21st Century Relevance of Charles Dickens

In his last completed, under-appreciated novel, "Our Mutual Friend", (1864) Dickens has created a minor character, Jenny Wren. She is introduced thus;

Charley knocked at the door & heard a child's voice say 'Come in, I can't get up. My back is bad and my legs don't work." On entering, he found a girl with an elfin face and golden hair, who was sitting hunched & twisted in an armchair. There was a little worktable before her covered in cloth, wool & thread. She was no more than 13 years old but had sharp eyes. She said "I am Jenny Wren, dress maker for dolls. I must get on with my work." On an enquiry as to whether it is a good business, she replies "No, I work too long for my sore back & bent legs." Later, it is found that she has to work to support not only herself but her father & grandfather, both addicted to drink.

Though by mass producing Barbie dolls, the profession of "Doll's Dressmaker" has become redundant, concern for handicapped people, which is in the forefront now, was highlighted by Dickens 160 years ago. So is his anguish at child labour, necessitated by adult alcoholic addiction. Long working hours with poor remuneration is again rearing it's ugly head. Many of the questions raised by Dickens, are  still not satisfactorily answered.

Two difficult novels set in Alexandria

The first is Charles Kingsley's "Hypatia" (1853) which deals with the life & times of the female pagan philosopher, who lived & taught in Alexandria. There were many intolerant Catholics in the fifth century (like the ones conducting the later Spanish Inquisition) who finally lynched her. The book, though a best-seller when first published, makes heavy reading now in the 21st Century, because of the endless conflicts & discussions between the Pagans, Jews & Christians.

The second is Lawrence Durrell's "Alexandria Quartet" (1962) consisting of four novels, which the author says form a "word continuum", for which he adopted the "relativity proposition". So the first three novels deal with the three dimensions of the same events, seen through three different viewpoints & the fourth taking the story forward though time. This also, though a best seller, is a difficult read.

Memorable Movie Moments

The first is no doubt the Odessa steps sequence from Eisenstein's "The Battleship Potemkin", where a perambulator, hurtling down the steps uncontrollably, with a baby inside, climaxes the horror when a group of Cossaks charge a rebellious mob.

Hitchcock's "The Young & Innocent" (now available colorised) based on Josephine Tey's "A Shilling for Candles" featured an astonishing crane shot, tracking in from a distance of 145 feet across a crowded ballroom to within 4 inches of the twitching eye of a black-faced drummer.

Satyajit Ray's "Aparajito" featured a scene, where Apu's father, near death, gulps the holy water of the Ganges, fed by Apu, & drops down dead. Before his head touches the pillow, there is a sudden cut to the birds suddenly flying away from the banks of the Ganga. There was a spontaneous ovation from the audience at this point at the Venice Film Festival, where the film went on to win the Golden Lion.

In Stanley Kubrick's "2001 - A Space Odyssey", a group of primates, hunting, hurl a piece of bone into the air, where it dissolves into a spacecraft hurtling through space. This audacious dissolve condenses millions of years of human history into one sequence.