Episode
three here we go! This scandalous 1950s novel was referenced by none other than
Rory’s grandfather, Richard Gilmore. Kudos to Richard for being familiar with
what many would consider a woman’s novel. I had heard the title Peyton Place before, but was not
familiar with the novel or the story. When I saw it appear on the list, I had
to search several libraries to find a copy of the book as it isn’t one that is
incredibly popular with today’s readers. But, boy, in its day was it a well
known book…and not exactly for good reasons.
Peyton Place: The Fifty
Shades of Grey of the 1950s
If I were
to compare the impact of Peyton Place to
contemporary literary situation, I would compare it to that of Fifty Shades of Grey. Now, Peyton Place isn’t about BDSM and is not an erotic novel, but it sparked a similar controversy amongst mass readers. If you remember whenFifty Shades of Grey
came out, you probably remember that it was the book that EVERYBODY was talking
about. It was the book everyone wanted to read, but was too embarrassed to buy
or read it in public. Mothers would hide their books in their nightstands and
teenagers would eventually steal their mother’s copy and read it under the
confines of their comforters. Many women, of all ages, did the exact same thing
with Peyton Place.
When Peyton Place was first published in 1956, it shocked people because
it discussed taboo topics such as abortion, rape, incest, premarital sex,
affairs, etc. Metalious also wrote graphic sex scenes which showed women as
more than passive bystanders. She depicted women initiating and enjoying sex; something that was missing from other popular novels of the day. It caused such an uproar that entire towns banned the novel and libraries had signs out front saying they did not have copies of the book (maybe that is why it was so hard for me to find a copy). Ardis Cameron explains the entire history in his introduction to “the blockbuster novel that shocked the nation” (as the cover says). The book didn’t really shock me, but I read it sixty years after it was published and these “taboo” topics are talked about in modern literature. And if you were wondering, no, Fifty Shades
of Grey did not shock me. You want to know what book did shock me the first
time I read it: Toni Morrison’s Beloved.
But that is a story for another day.
“You must be crazy to
teach”
You would
not believe how many times I have heard some variation of the above phrase.
Most of the time this phrase is preceded with “I don’t know how you do it. I
could never do it.” On one hand they call me crazy, on the other, they give me
some credit for doing what I do. I must admit, though, that there is some truth
to this statement and people have realized this for a long time. Grace
Metalious realizes this in her novel. Amongst all her legitimate characters,
there is one sane schoolteacher. The character of Constance, who I find to be
the most “crazy” makes a remark about the teacher: “My God! Thought Constance,
and there are still apparently sane people in this world who take up school teaching
by choice! (49). I think this statement explains how us teachers must be crazy.
We aren’t crazy for doing the teaching, most of us are actually quite smart; we
are crazy because we CHOOSE to teach. Most of us chose this path and even when
we bitch and complain about it, we still love it. This is where we confuse
people. As the saying goes, we aren’t crazy because we teach, we are crazy because
we like it.
Is it easier to read
and write than it is to live?
The character that resonated
with me the most was Allison. She was introverted, creative, sensitive, and
passionate about her work. This sounds quite a bit like me. I am a bit more
positive than Allison and more social than her, but I connected to her because
of her passion for reading and writing. One of my favorite exchanges in this
novel is between Allison and her stepfather, Tom. Tom says to her, “The main
difference is that it is easier to read or write than to live” (370). Allison
responds that the main difference has always been that writing and reading are
less painful” (370). This exchange is difficult for me to talk about because I
have always found solace in reading and writing. I don’t want to say that it is
easer to read or write than to live because that seems to belittle these
things. Is it saying that reading and writing are not living? And that those
who choose to spend their time reading and writing are not living? I do not
like these thoughts. By reading, I get to live many lives and be a part of
stories and events I could never do in my every day life as Leigh. By writing,
I get to dive into my deepest thoughts and express myself in a way that only I
can. Maybe reading and writing are not as painful as living because losing
someone in real life whether through death or falling out is a million times
more painful than reading about it on a page. But, for me, writing can be
painful. Of course, the process can be difficult. It is hard to find the right
words to put on the page and sometimes you just hit a block. The most painful
part of writing, though, is being honest and getting in touch with your
emotions. Sometimes when you write, you have to relive events you want to
forget, you image the worst scenarios possible, and you have to be vulnerable.
Sharing your writing with people is a scary thing and imagining what they are
thinking as they are reading your writing is a horrible thing to imagine.
Overall, I
enjoyed this book, but it didn’t strike me in a way that makes me want to
scream I LOVE IT, I LOVE IT, I LOVE IT. If I was twenty-five in 1956, however,
I would have eaten this novel up.
Next Up: A Mencken’s Chrestomathy by H. R.
Mencken. Should be a taste of something different.
Pictures
Book Cover https://images-na.ssl-images amazon.com/images/I/515bJ5j4FxL._SX322_BO1,204,203,200_.jpg
Movie Poster https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/M/MV5BZTNjYWU5NmEtNGFjNC00ZjlmLWExZTEtMzY5MzA1MWE4ZDI2XkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyMzk3NTUwOQ@@._V1_.jpg
Grace Metalious Writing https://photos.vanityfair.com/2015/06/30/55930e3efa1d030e0ac6a2be_grace-metalious-do-not-use.jpg
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