PAGE EIGHT THE MICHIGAN DAILY

SUNDAY, DEC. 6, 1936

I4
I
C1
1
t
t
3
i

Brittain's 'Novel Of Transition'
Marred By Didactic Approach
HONORABLE ESTATE-A NOVEL enough, extraordinarily narrow views
OF TRANSITION By Vera Brit- about marriage. Having been thor-
tain. MacMillan. $2.50. oughly trained in political philosophy
by her father, Janet is anxious to
By PROF. EARL LESLIE GRIGGS continue her intellectual life and is
(Of the English Department) unhappy in the quiet English village
Vera Brittain's Honorable Estate is in which her husband is stationed.
not only a somewhat didactic study She resents the coming of her baby,
of the institution of marriage, but it becames increasingly disillusioned
is also a commentary upon the social with her husband, involves herself in
changes during the last half-century, the suffrage movement, and finally,
particularly as they affected the sta- after a bitter altercation with her
tus of women. husband, leaves him entirely, only to
The novel begins with the story of die a year or two later.
Janet, who as a young girl not yet 20 The scandal occasioned by his
years old had married Thomas Ruth- wife's conduct deprives Thomas Ru-
.rston, a clergyman with liberal po- therston of any opportunity to fol-
"itical ideas and, paradoxically low his profession, and he falls into
__ a state of morbid insanity. Miss Brit-
iences of Nordenskiold, Jensen and tain implies that the institution of
the rest, and felt that I must see marriage, as interpreted by our Vic-
for myself what the truth was of torian forebears, was responsible for
this great mysterious interior." the wrecking of two lives; as a matter
of fact, both Janet and her husband
In 1886 Peary made his first trip are abnormal. Had he been less in-
to the Arctic, exploring the eastern tolerant and self-righteous, had she
part of Greenland. His life work been more feminine and less career-
might be said to have been launched.. struck, surely their difficulties might
From then on his work was mainly have been ironed out. In other words,
in the Arctic till his expedition of the failure of the Rutherston mar-
1909 when he reached the Pole. riage is apparently more successful,
The foregoing very brief ,sketch of of Victorian standards.
Peary's life has been elaborated in The second part of Miss Brittain's
Professor Hobb's biography with skill book concerns itself with the mar-
and discernment. The essential facts riage of the Alleyndenes. This mar-1
are presented well, and the develop- miage is apparently more successful,
rent of Peary's skill as an explorer but Jessie Alleyndene never under-
and of his abilities as an engineer are stands, nor even attempts to under-
set forth with a fine sense of the in- stand, her husband's nature, and
tegration necessary to a full life and merely resigns herself to self-pitying
to a complete and artistic biography. surrender. After all the Alleyndenes
are a middle class Staffordshire fam-
Then The waCok Incident' ily, rich but self-satisfied and ignor-
Peary's triumph was clouded by ant.
the "Cook Incident," and this part of The last and best part of this long
the book Professor Hobbs has novel deals with the story of Ruth
handled ably. The delicacy of the Alleyndene. Given a higher educa-
subject, the fierce passions that were tion at Oxford because of her bril-
aroused, and the great ignorance that liance (her schoolmistress overcameI
was displayed combine to make it a the prejudice of the elder Alleyn-I
natter to be dealt with candidly, but denes) instead of entering upon at
firmly, and fairly, but tactfully.
Carefully documentation was also
necessary, and this has been given.
In constructing a biography from n CuHR TM S GIF SC
the essential facts, in presenting CHR TG T C
them in vigorous and yet beautiful MAKE YOUR SE
>rose, Professor Hobbs has made a
contribution to literature as well as
o the history of exploration. ForT ES
he scientific he has provided val-
cable appendices; for the casual, an 1111 South University Ave.
ndex. fi&& d4t

normal existence, she is thrown into
the maelstrom of the war. Entering
into the service of the government
as a nurse, she comes face to face
with every horror that man's inhu-
inanity could devise. One by one her
moral and even spiritual standards
fall. She learns of her brother's
homosexuality without lasting re-
sentment. She falls, in love with Eu-
gene Mcury, a dashing but noble-
hearted American soldier, and even-
tually accepts him as her lover.
With great tact and delicate beauty
Miss Brittain describes the coming of
love to Ruth Alleyndene, and when
Eugene is killed in action the novel
rises to really , tragic heights. The
war over. Ruth, heart-sick and in de-
spair, joins a relief expedition to
Poland, throws herself with abandon
into the dangerous work of alleviat-
ing a cholera epidemic, only to meet
Dennis, the aenemic but intelligent
son of the unfortunate Rutherstons.
A friendship follows which ripens into
mutual understanding, if not love,
and culminates in marriage. Ruth,
despite the advent of twins, enthus-
iastically joins in the efforts of the
British Labor Party, becomes a leader,
and is eventually elected to Parlia-
ment.
What are we to conclude? Miss
Brittain takes us along the amazing
journey from 1895 to 1930, with its
vast changes in the social structure.
She presents various phases of the
long struggle for political and social
freedom for women, along with the
coincident growth in the emancipa-
tion of the lower classes. So far the
book is an admirable history of the
last half-century. But the novel
fails because Miss Brittain so ob-
viously tries to teach. No one of the
three marriages she gives is really
typical, and each is given its par-
ticular coloring by the accident of
personality or circumstance. Miss
Brittain's didactic purpose leads her
to twist her characters and her ac-
tion, to interrupt really moving scenes
with generalizations, to analyze
faultily, it seems to the reviewer, the
minds of her characters, and to miss
the obvious point that marriage is
not only a social relationship but a
spiritual bond as well.

