Kimberly

Hello and welcome to the July Book Club thread! This month we will be reading Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister

Be warned this thread will have spoilers. There is no need in this thread to post the spoiler warning.

Now to get the discussion started I'm going to post some questions Feel free to answer them or start a new discussion the more discussion the better!


1. While versions of the Cinderella story go back at least a thousand years, most Americans are familiar with the tale of the glass slippers, the pumpkin coach, and the fairy godmother. In what ways does Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister contain the magical echo of this tale, and in what ways does it embrace the traditions of a straight historical novel?

2. Confessions is, in part, about the difficulty and the value of seeing-- seeing paintings, seeing beauty, seeing the truth. Each character in Confessions has blinkers or blinders on about one thing or another. What do the characters overlook, in themselves and in one another?

3. Is Clara's extreme beauty really an affliction, as Iris suggests, making her just another addition to the Gallery of God's Mistakes? Do you think her beauty is a curse or a blessing?

4. How has the book changed your conception of the Cinderella story? The notion of "happily ever after?"

Let the discussion start!

Quarterley

I haven't started reading yet.

Kimberly

Well maybe you can finish it on your trip Cindy

onionroach

Those are hard questions!! I'm going to have to tackle them one at a time.

3. Is Clara's extreme beauty really an affliction, as Iris suggests, making her just another addition to the Gallery of God's Mistakes? Do you think her beauty is a curse or a blessing?

Yes, Clara's beauty is a curse. Society likes the middle. Extremes of any sort are viewed at freakish, including 'good' traits such as beauty. People will always be unsure of her and she will be suspicious of them.

22 Umbrellas

Neither have I. I have had so much stuff to read lately. I requested the book at my library today though. Hopefully I get it soon.

Soz

I just started the book and I'm hoping to speed read it because it's due at the library Tuesday and I can't renew it.

onionroach

I feel so alone.

1. While versions of the Cinderella story go back at least a thousand years, most Americans are familiar with the tale of the glass slippers, the pumpkin coach, and the fairy godmother. In what ways does Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister contain the magical echo of this tale, and in what ways does it embrace the traditions of a straight historical novel?

The magical elements in the book come from Iris's imagination and the way she sees the things around her sometimes and in the paintings of the painter (I can't remember if he has a name). The historical elements come from the setting of the story. It's a very realistic and believable 16th/17th century Denmark from the customs of the people to the descriptions of the town and houses.

Kimberly

1. While versions of the Cinderella story go back at least a thousand years, most Americans are familiar with the tale of the glass slippers, the pumpkin coach, and the fairy godmother. In what ways does Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister contain the magical echo of this tale, and in what ways does it embrace the traditions of a straight historical novel?

I think the magical parts of the book come from the narration style and view of Iris. I think she uses her imagination to make her hard life more bearable. She looks at the art in a dream like way. She also looks at Clara in that way. I loved her relationship with the Master and Caspar. Those parts are the most magical to me because we see them through her eyes and they become god like.


The historical parts of the book come with the setting. I agree with Onion it is a very realistic 17th century town. The background about tulips also add to the historical setting.

2. Confessions is, in part, about the difficulty and the value of seeing-- seeing paintings, seeing beauty, seeing the truth. Each character in Confessions has blinkers or blinders on about one thing or another. What do the characters overlook, in themselves and in one another?

I think that Iris is the one who overlooks her beauty, her humor and her self worth more then any other character in the book. She makes all those around her fall in love with her. I loved her relationship with Caspar but for most of the book Iris is blind to the fact that he is in love with her. Also, she overlooks her charm. She is shocked when the Prince spends so much time talking to her at the ball. Also, she overlooks her talent so she is surprised when the Master wants her to paint for him.

In comparison I think people are blinded by Clara's beauty and see more in her then is there. I found Clara's character to be rather shallow almost slow. Yet, people are eager to be near her and fawn over her. I think she allows her beauty to take place of being polite and or witty.

I also think that Iris's mother has blinders on to anything but the safety and welfare of her children. She is willing to make any sacrifice. She sees emotional happiness as secondary. She refuses to see that the Master loves her.

The Master might be the one with the least amount of blinders on. As an artist he looks at everything but he only seems to like extremes such as the Gallery of God's Mistakes and Clara's portrait. I think he is blinded by his past success.

3. Is Clara's extreme beauty really an affliction, as Iris suggests, making her just another addition to the Gallery of God's Mistakes? Do you think her beauty is a curse or a blessing?

I think her beauty is a curse. It has allowed her to be unsocial her whole life. She doesn't have any of the communication skills that Iris has. She uses her beauty as a crutch. Also, part of that is because people view her as delicate because of that beauty. Who is to say how she would of turned out if she had been a tad less beautiful.

4. How has the book changed your conception of the Cinderella story? The notion of "happily ever after?"

It changed everything I thought of it. For the first time I really didn't like Cinderella and I loved Iris. I found myself rooting for her. It made the step mother less evil and just more of a sorry case. I love how it made me think of the story from several points of view. I think that is one problem with fairy tales they are one dimensional and we never get to hear from the other view points. That was the most valuable lesson I took out of this book.

