smART Aurora Floyd

Surreal Reading

The story of Aurora Floyd is a mysterious yet gratifying tale written by Mary Elizabeth Braddon. It begins by describing the courtship and marriage of Archibald Floyd and Eliza Prodder. From their love comes a baby, Aurora, Braddon’s heroine. After her mother dies in childbirth, Aurora becomes a spoiled child. Her father wants nothing but to give his daughter anything she could ever want, and his considerable wealth as a banker allowed him to do so. At this point Aurora commits the act that begins the plot of the book. Each chapter hints at more mystery, and Mary Elizabeth Braddon had me biting my nails while trying to figure it out.

I especially enjoy how M.E. Braddon always kept me guessing. The voice she used in her writing style is quite interesting for she emphasizes detail and wrote as if she were speaking.  Sometimes she would go off on random tangents that seem to delve into the human psyche, posing personal and philosophical questions. Even at the end of the novel, the reader is left questioning the validity of the story and where Braddon’s true inspiration came from.  “But as my story is a true one – not only true in a general sense, but strictly true as to the leading facts which I am about to relate.”

Braddon was inside the mind of every character and through that mode of writing, she was able to make the reader connect with each character. It was different to be able to understand the thought processes of both of Aurora’s suitors. Talbot was noble and just, to a fault, “Talbot Bulstrode complained that everybody respected him, and nobody loved him. “ John was generous and loved Aurora, even when that love threatened his entire life. “John Mellish was content to be beloved, and never questioned the quality of the affection bestowed upon him. “

The most enjoyable part of the book for me was the visual descriptions. As an artist, when an author can paint a picture in my mind, it makes the plot and personalities of the characters easier to relate to. For instance when Braddon wrote “The wide casement of windows were open, but the day was hot and oppressive – oppressively still and sunny; the landscape sweltering under a yellow haze, as if the very atmosphere had been opaque with melted gold. Even the roses in the garden seemed to feel the influence of the blazing summer sky, dropping their heavy heads like human sufferers from headache.” By giving life to inanimate things, Braddon brings surrealism to the novel -my favorite genre- so in a sense I was reading in my favorite style of art. 

Overall, Mary Elizabeth Braddon created a story that is agreeable to all the senses. It was exciting as well as tragic, and never caused boredom.