Who would have thought it?

First of all, I read of few of the first responses, and I have to disagree with this book being classified as a tedious read. In fact, I've found it pretty easy to move though, due in no small part to the author's ability to acutely satirize the political and social norms of her time. She was clearly well educated in the classics and I find that those references add a lot of depth to the text (although I must say that I'm grateful for the notes, as many of them would have otherwise been lost on me). A perfect example of her wit and sarcasm is when she compares the blind and unwarranted praise and respect of his fellows (and President) that Julius Cackle inadvertently gained through cowardly actions to that of Tennyson's reverence of the genuine bravery of Britain's soldiers in The Charge of the Light Brigade. She also doesn't hesitate to expose the ignorance of characters like Mrs. Norval and Mrs. Cackle in the ways of politics, like when Cackle speaks of the Habeas Corpus(es) as a group of people. These, of course, were carefully planted, but she could not have known that reading the book 135 years later, the audience would enjoy silly things like mentioning “the ragged little town of Hampton”, which I understand has since become quite the hot spot.

Considering that the theme here is racism and sexism and general social injustice for those of non-American blood (that idea itself being ridiculous in the young country of immigrants), I find it kind of remarkable that Ruiz de Burton lived through this and was able to overcome it to write such a well-referenced and educated account, in light of her then assumed "shortcomings". If we can suppose that she encountered similar adversity to that of which she writes, I think this adds a very interesting level of comprehension to the book.

However, despite being well aware of both its historical and current manifestation in our society, I still find the blatant racism maddening to read. Of course it was rampant and pretty much accepted in this setting, but the hypocrisy of its supposed objectors is what gets to me (and is supposed to get me, I guess). Clearly, this is most obvious in Mrs. Norval’s character, and she is undoubtedly demonized for it, but even the good doctor and his shining son Julian cannot be free of blame. They are compassionate people, yes, but they would certainly not have showered such attention and love on the young Lola had she not so conveniently been of pure Spanish blood, strikingly beautiful and the benefactress of immense wealth. Too many hypocrisies to note. In any case, I find myself curious to see what will become of them all.