The World Beyond BetterMost > The Culture Tent
Book Thread
injest:
Jeff is a cutie!
Front-Ranger:
As I said earlier, I am reading "The Virginian" by Owen Wister, which is about a Wyoming cowboy, or cow-puncher, as the narrator calls him. I was wondering why the book is titled that, and why the taciturn stranger is called just The Virginian. Ostensibly, it's because he has a southern accent, but I think there's something more to it. Virginia was named for Elizabeth I, the unmarried Queen of England. She was called a virgin because she remained unmarried (I hope everyone has seen the outstanding movie Elizabeth, which explains all this, or the recent miniseries starring Helen Mirrin) and that is the traditional definition of the word virgin "an unmarried woman." Virgins of old were not necessarily chaste; in fact they were often the opposite. The vestal virgins of ancient Greece were priestesses in charge of secret sexual rites paying homage to the Goddess. But what does all this have to do with the Virginian? Perhaps nothing. But for me, personally, the Virginian, like Ennis, is a young untested man who subjects himself to the power of nature, or should we say, Mother Nature, which has a lifelong influence on him. It has a mythical resonance for me.
Now, the word Wyoming... I will have to deal with the meanings inherent in that word next. Or not!!....
Front-Ranger:
There was a story about the book "Passionate Minds" on NPR this morning about Emilie du Chatelet, who was Voltaire's lover and an eminent scientist and philosopher. It sounds like something many would be interested in.
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=6542620
Front-Ranger:
A group of us is going to start reading The Virginian together and I'll create a new topic here for discussion of it. Also, watch for a new topic here about parallels between Brokeback Mountain and a previous work of Annie Proulx's called Postcards.
Front-Ranger:
Looking for a good book to read over the holidays? I have two recommendations: The Virginian, by Owen Wister, is a book we're reading and discussing now. It has been called the greatest Western ever written and has sold millions of copies since it was published first in 1902.
Also, there's Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close, by Jonathon Safren Foer, my candidate for the best novel about the 9-11 experience. Here is a link to the first page for your reading enjoyment:
firstpage
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