I

I

I
I'

i


11

2

IN

VI

BOOKS

ARDS &STATIONERY
LECTIONS NOW!
PPPLhY STORE
Phone 8688



COMPLETE Wodei of
SHAKESPEARE

A Few of Our Best Values:
The Opera Goers Complete Guide - Leo
Mclitz - Was $2.50 ...........NOW $1.49
The Curious Lore of Drugs and Medicine -
Chas. H. LaWall - Was $5.00 .. NOW $1.79
Man of the Renaissance - Ralph Roeder -
Was $3.50 ..................... NOW $1.39
Spies and the Next War - Richard W.
Rowan - Was $2.50 ...........NOW $1.00
The Book of Old Ships - Henry B. Culver -
E Was $20.00................... NOW $1.98
Gordon Grant Marine Prints - Set of 5 $1.00
The Story of Philosophy - Will Durant
Was $5.00 .................... NOW $1.69
Of Human Bondage - W. Somerset
Maugham - Was $2.50.........NOW $1.00
Droll Stories - Honor6 de Balzac -
Was $25.00 .................... NOW $1.69
The Romance of Chinese Art . ... NOW $1.93
Napoleon - Emil Ludwig Was $3.00 NOW $1.00
Stories of the Great Operas and their
Composers - Ernest Newman -
Was $10.50 .................... NOW $1.47
Marie Antoinette -Stefan Zweig-
Was $3.50 .................... NOW $1.49
The Best Loved Poems of the American
People - Edited by Hazel Felleman .... $1.69

EVERbefOrehasThe
N Complete Works of
William Shakespeare been
available in such a beauti-
ful authoritative book as
this sumptuous new edi-
tion, illustrated by Rock-
well Kent, and with a
Preface by Christopher
Morley. It gives you, in
one superb oversize vol-
ume, all 37 of Shakes-
peare's plays, in the origi.
nal Cambridge text, as well
as his poems and sonnets,
and including the world-
famousTemple Notes and
other features mentioned
in the panel at the right.
40 Gorgeous
Full-Page Plates

ROCKWUELL KENT

I

40 Illustrations by ROCKWELL KENT
Full-page in size, the forty magnificent illustra-
tions show this famous artist at the very peak of
his genius. They have been reproduced with
greatest care, to retain all their brilliance.
Preface by CHRISTOPHER MORLEY
The best loved of contemporary essayists-au.
thor of The Haunted Bookshop, Where the Blue
Begins, John Mistletoe-has contributed a
long and delightful preface.
COMPLET and authoritative
to the last etail. Con-
tains the original
Cambridge text,
the world-fa-
mous Temple
Notes, a compre- :
hensive glossary, <.N =.; .::< u."
a complete index
of characters in
the plays, index
of first lines of the
poems and sonnets,
brief modern syn
opitogether with oss
facts about back
ground and history,
for each of the 37
plays. Over 1550 pp.

l

Romeo and Juliet, Hamlet, Macbeth, The Two -
Gentlemen of Verona, Henry VIII . . . all of
Shakespeare's great plays come to new life under
the spell of forty glowing illustrations-the largest
number of full-page Kent illustrations ever pub-
lished in one book. And there are end-papers by
Rockwell Kent for good measure. The picture at
the right cannot give you any idea of the size and
beauty of this volume. The book measures 9Y4"x
12/" and is 2/" thick. In careful craftsmanship
of printing and binding, no expense has been spared
to make this a creation of beauty and enduring worth
-a book to treasure for years, the outstanding gift-
book of the season . . . enclosed in a handsome slip-
case box. And yet the economies of a large edition
(printed from the same plates as the $50.00 limited
edition), make it possible to offer this book at $3.95.
Come in to the store and examine this Rockwell
Kent Shakespeare for yourself. Or if you cannot,
telephone your order or use the convenient coupon.
"THE PERFECT lFT"

