Master-Servant Relationship
- Cristina Chifane
- Previous Member of the Month
- Posts: 2061
- Joined: 07 Jan 2018, 03:51
- Favorite Book: The Magic Mountain
- Currently Reading:
- Bookshelf Size: 898
- Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-cristina-chifane.html
- Latest Review: The Fold by Dennis Lee
- Reading Device: B00JG8GOWU
Master-Servant Relationship
- Dee_Robert
- Posts: 395
- Joined: 11 May 2020, 13:10
- Currently Reading: Reel sisters
- Bookshelf Size: 56
- Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-dee-robert.html
- Latest Review: We are Voulhire: Someone Else's End by Matthew Tysz
-Dee.
- Cristina Chifane
- Previous Member of the Month
- Posts: 2061
- Joined: 07 Jan 2018, 03:51
- Favorite Book: The Magic Mountain
- Currently Reading:
- Bookshelf Size: 898
- Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-cristina-chifane.html
- Latest Review: The Fold by Dennis Lee
- Reading Device: B00JG8GOWU
I agree with you here. The servants' perspective might have broadened the overall perspective on the master-servant relationship. However, random narratorial observations and the masters' behavior are relevant enough to make us aware of social inequality.Dee_Robert wrote: ↑02 Jan 2021, 05:22 It would definitely be more relatable with certain audiences. Just adding that perspective alone would open a whole new audience to the book and general message in the book. He portrayed the domineering and sometimes relatively understanding nature of the master in this kind of relationship. Maybe the author would have done a better job for the servant though,. but overall the author did a great job.
- cd20
- Posts: 1036
- Joined: 29 Nov 2020, 14:54
- Favorite Book: Hope Between the Pages
- Currently Reading: Growing Slow: Lessons on Un-Hurrying Your Heart from an Accidental Farm Girl
- Bookshelf Size: 823
- Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-cd20.html
- Latest Review: Now Unto Him by Melissa Huggins
- Reading Device: B00IKPYKWG
- Bertha Jackson
- Bookshelves Moderator
- Posts: 2188
- Joined: 19 Aug 2020, 12:57
- Favorite Book: Launchpad Republic: America's Entrepreneurial Edge and Why It Matters
- Currently Reading: Quest: Finding Freddie
- Bookshelf Size: 780
- Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-bertha-jackson.html
- Latest Review: Trouble In The Triangle by Lisa Hedge
Book Reviewer at OnlineBookClub.org
- Brenda Creech
- Previous Member of the Month
- Posts: 3382
- Joined: 09 Mar 2019, 13:34
- Favorite Book: The Reel Sisters
- Currently Reading: Rainbow’s End
- Bookshelf Size: 357
- Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-brenda-creech.html
- Latest Review: Was She Crying for Me? by Jerry Hyde
"Like beauty in the eyes, the divinity of the rose may be in the nose that smells it, and the lover that beholds it." Eckhart Aurelius Hughes
- Book Lover Jack
- Posts: 57
- Joined: 24 Dec 2020, 03:52
- Currently Reading:
- Bookshelf Size: 16
- Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-book-lover-jack.html
- Latest Review: Winning the War on Cancer by Sylvie Beljanski
- Eutoc
- Posts: 623
- Joined: 15 Sep 2020, 01:39
- Currently Reading:
- Bookshelf Size: 35
- Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-eutoc.html
- Latest Review: My Ups And Downs by Sam Barder
- Ralph Waldo Emerson
- Eutoc
- Posts: 623
- Joined: 15 Sep 2020, 01:39
- Currently Reading:
- Bookshelf Size: 35
- Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-eutoc.html
- Latest Review: My Ups And Downs by Sam Barder
Don't you think there's more harm caused by leaving the reader to fill up the servant's perspective? It could yield a whole lot of contrasting opinions and interpretations from the readers.Book Lover Jack wrote: ↑11 Jan 2021, 05:08 I believe there were different dynamics depending on the kind of master-servant relationship depicted in the book. Several times, the servants do not only reply to their masters but they also initiate conversation. However, I think literary wise, it was elegant to leave the servant's perspective open to the readers interpretation. I think that is what the author was aiming for
- Ralph Waldo Emerson
- lavkathleen
- Posts: 776
- Joined: 23 Apr 2020, 07:38
