JOSÉPHINE
Utdrag ur Joséphine, kap. 51 ('Kungen av Rom'):
Jag hade i hemlighet förhoppningar om att få stanna något längre i Malmaison. Men det fann sig inte Bonaparte i. Han kunde dock inte bekväma sig till att meddela mig detta själv utan sände den oerhört generade Cambacérès. Ärkekanslern var inte precis någon mme de Rémusat, och han meddelade mig sin härskares vilja på ett ganska tafatt sätt. Visserligen ville kejsaren inte tvinga mig till någonting, men med hänsyn till kejsarinnans tillstånd var det bäst att jag reste till Navarra så fort som möjligt.
-- Hon är rätt så uppriven, det stackars lilla livet, avslutade Cambacérès allvarligt. Kejsaren -- och jag också för den delen -- skulle starkt rekommendera att ers majestät åker.
Jag tyckte att Marie-Louise, som hade privilegiet att få tillbringa varje dag med Bonaparte och dessutom bar på hans barn, var den sista som hade någon anledning att vara "uppriven". Trots det beslöt jag mig för att lyda Cambacérès råd. Ingen skulle påstå att jag var ute efter att såra Marie-Louise.
Livet på Navarra var ganska behagligt. Mme de Rémusat hade följt med den här gången, och till och med hon verkade ha riktigt roligt. Mme d'Arberg var däremot något bekymrad. Monsieur Pourtalès hade börjat visa stort intresse för mme Gazzani, och snart var romansen ett faktum. Mlle de Castellane-Norantes försäkran om att hon "nog skulle kunna locka tillbaka" monsieur Pourtalès gjorde inte mme d'Arberg lugnare. Men jag var så glad över att mme Gazzani lyckats glömma Bonaparte att jag omöjligt kunde dela hennes upprördhet.
Så kom den tjugonde mars 1811. Ryktet spred sig att kejsarinnan snart skulle föda. Hela dagen var det ingen vid mitt hov som kunde koncentrera sig på biljard eller läsning. Det blev en nästan olidlig väntan tills fram på kvällen, då det första kanonskottet hördes från det intilliggande Évreux.
-- Gudskelov! utbrast jag. Barnet lever! Bara det nu är en pojke.
Ingen vågade säga något de första tjugoen skotten. Vid det tjugoandra bröt ett jubel utan like ut. Det var en pojke. Jag satt länge utan att få fram ett ord. Mme d'Arberg såg ängsligt på mig.
-- Hur är det fatt, ers majestät? Är ni ledsen?
-- Ledsen! ekade jag. Hur skulle jag kunna vara ledsen? Detta är ju vad vi alla hoppats på! Vad kejsaren måste vara lycklig. Ursäkta mig ett ögonblick, jag måste skriva till honom. Och sedan skall vi hålla en stor och påkostad bal. Det här måste firas!
Alla tyckte att jag bar mig ädelt och hjältemodigt åt vid nyheten om tronföljarens födelse. Men jag förtjänade inte deras beröm. Jag var faktiskt glad. Bonaparte hade nu äntligen sin arvtagare, och kanske ännu viktigare, en egen son. Inte desto mindre glömde han inte att i ett brev till mig tillägga, efter att ha yttrat sin faderliga stolthet:
"Jag är mycket nöjd med Eugène. Han har aldrig på något sätt varit en besvikelse för mig."
Jag uppfattade de korthuggna raderna som den absoluta höjden av ömhet och omtänksamhet. I flera dagar tråkade jag ut alla som jag kunde få tag på med mina svärmiska lovsånger om kejsarens hänsynsfullhet. Vad som fick Bonaparte att framstå i ett om möjligt ännu mer förklarat ljus var att han skickade Eugéne till mig med information om vad som hade hänt vid förlossningen och annat skvaller från hovet.
Eugène livade upp oss allesammans. Han kom på idén att starta tävlingar i allt möjligt, såsom biljard, dans och till och med fiske. Ingen av damerna var alltför ledsen om de förlorade, eftersom Eugène brukade ge dem en kram eller kyss på kinden som "tröstpris". Jag misstänkte att den unga söta mlle Ducrest -- ett tämligen nytt tillskott till mitt hov -- till och med ibland spelade dåligt med flit vid biljardtävlingarna. Både jag och mme d'Arberg höll emellertid ett vakande öga på de båda.
