Firm as weeds among stones

Variety is the word for the results of today's newsround.

The Telegraph carries an article on the Mulleavy sisters, 'the women behind Rodarte'. Oh, you guessed correctly: even if they're only two sisters they're compared to the Brontës, because some people still overlook Anne, and/or will make their witty comments fit their story.

Of course, this perversity is in itself a kind of fabulousness; at the very least it gives these quiet girls an air of eccentricity. And mystery. Their Brontë-esque story – two genius sisters who grew up in the wilds – has been so often repeated in fashion-magazine write-ups that it has begun to sound like a myth.
The Mulleavy sisters grew up in a small town in northern California, a land of redwood forests, wild seaside cliffs and rock pools filled with purple sea urchins, rubbery green anemones and crusty orange starfish (all inspirations for their textured, voluminous line). Their father is a botanist who specialises in fungi; their mother is an artist and weaver. From the time they were little girls Kate and Laura were obsessed with film, fashion and the natural world. 'I was hypnotised by fashion and I started sketching when I was six,' says Kate. 'I always knew I wanted to be a designer.'

A few days ago we posted about a Wuthering Heights ballet in Paris. Les Échos has an article on it (in French).

A French review from Blog Up - also in French - finds PJ Harvey's new look somewhat Brontë-like as well, describing the singer as ' a lost Brontë sister'.

A couple of bloggers review Brontë-related works. A Norwegian blog - Hannes Observatorium - has liked Jane Eyre 2006. And Lucybrown61 writes about her trials reading Charlotte's The Professor and her general little tolerance for Charlotte.

All in all, to my taste, any pleasure to be gained from The Professor is marred by smuggery, bigotry, and a narrator has wizend and brittle as on old tome.

But she does consider Anne to be her 'favourite Brontë'.

And let's finish with a quote by Charlotte, as posted in The Herald-Zeitung.

As far back as the mid-1800s famed author Charlotte Bronte wrote: “Prejudices, as it is well known, are most difficult to eradicate from the heart whose soil has never been loosened or fertilized by education; they grow there, firm as weeds among stones.”
Perhaps Bronte got it right. Maybe it’s just the lack of education that causes some of us to harbor false ideas and prejudicial thoughts that are not only unjust but just plain unreasonable. (Mike Fitsko)

Categories: Charlotte Brontë, Dance, In the News, Music, The Professor, Weirdo, Wuthering Heights