncle Joss Merlyn, and although his younger brother Jem is far more attractive, they share many of the same physical and personality traits.

Jem is a horse thief who's always grubby and broke and admits that his family have never treated their women well. Mary has seen what marriage to Joss has reduced Patience to, yet can't relinquish her feelings for Jem. There are differences. Jem seems more light-hearted, smarter, kinder and undoubtedly better company, but will these things last? As a teenager, I was saying, 'Come on, he's the better man, just go for it.' But as an older person with a teenage daughter of my own, the risks are evident. Do you still say 'Take the chance' when you consider how long 'happily ever after' may turn out to be? Especially when it will include a nomadic lifestyle with no four walls to call home. I can't believe that I didn't even attempt to balance the pros with the cons in my youth, because the cons are so in-your-face. I think every reader will have to make up their own mind whether or not Jem's charms are appealing enough to take the risk.

I remembered the plot twists and revelation of the ultimate baddie in the mystery. I think it did take me by surprise the first time through. It's all tied in with gullibility and what innocent folk will believe. It's quite disturbing really, not the least that Mary could come to such a wrong conclusion, yet still make the choices she did. The last couple of pages possibly polarise people's opinions the most. I'm split in my own mind, and I'm just one person. She faces a choice between two lifestyles which are mutually exclusive. I'm hoping her choice will work out well for her. One thing in her favour is that Mary surely won't be an Aunt Patience, whatever happens!

Here are some quotes.

Cynicism and sentimentality were two extremes to be avoided. (Yet Mary seems to bump back and forth between them at times.)

There was precious little romance in nature, and she would not look for it in her own life. (Sad for such a young woman to reflect.)

I don't want to love like a woman or feel like a woman. There's pain and suffering and misery that can last a lifetime. (Ironic.)

It's power and glory and women and the kingdom of God all rolled into one. (Joss Merlyn, talking about alcohol. What a waste.)

There's never yet been a Merlyn that died peaceful in his bed. (She can't say she wasn't warned. How big a gamble would it be to expect that to change?)

There are things that happen at Jamaica, Mary, that I've never dared breathe. Bad things. Evil things. (Aunt Patience makes a good literary device to thicken the plot.)

Well, there was little use in dreaming. The present situation must be faced, and courageously too, if any good was to come of it. (The ultimate motto perhaps.)

And finally, a bit of dialogue to show why we can't help liking Mary.

Jem: Put you in a fine gown and a pair of high-heeled shoes, and stick a comb in your hair, I daresay you'd pass for a lady even in a big place like Exeter.
Mary: I'm meant to be flattered by that, I suppose. But thanking you very much, I'd rather wear my old clothes and look like myself.
Jem: You could do a lot worse than that, of course.

Here's a photo of the time I got to visit Jamaica Inn for real. This is the place which first gave Daphne du Maurier her inspiration in the 1920s. It's right by the side of the highway now, and the inside includes a few tributes to the novel, including 'Joss' Bar.' I'm sitting out on the stone fence with my Mum. Maybe one day I'll manage to go back somehow, but it's looking like that British holiday was truly the trip of a lifetime. 


🌟🌟🌟🌟½

The day I was rebuked by Jane Austen

During my recent read of Mansfield Park (review is here), I noticed a curious omission. Although Edmund Bertram is the hero of the story, Jane Austen rarely (if ever) described his appearance. Since it's a fairly thick novel, I started wondering if this was deliberate on her part. Otherwise the occasional accidental reference to his thick hair, bright eyes or sweet smile might have slipped through. After all, she described his party-boy older brother Tom, not to mention the rakish playboy Henry Crawford. But although Edmund made the heroine Fanny Price's heart flutter, it was always for his acts of generosity or statements of moral worth. We get the picture, he's a good man with sound principles.

Yet I'm the sort of person who likes to picture scenes playing out before me, a bit like a movie screen, while I read. I had to give him some sort of presence, because he can't be invisible. Other readers have mentioned that they find Edmund a bit wishy-washy and colourless, and I wonder if it's partly because they've been given nothing to go on when it comes to the space he fills. Since we're left to make up our own minds about his looks, I decided to imagine him fairly cute. After all, two girls were deeply in love with him throughout the whole story.

Then about three quarters through the book, Jane Austen gives us something at last! It's a line from Mary Crawford, in a letter to Fanny. 'Lord Stornaway isn't so very ill-looking, but he will not pass by the side of your cousin Edmund.' Eureka, I was right and Edmund is nice looking. I even cheered softly to myself. Mary Crawford isn't depicted as the most principled character, but we can always rely on her to get to the point many women want to know. Thank you Mary!

