One refreshing thing about the Brontë’s work is that it puts average people on center stage. They aren’t beautiful; they aren’t especially talented or intelligent; and they certainly aren’t affluent. Their lack of perfection doesn’t prevent us from sympathizing with them; on the contrary, because we are gifted with special knowledge of their thoughts and feelings, we sympathize with them more than we would with the bravest hero or the most beautiful heroine ever to grace the pages of literature. We can relate to these very real characters. And because we can relate to them, we become even more tied up with the tenor of their experiences. We want them to be happy because it shows us that we too can be happy. In the following passage, Charlotte Brontë illustrates how the humanness of an individual supercedes the importance of appearance:
Once–unknown and unloved–I held him harsh and strange; the low stature, the wiry make, the angles, the darkness, the manner, displeased me. Now penetrated with his influence, and living by his affection, having his worth by intellect, and his goodness by heart–I preferred him before all humanity.
If only TV producers would learn this lesson! Have you seen the promos for the new show Titan? The show, promoted as “this fall’s guilty pleasure,” features the most ridiculously “beautiful”/”sexy” people you ever saw. Ever seen the cover of a harlequin romance? All of the characters, I mean every last one, looks like they walked off one of those book jackets. Gag me with a spoon!
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Oooh!!! I just found a great recording of one of my favorite Lemonheads’ songs. It’s called The Outdoor Type. I spent a lot of time in Missoula, Montana where most of the population is bent on convincing you of their prowess in the wild. Many of them certainly couldn’t rub two sticks together to start a fire. I think Tom Morgan must have met similar people to come up with such amusing lyrics:
always had a roof above me – always paid the rent – and I never set foot inside a tent – couldn’t build a fire to save my life – I lied about being the outdoor type – I never slept out underneath the stars – the closest that I came to that was one time my car broke down for an hour in the suburbs at night – I lied about being the outdoor type – too scared to let you know – you knew what you were looking for – I lied until I fit the bill – god bless the great indoors – I lied about being the outdoor type – I never owned a sleeping bag let alone a mountain bike – I can’t go away with you on a rock climbing weekend – what if something’s on TV and it’s never shown again – It’s just as well I’m not invited I’m afraid of heights – I lied about being the outdoor type – never learned to swim, can’t grow a beard or even fight – I lied about being the outdoor type.
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Today the postman brought us the proofs for our wedding album. I experienced many strange sensations looking through them. I hardly recognized myself. In most of the pictures, I wore a dreamy expression upon my face. It made me look much prettier than I’m accustomed to looking. Robert was surprised by how he looked too. He couldn’t believe how big he looked. (You would think a 6’5″ guy would have some inkling that he was a tad larger than others). Some of the photos were quite funny. One showed Robert holding his niece in one arm and a plate of hors d’oeuvres in the other. His niece was strrrrreeetching to reach the plate of food, but Robert just calmly sat there with a look of sheer exhaustion on his face. We laughed and laughed at that one.
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