Peyton's Site

“Take my advice, don’t appreciate any man too highly. In the book of every man’s life there is a page which he would wish to keep turned down.”  -Sydney Atherton, The Beetle In this quote, we see a theme that has been recurring in many of the novels we have…

In all of the commonplace book entries I reviewed (Jennifer, Mariah, and Olivia), there was a recurring theme of doubling, as well as many mentions of the scrutiny Oscar Wide faced for writing this piece. The theme of doubling is one we have seen in every novel we read this…

“While much of the uproar was directed at the homosexuality of not only themes in the novel but Oscar Wilde himself, there was also a stir over the immoral influences. Many attempted to argue that the acts encouraged by Lord Henry were damaging to those who read the horrifying story…

“We are punished for our refusals. Every impulse that we strive to strangle broods in the mind, and poisons us. The body sins once, and has done with its sin, for action is a mode of purification. . . . Resist it, and your soul grows sick with longing for…

“Acting as a saviour, the monster hero also has, to some extent, humanity. The human within the monster – his compas- sion, sympathy, and caring – encourages him to act on behalf of others rather than for himself, propelling him to hero status.” McCrystal, Hyde the Hero Many of today;’s…

“While the general pattern of crime was one of decline, there were occasional panics and scares generated by particularly appalling offences. In the 1850s and early 1860s there were panics about street robbery, known then as ‘garrotting’. A virulent press campaign against garrotters in 1862 developed following the robbery of…

““He is not easy to describe. There is something wrong with his appearance; something displeasing, something downright detestable. I never saw a man I so disliked, and yet I scarce know why. He must be deformed somewhere; he gives a strong feeling of deformity, although I couldn’t specify the point. He’s…

“Shall I?” I said briefly; and I looked at his features, beautiful in their harmony, but strangely formidable in their still severity; at his brow, commanding, but not open; at his eyes, bright and deep and searching, but never soft; at his tall imposing figure; and fancied myself in idea…

This artifact is an image of a review from a doctor, assumably an official of a sort of health-board. He appears to be writing an inspection of a privately run mental asylum in England. This is very similar to Mr. Rochester, who is running a private asylum of his own…

“I have not yet said anything condemnatory of Mr. Rochester’s project of marrying for interest and connections. It surprised me when I first discovered that such was his intention; I had thought him a man unlikely to be influenced by motives so commonplace in his choice of a wife; but…