But a few pages later, Fanny is ticking Mary off in her thoughts 'for thinking only of his appearance.' Since Fanny is so often the mouthpiece for her author, it's pretty obvious that a ticking off from Fanny is a ticking off from Jane. Ooops, I get it, sorry. Forget my vocal applause from ten minutes ago. It really felt as if our beloved Jane Austen had reached back through the centuries to give me a rap on the knuckles for being shallow. It was a strange sensation that made me laugh, but also feel a bit sheepish.

I remembered several years ago, when I was writing a novel of my own called The Risky Way Home. My editor sometimes scribbled in the margins, 'You're focusing too much on his looks and not enough on his character.' I wonder if Jane Austen was deliberately doing the opposite with Edmund, just to make her point about the most important feature of a person. We can only guess. But I won't forget the way she seemed to speak back through the centuries at that moment to say, 'Get your priorities straight, girl.'

But I'm going to speak up in self defense here, because I have one advantage over Jane Austen. She's been dead since the nineteenth century, so I can have the last word. There are excellent reasons why I think it is important to describe a hero's appearance. As I said above, I like to have some sort of inner reference for the moving picture that plays in my imagination while I'm reading. If the author doesn't give me one, I'll make up my own, because I can't help it.

But more importantly, having an idea of what a character looks like helps us not to be overly swayed by such things. If a writer gives her characters inner beauty which shines through, then we're naturally going to love them whether they're described as attractive or plain featured. And then, we're more likely to approach people out in the real world the same way, regardless of their shape or size. It wouldn't surprise me if readers of fiction, who have come across many different looking faces in the pages of books, are quickest to see through to a person's inner essence. We are most likely not to fall for someone's ravishing appearance until we get to know them, and also most likely to see actual beauty where others might not. So there Jane, maybe in some ways, considering a character's appearance is a sign of depth rather than shallowness.

My advice to authors would always be not to go overboard with physical descriptions as if it's the most important thing, but do give us something to go on, just to help give us a feel for the character. I'd love to know where you stand on the question. How important is it to you that authors describe what their characters look like? And if they don't, do you tend to fill in the blanks?

Back to the Classics Challenge 2017 - Wrap Up

This year, I took part in the Back to the Classics Challenge hosted by Books and Chocolate. I love digging into the classics and each of the 12 categories gave it a very nice structure. I did all twelve because I like to go all the way when I bite off a challenge like this, so here's what I chose. 


A Nineteenth Century Classic - The Pickwick Papers by Charles Dickens

A Twentieth Century Classic - The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway

A Classic by a Woman - The Fountain Overflows by Rebecca West

A Classic in Translation - The Phantom of the Opera by Gaston Leroux

A Classic Published before 1800 - Evelina by Fanny Burney

A Romance Classic - Shirley by Charlotte Bronte

A Gothic Classic - The Moonstone by Wilkie Collins

A Classic with a number in the title - Around the World in 80 Days by Jules Verne

A Classic which includes the name of an animal - The Hound of the Baskervilles by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

A Classic set in a place you'd like to visit - Franny and Zooey by J.D. Salinger (New York)

An Award-winning classic - Tom's Midnight Garden by Philippa Pearce (Carnegie Medal, 1958)

A Russian Classic - The Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoevsky

What a wonderful mixed bag it was. Because my reactions to these dozen classics varied so much, I thought I'd like to award medals to my top three picks, counting from the bottom to the top. I could think of a few contenders for wooden spoons too, but won't be that mean. Here are the best in my opinion.

Bronze Medal

 This one goes to The Fountain Overflows, which was a delight from start to finish. We don't need to wonder what living in the Edwardian era must have been like, because the Aubrey family make it very clear and entertaining. Their life wasn't a bed of roses though, as they practically lived off the smell of an oily rag. But the quirkiness of the family members and the resiliency of the human spirit come through loud and clear. 

Silver Medal

I've got to choose The Moonstone, which might be appropriate, since it was a silver gem. Wilkie Collins was so clever and tricky with the setting up of this Gothic mystery. There was no way readers could piece the clues together, although when we look back, the evidence was all there. It's so very dramatic and Victorian too.

Gold Medal

I'm going with The Brothers Karamazov, because it was such an ambitious novel with such a lot of scope. It was the first Russian classic I've ever read, and whetted my appetite for more. It's a murder mystery with a very psychological twist that kept me turning the pages, even though there were so many of them. 