Eugène hade sett till att de gröna "hovklänningarna" avskaffades. Han förklarade att han ville se "den prydliga gräsmattan förvandlas till en blomstrande äng". Alla de unga flickorna vid mitt hov enades om att det var mycket tjusigt sagt av Eugène och skaffade sig genast de mest färgglada klänningar de kunde hitta. Hovetiketten försvann så gott som helt tillsammans med de gröna klänningarna. Mme d'Arberg var förtvivlad, men det fanns inte mycket hon kunde göra. I stället försökte hon förgäves få någon reda i mina finanser som -- trots att jag hade ett underhåll på tre miljoner franc om året -- var så till den grad katastrofala att Bonaparte till och med en gång sände sin finansminister för att läxa upp mig. Jag antar att mme d'Arberg drog en suck av lättnad då jag fick tillstånd att återvända till Malmaison, där hon inte behövde ta så mycket ansvar för mig. Det var nog väl att hon inte visste vad jag föresatt mig att göra när jag kom till Paris. Jag var nämligen fast besluten att se Bonapartes son och Frankrikes blivande kejsare -- som Bonaparte högtidligt givit titeln "kungen av Rom". (S. 444-46)
Rochester – The Poems in Context (hardback)
The 1999 Oxford University Press edition by Harold Love of the works of John Wilmot, 2nd Earl of Rochester, praises Marianne Thormählen's Rochester: The Poems in Context (Cambridge University Press, 1993; a paperback edition appeared in 2006) as the most up-to-date book on Rochester's poetry, a "fresh, personal, and profoundly learned" study (pp. xlvi-xlvii). Other scholars have called it "splendid" (The Yearbook of English Studies), "intelligent and careful" (The Review of English Studies), "judicious" (Times Literary Supplement), and "smart and useful ... a treasure trove of information [for which] readers of Rochester will be indebted to Ms Thormählen for years to come" (The Scriblerian).
Marianne Thormählen regards Rochester as a serious poet who devoted much time and care to his verse and aimed for the highest standards in his writing. This view runs counter to the traditional idea of Rochester as the "wicked earl" who wrote with ease; but she bolsters it with convincing evidence of painstaking literary desk-work, deliberate exploitation and subversion of poetical conventions, and subtly crafted references to people and events in Charles II's and Louis XIV's Europe. Rochester's much-talked-about obscenities are shown to belong within a sombre framework of dissatisfaction with sensual pursuits and distrust of male sexual ability. The book ends with a consideration of Rochester's famous deathbed conversion. A select bibliography directs the reader to every notable work on Rochester up to 1990.
Rochester: The Poems in Context, hardback
Rochester: The Poems in Context, paperback
T.S. Eliot at the Turn of the Century
In 1993, a group of Eliot scholars came together in Lund to address the question of T. S. Eliot´s standing a hundred years after his death and on the threshold of a new millennium. The 1990s were years of Eliot-bashing; much was made of his alleged misogyny, racism, and anti-semitism, and even at the beginning of decade it was obvious that the poet´s status had suffered. Bernard Bergonzi, Lois A. Cuddy, Barbara Everett, Rudolf Germer, Nancy D. Hargrove, M. Teresa Gibert-Maceda, Stephen Medcalf, A. David Moody, Kristian Smidt, and Marianne Thormählen analysed different aspects of Eliot´s work and found enough strength and power in it to be cautiously optimistic about his future. Emrys Jones read a paper on a Stratford production of Murder in the Cathedral which focused attention on Eliot´s writing for the stage, and Grover Smith, who could not attend the meeting, contributed a new approach to The Cocktail Party. All these essays were published in the volume called T. S. Eliot at the Turn of the Century, including A. David Moody on Eliot and the mind of Europe, Nancy D. Hargrove on Eliot´s annus mirabilis in Paris (1910-1911), Bernard Bergonzi on Eliot and the city, Lois A. Cuddy on evolution in Eliot´s work, Rudolf Germer on Eliot and religion, M. Teresa Gibert-Maceda on women and Eliot, Marianne Thormählen on the problem of the individual personality in Eliot´s poetry and plays, Stephen Medcalf on the Sweeney poems, Kristian Smidt on Eliot´s less than fair treatment of the Victorians in his criticism, and Barbara Everett on the unpleasantness of meeting Mr Eliot. The volume also contains an edited version of a panel discussion about Eliot´s standing and Eliot studies. (Lund Studies in English 86, 1984; 244 pp, ed. Marianne Thormählen.)
