I respect women’s rights BUT MORE IMPORTANTLY I RESPECT WOMEN’S WRONGS!!!!

J'ai aimé découvrir ce petit livre, assez sombre sous sa couverture rose bonbon, qui explore les thématiques de la manipulation, de la psychologie humaine et surtout du jeu que se fait un comédien face à quelqu'un qui est ô ! si candide..

Jean Muir est une entourloupineuse!!!

J'ai éprouvé un plaisir violent, une satisfaction immense, à lire le tour de force de Mlle Muir, elle a réussi à berner tout le monde !!! ok hot villain conlady !!

Elle me rappelle Laurent dans The great pretender
et elle me rappelle énormément la Marquise de Merteuil dans Les liaisons dangereuses , cette façon qu'elle a de savoir dompter les gens et en même temps se dompter elle-même.
Dans la lettre 81, la marquise écrit :

"Munie de ces premières armes, j’en essayai l’usage : non contente de ne plus me laisser pénétrer, je m’amusais à me montrer sous des formes différentes ; sûre de mes gestes, j’observais mes discours ; je réglais les uns & les autres, suivant les circonstances, ou même seulement suivant mes fantaisies : dès ce moment, ma façon de penser fut pour moi seule, & je ne montrai plus que celle qu’il m’était utile de laisser voir.

Ce travail sur moi-même avait fixé mon attention sur l’expression des figures & le caractère des physionomies ; & j’y gagnai ce coup d’oeil pénétrant, auquel l’expérience m’a pourtant appris à ne pas me fier entièrement ; mais qui, en tout, m’a rarement trompée."

Et cela aurait pu vraisemblablement être les débuts de notre petite Jean.

"Once upon a time, the planets and the fates and all the stars aligned. You and I ended up in the same room; at the same time. And the touch of a hand lit the fuse of a chain reaction of countermoves to assess the equation of you.
Checkmate ! I couldn't lose.
What if I told you none of it was accidental ? and the first night that you saw me, nothing was gonna stop me?
I laid the groundwork and then, just like clockwork, the dominoes cascaded in a line.
What if I told you I'm a mastermind ?

You see, all the wisest women had to do it this way
'Cause we were born to be the pawn in every lover's game."

Taylor Swift, écrira plusieurs siècles plus tard, ces mots qui résonnent dans la cave des femmes dépravées, détraquées, débraillées.

I registered a book at BookCrossing.com!
http://www.BookCrossing.com/journal/10527363

This looked like a different kind of book, and it is. Known for Little Women, Louisa May Alcott wrote all her life, from an early age, like Jo, the main character in Little Women. Among other things she wrote "thrillers" that were often serialized in newspapers, under pen names. She didn't feel they were "legitimate" pieces of writing, not what "real" writers wrote. I suppose that's true, in a sense. Any kind of genre fiction tends to be considered lower class than what we call literature.

Although written mainly for the money, these four short novels are written with care. Time is taken on the details, the characters, the feelings. Unfortunately from my point of view, they are written in a rather flowery style, as was usual at the time. So we wade through a lot of delicate language and loaded paragraphs that could easily have been condensed to a pithy sentence or two. For me, the wordiness was a drawback, as it didn't usually add to the narrative or to the sense of the characters.

Each of the four novels features a strong woman who is bent upon revenge. In some cases the woman is relentless, while in others she shows a softer side. These women all have acting skills and can get others to do their dirty work or to believe the stories they tell. I wondered, each time, who would win out, or rather what would win: evil or good. There are unknowns that keep us guessing, and, interestingly to me, many drawing rooms of wealthy people. Alcott was herself not wealthy and did not grow up wealthy. I wonder where she learned the habits and lives of the ruling class. I don't doubt that she got it right, for I have read other accounts of these lives that corroborate her sense.

The book begins with an introduction by Madeleine Stern, which is worth reading for the information it offers about Alcott and her life and work.

Four 1860’s serialized stories including one, “The Mysterious Key..” complete with a convoluted plot and barely enough kinfolk romance to hold your interest. Just read one and scan the others to gain the flavor of LMA’s alter ego that she employed under a male pen name to keep bread on the table.

While I know it’s not fair to judge one book by another by that same author, it’s difficult not to do. Even with the sub-title, The Unknown Thrillers of Louisa May Alcott, I was surprised by the differences between Behind a Mask and Little Women. Behind a Mask is a good story in its own right; it tells of a woman who comes to be a governess in a house of a prominent family. This governess is not who she says she is, though, and has ulterior motives for coming. Mainly, I had trouble with a lack of connection to the characters; there were no likable characters in my mind that I wanted to connect with, emphasized even more when compared to the multiple relatable characters in Little Women. Also, I did not feel like the ending satisfied, again made all the more obvious by the comparison. Overall, an interesting story, but I may have liked it better if it had been my first Alcott.