I enjoyed the challenge so much, I might have another go next year and hopefully come across a few more new favourites. I highly recommend working through a list like this. 

'Mansfield Park' by Jane Austen

Taken from the poverty of her parents' home, Fanny Price is brought up with her rich cousins at Mansfield Park, acutely aware of her humble rank and with only her cousin Edmund as an ally. When Fanny's uncle is absent in Antigua, Mary Crawford and her brother Henry arrive in the neighbourhood, bringing with them London glamour and a reckless taste for flirtation. As her female cousins vie for Henry's attention, and even Edmund falls for Mary's dazzling charms, only Fanny remains doubtful about the Crawfords' influence and finds herself more isolated than ever. A subtle examination of social position and moral integrity, Mansfield Park is one of Jane Austen's most profound works.

MY THOUGHTS:
First off, this review may have a few mild plot spoilers. Old classics are fair game.

You rarely hear people call this their favourite Austen novel, although plenty call it their least favourite. Yet it was one Jane Austen claims to have put most heart and soul into, taking 2.5 years to write. As a teenager I found it a bit slow and long-winded, and thought it was high time for a re-read to see if it deserves vindication.

So here's a quick summary. The wealthy Sir Thomas Bertram and his family offer to foster one of his impoverished sister-in-law's children to help lighten her load. That's how shy Fanny Price ends up living at Mansfield Park, where she's treated a bit like a general lackey and can't bond with her privileged girl cousins. Her cousin Edmund is kind to her, and earns her undying devotion. The year Fanny turns 18, a brother and sister named Henry and Mary Crawford move in nearby, and turn everyone's worlds upside down, including their own.

I guess the big question is, 'Are you a Fanny fan?' because your enjoyment of the novel may hinge on that. In a way, I take criticisms of Fanny to heart, since they're like digs at me too. She's been tagged an INFP (see here.) which is my Myer Briggs personality type. People like me and Fanny tend to have a tough time involving ourselves in whatever's going on, because our minds go blank in social situations, although they may be teeming at other moments. And because we conceal such a lot under the surface, people don't really get us. They may assume we're open books, but it's not strictly true. We need to make peace with being sidelined or misunderstood, because that's just a side-effect of how we're wired. Since we're not naturally forthcoming enough to give others much idea of who we are, we can't expect them to work it out intuitively. Maybe it takes one INFP to recognise another, and  refreshing characters like Fanny Price help me to embrace my own style. That's why I am a Fanny fan on the whole.

I can understand how both she and Edmund may get on readers' nerves though. They tend to stay on their high horses, and sometimes remind me of the type of people you find on social media who write, 'I find that highly offensive,' while you blink and say, 'Huh... why?' There's something a bit moralistic about the pair of them hanging back, whispering together about the shortcomings of others. Fanny's snap judgments would surely amaze those they were directed at. Poor Mary Crawford had no idea of all the harsh things meek little Fanny was thinking about her. And although Edmund was in love with Mary, he was so set in his lofty position that he expected her to do all the changing to make their relationship work. To use an Austenesque phrase, everyone who doesn't agree with Edmund and Fanny has a 'perversion of mind'.

In her book The Spirituality of Jane Austen, Paula Hollingsworth suggests that Fanny takes on the role of Old Testament prophet. She's the only one who clearly perceives the moral corruption which is simmering under the surface at Mansfield Park, yet she's the least esteemed. If you agree with this opinion, you may well love the novel. Yet if you think she too often crosses the line to sanctimoniousness and priggishness, you might hate it! I could see both sides, which is perhaps why I strongly like but not love it.

One character who always evokes strong emotion from me is the mean old aunt, Mrs Norris! She's got the Dolores Umbridge type of nastiness. She's a big talker who never backs up her claims of goodness with action, although she's convinced herself they're all true. What's more, she's a stingy person who genuinely thinks she deserves a reputation for generosity. Mrs Norris makes it sound as if she pushed for the Bertrams to take Fanny so they could do her good, but she really wants to use Fanny to do good for them. She forever keeps Fanny in her place with cruel put-down comments to remind her where she came from. As I said, it's Dolores Umbridge style hypocrisy. How I wish there'd been some centaurs to rush her off into the forest.

