[Bookworm_Girl]

Originally Posted by Bookpossum

That's an interesting comment desert blues. I hadn't thought of Bergman's films.

I have just finished reading the book and have to confess that I found it disappointing, as it didn't seem very deep to me. I didn't really feel that the characters were developing as they went through life.

Spoiler:

I also found Alexandra's sympathy for Frank a bit hard to believe, given how much she had treasured Emil. Would she really feel so much sympathy for him after he had killed Emil and Marie? And the ease with which all the blame was placed at Marie's door rather stuck in my throat! Of course, the book is of its time and I suppose reflects the attitudes about "fallen women".

I'm still trying to work out Alexandra's reaction to Emil's fate too, Bookpossum. I wasn't anticipating where her forgiveness and blame would be placed. I think it is her reaction to Frank that bothers me most, and I wondered if this were to reflect the Christian attitudes that would have been prevalent at that time. Although I don't think Cather really thought that Marie was the sole person at fault. Carl cautions Alexandra about her position and presents a different perspective. I think Cather was making a statement about the passion of youth that brought all three characters to their tragic conclusion. There is also passion (via bitterness and jealousy) in the marriage of Marie and Frank. And by further comparison you feel an intense positive love between Emil's best friend Amedee and his young bride, which also has a sad ending. These relationships are in contrast to Alexandra and Carl who are soul-mates and steady friends with a subdued love, yet you know that they will be happy until death to they part. The contrast of the passion of youth is represented in the introductory poem, Prairie Spring, and the roses also show up symbolically in several interactions between Emil and Marie.

The plot of Emil and Marie was an adaptation of a story she wrote called "The White Mulberry Tree."

Spoiler:

This story was based on the story of Paolo and Francesca which we read earlier this year in Dante's Inferno. As we are familiar, they were condemned for committing adultery, and Dante felt sorry for them because they were in love and couldn't resist that passion and didn't intentionally mean to commit sin. I think in her heart that Alexandra felt that Emil and Marie also couldn't have helped loving each other as they both represented the best of the youth. I can't remember if that was one of the situations where Virgil cautioned Dante to remember that they were in hell because they had committed a sin, but Ivar's belief in the cemetery scene with Alexandra that he didn't believe Emil and Marie were in Paradise stuck out to me.