Glennhopp

Here is the text I wrote but someone else took out of the article on Francine Rivers:

It its middle and later sections, the novel assumes more of the flavor of a romance novel as Angel, lacking a sense of self-worth and struggling to accept Michael's love for her, leaves him three times to try to live on her own. As is customary with fiction intended for a faith-based readership, the book propounds explicitly and moralistically ideas that a mainstream novelist would probably suggest implicitly. Michael, for example, continually converses with God in his mind (the words of God being rendered in bold-face, italic type). When he anguishes over Angel's third abandonment, Michael hears a divine reminder of the commandment prohibiting idolatry. He protests that he never made his wife his god and hears back, "You became hers." Throughout much of the novel, however, Rivers reveals the talents of a storyteller and novelist as much as those of the preacher. She reintroduces into the narrative Duke, the most brutal of Angel's handlers, shortly after Angel has left Michael the third time, a narrative strategy that guarantees a dramatic climax. She is also skilled at revealing how the interaction between characters promotes psychological and emotional disclosures, as when Angel's two chief friendships (with characters named Miriam and Susanna) foster her confidence and maturation. It is hard to say which of Rivers's two talents--that of the novelist or that of the preacher--has played the bigger part in winning her the wide readership she enjoys (the cover of Redeeming Love announces that the book has sold 750,000 copies). Sometimes these two traits coexist awkwardly, however, as in the novel's epilogue, which relates the final fates of the characters. The Susanna story line, for example, concludes realistically with Susanna carrying the grief of her deceased fiance as she works to reform prostitutes by teaching them sewing and bookkeeping skills. The Angel story concludes sentimentally with Angel giving birth to five of Michael's children, even though the narrative had repeatedly referred to Angel's being made unable to bear children due to the work of a hack surgeon in Duke's employ.

Text not yet added to MUCH ADO:

Finding the True Self and the Motif of Passing Tests

This comedy, like most of Shakespeare's comedies, explores in a romantic context the idea of self-discovery and the humbling of pride. Shakespeare deepens the idea by contrasting the ease with which Beatrice and Benedick accomplish their psychological growth with the near-tragic difficulties encountered by Claudio. Beatrice and Benedick, at the start of the play, seem emotionally confined by their superficial roles as witty and sarcastic commentators on life. In spite of their lightning-fast minds and enjoyable wit, they are essentially smart-alecks: both speak and act as if they are above love. However, both immediately humble themselves when they overhear a description of their superior behavior and of the other's supposed unrequited love. Hero's comments (in Act Three, scene one) about Beatrice, knowing that her cousin is in hiding, encapsulate both lovers' sense of pride: "She cannot love, / Nor take no shape nor project of affection, / She is so self-endeared." Beatrice and Benedick move from the pride of being self-endeared to the humility of healthy love when they confront an unfavorable picture of themselves. As Benedick says, "[H]appy are they that hear their detractions and can put them to mending" (Act Two, scene three). The ease with which they do this probably implies that they have really loved each other all along and have been unconsciously looking for a reason to admit it. Intuitively, they recognize a glimpse of their better selves, sense in the other a kindred spirit, and accept the wisdom of reciprocal love. They grow. Claudio, whose love for Hero seems rooted more in her sweet and demure outer appearance, wrongly accepts as real the staged scene of her unfaithfulness and denounces her in church. He lacks a comparable awareness and intuition about himself and about Hero. Growth for Claudio comes only after thinking that Hero has died from the humiliation of his slanders. Shakespeare thus uses the eavesdropping scenes as a kind of psychological test to expose the various levels of emotion and maturity of the characters.

The play makes, however, a profounder point when it returns to the motif of passing tests in the church scene (Act Four, scene one). Beatrice, alone with Benedick, is enraged that she cannot avenge the slandered honor of her cousin. "Kill Claudio," she says to Benedick, meaning that she wants him to challenge Claudio to a duel and do what she herself cannot do. Benedick is then presented with a sterner emotional test, and he must look inside himself again to discover his true nature and learn if essentially he is a person defined by his friendship with his fellow soldiers (as he has been until now) or by his love for Beatrice. Which holds the higher claim? Shakespeare suggests in the later scenes of the play that passing a test in life and experiencing growth and self-awareness lead not to self-satisfaction but to a bigger test of the individual. The play therefore not only features moments of enjoyable comedy but also makes a number of serious points about human growth and self-awareness.

—Preceding unsigned comment added by 70.230.177.27 (talk) 12:35, 4 August 2008 (UTC)