Eliot’s Animals
T. S. Eliot´s poems and plays are full of animals, from the alley cats of the early poems by way of the eagle, leopards, and unicorns in Ash-Wednesday to the birds in Four Quartets. Marianne Thormählen´s Eliot´s Animals takes you on a guided tour of Eliot´s bestiary, showing how the poet brought a rich variety of ideas about animals into his texts and invested those texts with layers of meaning derived from, for instance, Dante, Baudelaire, and the Bible. Eliot´s Animals is a book to dip into for the Eliot reader curious to see how a particular scene can be perceived with reference to the function of a particular animal image. There is no need to read it straight through -- but those who do will learn something new about Eliot´s range and subtlety in handling symbolic features. (Lund Studies in English No. 70, 1984; 197 pp.)
The Waste Land a Fragmentary Wholeness
T. S. Eliot is felt by many to have been the poet of the twentieth century, and his famous The Waste Land is the best known poem of that century in English. Many people have found it hard to come to grips with, though, and reading Eliot remains a challenge.
"A hoax", "tripe", a piece of "rhythmical grumbling" (the latter is the poet´s own description) -- is T. S. Eliot´s The Waste Land really worth all the attention it has come in for since its publication in 1922? Thousands of literary critics and scholars have been writing about it -- what inspired such enormous efforts? And will the new millennium gratefully drop it into semi-oblivion as a period piece belonging to the world of yesterday? You´ll know more about The Waste Land, and about Eliot, and about the way you yourself respond to modern poetry after reading Marianne Thormählen´s The Waste Land: A Fragmentary Wholeness. First published in 1978, it has become a standard work on the poem, partly thanks to its generous annotation and bibliography which have helped many students chart their own way through this challenging terrain. The book tells you about the poem´s gestation, Ezra Pound´s midwifery, metre and rhythm in the Waste Land, and the symbolic imagery that is such a powerful dimension in all of Eliot´s work. It also suggests ways of freeing the reader from the obligation to make it all hang together by working out a consistent "plan" or "structure". Let The Waste Land: A Fragmentary Wholeness help you form your own relationship with the greatest modernist poem, unhampered by preconceived notions and unworried by its alleged "difficulty". (Lund Studies in English No. 52, 1978; 248 pp.)
Rethinking Modernism
Around 1979, scholars adopted the term "modernism" as a designation for the radical changes that took place in Anglo-American literature in the early twentieth century. The concept lent prestige to works and authors associated with it, encouraging the development of a vast body of criticism while blocking academic recognition of literature to which it does not readily apply. In Rethinking Modernism, published by Palgrave Macmillan in 2003 and edited by Marianne Thormählen, fifteen scholars of modernism subject the concept to sceptical scrutiny as they revisit their special areas of expertise. The general question they all face is not so much "what was modernism?" -- a familiar question -- as "was/is modernism?" Their results show that although "modernism" remains a useful concept under certain conditions, for them -- as for any reader of this book -- modernism will never be quite the same again.
The book ends with a 20-page bibliography of works on modernism in two parts, compiled by the editor; the Literary Research/Recherche littéraire reviewer called it "comprehensive and invaluable". Other reviewers have praised the book as forming a "both focused and vigorous" volume (The Yearbook of English Studies) and as offering noteworthy "considerations of category breakers and the construction of categories by the reception of literary works" (The Review of English Studies).
https://www.palgrave.com/page/detail/rethinking-modernism-marianne-thormählen/?sf1=barcode&st1=9781403911803
The Brontës and Religion (hardback)
appeared from Cambridge University Press in 1999. The first full-length study of religion in the Brontë fiction, it shows how the Brontës' familiarity with the contemporary debates on doctrinal, ethical, and ecclesiastical issues informs their novels. Divided into four parts, the book examines denominations, doctrines, ethics, and clerics in the work of the Brontës. The analyses of the novels clarify the constant interplay of human and divine love in their development. While demonstrating that the Brontës' fiction is usually in agreement with the basic tenets of Evangelical Anglicanism, The Brontës and Religion emphasises the characteristic spiritual freedom and audacity of the Brontës. Lucid and vigorously written, it opens up new perspectives for Brontë specialists and enthusiasts alike on a fundamental aspect of the novels greatly neglected in recent decades.
