Reply to comment

When re reading certain portions of Howards End and On Beauty, I was thinking about how we discussed the ability to relate to the story and/or the characters. I would argue that I more readily identified with the events of On Beauty because they fit into what I expect and have experienced in my life in those situations. They fit into my schema of the world, so I relax and don't have to "imagine" it as much as remember.

Going back to Tamarinda's point about stereotypes in discussion on Thursday - I also would like people to ignore stereotypes and take individuals for individuals. However, I think that this is unlikely to happen. Because stereotypes are manifestations of expectations. I expect certain characters to behave in certain ways based on how they are introduced. The benefits of a novel include that we are forced to follow the narrative of the author - which can force us through experiencing characters in a different way, breaking those stereotypes.

I think the conclusion that I am reaching is that it is not stereotypes that are the issue, but the expectations which we carry about things and people in the world that change things. What we expect the definition of beauty of be as individuals can differ from other people's expectations. And there is where we find conflict in definitions, conflict in characterization, and conflict in discussion.