The Necklace

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  “SHE WAS one of those pretty, charming young ladies, born, as if through an error of destiny, into a family of clerks. She had no dowry, no hopes, no means of becoming known, appreciated, loved, and married by a man either rich or distinguished; and she allowed herself to marry a petty clerk in the office of the Board of Education. . . .  She had neither frocks nor jewels, nothing. And she loved only those things. She felt that she was made for them. She had such a desire to please, to be sought after, to be clever, and courted.” —THE NECKLACE Guy de Maupassant    France, 1884 (pic by Grok) Read this short story here:  https://americanliterature.com/author/guy-de-maupassant/short-story/the-necklace

A Golden Nugget

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10 or 12 years ago I was enraptured with John Steinbeck's "East of Eden." While I am sure the name "Marcus Aurelius" came to my attention in much earlier study, I can say without a doubt that it was Steinbeck's multiple references to "Meditations" that locked the good Emperor into my brain. 

While researching for my dissertation, I was amazed (read: "downright thrilled") to find a scholarly article discussing the influence of both the Bible and "Meditations" on Steinbeck's book, "East of Eden." Not only has one's personal affinity for Steinbeck sweetened, but the article demonstrates how deeply integrated "Meditations" is into the plot. The source material is as follows (might require an academic log-in): 

Brannon, Brian. 2009. “A Tiny Volume Bound in Leather: The Influence of Marcus Aurelius on East of Eden.” Steinbeck Review. Vol. 6, no. 2: 23-27.


" . . . read carefully, and not to be satisfied with a superficial understanding of a book . . . " (Marcus Aurelius, to Rusticus)

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