Excerpts from reviews: "[a] well-informed [study] based on scrupulous readings and meticulous judgments" (Times Literary Supplement); "[the author's] willingness to read with the grain of the novels' religion makes for absorbing reading" (Victorian Studies); "a refreshingly textual study of the Brontës' fiction" (The Review of English Studies); "a work of extraordinarily comprehensive scholarship" (The Journal of Ecclesiastical History); "the kind of writing which will endure and remain valuable for many years to come" (Theology); "I very much enjoyed this book" (Reviews in Religion & Theology).
The Brontës and Religion, hardback
The Brontës and Religion, paperback
The Brontës and Education (hardback)
All the seven Brontë novels are concerned with education in both senses, that of upbringing as well as that of learning. The Brontë sisters all worked as teachers before they became published novelists. In spite of the prevalence of education in the sisters' lives and fiction, however, this is the first full-length book on the subject. Marianne Thormählen explores how their representations of fictional teachers and schools engage with the intense debates on education in the nineteenth century, drawing on a wealth of documentary evidence about educational theory and practice in the lifetime of the Brontës. This study offers much new information both about the Brontës and their books and about the most urgent issue in early-nineteenth-century British social politics: the education of the people, of all classes and both sexes.
The Brontës and Education, hardback
The Brontës and Education, paperback
Reviews so far
'Compelling and unique ... This thoroughly researched volume looks at ... contemporaneous education controversies. Summing up: highly recommended.' Choice '... writes with considerable panache and vigor. In this reviewer's experience the book makes a very enjoyable read not only for a scholar public but for a general audience as well'. www.bronteblog.blogspot.com. Read the whole review at http://bronteblog.blogspot.com/2007/07/bronts-and-education-review.html '... crisp, objective and lively ... Thormählen triumphs in the light she shines on the educational world in which the family lived ... This book is an exciting helpmate in the struggle to secure a firm understanding of factors that fed the Brontë sisters' imaginative development ...' Brontë Studies ''Thormählen's prose is lucid yet sophisticated, each paragraph redolent with pithy thoughts and new twists on familiar truths ... Thormählen guides us sure-footedly ... [the notes constitute] a veritable textbook on early nineteenth-century education ... [The Brontës and Education is] a deeply satisfying work that enriches our appreciation of the Brontës and their world." Modern Philology
English Now
Selected Papers from the 20th IAUPE Conference in Lund 2007
In August 2007, about 200 senior researchers in the field of English, language and literature, spent a week in Lund taking the temperature of their subject. Nearly 150 papers were presented in 19 conference sections. This volume contains a lively selection, chosen by the 37 Section Chairs as saying something about where research in the discipline is heading. Also included are the two plenary lectures about the state and future of English in the academy by Elizabeth Traugott (language) and Helen Vendler (literature).
A common feature unites this diverse collection: English literature and language as a vital concern for real people, all over the world and in the past as well as the present. Here 'English' reaffirms its human credentials, moving forward with fresh confidence and enthusiasm. (Lund Studies in English 112, ISBN 978-91-976935-0-9)
Contents
Order from skriftserier@ht.lu.se
The Brontës in Context (hardback)
Edited by: Marianne Thormählen, Lunds Universitet, Sweden
Very few families produce one outstanding writer. The Brontë family produced three. The works of Charlotte, Emily and Anne remain immensely popular, and are increasingly being studied in relation to the surroundings and wider context that formed them. The forty-two new essays in this book tell 'the Brontë story' as it has never been told before, drawing on the latest research and the best available scholarship while offering new perspectives on the writings of the sisters. A section on Brontë criticism traces their reception to the present day. The works of the sisters are explored in the context of social, political and cultural developments in early-nineteenth-century Britain, with attention given to religion, education, art, print culture, agriculture, law and medicine. Crammed with information, The Brontës in Context shows how the Brontës' fiction interacts with the spirit of the time, suggesting reasons for its enduring fascination.
