Wrapping the rice cakes,
with one hand
she fingers back her hair.
Matsuo Basho
JANE AUSTEN
(1775-1817), one of England’s foremost novelists, was never publicly acknowledged as a writer during her lifetime.
Austen was born on December 16, 1775, at Steventon Rectory in Hampshire, the seventh child of a country clergyman and his wife, George and Cassandra Austen. Her closest friend was her only sister, Cassandra, almost three years her senior.
Education and Influences
Jane Austen was primarily educated at home, benefiting from her father’s extensive library and the schoolroom atmosphere created by Mr. Austen’s live-in pupils.
Though she lived a quiet life, she had unusual access to the greater world, primarily through her brothers. Francis (Frank) and Charles, officers in the Royal Navy, served on ships around the world and saw action in the Napoleonic Wars. Henry, who eventually became a clergyman like his father and his brother James, was an officer in the militia and later a banker. Austen visited Henry in London, where she attended the theater, art exhibitions, and social events and also corrected proofs of her novels. Her brother Edward was adopted by wealthy cousins, the Knights, becoming their heir and later taking their name. On extended visits to Godmersham, Edward’s estate in Kent, Austen and her sister took part in the privileged life of the landed gentry, which is reflected in all her fiction.
Early Works: 1787-1798
As a child Austen began writing comic stories, now referred to as the Juvenilia. Her first mature work, composed when she was about 19, was a novella, Lady Susan, written in epistolary form (as a series of letters). This early fiction was preserved by her family but was not published until long after her death.
In her early twenties Austen wrote the novels that later became Sense and Sensibility (first called “Elinor and Marianne”) and Pride and Prejudice (originally “First Impressions”). Her father sent a letter offering the manuscript of “First Impressions” to a publisher soon after it was finished in 1797, but his offer was rejected by return post.
Austen continued writing, revising “Elinor and Marianne” and completing a novel called “Susan” (later to become Northanger Abbey). In 1803 Austen sold “Susan” for £10 to a publisher, who promised early publication, but the manuscript languished in his archives until it was repurchased a year before Austen’s death for the price the publisher had paid her.
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Virginia Woolf
Virginia Woolf
(1882–1941) is recognised as one of the most innovative writers of the 20th century. Perhaps best known as the author of Mrs Dalloway (1925) and To the Lighthouse (1927), she was also a prolific writer of essays, diaries, letters and biographies. Both in style and subject matter, Woolf’s work captures the fast-changing world in which she was working, from transformations in gender roles, sexuality and class to technologies such as cars, airplanes and cinema. Influenced by seminal writers and artists of the period such as Marcel Proust, Igor Stravinsky and the Post-Impressionists, Woolf’s work explores the key motifs of modernism, including the subconscious, time, perception, the city and the impact of war. Her ‘stream of consciousness’ technique enabled her to portray the interior lives of her characters and to depict the montage-like imprint of memory.
Albert Einstein
Albert Einstein was born at Ulm, in Württemberg, Germany, on March 14, 1879. Six weeks later the family moved to Munich, where he later on began his schooling at the Luitpold Gymnasium. Later, they moved to Italy and Albert continued his education at Aarau, Switzerland and in 1896 he entered the Swiss Federal Polytechnic School in Zurich to be trained as a teacher in physics and mathematics. In 1901, the year he gained his diploma, he acquired Swiss citizenship and, as he was unable to find a teaching post, he accepted a position as technical assistant in the Swiss Patent Office. In 1905 he obtained his doctor’s degree.
During his stay at the Patent Office, and in his spare time, he produced much of his remarkable work and in 1908 he was appointed Privatdozent in Berne. In 1909 he became Professor Extraordinary at Zurich, in 1911 Professor of Theoretical Physics at Prague, returning to Zurich in the following year to fill a similar post. In 1914 he was appointed Director of the Kaiser Wilhelm Physical Institute and Professor in the University of Berlin. He became a German citizen in 1914 and remained in Berlin until 1933 when he renounced his citizenship for political reasons and emigrated to America to take the position of Professor of Theoretical Physics at Princeton*. He became a United States citizen in 1940 and retired from his post in 1945.
After World War II, Einstein was a leading figure in the World Government Movement, he was offered the Presidency of the State of Israel, which he declined, and he collaborated with Dr. Chaim Weizmann in establishing the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.
Einstein always appeared to have a clear view of the problems of physics and the determination to solve them. He had a strategy of his own and was able to visualize the main stages on the way to his goal. He regarded his major achievements as mere stepping-stones for the next advance.
At the start of his scientific work, Einstein realized the inadequacies of Newtonian mechanics and his special theory of relativity stemmed from an attempt to reconcile the laws of mechanics with the laws of the electromagnetic field. He dealt with classical problems of statistical mechanics and problems in which they were merged with quantum theory: this led to an explanation of the Brownian movement of molecules. He investigated the thermal properties of light with a low radiation density and his observations laid the foundation of the photon theory of light.
In his early days in Berlin, Einstein postulated that the correct interpretation of the special theory of relativity must also furnish a theory of gravitation and in 1916 he published his paper on the general theory of relativity. During this time he also contributed to the problems of the theory of radiation and statistical mechanics.
