01:22 am
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Parmaneri Literary Men
I will begin this post, as per Laura's request, with a short recounting of the medieval feast held in the dining hall this past Friday.
I spent an hour on my hair, putting most of it into two braided buns on the sides of my head with gold ribbon running around the braids (it may sound weird, but it's pretty) and leaving a long tail cross-wrapped with gold ribbon. I wore my blue and gold Renaissance Faire dress, at least two centuries too late for the theme but the best I could do.
There was a high table for the royalty and the court -- those professors who had chosen to dress up. We had a king and queen, a lord and lady of Meredith Wood, and several courtiers.
The food was wonderful. We had three-color soup (potato soup served with various purees one could add and stir in to color it), cheese, bread, chicken, nuts, figs, and apple dumplings all served with hot wassail. Our serving page sneaked us some contraband forks, but I wasn't about to cheat like that.
The entertainment was, for the most part, excellent. We had a medieval band, a chorus of virgins (a school choral group on whose collective chastity I won't presume to comment), a strange pseudo-feminist but interesting dance performance, a storyteller, and heavy fighters from SCA. The fighters were to select a lady for whose honor they would fight. The first declared, "Though I see many lovely ladies in this room, most of them appear to be over the ripe marital age of twelve." He fought for the honor of a cute little girl up front. After the feast, we had some dancing, with a lot of help from one of the band members who told us what to do.
The heavily advertised prizes for best costume and hair were given strangely. I was handed a card informing me I would "be called upon" for "finest frock at the festival." The king and queen summoned four ladies, including myself, and a gentleman, the husband of art professor Dr. Greenberg. He was not in costume. They held an applause contest to see who would win. They declared Abe Greenberg the winner and presented him with a trophy, golden dancing shoes, and a "slave girl" -- his wife. The rest of us got consolation prizes. Mine were soap, incense, and an incense burner. Note, these are illegal to have at Meredith. I am the RA's roommate. But I have nowhere to keep them except for beside my bed.
Several professors remarked to me that I was "gypped" out of my rightful prize. I thought that was funny. But Monday afternoon in my PR writing class, Dr. Duncan brought me a present for "Lady McGhin" from the English faculty as the prize they believed I should have received. It was a book of Irish lore and legends. That was really sweet of them.
I have been working like mad on my thesis research. I'm already behind. :(
And now, the long-awaited essay on topic #3
( Men of Literary Romance )
Tags: beast complex, cyrano de bergerac, emma, fictitious men, jane eyre, literature, phantom of the opera
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