The Brontës in Context, hardback
The Brontës in Context, paperback
Reviews so far
'General readers will enjoy it as much as Brontë students and fans, and its careful avoidance of anything too topical or controversial will keep it fresh for years. Thormählen's high-quality contributors, assembly of reliable facts and data, pertinent commentary, maps, illustrations, splendid chronology and further reading lists make it everything that one could wish for.' Times Literary Supplement 'The high quality of scholarship in combination with the clarity of the jargon-free writing make it a book accessible to all. Those new to the Brontës will receive a solid introduction; those familiar with the Brontë story will be surprised by new information and fresh insights. Much of the knowledge one gains over the years from reading many disparate books is gathered together into this one volume, helping the reader to develop a coherent and comprehensive understanding of this literary family's life and historical contexts. I would recommend The Brontës in Context not only to those interested in the Brontës, but to anyone studying literature in the Victorian age. /---/ [It] will serve current and future generations of Brontë readers, students and scholars admirably; it will also prompt new avenues of study as readers delve deeper into the variety of issues that this volume covers. The Brontës in Context exemplifies the best writing, communicating not only information but also pleasure to the reader who enters its pages, ensuring that it will have a lasting contribution to make to the world of Brontë studies.' Brontë Studies 'Readers of The Brontës in Context will gain fresh insights into the writings of the sisters, and also how those writings relate to the concerns of their time and contribute to our understanding of the nineteenth-century mindset. Already my copy is getting thumb-marked, and I'm sure the book will be a valued handbook for years to come.' Emerald Insight
Verksamhetsberättelser
Ytterligare 13 konturskarpa berättelser. De nya berättelserna visar på en breddning av Thormählens litterära register. Förutom inslaget av svidande samhällssatir, som känns igen från de tidigare böckerna, ingår tre sinsemellan mycket olika kärlekshistorier i denna samling. Vidare finns reflexioner kring skeendena inom och utom den tysk-svenska verklighetens råmärken och en avslutande, klassisk julberättelse som suddar ut gränser av mer än ett slag.
"Berättelserna präglas av Thormählens finurliga infallsvinklar och ironiska distans och försätter läsaren omväxlande i en road och eftertänksamt allvarlig stämning."
Monika Ivarsson, Skånska Dagbladet
"Inte minst den skenbart paradoxala föreningen av satir och solidaritet, av lekfull distans och djup humanitet, gör läsningen till ett oavbrutet nöje."
Magnus Eriksson, Svenska Dagbladet
"Hans verksamhetsberättelser vill värna det skapande momentet i människors liv."
Göran Lundstedt, Sydsvenska Dagbladet
Beställ via förlagets hemsida, www.ellerstroms.se
Wilhelm
Banktjänstemannen Frieder K. är en vanlig familjefar som ställs inför ett ovanligt problem. Vissa tecken tyder på, att hans just avlidne far Wilhelm inte utan vidare låter sig bringas ur världen. Wilhelm dyker upp på det mest oväntade platser, och vissa handlingar finns inte där de borde vara. Frieder offrar dyrbara semesterdagar för att lösa "mysteriet Wilhelm" men blir bara alltmer osäker. Hans välordnade värld hänger helt plötsligt inte ihop längre. Frieder förändras under sitt sökande efter Wilhelm. Han börjar accepteraockså det ovissa och skrämmande i tillvaron, och gränsen mellan hans och faderns identiteter blir alltmer diffus för honom. Ur hans synvinkel blir tankegångar och handlingarsom för utomstående ter sig absurda, för att inte säga groteska, enbart logiska och nödvändiga.
Romanen om Frieder och hans far utspelar sig inom en generations nutid och förflutna, en generation vars första år sammanföll med Tredje Rikets Tyskland.
Beställ via förlagets hemsida, www.ellerstroms.se