We drove into a hidden gate on a late rainy afternoon. There was a guard with a golf cart waiting to take us down a long driveway buried deep into the woods, where we went into a gallery space with large painting and watched a short introduction to the couple and house. Then we proceeded to the house where we put on booties to protect the floor AND entered my parent's house – or at least that was my first impression.
Large open living spaces downstairs with a spectacular winding staircase to the upstairs which had a narrow hallway opening into compact bedrooms, bath rooms and office spaces. The epitome of what we called a modern house, now 50 years later called mid-century contemporary, very Frank Lloyd Wright. Very clean simple lines, glass block walls, which my Dad being an airplane designer, used in designing the house I grew up in and cost under $2,000 to build, here you will see rendered in a much more expansive form.
George L. K. Morris and Suzy Frelinghuysen, prolific abstract artists since the late 1930s, were a remarkable couple at the leading edge of the national and international art scene. Collectors and intellectuals, they created a Berkshire home that reflected their aesthetic worlds. Frelinghuysen and Morris are today being widely rediscovered and evaluated as significant figures in the history of American art. Now you can tour their world, preserved just as it was when they created it.
In 1929, George L.K. Morris traveled to Paris and studied with Fernand Leger and Amedee Ozenfant in Ozenfants's Le Corbusier designed studio. On his return to America, Morris wanted to duplicate the white-stucco walled, notched roof, open-spaced studio. In 1930, with the help of Boston architect and Yale classmate George Sanderson, he designed and built his studio on a portion of his parents' Lenox, Massachusetts estate, "Brookhurst." It was the first Modern structure to be built in New England. The Wadsworth Athenaeum's Avery Memorial Building and the Gropius House in Lexington, Massachusetts were built several years later.
In 1941, now married to artist and singer Suzy Frelinghuysen, Morris chose a local architect, John Butler Swann to design a house which would be integrated into the existing studio. Swann admired Modernism and had spent time in the indigenous buildings of Arizona and New Mexico. A two story stucco and glass block house with a colorful mural by Morris connecting the house and garage was built. Cost overruns forced Morris to consign a Picasso, "The Poet", for sale. Peggy Guggenheim bought it for $4,500 and jump-started her museum in Venice.
Local Lee marble was used in the foyer; an Argentinean leather floor was placed in the living room. Frelinghuysen and Morris enrolled in the Art Students League in New York City to learn the ancient art of fresco. Morris executed the frescoes in the living room; Frelinghuysen created her designs in the dining room. Frelinghuysen and Morris chose furniture by Modern masters Frankl, Deskey, and Aalto to complete the harmony of art, architecture and design.
Upon her death in 1988, Suzy Frelinghuysen left instructions that the House & Studio and art collection be used for an educational purpose and the co-trustees, nephew T. Kinney Frelinghuysen and Christine Beshar, established a 501C3 charitable foundation. After receiving approval from the two towns of Stockbridge and Lenox, on which the 46 acre estate lies, the House & Studio opened for visitation in 1998.


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The 13th annual conference of the British International Studies Association (BISA) US Foreign Policy Working Group will take place at Liverpool John Moores University on 4 and 5 September 2018. We invite proposals of individual papers or panels on any aspect of US foreign policy, contemporary or historical. We also welcome proposals from a range of scholarly perspectives, including International Relations; Political Science; History; Economics; and other related disciplines.
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We are keen for papers to reflect the diversity of US foreign policy by encouraging papers from women and BAME delegates. To support this issue of diversity we will provide some funding to those panels that expand our base and focus. Please email explaining how you fulfil these criteria. We also have a limited number of bursaries available for strong proposals from Early Career Researchers. ECRs considered for funding will be determined by being either a doctoral candidate or having a fixed term teaching post, postdoc etc. To provide confirmation please submit a CV with the necessary details. Because the funding for ECRs is coming from BISA you must be a member. Membership details can be found here: https://www.bisa.ac.uk/index.php/membership. ECRs with a full-time permanent position will not be considered.
We will also have a conference dinner which all delegates can attend for an extra fee, paid at the point of conference registration.
Paper and panel proposals (300 word abstract) should be submitted to the Working Group convenor, Dr Matthew Alan Hill ([email protected]) by the extended deadline of Friday June 20, 2018.