In the 1920s, Einstein embarked on the construction of unified field theories, although he continued to work on the probabilistic interpretation of quantum theory, and he persevered with this work in America. He contributed to statistical mechanics by his development of the quantum theory of a monatomic gas and he has also accomplished valuable work in connection with atomic transition probabilities and relativistic cosmology.
After his retirement he continued to work towards the unification of the basic concepts of physics, taking the opposite approach, geometrisation, to the majority of physicists.
Einstein’s researches are, of course, well chronicled and his more important works include Special Theory of Relativity (1905), Relativity (English translations, 1920 and 1950), General Theory of Relativity (1916), Investigations on Theory of Brownian Movement (1926), and The Evolution of Physics (1938). Among his non-scientific works, About Zionism (1930), Why War? (1933), My Philosophy (1934), and Out of My Later Years (1950) are perhaps the most important.
Albert Einstein received honorary doctorate degrees in science, medicine and philosophy from many European and American universities. During the 1920’s he lectured in Europe, America and the Far East, and he was awarded Fellowships or Memberships of all the leading scientific academies throughout the world. He gained numerous awards in recognition of his work, including the Copley Medal of the Royal Society of London in 1925, and the Franklin Medal of the Franklin Institute in 1935.
Einstein’s gifts inevitably resulted in his dwelling much in intellectual solitude and, for relaxation, music played an important part in his life. He married Mileva Maric in 1903 and they had a daughter and two sons; their marriage was dissolved in 1919 and in the same year he married his cousin, Elsa Löwenthal, who died in 1936. He died on April 18, 1955 at Princeton, New Jersey.
William Shakespeare
Who Was William Shakespeare?
William Shakespeare was an English poet, playwright and actor of the Renaissance era. He was an important member of the King’s Men company of theatrical players from roughly 1594 onward.
Known throughout the world, Shakespeare’s writings capture the range of human emotion and conflict and have been celebrated for more than 400 years. And yet, the personal life of William Shakespeare is somewhat a mystery.
There are two primary sources that provide historians with an outline of his life. One is his work — the plays, poems and sonnets — and the other is official documentation such as church and court records. However, these provide only brief sketches of specific events in his life and yield little insight into the man himself.
When Was Shakespeare Born?
No birth records exist, but an old church record indicates that a William Shakespeare was baptized at Holy Trinity Church in Stratford-upon-Avon on April 26, 1564. From this, it is believed he was born on or near April 23, 1564, and this is the date scholars acknowledge as Shakespeare’s birthday.
Located about 100 miles northwest of London, during Shakespeare’s time Stratford-upon-Avon was a bustling market town along the River Avon and bisected by a country road.
Family
Shakespeare was the third child of John Shakespeare, a leather merchant, and Mary Arden, a local landed heiress. Shakespeare had two older sisters, Joan and Judith, and three younger brothers, Gilbert, Richard and Edmund.
Before Shakespeare’s birth, his father became a successful merchant and held official positions as alderman and bailiff, an office resembling a mayor. However, records indicate John’s fortunes declined sometime in the late 1570s.
Childhood and Education
Scant records exist of Shakespeare’s childhood and virtually none regarding his education. Scholars have surmised that he most likely attended the King’s New School, in Stratford, which taught reading, writing and the classics.
Being a public official’s child, Shakespeare would have undoubtedly qualified for free tuition. But this uncertainty regarding his education has led some to raise questions about the authorship of his work (and even about whether or not Shakespeare really existed).
Wife and Children
Shakespeare married Anne Hathaway on November 28, 1582, in Worcester, in Canterbury Province. Hathaway was from Shottery, a small village a mile west of Stratford. Shakespeare was 18 and Anne was 26, and, as it turns out, pregnant.
Their first child, a daughter they named Susanna, was born on May 26, 1583. Two years later, on February 2, 1585, twins Hamnet and Judith were born. Hamnet later died of unknown causes at age 11.
Shakespeare’s Lost Years
There are seven years of Shakespeare’s life where no records exist after the birth of his twins in 1585. Scholars call this period the “lost years,” and there is wide speculation on what he was doing during this period.
One theory is that he might have gone into hiding for poaching game from the local landlord, Sir Thomas Lucy. Another possibility is that he might have been working as an assistant schoolmaster in Lancashire.
It’s generally believed he arrived in London in the mid- to late 1580s and may have found work as a horse attendant at some of London’s finer theaters, a scenario updated centuries later by the countless aspiring actors and playwrights in Hollywood and Broadway.
The King’s Men
By the early 1590s, documents show Shakespeare was a managing partner in the Lord Chamberlain’s Men, an acting company in London with which he was connected for most of his career.
Considered the most important troupe of its time, the company changed its name to the King’s Men following the crowning of King James I in 1603. From all accounts, the King’s Men company was very popular. Records show that Shakespeare had works published and sold as popular literature.
Although the theater culture in 16th century England was not highly admired by people of high rank, some of the nobility were good patrons of the performing arts and friends of the actors.