Colors

3. Is Clara's extreme beauty really an affliction, as Iris suggests, making her just another addition to the Gallery of God's Mistakes? Do you think her beauty is a curse or a blessing?

I don't think Clara's beauty is a curse. She views it that way- she thinks her beauty is the only thing which people can see in her, so she acts accordingly, not showing other favorable qualities. In the beginning of the novel, Clara just seems spoiled and slow, but as it progresses, Iris can see her caring (and her becoming less selfish, etc.).

All in my opinion, of course.

Kimberly

Color interesting point. When did you start to see Clara as less spoiled and selfish?

I guess I never saw her as those things. I always just saw her as scared of the world and shy which sometimes could be perceived as being snobbish. But the fact that she would rather be in the kitchen cleaning then out trying to find a husband for herself speaks volumes.

22 Umbrellas

I finished! I really loved it, by the way. I'm thinking of buying it. That last paragraph is really beautifully written.

2. Confessions is, in part, about the difficulty and the value of seeing-- seeing paintings, seeing beauty, seeing the truth. Each character in Confessions has blinkers or blinders on about one thing or another. What do the characters overlook, in themselves and in one another?
That's an interesting question. I really like how Gregory Maguire wrote the prologue and epilogue from the POV of Ruth because she obviously saw things the most clearly. I guess because she was sort of on the outside looking in the whole time. And I just think those two segments do a good job of framing the story in between, where we don't see that Ruth is observing because she can't express it. I guess the theme of the value of seeing also applies to the relationship between the readers and the book in that way. Iris also does a relatively good job of seeing, I think, except when it comes to herself. The same goes for Clara. That's pretty true most of the time -- people have a hard time seeing themselves. Ruth and Clara could see that Iris loved Caspar and vice versa, but it took Iris a while to figure out. Clara seemed to be having an identity crisis the entire novel, but I'll save that for the next question. I also liked how Margarethe's gradual blindness was in part symbolic of how she saw things. At the start of the novel, she just wanted what was best for her girls, and near the end, she probably still wanted that, but she became increasingly blind to what they really needed and stubbornly chose to do things her way. I especially like the part at the ball where she's looking at Clara's portrait and questioning beauty.

3. Is Clara's extreme beauty really an affliction, as Iris suggests, making her just another addition to the Gallery of God's Mistakes? Do you think her beauty is a curse or a blessing?
I think it's a curse in so many ways. This actually leads up to a question I had, but I'll save that for later. Her parents always felt the need to protect her and shelter her from society and work and whatever, I guess because they didn't want to diminish her beauty. I think it did a lot of damage to her, both socially and mentally. Obviously she was hard to get along with, being pretty spoiled when Iris had been expected to work her entire life. And her parents made her learn all these things like being fluent in French or whatever, but I don't think they have much meaning to her, they're not what she really wants in life. I know she told Iris she had selfish reasons for wanting Iris to be the Master's apprentice, but I also think she wished she could have something like that, too because art was something that Iris really wanted to learn. I also noticed that Maguire paints this figurative portrait of Clara that she's very fragile and could break any second, even when she becomes Ashgirl and is no longer the untouchable girl she once seemed. I think when Clara insisted on becoming Cinderella because she was nobody as Clara. She didn't know who she was (as evidenced by her insisting she was a changeling) and she wanted change. But even as Cinderella, she was very much the same; you could still see her confusion. Maguire also emphasizes her beauty at every turn; it is obviously the first thing people notice about Clara -- maybe the only thing. Every time people saw her portrait, they wanted to see the model. But who wants to be gawked at as if you were just another painting rather than a real person? I think everyone who is extraordinarily beautiful has issues about that. They want people to see the rest of them, that they're just like everybody else underneath.

Sorry if I said anything that was already mentioned. I didn't read anyone's responses yet b/c I didn't want them to influence my initial response. I also skipped #1 and #4 but I'll get to those later. I also have some questions of my own.

Kimberly

ooh Susan I'm so glad you liked it!

Good point about Clara not really having a character and being lost. I felt like we never got to know her that well. I guess that is because she didn't know who she was herself.

Who was your favorite character??

Did you like the style of writing?

22 Umbrellas

Who was your favorite character??
My favorite character as a character would probably be Clara. Just because of everything I said about her before. I think she's a really complex character and that a lot of people can relate to her which are both things I look for in a character. My favorite character as a person would be Iris. While she wasn't perfect, she was a good person. She was intelligent and stubborn and went after what she wanted even though it wasn't socially accepted. I also think she grew up a lot during the book.

Did you like the style of writing?
Yes. That is one of the most important aspects of a book for me. If I don't like the writing style, it can ruin an otherwise great book. But it was beautifully written, as I've said before; it fit with the whole time period. Lots of good quotes, esp. in the prologue and epilogue. And of course I loved the reading the POV of Ruth. There was something else but now I've forgotten it.

Now some Q's from me:

Which character do you think had the hardest life and why?

Which character do you relate to the most? (This may be your favorite character or it may not.)