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Middle-earth Reflections
The Silmarillion Essays
The Hobbit Essays
The Lord of the Rings Essays
Language notes
Read-alongs
Roverandom
Smith of Wootton Major
Works consulted
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Posted on January 15, 2018 June 13, 2019 by Olga
On the songs of power.
Among many powerful notions in the world of Arda few are more potent than music and language. Music is the essential element of Arda, its heart and soul, as the world was created and shaped by the majestic Music of the Ainur. And it was the word of Ilúvatar — Eä! — that brought the created vision to life.
The power of words in Middle-earth cannot be overestimated. If used masterfully, with subtlety and skill they can inspire others to do incredible things. It is especially prominent when words are put into verse: songs can become something a lot more potent than mere poetic recitals. I have already spoken about the songs of challenge in The Silmarillion: sung in the situations of dire need and despair, they bring hope and salvation against all the odds. A special place in the story is occupied by the songs of power. They are very effective verses able to create or destroy, be used as a weapon or for defence.
It is by means of a song that Yavanna brings to life the Two Trees of Valinor and, later, the last fruit and flower from them used for creating the Sun and the Moon after the Trees' destruction. Finrod duels with Sauron on the songs of power. Lúthien sings an equally powerful song to make Tol-in-Gaurhoth tremble and be heard by Beren trapped in Sauron's dungeons.
These songs are a truly mighty weapon. However, as we can see from the aforementioned examples, not everyone can use them with the necessary potency. There is a revered Valië, a mighty Maia, a daughter of a Maia and an Elvish King and a powerful Elf lord. All of these characters have a very special skill and, possibly, an inner power that allow them to use words with great effect, materialise them from the realm of spoken speech into the physical world. In the present essay I am going to have a closer look at one of the most dramatic and intense episodes of The Silmarillion — the song contest between Finrod Felagund and Sauron.
There is no actual text for the songs Finrod and Sauron use in their duel, but the rendering of the episode covering the main themes of their songs. The contest between the two became an ultimate battle for supremacy in one given scene with far-reaching consequences when Finrod stood to the defence of his, Beren's and their companions' lives. When we look at the duellists, the powers do not stand quite equal: an Elf, even though a powerful one, has to face a Maia, who was among the mightiest of his race. Nevertheless Finrod is ready for the challenge.
The first glimpse of the Elf lord's powers shows when he changes his company into Orcs. Apart from using Orcish gear from their slain enemies, Finrod sings a spell "of changing and of shifting shape" (Lays of Beleriand, p. 226). This spell completes the transformation and makes the Elves and the Man unrecognisable. Finrod's spell is so potent that it changes the company physically: their ears, mouths and teeth become Orcish. The words have a visible effect in the world, thus pointing at Felagund's great skill with words and the songs of power in particular.
Still even such disguise cannot protect the travellers from Sauron's (named Thû in The Lay of Leithian) notorious vigilance prominent already in the First Age. In Tol-in-Gaurhoth he watches "with sleepless eyes of flame" (Lays of Beleriand, p. 227) and notices a band of Orcs behaving strangely. By having them brought in front of him, showering them with riddling questions (note the subtle use of language again to trick the unwelcome guests) and surprised at their reluctance to swear blasphemous oaths for Morgoth, Sauron grows suspicious and turns to magical songs of power to deal with his visitors.
The renowned contest begins with Sauron's attempt to bewilder his opponents with darkness, smoke and his "flaming eyes" "in which their senses choked and drowned" (Lays of Beleriand, p. 227). "A sorcerer of dreadful power", Sauron is a mighty adversary to face:
He chanted a song of wizardry,
Of piercing, opening, of treachery,
Revealing, uncovering, betraying.
(The Silmarillion, p. 200)
Sauron's main aim here is to discover the personalities of those in front of him. That is why the concept of revealing is so heavily present in the opening lines of the verse: it is emphasised by repeating the same idea using different words, topped up with Sauron's key philosophy of treachery.
Finrod's reply is aimed at hiding their personalities, keeping their true identities secret:
Then sudden Felagund there swaying
Sang in answer a song of staying,
Resisting, battling against power,
Of secrets kept, strength like a tower,
And trust unbroken, freedom, escape;
Overpowered by Sauron's presence and sorcery, Finrod has a hard battle to fight. Still even under such dire circumstances the Elf lord does everything to hide who he and his companions really are. First, he does not wish to give this information to their enemy and lay everything bare in front of Morgoth's lieutenant. However, there might also be another motive at play. In mythologies knowing an opponent's real name gives one control over them, including in a magical way. So Finrod is careful not to give this extra trump card to Sauron. He parries everything the Maia presents to him with opposite notions: trust against treachery, staying against revealing, freedom against thralldom.
The first part of the contest is very dynamic. Tolkien uses words or short word combinations instead of full sentences to create the picture of a song shooting to and fro, flying between Finrod and Sauron as quick, piercing darts.
The tone then shifts dramatically when the duellists begin exchanging imagery. Word combinations turn into sentences and the poem runs more smoothly. Finrod uses all his power and might to bring light into the darkness of Sauron's fortress:
Softly in the gloom they heard the birds
Singing afar in Nargothrond,
The sighing of the Sea beyond,
Beyond the western world, on sand,
On sand of pearls in Elvenland.
In his song Finrod puts everything avert to darkness and gloom against Sauron: the delicacy of nature, pearly beaches, the eternal majesty of the Undying Lands, the unspoilt beauty of the Elven realm beyond the Sea. Finrod's song is so powerful that the singing of the birds and the sound of the Sea are actually heard in Sauron's dark tower. His masterful command of words again materialises the notions the Elf is singing about and makes them come alive in the gloom of the fortress. The darkness gives way to light and the victory seems so near. Unfortunately, Sauron has a counter argument which is far more powerful:
Then the gloom gathered; darkness growing
In Valinor, the red blood flowing
Beside the Sea, where the Noldor slew
The Foamriders, and stealing drew
Their white ships with their white sails
From lamplit havens.
Sauron's move is cruelly effective. There is no way the Noldor, who persisted with their march to Middle-earth following the Kinslaying at Alqualondë and the Prophecy of the North, can escape from the shadow of the horrible deed. Even those who did not take part in slaying of the Teleri are under the Doom of Mandos and it is to haunt them in Middle-earth for years uncounted. Finrod, too, is under the Doom and in the present situation of dire need it costs him a dear price. The reminder of the Kinslaying drains all the power from his song and the gloom returns more potent than before. It becomes real and ousts the light, silences the birds, the Sea and eventually overcomes Finrod: "Thunder rumbles, the fires burn—And Finrod fell before the throne" (The Silmarillion, p. 201).
The rhythm of the poem in those final moments shifts again and becomes abrupt, the sentences — short and reminiscent of heavy blows: The wind wails, The wolf howls. The ravens flee (The Silmarillion, p. 201). The tone conveys the nearing outcome so that even before reading the final lines we know that Finrod cannot win this duel with the Kinslaying as Sauron's deadly argument.
Even though he lost the song contest and the tragic fate befell most of the company afterwards, Finrod fought with Sauron the Maia as if they were equals. No Elf of ordinary disposition, Finrod had a great power with words which showed in how he used them in the songs of power to create physical effects in the world by the power of songs.
On Lúthien's power of singing
On the songs of challenge
Works consulted:
J. R. R. Tolkien – The Silmarillion (edited by Christopher Tolkien); HarperCollinsPublishers; London; 1999.
J. R. R. Tolkien, Christopher Tolkien – The Lays of Beleriand; HarperCollinsPublishers; London; 2015.
Images: Wikimedia Commons
Posted in The Silmarillion EssaysTagged Beren, English literature, fantasy literature, Finrod Felagund, J. R. R. Tolkien, Luthien, Middle-earth, mythology, Sauron, songs of power, The Silmarillion, The Two Trees of Valinor, Tol-in-Gaurhoth, Tolkien studies, Yavanna
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14 thoughts on "On the songs of power."
The Wife says:
Thank you, that was a both interesting and entertaining read. I just recently read the Beren and Luthien edition that came out last year where some of this figures in as well, and thought then that I need to re-read the related passages in The Silmarillion… Your post enforced this! 🙂
Olga Polomoshnova says:
Thank you! I'm glad you enjoyed it!
It's a powerful episode. Everything connected with it is so evocative, so dramatic. I love its treatment in The Lay of Leithian in a fuller and very expressive manner.
Quite so. 🙂
joviator says:
As your title says, the songs have power, as much as the singer. Bombadil said, "I know the song for him!" So Finrod wasn't crazy to challenge Sauron, as long as he thought he had a sufficiently powerful song. But Sauron was awfully good at songwriting, himself.
It is said that elven universities don't have football teams, but on a Saturday afternoon the two student bodies assemble in a stadium and sing their fight songs at each other.
Finrod knew what he was doing indeed. I sometimes wonder if he could have won it, had it not been for Alqualondë and Sauron's mentioning it.
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stephencwinter says:
Of course that is the point. Sauron is an accuser and Finrod is implicated in the kinslaying, which, in part at least, was Feanor's intention. He wanted to make all the Noldor a part of his rebellion. Sauron knows that even the noble Finrod is not able to claim innocence and just as he did not make a convincing orc neither can he match one for whom power is the only thing that matters. Luthien on the other hand has a purity of life and of desire that Morgoth cannot fathom. But Finrod's noble defeat is not in vain and that is something that Sauron cannot understand either.
AliciaS says:
I enjoyed your essay very much. Tolkien wrote so much into his books that it is difficult sometimes to see the full scope of what he wrote. Using song for a duel is an inspired notion from a master.
Thank you! I'm glad you did!
Right. His application of songs, their importance and role in Middle-earth are hard to overestimate. They are an essential part of that world, much more than mere story-telling or information sharing.
StarofElendil says:
Really good read, the layers of detail in Tolkeins works are astounding!!
Thank you! — and welcome to Middle-earth Reflections!
It's always fun to go through these layers, explore them. There's so much to discover!
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Brisbane Roar Head Coach John Aloisi has named a strong 18-player preliminary squad for the trip west to take on Perth Glory in their Hyundai A-League Round 20 clash on Saturday (8.40pm KO Qld time).
The squad includes Shane Stefanutto, who has been sidelined for two weeks with a groin strain, and Jamie Maclaren, who was load managing hamstring tightness earlier this week.
The Roar players will have a short sharp training session on Friday morning before their flight to Perth.
The match is the first of consecutive away games for the Roar. They travel to Adelaide in Round 21.
Brisbane then faces a Massive March in which they host Western Sydney, Melbourne Victory and Sydney FC in addition to an away fixture against Melbourne City.
If selected this weekend, Roar defender Jade North will notch his 300th game across the Hyundai A-League and its predecessor, the National Soccer League.
North (below) has played 169 Hyundai A-League games, 70 of them with Brisbane Roar.
Goalkeeper Michael Theo is also poised to notch a milestone this week with his 200th game in the Hyundai A-League – 128 of which have been with the Roar.
Both were named in the 18-player Roar squad today.
The Roar have faced the Glory twice this season for two wins, both at home.
In January the Roar beat Perth 2-1 with Brisbane striker Jamie Maclaren netting against his former club. The other Roar scorer was Henrique.
Henrique also found the net in the Roar's 1-0 win over the Glory in November.
But Perth are one of the most improved sides in the second half of the season, boosted by the return of Irish striker Andy Keogh, and are chasing a club-record fifth consecutive Hyundai A-League win.
Their scalps over the last month include Sydney FC (away), Wellington (away), Melbourne Victory (home) and Newcastle Jets (away). They had a 2-2 draw with Melbourne City prior to those games.
Brisbane are also in form and have netted nine goals in the past three games (two wins and a draw).
The match will be special for the Roar's Dimitri Petratos (below) who will be pitted against his younger brother Kosta, who has played off the bench for the Glory in the last two games.
They are the 10th set of brothers to face off in nearly 11 seasons of the Hyundai A-League.
Radio: 720 ABC Perth, 612 ABC Brisbane, ABC Local Radio WA, ABC Local Radio Qld, Grandstand Digital, Online & via the ABC Radio Mobile App – A-league Live.


