by margaret on November 3, 2008
SOMETIMES WE wonder why sisters behave badly toward one another, and then quickly remember that the reason they do so is because they simply haven’t read enough literature.
Haven’t they read Austen (portrayed by her sister at left)? Have they utterly forgotten their Bronte? When sisters squabble, we send them into the stacks. Forget therapy, and adopt the therapeutic motto: What would EB do? EB? Elizabeth Bennett, of course, that cool head of Pride and Prejudice, sister to two wacky and one hopelessly beautiful sister, daughter to a positively unforgivable mother, and a loving but somewhat hapless father, manages to find the kind of steadfast love we would all like to have. [click to continue…]
by margaret on November 2, 2008
TODAY CLASSICAL MUSIC is blessed with the talents of many musical sisters—sisters with backgrounds as diverse as their instruments. But long before ensembles like the Ahn Trio (above) or the Kavafian Sisters took center stage (long before their members were even born), French sisters Nadia and Lili Boulanger changed the Parisian music scene. [click to continue…]
by margaret on October 29, 2008
THE VERY FIRST famous female siblings could hip-check any contemporary sister celebs right off the runway. Adored since time began, these original sisters have retained genuine star power since they first arrived, something you simply can’t say that about the Spears, the Olsens or even the ever-lovely Cruz family. These are the star cluster known as the Pleiades, or Seven Sisters, and as conspicuous in the night sky as they are in ancient mythology. The Pleiades have been described as far back as representations in the 16,500-year-old cave paintings at Lascaux. [click to continue…]
by margaret on October 19, 2008
THE AUSTENS, the Brontes, Emily Dickinson, Edna St. Vincent Millay. What do these women have in common? Other than being fine writers, each has a sister who was the great woman behind her success.
Cassandra Austen
Jane Austen
For Cassandra (1773-1845) and Jane Austen (1775-1817), the only girls of eight siblings, it seems predestined that they would become one another’s best friend and confidante. What is less obvious is why Cassandra, at age 70, burned Jane’s letters, leaving some people with the odd impression that Jane was bland or worse, retiring.
As any sister will tell you, a sister–especially one with some age on her side–protects a sister, and despite the fact that we might like to never forgive the act of the bonfire, we understand the intent. It was Jane, after all, who once said of herself, “If I am a wild beast, I cannot help it.” [click to continue…]
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