Monthly Archives: February 2023

Lady Audley’s Secret: Iron Resolve

By Robin Bates | Published: February 28, 2023

Braddon’s 1862 novel “Lady Audley’s Secret” has a vision of female power that leaps off the page.

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , | Comments closed

Proust on Why the Poor Support the Rich

By Robin Bates | Published: February 27, 2023

Why do White working-class GOP supporters support programs helping the rich? Proust and Faulkner have possible answers.

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , | Comments closed

GOP Attacks on the Poor? Read McCullers

By Robin Bates | Published: February 26, 2023

In “Heart is a Lonely Hunter” McCullers calls out rightwing attacks on poverty programs. Today’s GOP should listen.

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , | Comments closed

Reading Proust as Lenten Observance

By Robin Bates | Published: February 25, 2023

For Lent this year, I am taking on Proust’s “In Search of Lost Time.” I hope to gain new insight into the nature of fictional engagement.

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , | Comments closed

In Russia, It’s Always 1984

By Robin Bates | Published: February 24, 2023

Putin blames Ukraine, NATO and the U.S. in the same way that Big Brother blames Eurasia.

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , | Comments closed

DeLillo Predicted Ohio’s Toxic Disaster

By Robin Bates | Published: February 22, 2023

DeLillo’s “White Noise” uncannily predicts the East Palestine, Ohio train accident.

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , | Comments closed

Ash Wednesday: Teach Us to Sit Still

By Robin Bates | Published: February 21, 2023

In “Ash Wednesday,” T.S. Eliot sees despair as the starting point of faith.

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , | Comments closed

Once Again, Finding My Family in Gaskell

By Robin Bates | Published: February 20, 2023

Gaskell’s “North and South” advocates for enlightened management-labor relations.

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , | Comments closed

Finding a Relative in Gaskell’s Novels

By Robin Bates | Published: February 19, 2023

Imagining my great-grandmother as heroines in a Gaskell novel brings both her and the novels to life.

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , | Comments closed