Such superlatives can't begin to describe the stellar career of Plácido Domingo, which encompasses over three thousand-six hundred performances, three films and nine Grammy awards. How fitting, then, to celebrate the forty-fifth anniversary of his Los Angeles Opera debut, as well as his one hundred-fortieth operatic role, with L.A. Opera's freshly conceived production of The Two Foscari, Verdi's rarely performed sixth opera that has not seen a major fully staged U.S. production in forty years.
As a violinist at the Metropolitan Opera for twenty-one seasons, I was blessed with the opportunity to witness more than my share of Mr. Domingo's unprecedented output of roles. Though admittedly more accustomed to his artistry as a tenor, I embrace his move toward roles that lie in what he calls the middle of his voice. Whatever his vocal range, I feel especially privileged to have experienced this masterful portrayal of his newest role: Francesco Foscari, the Venetian head of state struggling to preserve his family name and fend off his scheming political enemies while protecting his son Jacopo from the cruel realities of a political climate that defines the term Machiavellian.
Oberto, Verdi's first opera from 1840, established him as a contender for leading opera composer of his day. Sadly his next work, Un Giorno di Regno, was more like the "throwaway draft" of a screenplay. Composed under the pall of his wife's recent death, the opera failed miserably. But with the success of Nabucco, followed by I Lombardi Della Prima Crociata and Ernani, Verdi's impressive compositional skills began to blossom fully, foreshadowing his potential as an operatic force of nature. The dynamic, energetic Foscari, which came on the heels of these early 1840s successes, continued to cement Verdi's reputation as a composer with a great future, though I suspect few would have imagined the ultimate breadth of his phenomenally productive career over the next five decades and its far-reaching influence on the opera world.
In Foscari Verdi collaborated with librettist Francesco Maria Piave, a Venetian well versed in the art of creating beautiful language for operas. Verdi thought Lord Byron's controversial historical play The Two Foscari "a fine subject, delicate and full of pathos." Astonishingly, the Pope's stringent censors found nothing objectionable in Piave's libretto, and the scenario remained intact. But the Republic of Venice vetoed the opera for its unfavorable depiction of Venetian nobility and nixed the Teatro Fenice premiere. The Teatro Argentina in Rome stepped in to commission the work, and it debuted there in 1844.
Verdi was under a great deal of pressure to deliver a success at the theater in which Donizetti and Rossini had triumphed. The premiere was not an unqualified smash, but by the second performance the critics warmed up to the work, and ultimately Verdi received just recognition from the City of Rome for his efforts.
Based on the true story of the longest-reigning (1423-57) Venetian doge in the city's history, whose statue can be found at the entrance of the Doge's Palace, Foscari chronicles a series of misapprehensions, machinations and twists that would test the resolve of the most astute, thick-skinned politician. In this La Gioconda meets The Borgias plot and milieu,Foscari the Elder falls victim to the most egregious forms of doctrinal brutality imaginable and, in a final ironic twist of fate, loses the one person he holds most dear: his beloved son.
The melodic beauty and dynamism of Verdi's score validate Domingo's reasons to champion Verdi's early works, and his performance lived up to expectations. The power of his still glorious voice, coupled with a Shakespearean dramatic intensity, combined to create a personage and vocal presence worthy of the composer's upcoming two hundredth birthday celebration next year.
Tenor Francesco Meli, in his local debut as Jacopo, and soprano Marina Poplavskaya (memorable in La Traviata here in 2009) as his long-suffering wife Lucrezia, proved up to the task of supporting Domingo's profoundly moving portrayal. Meli was persuasive as a character somewhat lacking in intensity, and vocally compelling even as he sang from a cage dangling in midair. Poplavskaya burned up the stage with her passion and vocal brilliance. Bass Ievgen Orlov was appropriately nasty in the comprimario role of Loredano, Francesco's primo enemy. Grant Gershon's chorus sang splendidly.
In his L.A. Opera debut, director Thaddeus Strassberger pulled together the drama and music with perceptive character portrayals and Bruno Poet's lighting and bold, eye-catching projections to add a hefty dose of magic realism to a starkly real, sinister atmosphere. In an analogy reflecting the increasing deepness of Domingo's voice,Strassberger has compared the dark ambiance of this fast-paced production to that of The Dark Knight.
With his ingenious set that took twelve thousand-eight hundred hours to build, scenic designer Kevin Knight effectively depicted the Doge's Palace, described in Byron's play as "a palace and a prison," as a key character in the scenario. Knight's palazzo provided the perfect setting for Domingo and Co. to recreate the backstabbing political climate of fifteenth-century Venice with convincing élan. Specially constructed instruments of torture, characters flying through the air, and real water symbolizing the instability of a politically corrupt city constructed on mud and about to topple at any time, added to the overall drama in true film industry style.
To top it all off, costume designer Mattie Ullrich created a mixture of styles that encompasses past and present centuries: from the sophisticated, sumptuous costumes with bloodstained underpinnings worn by the Venetian elite to the bizarre, terrifying masks adorning the less savory Carnival entertainers.
James Conlon conducted with his accustomed energy and enthusiasm, albeit with some synchronization issues between stage and pit.
Domingo has said, "I won't deprive myself of singing opera as long as my voice follows." By performing his one hundred-fortieth role in what he feels is one of Verdi's most significant early works, he has created yet another testament to the most miraculous, remarkable, incomparable career of the operatic stage. Let's hope his voice will follow for many years to come.