Nothing But Wodehouse - Edited by Ogden
Nash. ... ...................... $1.29
Life and Times of Marc Antony - Arthur
Weigall - Was $5.00 ...........NOW $1.00
The Story of Law - John M. Zane, LL.D.-
Was $5.00 ....................NOW $1.00
Great Men of Literature - Will Durant -
Was $4.00 ........ . ........... NOW $1.00
Painting - Illustrated Story of Painting
and the World's Great Artists.........$1.98
Romance of Meicine - Logan Clendening,
..M.D. - Was $5.00 ... ........ NOW $1.69
Practical Everyday Chemistry - H. Bennett,
F.A.IC. ....................... NOW $1.98
Canterbury Tales - Geoffrey Chaucer -
Was $5.09.................... NOW $1.89
The Crusades - Harold Lamb-
Was $4.00....................NOW $1.00
Great Men of Science -Grove Wilson -
Was $4.00 .................... NOW $1.00
With Lawrence in Arabia - Lowell Thomas-
Was $4.00 .................... NOW $1.00
Great Works of Music -Philip H. Goepp-
Was $9.00 ..... ... ..........NOW $1.59
Roget's Thesaurus - Was $3.50 .. NOW $1.39
Genghis Khan - Harold Lamb -
Was $3.50 .................... NOW $1.00
Great Works of Art and What Makes them
Great-F. W. Ruckstull. Was $5.00 NOW $1.98
Astronomy for Everybody - Simon New-
comb - Was $2.50 .............NOW $1.00
Travels of Marco Polo - Was $5.00 NOW $1.59
The Book of Humorous Verse - Edited by
Carolyn Wells -Was $5.00 ... . NOW $1.69
Seven Famous Novels of H. G. Wells -
Was $2.75 .................... NOW $1.49
Book of Culture - Ethel Peyser --
Was $4.00 .................... NOW $1.59
The Complete Works of William Shake-
speare - Illustrated by Rockwell Kent $3.95
Graphic Arts - From Encyclopaedia Bri-
tannica ....................... NOW $1.98
Major Mysteries of Science - H. Gordon
Garbedian - Was $3.75........ NOW $1.39
Life and Times of Rembrandt - Hendrik
W. van Loon - Was $5.00 .... NOW $1.00
Romance of Archaeology - R.V.D. Magoffin
and Emily C. Davis-Was $5.00 NOW $1.59
The Le Gallienne Book of English and Amer-
ican Poetry - Was $7.00 .......NOW $1.49
Old Pewter, Brass, Copper, and Sheffield
Plate - N. Hudson Moore -
Was $5.00 .................... NOW $1.29
English and American Furniture - Herbert
Cescinsky and George Leland Hunter-
Was $7.50 ...................... NOW $1.98
The Practical Book of American Antiques-
H. D. Eberlein and A. McClure -
Was $8.50 ...................NOW $1.98
The Standard Book of British and American
Verse - Preface by Christopher Morley -
NOW $1.98
Genuine Antique Furniture - DeBles -
Was $6.00...................NOW $198
Story of the World1's Literatuire - John

.I

Mansions of Philosophy - Will Durant -
Was $5.00 .................... NOW $1.43
Astronomy - Arthur M. Harding, Ph.D. -
NOW $1.98
Best Short Stories of the World - Edited
by Konrad Bercovici - Was $2.50 NOW $1.00
The Decameron - Giovanni Boccaccio -
Was $17.50 .................... NOW $1.79
Mr. Currier and Mr. Ives - Russel Crouse -
Was $5.00 .....:......... .....NOW $1.98
History and Destiny of the Jews - Josef
Kastein - Was $3.50.NOW $1.00
The Human Mind -Karl A. Menninger,
M.D. - Was $5.00 .............'NOW $1.00
More Power to You - Walter B. Pitkin -
Was $1.75 ..................... NOW $1.0i
The New Book of Etiquette - Lillian Eich-
ler-Was $4.00 .............. NOW $1.00
Strategy in Handling People - E. T. Webb
and J. Morgan-Was $3.00 .... NOW $1.00
Six Greatest Novels of Anatole France -
NOW $1.49
Catherine ,the Great - Katharine Anthony -
Was $4.00 ......................NOW $1.00
Outline of History-H. G. Wells -
Was $5.00 ...................NOW $1.29
Birds of America - Edited by T. Gilbert
Pearson - Was $17.50.........NOW $3.95
ISCEANEOS
BOOK ENDS.......$1.00 up
In Leather:
Book Covers 50c to $1.50
Zipper Cases $1.00 to $6.00
Zipper Notebooks $2.50 to 7$.50
Billfoids 75c up
Diaries 10c up
MICHIGAN BLANKETS
and PILLOWS
WORLD GLOBES $1.49 up
LARGE STOCK of
SHAEFFERS and PARKERS
Fountain Pens $1.00 and up
Fountain Pen and Pencil Sets
$1.00 and up
Eye Ease Desk Lamps... $3.00
For the Artist:
BEGINNERS to MASTERS
Oil and Water Color Sets - Pastels
Chalks, Crayons, Books, etc., qlI prices
Colored Prints -- Van Gogh, Cezonne,
etc. 25c to $12.50
PHOTOGRAPH ALBUMS
60c up
BOOKS
A Complete Stock of All
the Best Sellers
A Line of Good Children's
Books . Oc and up

', i

>. E rrrwrrrrrmrmrmmmmrw iaffmmm m m mum

TE

COLL LEGE

T~i . F. .. TS. i...w l "


..--Uirtnr Haicnr m n in

I®

i

I1

-vigor Heiser, mu. VII I