“Nothing innocent bout this upper stuck crap. SFC.”
“Does anyone feel that the theme in this book draws some parallels with everyday life's reality? For instance, much as we seek to escape it, there will always be the "in" crowd and always those excluded. And there will be many people, who while they may not agree with the idea of ostracizing a person, may carry on doing it anyway since they do not have the guts to go against the views of the "in" crowd. Here, Ellen is the outcast, and much as Newland is attracted to her, he is too cowardly to pursue her because it would mean he would be thrust out of the popular crowd. Also this book shows that much as we would like to rise above what others think of us, we will always be affected by their views. As with Ellen, while I get the sense she is able to live with the fact that everyone is gossiping about her, she is still unhappy about it, and this is what gives her such a sad air.”
“An utterly charming and engaging read from start to finish.”
“what is it about??”
“The nobility of the main characters never fails to astound me. Right to the end, the book remains true to its title. ”
“Can you explain more about what you mean, mossflower?”
“Does it matter that it was written in a different age with different moral expectations?”
“I agree with Maya actually, because at the end, Ellen is really no longer forbidden, but he doesn't go to her. He really only pursues her when she is the forbidden fruit. I agree that May is smarter than Newland realizes. What did you guys think of his early plans to teach May how to think, the ones that he immediately dropped when Ellen came into the picture? His opinion of May disgusted me so much, as well as his opinion of Ellen. I think this is where Ellen as the forbidden fruit becomes apparent, because toward the end of the novel, he says he barely knows her...and yet, he is risking so much to be with her.”
“Maya, I have to disagree. I didn't think Newland was attracted to her only because she was forbidden fruit, because he admitted to being attracted to her years earlier even before he was engaged to May. I think he was attracted to the idea of living outside of society. ”
“I wonder whether Newland's attraction for Ellen was something more simple - she was the forbidden fruit and it was exciting to do something which he had never done before especially in view of the fact that up to that point Newland had been the poster boy for the society. He'd done everything society said he should have - get educated, get himself placed in a job that looked good on paper but which didn't require him to actually do any work (as befitting a man of his station) and got engaged to a girl society deemed acceptable. I didn't really get the impression that Ellen enjoyed living without regard to what society said (then again I read the book awhile ago) because she always seemed so sad that nobody would befriend her and all the women were gossiping about her behind her back. If she truly didn't care she would have said to hell with what society thought I'm going to have a grand time with all the men, especially since they all seem to be attracted to me. ”
