So, this is just a random thought that I decided to run with.
The whole time that I was reading “A New England Nun” the only person I could picture was the character Professor Umbridge from Harry Potter; minus the evil part of course. If you have read the books or seen the movie, you know what I am talking about. Everything the Umbridge’s office is obsessively orderly, filled with objects of varying shades of pink, and decorated with an uncommonly large amount of lace. When Joe Dagget is describing Louisa’s sitting room he says it is a “delicately sweet room” and he feels as if he is “surrounded by a hedge of lace” (359). They are both similarly concerned with the neatness of their clothes; Umbridge always wears very tailored and clean (and pink) while Louisa has an infinite number of very specific aprons. Also, they are both very fond of drinking from fine china. One more interesting coincidence is that Umbridge appears to be unmarried while many other characters from the story are; perhaps she, like Louisa, prefers a life to herself.
The only difference between the two is that Umbridge is kind of evil and likes to torture people (Louisa does keep Caesar tied up though). I just thought that this was a fun comparison to think about, plus I take any chance I can to nerd out about Harry Potter.
That's an interesting comparison! I can see the similarities between Umbridge and Louisa between the obsessive organization, the neat clothes, and the fancy china. Even though their internal personalities are different, I really like this interpretation. Who do you think Joe would resemble? The closest Harry Potter character I can think of would be Hagrid. ;)
ReplyDeleteDefinitely Hagrid. He just screams broken china.
ReplyDeleteHahahaha! Yes, broken china and awkward conversations about different species of dragons and spiders.
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