Why is "literature" so replete with unhappy endings? I have in mind Thomas Hardy. I am cheating as I have not read any books by Hardy (they're in the pile...), but I have seen a fair number of his books adapted to film. Does any of his work have a happy ending? If so, I want to see it! This weekend I watched The Woodlanders, which was very good, and you guessed it, rather sad. Grace, the daughter of a timber merchant is sent away to a finishing school. She had been promised to Giles, a woodsman. But when Grace returns her father thinks she can make a better marriage and prompts her to marry the local doctor. Of course this backfires. The doctor considers himself above the "simple" people of this village. Grace is caught in a bit of a limbo. Although these are her friends and family, she is now more educated and finished than many, yet the people of high society still consider her a country girl. It is obviously going to come as no surprise to anyone that this is not going to end happily. I imagine that much was left out of the book, and it appears that there were important scenes edited out of the American version of the DVD, but I thought it was still well acted and beautifully filmed. I know that in reading it isn't always the ending that counts, but the journey to get there, but it seems like in order for a book to be classified as literature it can't have a happy ending. Thank heavens for Jane Austen!
I also watched King Arthur (not for the first time). I realize that they took a lot of liberties with this film in terms of the legend of Arthur. Normally this would annoy me to no great end, but I have to say, I love this movie. I see it more of an adventure movie, and I haven't really read enough Arthurian books to call the director or screewriter to task, since I just don't know enough about the legends. (But I have to insert here that The Count of Monte Cristo is on TV tonight, and I won't be watching. They completely ignored the book, and it was too far fetched for me to enjoy it--can you see I pick and choose what I like?...). It is a pretty bloody movie, and normally this would bother me, but I guess these things that happened were so long ago and are so far removed from the reality of the here and now for me that I had no trouble watching it. By the way, this has a semi-happy ending, but sadly some of my favorite characters don't make it to the end. That's life, I guess.
I joined Book Mooch last week after Dorothy mentioned it. I had my first request for a mooch. Someone wanted my copy of The Moonstone (not to worry, I didn't give mine away, but I had a mass market copy that I never read--I prefer trade size books these days). I tried to mooch a Daphne DuMaurier book off someone, but they are in the UK and prefer not to mail overseas due to the high cost of postage--fair enough. This made me want it all the more, so I completely fell off the wagon and ordered four DuMaurier books from Amazon in the UK. I know, weak, weak, weak. I have to do better now. (Though I will be happily waiting for my books to come in the mail--yay). As for reading this weekend....well...it has not been a productive weekend, and now it is nearly over. I had (as usual) such great plans. Didn't finish the Poe (didn't even get more than a few pages into the second story), didn't read Joyce's short story "The Dead" (though I did start it, and you know, it might not be as hard as I thought it would be...). I did read a lot of the Cynthia Harrod-Eagles, though, and I am almost finished (it must be the weekend of bloody battle scenes,since the there have been just a few in the book as well). I want to start The Mists of Avalon, since I have all this swirling around in my mind now, but just one look at my night stand and it is going to have to wait a bit longer. Or who knows, since I didn't do anything else as planned this weekend, perhaps I will start it tonight. Ah, what I would give for more discipline in my life.