Matt Smith / Comments

Hey, how hard was it for you to make the layout you're using now?

The Brontes just seem somehow...frigid and naive. child-like. I mean, look at George Sand who lived around the same period of time. She wore men's clothes and smoked in public, had numerous lovers -some of which are rumoured to have been women-, married a Baron's illegitimate son, had two children then got a divorce and traveled the world and wrote books. I see her in her 60s, sunbathing in her lovely flower garden in a reclusive French village while writing a letter to Flaubert and then I see the Brontes in their damp little house writing stories to warm themselves up and then dying stupidly from tuberculosis before reaching 40. It's somehow so English for something so horrible wet and cold to happen to them. I like French 19th century literature more than English one, while the English wrote tragic stories with poor virtuous characters (which however always had a happy ending), French writers lead a tumultuous life. In the first half of the century you had the Romantics with their doomed genius and revolutions and tragic deaths, later on there were the Realists who wrote of mean greedy old men and stupid young maidens and how bad the modern age was, so that towards the end you have the Symbolists who are the epitome of ridiculous literary current all dark and weepy and decadent. 19th French literature is just so full of savour and decadence, compared to it the Brontes are a bit mouldy.

Merry Christmas to you too. :)
To continue the trend of I-stumbled-into-Elizabeth-Gaskell-and-thought-of-you comments, I'm doing an essay on literacy and women's rights for English and when I got to the part about 19th century writers I wrote a whole phrase on Elizabeth Gaskell for you. Well, not just for you, she's a writer worthy of mention, etc., but by comparison I only mentioned the Brontes -whom I don't really like as persons- in passing...

The other day I was in Barnes & Noble (bookstore) and I saw a book by Elizabeth Gaskell and was like, woooooo, now I know who that is. Thought you should know.

I'm a big Brontë fan, but I really son't like the ending of "Jane Eyre".

I think I've been to Brontë Country, but I was really young and hadn't read any of her work yet :(

It was :)

I'm ashamed to say that I've never read anything by her, all I know is that she was friends with Charlotte Bronte. And I'm even sure if that's true. XD.

My friends were on a radio show today, and someome mentioned a book by Elizabeth Gaskell and for a minute I thought they meant you XD

No, I've not - I need to start going to the cafe places in Edinburgh, because they all seem so lovely! Because I'm usually with my family there, we end up in a pub of some sort XD

Scandanavian countries are so awesome at doing Christmas! For the while of December, my friend's house smells of cinamon and is decorated in such a lovely, twee way :)

Norwegians (or at least the few I know) don't really celebrate Lucia. They kind of observe it (and call it Lusinatt?) but don't make a big deal of it, just kind of include in the normal advent masses and stuff.

Oh, but they do make cinammon bun things! They have a special name, but I don't remember

Scandinavian Studies sounds amazing! One of my friends is Norwegian, and they do Christmas well. I was at a "Pepperkaker" bake last night, which was just so wintery and lovely.

I don't stop school till the 23rd and I have NABs and stuff in the meantime so I'm not going to the German Market until Christmas Eve. There's one in Glasgow, but Edinburgh's Christmas is just...wow.

May I just say something?

You write so beautifully. You said that you are obsessed with the 19th century and it shows through your writing. It has the atmosphere. The words just flow so smoothly and each sentence seems to flow into the next, like maple syrup dripping down a stack of pancakes, that was the first thing of though of...not such a great metaphor.

Anyway, great job...I really hope you get eventually type all of your work and publish it.

I am great, thank you. Being slowly but surely killed by Higher Physics, but great XD

How are you doing? Oh, and is the winter market up in Edinburgh yet?!

But I keep feeling really silly, because I see "Bloodraine" under Last Post, so I click on the forum all excited because I think you posted, then I realise it's just something I put on XD

I saw what you posted on "Things I Hate About Mibba" and got tempted :P

I love your profile. xD Especially your About Me. I have notebooks full of snippets of things, I wonder if I'll ever get around to any of it. xD

I'm starting college soon; planning on my minor being Creative Writing. Or something around there. But my major is psychology. Oh hi! My name is Brianna, by the way. Nice to meet you. (I always introduce myself last...)

Wow,what is mibba magazine?

Hello, Meg. My name is Yanna, you can call me Yan. I see you are part of the Mibba Magazine, so am I.

I just want to say Hi, and that I am really looking forward to working with you. :D

Oh, thank you (:

It's the opposite in Glasgow - there's the Hogwarts-esque building, then a burned down bus stop and graffiti covered buildings just around the corner XD

My sister's there now, and even though she used to live there too she said the exciting/beauty hasn't worn off. My best friend is a year older than me, so is currently going through the apparent hell of UCAS, and has an unconditional for Law at Edinburgh. He asked me for help deciding weather to put that or Aberdeen as his second choice. I feel I was entirely justified saying that he was an idiot if he felt the need to ask :)

Yeah, I've always dreamed of going to uni, I've never wanted anything else, but the closer I get the more I get worried that I'm not smart enough XD

I love them, and I am REALLY fussy about paper quality. That never happens because I have a really light hand when I'm writing - I've been told it's because I "hold the pen wrong" which is...odd XD

By the way, how are you enjoying Edinburgh? I used to live there when I was little - I hate to admit it, but it's so much prettier than Glasgow!