Now for the Crawford siblings - whoa! They're a couple of the most likeable anti-heroes you might find, and some readers prefer them over Edmund and Fanny. They're bright and cheerful with keen senses of humour and spades of charisma. But Jane Austen clearly never intended us to get too fond of them. Henry was a playboy who liked toying with the affections of hard-to-get women for fun, and Mary was a shallow, ambitious girl who was flippant about truly good things. But they weren't truly hardened baddies. They got burned in the games they were playing too, which makes it impossible for me to regard them as real villains.

Oh Henry, what a duffer you were! I think part of the sad aftertaste of Mansfield Park was that it was he who kept playing on my mind rather than Edmund. He keeps making me imagine that the ending had been different. What if Henry had won Fanny? Would she have reformed him into the type of straitlaced man she admired, or would he have helped her to lighten up a bit? Is he really incapable of staying true to one individual woman? I'd love to see a girl like Fanny attempt to find out. My guess is that he'd possibly get restless, itchy feet after a few years of marriage to her, but maybe not. The alternative ending of their marriage has a dash more romance than the Fanny and Edmund one.

Since Edmund always regarded himself as such a big brother, that's how I saw him too! I can't force my mind to grasp how he'd ever change his to the extent of thinking of her as a wife, even though the narration calls it inevitable. But it's enough to make my imagination recoil a bit. As for Mary, maybe she did well to miss out on Edmund. Who wants a guy who'd discuss the weak side of your character with his female cousin? (Incidentally, have you ever noticed how Austen never described his looks with great detail? There's more on that here where I discuss the day Jane Austen rebuked me.)

I think on the whole, there's a lot of good in this story to balance the bit of bad. Sure, Edmund and Fanny aren't the greatest romance in literature, but as a social commentary and family saga it's great. And certainly Fanny may come across a bit passive and wimpish to some, but don't forget the courage she showed in persisting to refuse a proposal of a man she wasn't in love with, when every intimidating member of her family was practically ordering her to accept.

It's one of those books that whether people say, 'I love it' or 'I hate it', I might be able to see where they're coming from. If you've read Mansfield Park, I'd love to know which side of the fence you stand on.

Some good quotes

There are not so many men of large fortune in the world as there are pretty women to deserve them (Nothing's changed)

Maria and Julia's vanity was in such good order that they seemed to be quite free from it.

Fanny's mind had scarcely known a pause in alarm or embarrassment.

'As the clergy are or are not what they ought to be, so are the rest of the nation' (Edmund)

'A large income is the best recipe for happiness I ever heard of'' (Mary)

'If we have been kind to her, she is now quite as necessary to us' (Sir Thomas)

🌟🌟🌟🌟

Stories with Gold

Gold has fascinated people from ancient times. It draws attention to itself by its wonderful lustre and sheer weight. On holiday with my family, we visited a quarry where we got to hold a small solid gold ingot. It felt so heavy in my hand! It was a thrill to hold the stuff that legends are made of. We all know that if we manage to make it to the end of a rainbow, there might be a pot of gold, and that the streets of heaven are paved with it. It's always been regarded as the celebrity of all gems, and the following stories show what people were willing to risk to get their hands on some. I think gold represented ultimate prosperity and the chance to relax in times when you had to almost work until you dropped just to keep from starving. Some of these stories are hundreds of years old.    

1) Rumplestiltskin
A poor girl suffers for her silly father's deception. He claims that she can spin straw into gold, so the greedy king locks her up until she can prove her father's boast to be true. And if she can't, it'll be off with her head. An opportunistic little imp who can perform this feat of alchemy comes along to save the day. He exacts a harsh penalty for his help, demanding her first born child, but when the time comes, she manages to outsmart him.

2) Jack and the Beanstalk
After nearly getting himself served up in a giant's casserole, you might think our hero would consider himself lucky to have escaped with his life. Jack is made of tougher stuff though, and knows that this giant has something that would keep his mother and himself prosperous all their lives. That's the goose the lays the golden eggs. That bird was almost worth getting himself skewered again to run back for.

3) Ali-Baba and the 40 Thieves
He's a poor woodcutter who discovers that the simple phrase, 'Open Sesame' will allow him to enter the opulence and splendour of a thieves' den. Ali-Baba instantly sets about robbing the robbers. (The heroes in the Tales of the Arabian Nights weren't necessarily honest or nice guys.) His exploits almost get him murdered, and cause the death of his nasty older brother Cassim. But with the help of his clever female servant, Ali-Baba wriggles out of trouble and enjoys the benefits of that gold for the rest of his life.

