"Behind a Mask"

Louisa May Alcott's "Behind a Mask" was an interesting read. At the beginning I was confused because there were so many characters being introduced but after a while, I really started to like it. I thought that Jean Muir was an interesting character because she was so different for her time period. She lied, she drank, she charmed everyone around her, and she was impersonating a 19-year-old while being a 30-year-old. I know that after the discussion in class today, a lot of people did not like her and I'm not saying I do, but I think she is a very interesting character. She seems modern to me though she puts on a "perfect woman" front. She takes the idea of masks to a whole other level. . . she masks herself differently for every character in the book like we were talking about. She reads to Sir John, is a sister to Bella, ignores Gerald, tames the horse for Edward, and makes the perfect cup of tea for Mrs. Coventry. She just knows what appeals to whom and uses it to win everyone over and that is a modern trait. Though she is deceiving, it makes the book that much more interesting and modern. This semester we have read books that have characters who are very similar to each other and have a modern flair: Zenobia in "The Blithedale Romance", Joaquin in "Joaquin Murieta", and now Jean Muir in "Behind a Mask." I'm interested to see what character will continue this cycle as we go on in English.
I really enjoyed the presentation on Louisa May Alcott too. It was interesting to see how she didn't even like to write the children books but she liked to write the thrillers. I really like that about her and I feel like I can relate to that too. I've started to read "Little Women" but I didn't like it so I had to stop. It was kind of bland and I much rather liked "Behind a Mask." I can't wait to see what we read next!!