Reading Journal #3

Grant Wengeler
Dr. Torgensen 
2/10/2020
Reading Journal #3
Deerbrook
Despite the many interesting themes portrayed within this story, it ultimately failed to really grasp my attention. Much like Jane Eyre, the underlying message that the self is continuously at odds with the collective hits close to home. Questioning the pressures of society is worthwhile, and is in essence a foundation of Marxist criticism. The most interesting parts of the story are the relationships between the different characters, but Martineau’s diction strikes me as rather dry and that made it hard to extrapolate enjoyment from the text itself. Certainly she uses great vocabulary, but the combinations portray a certain tone that is ultimately a large turn-off. Although I see great value in the relationships, I feel as though the focus on interpersonal interactions became pedantic. Everything was just too normal. Perhaps I’m coddled by my 21st century perception of entertainment, but I feel as though this story requires something strange to mix things up a bit. 
The language left me feeling a certain lack of stimulation, along with the drab setting, and the overall acceptance and portrayal of normalcy. For a story without anything “cool,”  at least according to me personally, it is very long and drawn out. Every concept in this book related to something I already knew, have already discussed, or have had previous experience with in some form. There was no truly new concept or idea for me to grasp onto. This is one reason that I love sci-fi so much, it always comes up with some new crazy idea that I have to wrap my head around. Deerbrook was just mind-numbingly normal. 
One thing that really “spiced” it up was the close proximity to death. Oddly enough, I really enjoyed the element of the story that forced the darkest most interesting elements of reality. Nobody really understands death, so it’s an infinitely open concept no matter what. The role of death in this story grounds the reader to the story through this great equalizer. What a true Marxist criticism when I look back at it! No matter class, or time of existence, death is always there. It’s dark, it’s sad, and it’s incredible. Truly, death is the strangest thing in this entire novel. 
I couldn’t find it exactly, but I remember one particular point where Martineau references John Milton’s Paradise Lost. She describes how the imagery within the pages of a book can seem more real than a true image directly before one’s eyes. It was my favorite excerpt from the entire book and I forgot to mark it. I share in that admiration because I am also a big fan of Milton’s writings and reading Paradise Lost helped to revolutionize my thinking. It’s amazing how an allusion within Deerbrook can help me connect closer to the story by drawing the connection between itself and my previous experience. 
The idea of love as destiny drives a lot of the plot within. Of course, I find it interesting to observe given the implications of Victorian society. However, I’m just not personally invested into the topic of love. I guess a part of that is my male brain, I prefer action movies and avoid Nicolas Sparks novels like the plague. My favorite part of Titanic was the part where the ship was violently swallowed by the sea. I skip past all that kissy mushy stuff. Deerbrook is so romantically dramatic, and such a “chick flick” of a book that I became discouraged with it to a degree. 
I did enjoy how, as the reader, I was able to see somewhat inside the minds of the characters (especially Margaret) in order to see more than the characters themselves could. I applaud the focalization within this story, despite my disinterest overall. 




Work Cited

Martineau, Harriet. Deerbrook. Smith, Elder and CO. London. 1878. Web. 

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