So you would've thought after Joolsy's car smash disaster the Tuesday before last that this Tuesday would be slightly quieter on the drama front. Oh no Joolsy had a work related incident that happens to most people only once in a life time. This disaster has happened to poor Joolsy before. Sorry I'm building the tension here for dramatic effect…. Joolsy got stuck in the lift AGAIN at work!!!This time she had had her afternoon break and was making her way back to her department, so she was fine for all the necessary toilet trips that she does on her breaks and she'd had a drink of water as rehydration as we all know is important for a persons wellbeing. Not only for people but doggies too as I know that the amount of water I drink after my morning walk. So the lift doors shut and the red "1" light was flashing so Joolsy pressed the green "G" light to go down this too started flashing as the door engaged shut and then the lift didn't move, not even one inch! Joolsy pressed the button to try and make the doors open and they did move, only an inch, oh dear! After trying this manoeuvre again twice more (she isn't too quick on the uptake you see) Joolsy realised she needed to press the alarm button. Last time she was stuck Joolsy pressed this button and a manic person was almost singing to Joolsy the numbers from one to five with a bing bong at the beginning and end for good measures. What a tune to keep you entertained, The Lift Song might make number one in the charts one day. This time all the recorded "person" was saying was, "Please stay calm!" Hard when you are stuck in a lift but Joolsy just giggled and just kept ringing the alarm bell. After twenty minutes Joolsy heard the Security Guards voice, the alarm was finally raised. The Guard went and got Joolsy's Duty Manager's who tried to pull the doors open on the lift but to no avail. One of the Manager's showed concern offering Joolsy a mobile phone if she got panicky. What was she going to do, play Candy Crush or ring for a Domino's pizza delivery? The same Manager though decided to ring the lift maintenance company to get an Engineer sent out instead of calling the fire brigade as, "It's not really enough of an emergency to warrant the fire brigade!" Joolsy at that point did think about saying she felt panicky just so a load of hunky Firemen like the one's in her 2010 calendar would come and rescue her, oh what a damsel in distress! Anyway the lift Engineer was on his way, phew! The Security Guard kept trying to open the door. Joolsy said afterwards it was like a scene from The Shining, "Here's Johnny (replace here with Guard's name)!" Anyway after being asked if Joolsy had eaten too many pies and that's why the lift had broken, cheeky beggars they eventually managed to get the doors jammed open enough to get slim (she thanks you here) Joolsy out safely, hallelujah! Joolsy along with her two heroes, the Security Guard and a member of the Cafe team who had also come to her aid walked, yes walked down the stairs (better get that one in there) to find her Duty Manager's. Joolsy's Line Manager said she thought Joolsy was taking the proverbial in been so very late back from her break or had simply gone home. There were jokes from her colleagues about her just wanting hunky Firemen to come and rescue her, ah they know Joolsy so well and other staff members were saying it could only happen to her, TWICE! She does however feel slightly better (even though she found the whole event hilarious) by the fact that a part is now on order for the lift so it wasn't the Marks and Spencer's Chicken Pie she had for her tea the night before after all. I'm missing out on comedy effect here though as I really must inform you all that Joolsy is a bit of a one for getting stuck in places she shouldn't. She once went to the toilet at a shopping centre and managed to jam the stiff (she said) lock firmly shut. After trying to jammy it open again Joolsy rang Mum and said the immortal words, "I stuck in the loo and I can't get out. Help!" Mum went to investigate shouting, "Jools which one are you in?" A lady pointed to the toilet door and said, "She's in this one. Can't she slide under the door?" Mum replied, "She's in her thirties and although she's only small I don't think she'll be able to squeeze under that gap. I better go get some help." Mum went off and found a Cleaner who offered to get security or the fire brigade (there's a wanting pattern emerging here with Joolsy and the fire brigade) Mum thought security would be less embarrassing for the whole family and opted for that option. By the time this conversation had taken place Joolsy had managed to bash the door lock open and was free. The lady in the toilets ran after Mum and the Cleaner screaming, "She's out, she's out!" like Joolsy was some escaped convict on the set of Prison Break. Oh and lastly there was the time when Joolsy managed to lock herself in, yes in her old car. Dad had washed Joolsy's car the day before and because it was winter time the locks had frozen. You could open the doors from the outside but once by the time Joolsy was inside and was trying to get some warmth on her frozen windscreen they had frozen up and sealed and Joolsy wanting to get out and spray deicer onto the window realised she couldn't get out of the car. Again she rang Mum who came out the house and got in the car with her… Disaster as on shutting the doors they both realised they were both stuck! Mum rang Dad who said in an exasperated manner, "Try the windows and open using the handles on the outside!" This worked and Joolsy and Mummy were free, hooray! Joolsy's just waiting to see where she can get locked into next.
Wednesday night was the final of The Great British Bake Off and there wasn't a dry eye in our house when Nadiya won. Joolsy who once didn't cry at anything (not even a family funeral) now could blub at someone reading out a shopping list, was particularly moved to tears when her idol Mary Berry weld up, what a pair they'd make if Joolsy ever got to meet Mary. She almost came close earlier this year as Mary was at a food and drink fair at a nearby town but no other family member was interested in going. Elsie and I volunteered however the family thought we might drool too much at all the food based delights on offer and show ourselves up. Then of course Joolsy might show herself up too on meeting the great Lady (she should be made one in Joolsy's humble opinion for services to food and floral fashion) Mary, double whammy of embarrassment we could have caused, ah one day perhaps? Elsie and I were whimpering too along with the humans as we thought cakes were going to actually be on offer, sadly not, even throughout the whole series. Just what is the world coming to?
The family went to the dentist the other day and Joolsy sat down and was telling the Dentist all about Elsie's rotten molars and the Dentist was saying her dog had bad breath, what a pair off doggies they make! My breath is excellent even if I do smugly say so myself, gold star there for me! The Dentist started Joolsy's check-up and all was going well until, bang or should that be scrape she found a crumbling filling. "You're coming out in sympathy with your doggy! I haven't got time to replace it now you'll have to make a half hour appointment to have it done and then have a scale and polish done too." What a traumatic week Joolsy was having! First she gets stuck in a lift and then she has to have dental work. If she didn't find the whole lift incident so funny (the Guard was muttering on about the film Speed and it's frightening lift sequence when he freed Joolsy) she'd have been on the phone to The Speakman's for an emergency appointment by now. Just thinking I wonder if E. L. James was sat in a red dentist's chair when she created Christian Grey's Red Room in her blog/trilogy of successful books! Slap my paws but just a quirky, creative and naughty thought there!
Seen as Joolsy is carless at the moment after waving Primrose the Mini off last week for repair (picture when a soap character departs in a black cab (replace with Green Flag tow truck) and everyone comes out to see them off, that was Joolsy, Elsie and I) Mum and Dad are playing Chauffeur ferrying Joolsy to and fro from work. Mum listens to the local radio station in our area which plays a variety of music which is to Mum and Joolsy's tastes. However Dad listens to Classic FM. Now Joolsy is no heathen as she enjoys Last Night Of The Proms every year. This year she even downloaded a picture of the Union Jack flag onto her phone and started waving it around when "Land Of Hope And Glory" came on, she's a cultured soul our Joolsy! Sadly though Classic FM is not to Joolsy's tastes at all. On entering the house after listening to what sounded like the same song on repeat for twenty minutes (she was counting even the seconds of that car journey) Joolsy was demanding the Mum gave her a lift to and from work he next day. They were playing John Barry's greatest hits (Joolsy thought Queen's greatest hit were a tad better for review purposes) from Zulu to Dances With Wolves. Joolsy's whining about the music making her ears bleed was like wolves howling not dancing I can tell you. To top the whole thing off Dad was explaining that John Barry lived on the next street on from him when he was growing up. Joolsy wasn't interested in listening to this man's music never mind his life story. Joolsy said she'd rather listen to opera so then Dad started singing Mya Bambino. Joolsy had heard the beautiful tones of Katherine Jenkins version of this song before however Dad's dulcet tones left a lot to be desired. Please don't quit your day job Dad you're no Paul Potts.
Almost forgot with all the drama and noise my tests results came back all clear, see no news really was good news last week, The Vet thinks it was just an allergy to my food and a slight urine infection after all. I'm doing well on my new food and hopefully should be bulking back up again after my summer diet. I sound like I've gone on a diet from one of Mummy's women's magazines to get myself body beach tankini ready don't I? Speaking of modelling Elsie's winter coat arrived in the post this morning and it's a flying jacket. Mum and Joolsy have just been around the shops this morning and it turns out that flying jackets are all the rage this winter, in women's fashion that is not dogs. Not to be out done by her bang on trend pooch Joolsy is now on the look out for a matching jacket of her own, what a pair of stylish divas they'll be! Right folks I'm pawing off for this week as Elsie and I are getting ready for our walk.


