More information at this
website: http://www.eleanor-brown.com/the-weird-sisters. I've combined some of the book reviews/summary with our own version of the sister descriptions below:
We talked about our relationships with our family of origin and how we got along with our siblings. We all happen to be first born sisters! At one time, the father (did he have a name?) talks to each of the daughters, encouraging them to do things differently than they have been doing. The mother (we couldn’t find her name either) says that she doesn’t know where the girls got the idea that they had to overachieve. We recognized that our parents passed on values to us and that we passed on values to our children (biological or students, since some of us are also teachers). How much did we know we were doing, and how much was happening unconsciously? For sure, each child is born in to a different family. The first born/only child becomes a sister when the second child is born into a family that now has two children, and so forth. Not to mention that parents change in parenting style as the learn, mature, or react to the different personalities of their offspring.
The Andreas sisters were raised on books – their family motto might as well be, “There’s no problem a library card can’t solve.” Their mother is going through treatment for cancer and that brings the sisters back together in their hometown of Barnwell. Their father, a renowned, eccentric professor of Shakespearean studies, named them after three of the Bard’s most famous characters. Once there were three sisters…
Rose (Rosalind – As You Like It) is educated, a professor with a PhD, and has traveled to France. She is the “smart one.” She also has a passion for order and is the “crisis interceptor” of the family. She knows what to do and does it. She has lived in Barnwell all her life, would love to work at Barnwell College, and is the only sister who is in a committed relationship. In fact, she is about to be married. Unfortunately, her soon-to-be-husband, Jonathan just got a chance to stay longer as a visiting professor in England. It is just her luck to have finally found her Orlando, her perfect love, only to have him leave her. What will happen to the family and town she is devoted to, if she isn’t around to organize everyone!
What did we think of Rose?
* kinda uptight
* could identify with the younger Rose, but not the older Rose
* felt like the role of caretaker was thrust upon her and “me” (the responsibility to be the oldest)
* would rather travel
* would never want to stay living at home
* is the “only child” for a while
Bean (Bianca – The Taming of the Shrew) is always in style, with a passion for the right make up, shoes, clothing, and accessories. She plays the part of the beautiful socialite well, even though her performance is coming to an end. She’s gotten herself out of their hometown, lives in New York City, and then gets herself into a huge debt, embezzling from her company. Now she’s running away/back from the glitz. She also keeps in shape by running. Will she keeping running away, or is their someone or something that can keep her grounded in the mundane?
What did we think of Bean?
* spoiled brat
* bad decisions
* poorly behaved
* liked her rebellious nature
* was smart and got the heck out of the family
* was the character that some of us most identified with
Cordy (Cordelia – King Lear) is the baby at 33 years old and her father’s “favorite.” She has been indulged her entire life and was Cordelia to her father’s, Lear. She’s always late to arrive anywhere, starting with the day she was born. She used to own a coffee shop, but it has been years since she has lived anywhere long enough to have an address. She has a passion for adventure and has traveled all over the world. She refuses to grow up. She’s been lucky, until now. Now, she is pregnant and single. Her next adventure will be parenthood. Can she settle down?
What did we think of Cordy?
* is the only child for a while
* we (oldest children) see the youngest as the favorite
Act II ends with the sisters thinking, “To forge such an unnatural friendship would just require so much effort. Our estrangement is not drama-laden—we have not betrayed one another’s trust, we have not stolen lovers or fought over money or property or any of the things that irreparably break families apart. The answer, for us, is much simpler. See, we love one another. We just don’t happen to like one another very much.” In Shakespeare’s time, “wyrd” meant “fate.” Is “destiny” what you are born into or can you control your choices, and therefore your fate?
It was fun writing up the summary of each sister (above). We talked about how this is a lovely story of a family and, even though predictable, you want to know how the sisters will turn their lives around. It reminded us of the strength of family and community, how passion drives our decisions, and how we can, indeed, control our own fates.
We talked about how High School keeps you in a time and place. FaceBook actually makes us all more multi-dimensional because now we see other things that people we went to school with are doing.
We asked ourselves, “Do other people keep us in those roles or do we keep ourselves in those roles?”
We also wondered how much we are like our name or the person we are named for, having a side conversation about what our parents might have named us! In some ways we live up to our name. How much do parents get it right when they name you?
Finally, we thought about what our parents passed on to us. Sometimes, it was what they didn’t get for themselves. They wanted us to have:
* a 4 year college experience (not just 2 years)
* a career that we liked
* a career that would make us independent (especially as women)
* a love of reading
As always, there was much more, but this is what I could capture in the midst of all the conversation.
