The Sylvanian Family
The image of the Sylvanian family (or Calico Critters are they’re now called) rose to my mind as I began reading the first few chapters of Betty Friedan’s The Feminine Mystique. The Calico Critters are a family of bunnies, squirrels, and other tiny animal figurines that are clothed like pioneers and dwell in the daintiest…
The House, the Room, and the Soul
This has been my final fall semester at Rhodes College and I can confidently say that it was filled from top to bottom with Edith Wharton. I read House of Mirth in the summer and then dedicated the semester to analyzing it for my senior seminar paper, and I just finished The Age of Innocence…
“Echoes of Jazz Age” by F. Scott Fitzgerald
An advice often given to writers is to not attempt to write about a time period until it’s over, only leaving echoes in its wake. Only when a new era has begun is it safe to write about it—just like you can’t properly describe what it’s like to be fifteen until you’re sixteen. You couldn’t…