text:
Test in question
T.K. RAJALAKSHMI
Parents and students protest against the NEET in Mumbai on May 13. Photo: Santosh Hirlekar/PTI
The Supreme Court prescribes a centralised examination for MBBS admission as a small step in correcting the role of money power, but concerns raised about the preparedness of non-CBSE students to take the NEET make the Centre defer the test by one year.
ON April 27, when a three-judge Supreme Court bench led by Justice A.R. Dave, hearing a public interest litigation petition filed by the non-governmental organisation Sankalp Charitable Trust, ruled that all medical admissions would be held through the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET), it only sought to uphold the Constitution Bench's April 11 ruling recalling a July 2013 order. It also perhaps echoed the prevailing sentiment for reforms in medical education and the health system as a whole. The order upheld the validity of a centralised NEET for admission to medical colleges, and it was expected that the Central government would implement the same. After all, the government's counsel had argued for that. But it was not to be.
The judgment held that "all associated with the conduct of the exam, including Central government, State government, institutions, police, etc., will extend all necessary support" to the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) and permit the use of security measures, such as electronic and communication devices and jammers "for timely and fair conduct of the NEET".
The judges held that "in view of the submissions made on behalf of the respondents, we record that NEET shall be held as stated by the respondents. We further clarify that notwithstanding any order passed by any court earlier with regard to not holding NEET, this order shall operate. Therefore, no further order is required to be passed at this stage."
While there is no dispute over the need for a system like the NEET, the apprehension that students from State boards and rural areas may not be able to compete and qualify in the examination set as per CBSE standards is equally valid. The need for a common syllabus, prepared in consultation with State governments, has been expressed. Of the 49,990 seats for the Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS) course, 25,330 are in government medical colleges and 24,660 in private colleges. Admission to government-run colleges is conducted through the All India pre-Medical Test (AIPMT) and the common entrance test (CET). Private medical colleges have their own system of examination and admission.
The entrance examination is conducted in English and not in any regional language. It has also been pointed out that the course is taught in English. However, the concern raised is that since the syllabus for the entrance test is tailored to CBSE standards, children who have studied in the State boards will find it difficult to clear the examination. However, there is unanimity that the standards of medical education cannot be compromised, whether at the entry level or subsequently.
The April 27 judgment was in consonance with a May 2 judgment of the Supreme Court ordering the formation of a committee comprising former Chief Justice of India R.M. Lodha, former Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) Vinod Rai and the Director of the Institute of Liver and Biliary Sciences to oversee the Medical Council of India (MCI) and directing the MCI to seek prior approval of the committee for all policy decisions. It also endorsed the Parliamentary Standing Committee's report on the functioning of the MCI, which was submitted to the government in March 2016. The report found medical education to be at its lowest ebb and suffering from "total system failure due to corruption and decay". The Supreme Court intervened as the government had not acted upon the report submitted to it.
Disposing of a clutch of appeals by private medical colleges of Madhya Pradesh challenging the law regulating admissions and fees, the judgment, authored by Justice A.K. Sikri, held that educational institutions should not be set up with the objective of making profit and that the government was empowered to regulate admissions by prescribing a CET or NEET and also "forbid capitation fee and profiteering". The underlying principle, as elucidated in an order of the Constitution Bench, was that education was not a "business" but a "noble activity" aimed at empowering people.
The April 11 and 27 judgments overruled the 2013 order of a three-judge bench, which gave minority institutions the right to conduct their own admission process ( CMC Vellore vs the Union of India). The 2013 judgment, which was a majority judgment (with one judge giving a dissenting view), arose in the context of a petition challenging the NEET on grounds such as federalism and the right of minority institutions to conduct their own admissions.
Ironically, all these efforts to correct the anomalies in the admission processes for medical education and by default reform the medical and health architecture in the country came to nought when the Central government issued an ordinance on May 24 staying the implementation of the NEET for one year on the grounds that several State governments had expressed reservations about conducting the test. The ordinance amending the Indian Medical Council Act, 1956, inserted a provision laying down that a uniform entrance examination to all medical institutions at the undergraduate and postgraduate levels shall be conducted through such designated authority in Hindi, English and such other languages provided that notwithstanding any judgment or order of the court, the provisions of this section shall not apply in relation to the uniform entrance examination at the undergraduate level for the academic year 2016-17 for State government seats, in government medical colleges and private medical colleges. Union Urban Development and Parliamentary Affairs Minister M. Venkaiah Naidu gave the assurance that the NEET-UG would be deferred for a year, and the government issued an ordinance to this effect.
Tamil Nadu's protest
Tamil Nadu had challenged the NEET in the Supreme Court and its Chief Minister took strong objection to it on the grounds that it would affect the rights of the State, its policy initiatives and socio-economic objectives. Following the 2013 order staying the NEET, the State government had expressed objection to any "purported attempts by the GOI to review the judgment of the SC [Supreme Court], seeking a reintroduction of the NEET or by introducing it in any other name or manner as it infringed on the State's rights, admission policies to medical institutions in Tamil Nadu".
The ordinance was challenged by the Right to Information (RTI) activist Anand Rai on the grounds that the Central government had accepted the need for a unified uniform examination for undergraduate and postgraduate courses and had even provided a schedule to the court in another writ petition ( Sankalp Charitable Trust and Another vs the Union of India) filed before the court. The ordinance reflected a contradiction in the government's stand as the examination was to be held within eight weeks according to the schedule given by the government. The vacation bench of the Supreme Court did not stay the ordinance on the grounds that it would create confusion in the minds of students. State governments and private medical colleges were once again free for one year to conduct the examinations in any manner they deemed fit and charge fees, including capitation fee, as per their policies.
The National Coalition for Reforms and Restructuring of the MCI, a recently formed group of well-known physicians and civil society networks—such as the Indian Doctors for Ethical Practice, the Punjab Medical Council, the Indian Journal of Medical Ethics, the Jan Swasthya Abhiyaan, the Forum for Medical Ethics, the Medico Friends Circle, and the Indian Doctors for Peace and Development—criticised the decision to defer the NEET, saying it would give the "medical mafia" sufficient time to manipulate the admission process. A statement issued by it said: "This is a pressure tactic by private medical colleges and other interested parties who want the capitation fee to continue. It is learnt that nearly 80 Members of Parliament have direct interest in private medical education." The coalition said the NEET was a "bold step to end admission to medical colleges using corrupt means and money power".
Until 2013, the CBSE had conducted the AIPMT/All India Pre Dental examinations for admission to the MBBS and Bachelor of Dental Surgery (BDS) courses. A notification issued in December 2010 by the MCI and the Dental Council of India (DCI) laying down the norms for a common NEET was legally challenged ( CMC Vellore vs Union of India). Striking down the notification, the Supreme Court held that "we also have no hesitation in holding that the Medical Council of India is not empowered under the 1956 Act to actually conduct the NEET". The MCI filed a review petition on October 23, 2013, and so did several others. On April 11, 2016, a Constitution Bench recalled the July 18, 2013, judgment restoring the status quo in the matter. On April 27, the five-judge bench upheld the validity of the CET by State governments and the NEET by the Central government and directed all associated with the conduct of the examination to extend all support to the CBSE in conducting the NEET.
Petitioners challenging the government ordinance said the court ruling had cleared the decks for conducting the NEET in two phases for the academic year 2016-17 as per the schedule proposed by the CBSE. On May 1, phase one of the NEET was conducted and six lakh students appeared for the examination. The court also ruled that private colleges would not be allowed to conduct separate examinations for medical admissions. Likewise, the State governments' plea to conduct separate entrance examinations was rejected and the court ruled that students could get admission to the MBBS or the BDS course only through the NEET. Following complaints that students were not given adequate time to prepare for the test, the court agreed that the second phase of the NEET would be conducted on July 24. It was decided that only one examination would be conducted for admission to medical colleges, and that would be the NEET.
Reform medical education
The Parliamentary Standing Committee report, despite its narrow purview of the functioning of the MCI, had outlined some broad concerns facing medical education. It noted: "Since the Medical Council of India is mandated to play a pivotal role in regulating medical education and practice in the country, the committee decided to holistically examine its role and functioning with the ultimate aim of suggesting veritable solutions to the inadequacies that are currently plaguing our medical education and health care delivery systems."
The Standing Committee's prescriptions for improving access to health care were considered problematic and its recommendations were confined to suggesting reforms in the bureaucracy within the MCI with a greater role envisaged for the Central government. But the Standing Committee, on the basis of representations received from various groups in the health care sector, concluded that there were serious issues concerning medical education. It stated that it was not only that the MCI had failed in discharging its mandated responsibilities, the absence of proper screening and admission procedures in private medical colleges was a problem. Its other concerns included the prevalence of capitation fees in private medical colleges in flagrant violation of the law, barriers to expansion of medical education, the lack of a robust accreditation system for medical education, gross inequity between rural and urban India in terms of availability of health care services, ethical issues, need for reforms in the regulatory framework of medical education and practice, over-investigation, and the overtreatment in private hospitals and inadequacy of self-regulatory processes for the medical profession.
More importantly, it said that there was a need for a common entrance test for admissions to MBBS and postgraduate and super-specialty medical courses. The committee observed that the "main objective of the regulator of medical education and practice in India is to regulate the quality of medical education, tailor medical education to the health care needs of the country, ensure adherence to quality standards by medical colleges, produce competent doctors possessing requisite skills and values as required by our health system and regulate medical practice in accordance with the professional code of ethics. The Medical Council of India, when tested on the above touchstone, has repeatedly been found short of fulfilling its mandated responsibilities. The quality of medical education is at its lowest ebb; the current model of medical education is not producing the right type of health professionals that meet the basic health needs of the country because medical education and curricula are not integrated with the needs of our health system; many of the products coming out of medical colleges are ill-prepared to serve in poor resource settings like primary health centre and even at the district level; medical graduates lack competence in performing basic health care tasks like conducting normal deliveries; instances of unethical practice continue to grow due to which respect for the profession has dwindled. Medicine deals with human life. Regulators are, therefore, required to have the professional excellence and moral authority to address complex issues related to content, standards, quality, competencies and skills of medical education and practice."
Standards of merit
It is equally ironical that standards of merit do not seem to apply in cases where medical colleges charge capitation fees or reserve seats in the management quota or even admit students on the basis of recommendations. Critics of affirmative action often fail to point out these glaring hypocrisies in the system that allow in effect a system of reservation for those who can pay their way through.