- Currently Reading: Weeper
- Bookshelf Size: 46
- Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-lavkathleen.html
- Latest Review: Spellbound - The Workings of Drugtech by Marcel Sahade
pronouns: she/they
“Don't worry, honey. I'll keep the home fires burning.” — Gideon Nav, Harrow the Ninth (Tamsyn Muir)
- María Andrea Fernández Sepúlveda
- Previous Member of the Month
- Posts: 5319
- Joined: 27 Apr 2018, 16:22
- Favorite Book: The Nightingale
- Currently Reading: Juego de niños
- Bookshelf Size: 2416
- Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-mar-a-andrea-fern-ndez-sep-lveda.html
- Latest Review: The Perfect Life by Anne Callahan
God, I got so angry when Embon kicked the elderly servant! But it's not my culture, and I probably don't understand fully how these relationships used to work. Is it a form of slavery? Honestly, I don't know. I liked that Lady Sougyon decided to take care of April's daughter. But it will be, as you say, incredibly interesting to get the perspective of the less privileged ones.cristinaro wrote: ↑01 Jan 2021, 06:08 The depiction of the master-servant relationship is one of the best aspects of the novel. For example, Lady Sougyon talks to her maid even if she realizes that she will get no answer because the maid is afraid "of making the wrong reply." (loc.28) Embon, Lady Sougyon's son, throws a tantrum and kicks an old palanquin carrier without the latter reacting in any way. Can you think of other examples? Do you consider the author did a great job of portraying the master-servant relationship? Would the description have been more impactful if the writer had included the servants' perspective too?
- lavkathleen
- Posts: 776
- Joined: 23 Apr 2020, 07:38
- Currently Reading: Weeper
- Bookshelf Size: 46
- Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-lavkathleen.html
- Latest Review: Spellbound - The Workings of Drugtech by Marcel Sahade
I agree. Also, the author did a good job at showing the servants' relationship with their masters.Book Lover Jack wrote: ↑11 Jan 2021, 05:08 However, I think literary wise, it was elegant to leave the servant's perspective open to the readers interpretation. I think that is what the author was aiming for
But showing their perspective in the story wouldn't hurt.
pronouns: she/they
“Don't worry, honey. I'll keep the home fires burning.” — Gideon Nav, Harrow the Ninth (Tamsyn Muir)
- lavkathleen
- Posts: 776
- Joined: 23 Apr 2020, 07:38
- Currently Reading: Weeper
- Bookshelf Size: 46
- Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-lavkathleen.html
- Latest Review: Spellbound - The Workings of Drugtech by Marcel Sahade
I'm not certain people think of servants like that by default. Servants exists even today, and they're just like everyone else: they're multidimensional and have depth. They have to have their own views, beliefs, and thoughts in this story.Eutoc wrote: ↑11 Jan 2021, 19:38 The master-servant relationship portrayed here is sort of one-sided, that's from the masters perspective. I feel the author didn't introduce the servants perspective because, on default, everyone would expect the servant to be meek and receptive to abuses from the master no matter how severe it is.
pronouns: she/they
“Don't worry, honey. I'll keep the home fires burning.” — Gideon Nav, Harrow the Ninth (Tamsyn Muir)
- lavkathleen
- Posts: 776
- Joined: 23 Apr 2020, 07:38
- Currently Reading: Weeper
- Bookshelf Size: 46
- Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-lavkathleen.html
- Latest Review: Spellbound - The Workings of Drugtech by Marcel Sahade
Definitely. But that's partly why we discuss books like this. Also, even if the perspective of servants are shown, there are readers out there who wouldn't care about it. They would still interpret and judge them the way they want to, especially since they're considered a minority.
pronouns: she/they
“Don't worry, honey. I'll keep the home fires burning.” — Gideon Nav, Harrow the Ninth (Tamsyn Muir)
- Sou Hi
- Book of the Month Participant
- Posts: 2364
- Joined: 07 Sep 2019, 09:06
- Currently Reading:
- Bookshelf Size: 154
- Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-sou-hi.html
- Latest Review: Project Tau by Jude Austin