4) Jason and the Golden Fleece
The fleece belonged to a winged ram who surely must've had trouble walking or flying beneath its weight. Jason is challenged by his wicked uncle Pelias to get hold of the fleece, if he hopes to win back his father's throne. Pelias thinks it'll be an impossible, maybe suicidal quest. But with the help of his awesome team of heroes (the Argonauts) Jason survives several potentially fatal adventures to bring that golden fleece home.

5) The Ark of the Covenant
Both the Holy Tabernacle and the Ark of the Covenant were crafted with some of the best materials the earth could offer, including plenty of gold. Not only was this most sacred chest made of gold, but contained among other things, a gold pot of manna. Searches for the historical item of such significance have become legendary, but I sure wouldn't want to be the one to find it. When the Philistines captured it during Samuel's time, they experienced such bad luck that they sent it home. And remember what happened to poor Uzzah, when he stretched out his hand to steady it while it was being transported on an oxen cart under King David's orders. It's extreme holiness was not to be taken lightly.

6) The Baby Jesus
A stash of gold was among the gifts the Magi brought across the desert to present the baby they knew would grow up to be the Messiah and King. It was a mark of their highest respect. Do you ever wonder what Joseph and Mary did with it? Shouldn't it have helped transform their economic status, along with the frankincense and myrrh? Perhaps they needed it to finance their flight across Egypt and later setting up a carpentry business in Galilee. They never came across exceptionally wealthy at any stage.

In a spiritual sense, some stories contain the sober reminder that the love of all treasure, including gold, may even be corrupting. Here are some tales which show the negative side of the emotions gold may elicit, including greed and covetousness. 

7) King Midas
He was the man who was granted what many others might have longed for. Everything he touched turned to gold. But poor Midas soon discovers the down side to this incredible gift, when he accidentally transforms several things he would've preferred to keep in their natural state, including beloved family members. His sad plight is meant to remind us that some of the blessings we all enjoy every day are far more valuable than gold.

8) The Voyage of the Dawn Treader
On one of the islands explored by the crew, a solid gold statue lies at the bottom of a clear lake. They realise in the nick of time that the water turns whatever it touches to gold. The poor chap had jumped in for a swim. Caspian and Edmund almost fall victim to the greedy thoughts this lake stirs up, but come to their senses when Lucy tells them off.

In the same book, poor Eustace chances upon a dragon's cave while walking by himself. He puts a gold bracelet on his wrist and falls asleep making plans to return for more plunder. But when he wakes up, he's turned into a dragon. The narrator puts it this way. 'Sleeping on a dragon's hoard, with greedy, dragonish thoughts in his heart, he had become a dragon himself.' It could only happen in Narnia.

9) Silas Marner
For 15 years, the lonely miser brooded over his crock of gold sovereigns, counting and caressing each coin. Then one evening, it's stolen from him while he's out of the house. Silas suffers a huge wrench as his gold was his whole life, heart and soul. But when a living gift appears by his hearth, he comes to realise that his gold held a position in his life which it shouldn't have. My review is here.

10) The Golden Calf
Not all biblical incidents regarding gold are positive. There was an unfortunate event in the wilderness years when the High Priest Aaron caved in to people's demand for something to worship. He asked for all their gold jewellery to melt down, and formed it into the image of a golden calf which fitted their criteria. When Moses came down from talking to God on the mountain, he was furious, and forced the people to eat the re-melted gold as part of their punishment. It proves what a mighty leader he was. Imagine one man forcing a crowd of that size to swallow gold.

11) The Australian Goldrush Era
My country has its own colourful history, when a whole lot of folk desperate to improve their quality of life went wild for gold in the mid nineteenth century. Men from all walks of life became miners overnight, crossing the Victorian borders in search of the elusive nuggets. Towns such as Ballarat, Bendigo and Ararat were built up around the gold industry. While fortune smiled upon some, others remained destitute. Novels set in this time period are interesting. Clara Morison was written by an author who actually lived during the time period, Catherine Helen Spence. And Ellenvale Gold, by my friend Amanda Deed, is a great read. When gold is discovered on Miss Penny Worthington's property, it brings out all that's inside the hearts of various characters, whether it be greed, sneakiness, helpfulness or heroism.

Do you have any other gold stories to add to the list? Or any favourites, which may even be from mine above? Have you had a chance to get up close and personal with gold yourself? My kids used to love visiting Sovereign Hill in Ballarat, where they did some gold panning. We were told it might still flow in those streams, and did see a glimmer or two in the pans :)