The Supreme Court's intervention in the matter by prescribing a centralised examination system was a small step in correcting the abuse of money power in the field of medical education. The ordinance did not face resistance perhaps owing to the clear warning issued by some senior Ministers in the government to the judiciary not to cross the "Lakshman rekha". That the authors of the Parliamentary Standing Committee report did not find it important to intervene in some form is an indication of their commitment to the issue of reform. The only casualty in this case has been the people of India.
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British-born author Frances Hodgson Burnett is chiefly remembered for her book The Secret Garden (1911), one of the classics of children's literature. Her biggest contemporary success, however, was Little Lord Fauntleroy (1886), though the story is now considered less significant for its literary merits than for its representation of the sentimental Victorian ideal of childhood. Although Burnett wrote for the adult marketplace at least as much as for the juvenile, her reputation rests firmly on her achievements as a children's writer.
Difficult Childhood in England. Born Frances Eliza Hodgson on November 24, 1849, in Manchester, England, she was the third of five children of Edwin Hodgson and Eliza Boond Hodgson. Her father operated a furniture store in the city, a center of Britain's Industial Revolution in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. He died when Frances was four years old. Her mother tried to maintain the family store, but by 1865, Manchester's economy, which depended primarily on textiles, had become undone by the interruption of cotton imports from the United States during the American Civil War. During that war, the Union navy blockaded the southern states and prevented them from exporting their main cash crop: cotton. The Hodgsons were devasted financially. Looking for a better life, the family immigrated to the United States and settled near Knoxville, Tennessee, where Frances's uncle lived.
In her mid-teens, Frances began publishing stories in women's magazines to help support her family. Such publications offered women writers a chance to publish at a time when it was difficult for them to establish literary careers. Throughout the remainder of the 1860s, such was her popularity that she was published in nearly every popular American magazine. In 1871, Burnett was first published in a more overtly literary publication, Scribner's Monthly, and, in 1873, her first novel, Dolly: A Love Story (also known as Vagabondia), was serialized. The family became increasingly dependent on Frances's income following her mother's death in 1872.
Marriage and Writing Success. In the early 1870s, Frances visited England for a year. Upon returning to the United States in 1873, she married a Tennessee doctor, Swan Burnett, and the next year—after Burnett gave birth to Lionel, the first of their two children—the family moved to Paris, where Burnett's husband pursued his interest in ophthalmology. Burnett continued to publish in American magazines as a secondary means of income for her family. In 1876, after Burnett gave birth to her second son, Vivian, the family returned to the United States and settled in Washington, D.C., where Burnett's husband established a medical practice.
Throughout the remainder of the 1870s as the United States recovered from the Civil War, Burnett published several realist novels, including the previously serialized works Dolly and That Lass o' Lowrie's (1877), which took place in a British mining community. Perhaps the most artistically successful of these novels is Through One Administration (1881), in which an unhappily married woman finds herself frustrated by conventions and expectations while circulating among high society in Washington, D.C.
Increased Popularity with Children's Stories. In 1879, Burnett also began publishing children's stories. Her first major success in this genre came with the publication of Little Lord Fauntleroy (1886). This book concerns a little boy, Cedric Fauntleroy, who is guided by his seemingly infallible sense of fair play. Burnett's novel became a runaway best seller in both England and the United States. It was translated into twelve languages and sold more than a million copies in English. Its success enabled Burnett to live independent of her husband, for their marriage had long been unhappy. However, its success also branded Burnett as a popular and romantic writer rather than a serious novelist.
While on vacation abroad in 1887, Burnett discovered that E. V. Seebohm had written an unauthorized theatrical version of Little Lord Fauntleroy. (International copyright was effectively nonexistent in the nineteenth century.) Little Lord Fauntleroy was a major source of income for Burnett, and though Seebohm offered a half share of the profits if she would authorize his version, Burnett instead wrote her own adaptation.
Sensation as a Playwright. Seebohm's play went into production in London in February 1888; Burnett's did not open until May. In the meantime, she took legal action against her rival. The judicial verdict was in her favor and established a precedent effectively forbidding unauthorized dramatizations of an author's work. Burnett's victory was not only a legal one, however. When her The Real Little Lord Fauntleroy was performed, reviewers acknowledged its superiority to the ''pseudo-Fauntleroy'' of Seebohm, praising the artistry of Burnett's dramatic writing. During the late 1880s and into the 1890s, she enjoyed considerable success as a playwright, producing, for the most part, theatrical versions of her own stories.
In 1888, Burnett published another popular book for children, Sara Crewe; or, What Happened at Miss Min- chin's, in which a young girl, the daughter of a supposedly rich businessman, falls into poverty after her father dies penniless. This story confirmed Burnett's growing stature as a masterly writer of children's literature.
Personal Tragedy Inspires Life and Work. But Burnett's personal life became increasingly unhappy. She had separated from her husband, and her fifteen- year-old son, Lionel, fell ill with tuberculosis, then a common but usually fatal disease of the lungs. During most of 1890, Burnett traveled throughout Europe with her son, hoping in vain to find a treatment center that would cure him. Lionel died in Paris on December 7, 1890.
Following Lionel's death, Burnett threw herself into work for several children's charities, which made her more aware of the harsh fate of poor children in London. She also published two collections of stories—Giovanni and the Other (1892) and Piccino, and Other Child Stories (1895)—both of which featured many stories about dead or dying children, inspired by her grief over the loss of her son. Between these two books, Burnett published her childhood memoir, The One I Knew the Best of All: A Memory of the Mind of a Child (1893). Originally intended to be a brief sketch, it developed into a work for adults. Its comments upon Burnett's idea of childhood, and her memory of her own childhood psychology is illuminating for a study of her children's fiction. The memoir also emphasizes Burnett's lifelong obsession with gardens and the natural world.
Critically Dismissed Adult Fiction. In the mid-1890s, Burnett resumed writing adult fiction, producing successful historical ''costume dramas,'' such as A Lady of Quality (1896), In Connection with the De Willoughby Claim (1899), The Making of a Marchioness (1901), and The Methods of Lady Walderhurst (1901). The popular success of these works sealed Burnett's fate with the critics, who viewed her as a writer of third-rate potboilers who was no longer interested in attempting the serious social-realist mode that had earned praise in her early novels.
In 1898, Burnett was divorced from her husband. Two years later, she married her playwriting collaborator, Stephen Townesend. From the outset the marriage was a disaster, and the couple lived separately after 1902. Townesend died in 1914.
A Little Princess and The Secret Garden. In 1905, Burnett became a naturalized U.S. citizen. That year also saw the publication of A Little Princess, a reworking of her story Sara Crewe. In this story, a young girl, reduced to poverty, uses the power of her imagination to transform her reality. A Little Princess won widespread favor, and it remains one of Burnett's most popular works.
Perhaps Burnett's most acclaimed work for children is The Secret Garden (1911), which has the rejuvenating nature of gardening as a theme and celebrates the power of imagination. With its vivid, convincing depiction of life—particularly childhood—The Secret Garden is widely considered Burnett's greatest work and a major contribution to the canon of children's literature.
While continuing to publish both children's books such as The Little Hunchback Zia (1916) and a number of critically dismissed adult novels such as The Head of the House of Coombe (1922) and its sequel Robin (1922), Burnett lived comfortably at her home on Long Island, New York. She died there in 1924.
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Children's literature is a vast genre and includes many titles originally written for adults. Here are some classic works of ''children's'' literature.
Anne of Green Gables (1908), a novel by Lucy Maud Montgomery. A spunky adopted girl grows up and thrives in a farming community in rural Nova Scotia, Canada.
The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe (1950), a novel by C. S. Lewis. The first novel in the Chronicles of Narnia series introduces the land of Narnia, ruled by the evil White Witch whom four human children must defeat to save the Narnia.
The Little Prince (1943), a novel by Antoine de Saint-Exupery. This fable of an isolated prince who learns what love means was written by a French aviator who disappeared while flying over enemy territory during World War II.
The Once and Future King (1958), a novel by T. H. White. This story tells of the childhood and life of King Arthur and his betrayal by his favorite knight, Sir Lancelot.
Treasure Island (1883), a novel by Robert Louis Stevenson. This adventure story featuring pirates and buried treasure is based on actual facts.
According to her autobiography, Burnett's imagination was stimulated by stories of adventure and romance she read as a child, such as ballads, biblical tales, and Roman histories. She was also influenced by the works of William Shakespeare, the Romantic poets, and novelists including Sir Walter Scott, James Fenimore Cooper, Mayne Reid, and Harrison Ainsworth.
Nature in Burnett's Work. Like the English poet William Wordsworth, Burnett depicts nature as the great teacher of children, nurturing spiritual and emotional health. She described her own bliss in the gardens of her childhood and her feelings of entrapment in the crowded and lifeless environment of a large manufacturing city. In contrast, she recounts the flowering of her emotions and the liberation of her spirit in the wilderness of rural Tennessee.
If the house is a place of masculine rule, the garden is a place of maternal fertility and rebirth. The strong symbolic structures of The Secret Garden account for much of its emotional power as a narrative. The pattern of fall and redemption is associated with the biblical Fall of humankind. The locked garden is a version of the Garden of Eden, representing a lost paradise of love and idyllic happiness. In the tradition of medieval romance, the walled garden (often a rose garden) symbolized love, female sexuality, and fertility. The secret garden was initially a garden of love, and it symbolically remains a feminine place, the place of the maternal spirit, to which females bring males to find healing.
Phyllis Bixler notes that Burnett's use of fairy tale and fantasy and her romantic idealization of the child are in harmony with a contemporary movement in children's fiction, seen, for example, in the work of Lewis Carroll and George MacDonald.
Critical opinions about Burnett's adult fiction have labeled her as a second-rate ''relic of Victorianism,'' increasingly irrelevant to a generation of readers in tune with twentieth-century modernism. However, her reputation as a children's writer remains undiminished—The Secret Garden, in particular, is praised as a classic of the golden age of British children's literature.
1. Studies show that being connected to the natural world can relieve stress and help concentration. How often are you outside for fun? What sorts of outside activities do you engage in on a regular basis? Write a brief essay describing one of these activities or an outside activity you would like to participate in, and how it contributes to your daily life.
2. Burnett went from being considered a ''literary'' writer to a ''genre'' writer, which is taken less seriously by literary critics. What do you think is the difference between ''serious'' fiction and popular fiction? Is one type necessarily better than the other?
3. Burnett emphasized the power of imagination in her books. What sorts of things do you think are important for children today to be aware of? Why?
4. Visit a local park, community garden, or botanical garden. Note how you feel before you go, during your time there, and afterward. Write a short essay describing the experience.
5. Do you think that imagination can help people transform their life? Write an essay arguing for or against this idea. If you disagree, what do you think is necessary instead?
Bixler, Phyllis. Frances Hodgson Burnett. Boston: G. K. Hall, 1984.
Brooke, Avery, and Madeleine L'Engle. Trailing Clouds of Glory: Spiritual Values in Children's Books. Philadelphia: Westminster, 1985.
Thwaite, Ann. Waiting for the Party: The Life of Frances Hodgson Burnett, 1849-1924. New York: Scribner, 1974.
Wall, Barbara. The Narrator's Voice: The Dilemma of Children's Fiction. New York: St. Martin's Press, 1991.
Bixler, Phyllis. ''The Oral-Formulaic Training of a Popular Fiction Writer: Frances Hodgson Burnett.'' Journal of Popular Culture 15 (Spring 1982): 42-52.
Gohlke, Madelon S. ''Rereading The Secret Garden.'' College English 41 (April 1980): 894-902.
Keyser, Elizabeth Lennox. '''Quite Contrary': Frances Hodgson Burnett's The Secret Garden.'' Children's Literature 11 (1983): 1-13.
Molson, Francis J. ''Frances Hodgson Burnett (1848-1924).'' American Literary Realism 8 (Winter 1975): 35-41.