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30 sec book review on best seller Atomic Habits
Shortest but complete book review. #Atomichabits #jamesclear
Atomic Habits book review
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Maryam: The strongest women of fictional world.
A Thousand splendid suns.
Character analysis by Ajaz Ahmed Bhatt (author)
Khaled Hosseini
Khaled Hosseini is an Afghan-American novelist, physician, activist, humanitarian and UNHCR goodwill ambassador. After graduating from college, he worked as a doctor in California, a predicament that he likened to “an arranged marriage. He has published three novels, most notably his 2003 debut The Kite Runner, all of which are at least partially set in Afghanistan and feature an Afghan as the protagonist. Following the success of The Kite Runner he retired from medicine to write full-time. All three of his novels became bestsellers: The Kite Runner (2003) spent 101 weeks on The New York Times Best Seller list, four of them at number one. A Thousand Splendid Suns (2007) was a Times Best Seller for 103 weeks, 15 at number one. And the Mountains Echoed (2013) debuted near the top of the Times list and remained on it for 33 weeks until January 2014.
Maryam
Mariam, is one of two female protagonists, is a quiet, thoughtful child at the start of the book The thousand splendid suns. Born out of wedlock to a rich and married businessman called Jalil And his former housekeeper named Nana (the mother of Mariam). Mariam is angry about her mother’s strict norms and fact that she only sees her father once a week. And continuously keeping an eye on her actions.
Let us peek into Mariam’s character to a depth to understand what makes her different than other mythical heroines of fiction.
Her illegitimate Beginning:
Her misfortune started the day she was conceived by Nana. Mariam is described as an outcast and the reason of her mother’s displeasure, disappointment, discontent and shame. We came to know through an annoyance and frustration by Nana, when she broke a precious heirloom. “This is my reward for everything I’ve endured. An heirloom-breaking, clumsy little Harami ” said Nana. But it went through ears of Mariam as she didn’t knew what this word “Harami” actually meant. Being a child she cannot defy the chauvinism, and since forever consider her crime to be born. Later on Mariam came to know that a harami was an unwanted thing a bastard and she, was an illegitimate person who would never have legitimate claim to the things other people had, things such as love, family, home, acceptance.
Mariam was very innocent she considered school going as her freedom , to learn and to play. Which didn’t lasted longer when her embittered mother tries to squash: “What’s the sense schooling girl like you? It’s like shining the spittoon. And you’ll learn nothing of value in those schools” . On the other hand Jalil had no compassion on her due to his social image and name. Which also shows marriage is not associated with true love, but rather with feasibility. Marriage is only the compulsion and convention in patriarchy. After death of her mother Mariam was forced by Jalil and her stepmother to marry Rasheed, a man who is three times of her age. Her approval is just a formality because she didn’t wanted to hurt her father and his massive image. Mariam’s hopes of a better life got even worse when rasheed continuously tried to dominate her. Mariam lives in terror of Rashid’s varying moods and his impulsive disposition that often ends in contempt, ridicule, violence, and beating. His viciousness is obvious from his violent behavior towards Mariam when he compels her to chew solid pebbles as a retribution for not cooking according to his taste: “He shoved two fingers into her mouth and pried it open, then forced the cold, hard pebbles into it, urged her to chew it”
But it took her only four years to realise the boundaries of her suffering and terror imposed by patrarchial society. Their bitter and I’ll relationship made her to live in misery. Rasheed demoralizes and humiliates her by calling her bad names, abuses her, and even beats her physically. Mariam’s life is an example of the situation of other women in around the world who are leading life in constant fear of their husbands. He always complains, “Now you know what you’ve given me in this marriage. Bad food, and nothing else”. Mariam’s inner conflict starts the day Rasheed decides to marry Laila and dishonor Mariam. He forbids her to show any kind of resistance in this matter. He reminds her in insulting manner that, “It’s a common thing… your own father had three wives. Besides, what I am doing now most men I knew would have done long ago”. Polygyny is talked so common like it is a begotten thing. She regrets the sacrifices she made for the vicious and ungrateful person
But Mariam was lady of strong mind and heart. She didn’t wanted any women to suffer like she did. Mariam creates a strong bond of affection with Laila and her daughter kwho was not actually Rasheed’s child. And renovates herself into a prototype gallant mother and not even hesitates to kill her tyrant husband by stabbing her straight into his head when he was trying to dominate over Laila the second bride. She refuses to bear the burden of false indictments without any resistance. She realizes that mere subjugation and subservience without any protest, defense and resistance strengthen the tyrants to defeat humanity. It is this selfless love, satisfaction and delight which creates self confidence in Mariam and forces her to resist and defy openly against the oppression and victimization she is subjected to in the male chauvinist society. Ultimately she was killed by Patrarchial demons of the modern society who care a demon over four innocent life for the mear fact that he was a man. “Through her spirited actions thereafter, Mariam proves that: A woman is a being. She is not an appendage of man. A woman is not the other. She is not an addition to man. She is an autonomous being, capable of, through trial and error, finding her own way to salvation”.
The Journey Begins
Thanks for joining me!
Good company in a journey makes the way seem shorter. — Izaak Walton
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