1. Oh I don't know, I think she enjoys being mean to Mr. Rochester and she gets to call him ugly at the end.
2. 20 in a college lit class. There was a deli near my old apartment called St. John's market and we used to call it Sinjin's just to be annoying.

I'm conflicted. A lot of lessons from the boarding school stories stayed with me as an adult and I didn't really internalize any of the meanness or classism. On one hand, there is a theme of valuing education for its own sake regardless of gender. The girls never think less of themselves for their gender and are encouraged to pursue their passions, whether that's their vocations or college. Even Ms. Grayling's speech is about being women that the world can lean on. There are lessons that resonated with me: don't be a tattletale, don't cheat yourself by not working hard, handle your shit. I guess I read Malory Towers first and St Clare's, which is a lot bitchier, when I was older. The classist storyline about how Sheila is insecure about her non-elegant manners and speech and how the girls make fun of her for it always made me uncomfortable, even as a child. But there are also non-British non-snobby characters who are the best-written characters of the book, including Claudine and Carlotta. Also, Alicia gets her comeuppance (sort of) for being bitchy and mellows out by the last book.

They are very mean to Alison, I agree.

I totally agree, I couldn't stand Sadie and have minimal patience about relationships based on miscommunications. I also felt like there was some apologist writing for Dov? There was an undercurrent of, well Dov's an abusive asshole, but at least he's brilliant, and Dov sticks around for the entire book for the purpose of continuing to provide brilliant tidbits.

The main thing I loved was the exploration of a creative work relationship/friendship, which is not generally the type of relationship that fiction explores. And maybe it's realistic in such a relationship that there would be miscommunication and jealousy.

Wait, did Sam confess that he loved Sadie? I read it as, he was jealous of Marx and Sadie's relationship in the way that many of us might be at first when two of our best friends start dating each other. I thought he was actually asexual.

I also enjoyed Turn of the Screw and Haunting of Bly Manor so it may just be me enjoying comparing those adaptations.

I agree, as a child, I was so disappointed when Jo doesn't marry Laurie, but as an adult, I can immediately see that Laurie and Jo would never work and Jo deserves better. That said, I think I would have been happier with her not getting married at all instead of marrying the mansplaining professor who's anti thrillers but I know that Alcott was forced >!to give each girl a marriage/death ending!<.

I can't resist a good Oxford-set story but Hannah was unbearable. The only good thing I have to say about her is that at least the baby was in her body (and therefore unable to be a character) unlike the baby in the Lying Game. I generally like Lucy Foley better than Ruth Ware - although I did enjoy Turn of the Key. The main lead female character is slightly less pathetic.