text:
Die Conoidea sind eine artenreiche Überfamilie fast ausschließlich mariner Schnecken, die räuberisch leben. Die Vertreter dieser Überfamilie besitzen eine Giftdrüse, deren Gift mittels eines hohlen Giftzahns in das Opfer injiziert wird. Auf Grund dieses Merkmals werden sie auf Deutsch auch Pfeilzüngler oder Giftzüngler (früher Toxoglossa) genannt.

Merkmale
Die Gehäuse sind sehr unterschiedlich in der Form und variieren von spindelförmig und turmförmig bis verkehrt-kegelförmig. Entsprechend ist das Gewinde sehr flach bis sehr hoch. Die letzte Windung kann kurz und eiförmig oder sehr lang und schlitzförmig sein. Die Spindel weist keine Falten auf, nur sehr selten einige Runzeln oder Knoten. In der Radula ist der Mittelzahn (gegenüber anderen Vertreter der Neuschnecken) reduziert; es sind nur noch ein oder zwei Seitenzähne vorhanden. Diese sind lang und spitz, oft mit Widerhaken besetzt. Sie besitzen eine Rinne oder Kanal, die mit einer Giftdrüse in Verbindung steht.

Lebensweise
Die Vertreter der Überfamilie leben räuberisch von Fischen, Borstenwürmern, anderen Weichtieren wie Schnecken und Muscheln oder Krebsen, die mit Gift, das mit Hilfe der Giftzähne injiziert wird, erbeutet werden. Sie kommen weltweit vor allem in den wärmeren Meeren vor. Ihr Vorkommen reicht vom Flachwasser bis in die Tiefsee.

Systematik
Die Conoidea werden nach der Radulaform mit spitzen, oft mit Widerhaken versehenen Zähnchen, durch die ein mit Giftdrüsen verbundener Hohlraum führt, auch als Toxoglossa (Pfeilzüngler oder Giftzüngler) bezeichnet. Der Name Toxoglossa beschreibt zwar die Radula dieser räuberisch lebenden Schnecken, er ist aber nach den Internationalen Regeln für die Zoologische Nomenklatur nicht als Name für eine Überfamilie geeignet, da er nicht auf dem wissenschaftlichen Namen einer Familie oder Gattung aus beruht.

Bouchet und Rocroi unterteilten die Conoidea im Jahr 2005 in acht Familien:
 Conoidea Fleming, 1822
 Kegelschnecken (Conidae Fleming, 1822)
 Clavatulidae Gray, 1853
 Drilliidae Olsson, 1964
 Pseudomelatomidae Morrison, 1965
 Schraubenschnecken (Terebridae Mörch, 1864)
 Turridae Adams & Adams, 1853 (auch Turmschnecken genannt)
 †Speightiidae Powell, 1942
 Strictispiridae McLean, 1971

Nach einer Revision im Jahr 2011 gab es zunächst 15 Familien, 2012 kam eine weitere hinzu:
 Borsoniidae Bellardi, 1875
 Bouchetispiridae Kantor, Strong & Puillandre, 2012
 Clathurellidae H. Adams & A. Adams, 1858
 Clavatulidae Gray, 1853
 Cochlespiridae Powell, 1942
 Conidae Fleming, 1822
 Conorbidae de Gregorio, 1880
 Drilliidae Olsson, 1964
 Horaiclavidae Bouchet, Kantor, Sysoev & Puillandre, 2011
 Mangeliidae P. Fischer, 1883
 Mitromorphidae Casey, 1904
 Pseudomelatomidae Morrison, 1966
 Raphitomidae Bellardi, 1875
 Strictispiridae McLean, 1971
 Terebridae Mörch, 1852
 Turridae H. Adams & A. Adams, 1853 (1838)

Einzelnachweise

Literatur
 Philippe Bouchet & Jean-Pierre Rocroi: Part 2. Working classification of the Gastropoda. In: Malacologia. 47: 239–283, Ann Arbor 2005, , , ConchBooks, ISBN 978-3-92591972-5.
 Victor Millard (Hrsg.): Classification of the Mollusca. A Classification of World Wide Mollusca. Rhine Road, Südafrika 1997, ISBN 0-620-21261-6, online (PDF; 2,46 MB), auf olivirv.myspecies.info, abgerufen am 25. Februar 2017.
 Winston Ponder & David Lindberg: Towards a phylogeny of gastropod molluscs; an analysis using morphological characters. In: Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society. 119: 83–265, London 1997, , .
 Frank Riedel: Ursprung und Evolution der "höheren" Caenogastropoda. Berliner Geowissenschaftliche Abhandlungen, Reihe E, Band 32, Berlin 2000, 240 S., ISBN 3-89582-077-6.

Weblinks

 MarBEF Data System

Neuschnecken
Neogastropoda

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


text:
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Seed and Seeding Practices
Historically, wilt and rust have been the diseases that posed a threat to flax production in Western Canada. Recently, the incidence of pasmo and powdery mildew has been widespread, particularly in Manitoba. They have caused localized disease epidemics. Maintaining the resistance to rust and wilt continue as objectives in developing new varieties. Breeding for resistance to pasmo and powdery mildew is also occurring.
Rust is potentially the most dangerous disease affecting flax. It is a constant threat to flax production because it can survive locally and has the ability to produce new races that attack hitherto resistant varieties.
The causal organism is Melampsora lini, a fungus that overwinters by means of teliospores on flax debris. Early infections may completely defoliate flax plants and reduce the seed yield and fiber quality. Flax rust completes its life cycle on the flax plant, unlike many other rusts that require an alternate host.
Symptoms: Rust is readily recognized by the presence of bright orange and powdery pustules, also called uredia. Rust pustules develop on leaves, stems and bolls but mostly on the underside of the leaves. The pustules produce numerous urediospores which are airborne and cause new cycles of infections during the season. Spread and infections are favoured by high humidity during cool nights, warmer day temperatures, and vigorous plant growth. As the season progresses, the orange pustules turn black and produce overwintering teliospores. The black pustules are most common on stems.
Control: Complete control is achieved by the use of rust-resistant varieties. All registered varieties are immune to local races of rust. Planting susceptible varieties may not only result in serious yield loss, but also affords the fungus a chance to produce new races that attack resistant varieties. Additional safeguards include: destroying the plant debris, using certified and disease-free seed of a recommended variety, crop rotation, and planting the new flax crop in a field distant from that of the previous year.
Flax wilt or Fusarium wilt is caused by the seedborne and soilborne fungus Fusarium oxysporum f.sp lini. The fungus invades plants through the roots, and continues growth inside the water-conducting tissue. This interferes with water uptake, and warm weather therefore aggravates the disease. Recommended varieties are resistant/moderately resistant.
Symptoms: Seedlings may be killed shortly after emergence while delayed infections cause yellowing and wilting of leaves, followed by browning and death of the plant. Roots of dead plants turn ashy grey. The tops of wilted plants often turn downward, and form a "shepherd's crook". Affected plants occur more commonly in patches but may also be scattered throughout the field. The fungus persists in the soil, while the mycelia and spores survive for many years in debris of flax and other organic tissue. Wind-blown and run-off soil may spread the fungus from one field to another.
Control: The most important control measure is the use of available resistant/moderately resistant varieties. Crop rotation of at least three years between flax crops maintains low levels of inoculum in the soil.
The causal organism of this disease is Septoria linicola, a fungus that attacks above-ground parts of flax and overwinters in the soil on infected flax stubble. Flax is most susceptible to pasmo in the ripening stage. Epidemics, however, can occur early in the season when favourable, moist conditions prevail. Pasmo can cause defoliation, premature ripening and can weaken the infected pedicels resulting in heavy boll-drop by rain and wind. Depending on the earliness and severity of the infection, pasmo reduces the yield as well as the quality of seed and fibre. Most commercial varieties lack resistance to this fungus.
Symptoms: Pasmo is characterized by circular and brown lesions on the leaves and by brown to black infected bands that alternate with green and healthy bands on the stem.
Infected flax tissue is characterized by tiny black pycnidia which are the fruiting bodies of the fungus. The debris carries numerous pycnidia which overwinter and produce masses of spores that cause the initial infections on leaves and stems. Spores are dispersed by rain and wind. High moisture and warm temperatures favour the disease. Lodging favours the development of pasmo, because of increased humidity within the crop canopy, and results in patches of dead plants completely covered with the fungus.
Control: The best control is achieved by early seeding at the recommended rates to avoid high moisture conditions in the fall, using clean seed, treating seed with a fungicide, controlling weeds, and following a rotation of at least three years between flax crops.
Stem Break and Browning
Stem break and browning are phases of a disease caused by the seedborne and soilborne fungus Aureobasidium pullulans var. lini, also called Polyspora lini. This disease is of minor importance in Western Canada, however, some damage may occur in the Parkland regions of Saskatchewan and Alberta in some years.
Symptoms: Stem break is the first conspicuous disease symptom. Development of a canker at the stem base weakens the plant, and the stem may break at this point when the plants are still young, or at a later stage. Plants may remain alive after stem breakage, but any seed produced may still be lost in harvesting. Initial infections in spring may start from spores produced on diseased stubble, and are spread by wind and rain. Infections may start during seedling emergence when seedcoats of diseased seed are lifted above the ground, and the fungus produces the first cycle of spores of the season.
The browning phase is initiated by infections on the upper part of the stem that appear as oval or elongated brown spots, often surrounded by narrow, purplish margins. The spots may coalesce, and leaves and stem turn brown. Patches of heavily infected plants appear brown, giving the disease the name of browning. The fungus may penetrate the bolls as well as the seeds, or may produce spores on the seed surface. However, affected seeds may remain viable.
Control: Use of clean seed produced by healthy plants is the most important control measure. Fungicidal seed treatment controls surface-borne inoculum, but is unlikely to be effective against inoculum borne inside the seed. Rotating crops and planting flax in a field distant from that of the previous year reduces spread of infection from diseased stubble.
Seedling Blight and Root Rot
In spite of seed treatment, seedling blight and root rot can develop, leading to reductions in yield. Seedling blight and root rot may be due to soilborne fungi such as species of Fusarium, Pythium and Rhizoctonia. However, Rhizoctonia solani is the principal causal agent and can be particularly destructive in soils that are loose, warm and moist. R. solani survives as a composite of strains that differ in host range and pathogenicity. Strains attacking sugar beets and legumes such as alfalfa and field peas also attack flax. Yellow-seeded varieties (e.g. solin varieties) are more prone to cracking which renders them more susceptible to seedling blight and root rot than brown-seeded varieties.
Symptoms: Blighted seedlings turn yellow, wilt and die. Infected seedlings may occur singly or in patches. Seedling blight may be inconspicuous, and gaps in the row may be the principal sign of disease occurrence. Roots of recently affected plants show red to brown lesions, and may later turn dark and shrivel. Diseased plants are often difficult to distinguish from those killed by the wilt fungus.
Root rot symptoms appear in plants after the flowering stage. Plants may wilt on warm days, and turn brown prematurely; plants with root rot usually set little or no seed.
Control: Seedling blight and root rot can be controlled by a combination of farm practices. Use certified seed of a recommended variety. Reduce cracking of seed by proper combine settings. Treat the seed with a fungicide. Practice a rotation of at least three years between flax crops, and plant in a field that is distant from fields sown to flax in the previous year. Avoid legumes and sugar beets in the rotation. Provide a firm seedbed, and use recommended fertilizer and seeding practices to promote vigorous stands. Sow flax on second-crop land after cereals rather than on summerfallow.
Aster Yellows
The six-spotted leafhopper is the main vector which transmits the mycoplasma-like organism that causes aster yellows in flax, other crops such as canola and sunflower, and in some weeds. The disease occurs annually but commonly only traces occur in Western Canada. However, an epidemic in 1957 caused widespread severe yield losses in flax and other crops.
Symptoms: Aster yellows symptoms include yellowing of the top part of the plant, conspicuous malformation of the flowers, and stunted growth. All flower parts including the petals are converted into small, yellowish green leaves. Diseased flowers are sterile and produce no seed. The severity of the disease depends on the stage at which plants become infected and the number of insect vectors that carry the organism. The mycoplasma-like organism overwinters in perennial broadleaved weeds and crops, but most infections are carried by leafhoppers that migrate from the United States.
Control: Seed early to avoid the migrating leafhoppers in mid and late season. Seeding early also reduces the incidence and severity of aster yellows and its negative impact on yields.
Crinkle is caused by a virus, called oat blue dwarf, that also causes disease in oats, wheat, and barley. Only traces of the disease occur in flax in Western Canada.
Symptoms: The symptoms are characterized by a conspicuous puckering of leaves, by stunted growth and reduced tillering. Flowering may appear normal but seed production is reduced. Like aster yellows, crinkle is a disease of flax that depends for infection on transmission by the six-spotted leafhopper.
Control: Seed early to avoid the migrating leafhoppers in mid and late season.
This disease was first reported in Western Canada in 1997. Powdery mildew has spread quickly and its incidence and severity have increased sharply in Manitoba and Saskatchewan.
The causal agent is the fungus Oidium lini, and little is known about the overwintering and host range of this fungus in Western Canada. Early infections may cause severe defoliation of the flax plant and reduce the yield and quality of seed. Some flax varieties are resistant to this disease.
Symptoms: The symptoms are characterized by a white powdery mass of mycelia that starts as small spots and rapidly spreads to cover the entire leaf surface. Heavily infected leaves dry up, wither and die. Early infections may defoliate the flax plant and reduce the yield and quality of seed.
Control: The most economical control is through the use of resistant varieties. Early seeding will reduce the impact of this disease on yield losses by avoiding the early infections and buildup of epidemics.
Minor Diseases
In certain localities, occasional fungal diseases may be due to Alternaria linicola causing seedling and stem blight, Colletotrichum lini causing anthracnose of leaves and seedling blight, Phoma exigua causing root rot, and Selenophoma linicola causing dieback. Alternaria and Colletotrichum are seedborne, and may be controlled by fungicidal treatment. Occasionally, Sclerotinia sclerotiorum causes stem mould, stem shredding and breakage in heavily lodged flax.
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