I Spy A Stranger by Jean Rhys

[@lisamreissig]

Really love the discussion at the end. Every person who enjoys art, in any form (writing, film, theater, visual, music etc.) takes away meaning significant to them and in the sharing of our cumulative impressions/ experiences/ emotions after the fact with others alters the work for everyone. In a way, the art becomes something new. Thank you Tony, for all of your channels.

[@marypladsen5231]

Thank you for calling attention to the ending of this reading. I might not have listened to it without your comment, and I found it very focusing on the story and on my own life. Thanks again.

[@fetlock]

Thanks for putting my feelings into words. I've always felt like art discussion makes art richer.

[@NancyJohnson-n9h]

I so enjoyed your comments. Usually I wait until I finish a story before I read the comments. But I am so glad I read yours first. As I read what you said I thought, “What an interesting, active mind. What she says is so true & she says it so well!” As I kept reading I thought of my Book Club I had belonged to in a small ski resort town where I lived in Utah. Oh how I enjoyed getting together with the bright interesting women who also belonged. Many of us also got together 3 times a week for water aerobics too but you can’t talk as much. Anyway, thank you for taking the time to write your thoughts re the book. You made me realize that maybe I don’t like being a Cat Woman alone in a city as much as I thought I did. I too like Tony. When I heard his voice I was so glad. He’s narrated some very fine books & I like his comments too.

[@gemmadidit4118]

I wouldn't ordinarily listen to a story like this for entertainment. Indeed it is a very sad story. It resonates with me because I am a lonely woman who in many ways has opted out of the patriarchy. But I am not persecuted. I am safe in my bubble and often quite happy. The story broke my heart. I am thankful to the presenter for breaking down the structure and the meaning because otherwise I would have been left with just the unarticulated sadness for a woman who could have been me.

[@MartiWilliams-r2z]

Thank you for your comment.

[@GradKat]

Good story - I love the work of Jean Rhys.

[@lilianisland2921]

Great story and wonderfully read! All I could think was what on Earth did she ever do to deserve her fate? Heartbreaking what we do to each other.

[@clairegreenaway9653]

Tony I absolutely love these stories!Thankyou 👍

[@gwyn192]

Trauma isolates a heart. Art does evoke emotions. I was drawn quickly into the story. Excellent writer, and your analysis spot on.

[@gemmadidit4118]

@@gwyn192 I knew a Gwendolyn once. She tried to save me. She was wonderful 🤗.

[@MaggieatPlay]

Thank you, Tony! Enjoyed the story very much. Lovely narration. Enjoyed the after words as well.

[@beckylynnegamble588]

what a moving story of PTSS (post traumatic stress syndrome) and how it appears to insensitive & patronizing people - knew she'd freak out when he grabbed her arm

[@shelleymcafee8197]

Thank-You for this, and for Your commentary on it. I hadn’t realized that You have a background in Psychiatry/Psychology(?), and appreciate the added depth and insight that You brought to the discussion - because of that. This story made Me feel very angry, so the Author succeeded. I know that if I’d been present in this situation I would have confronted (and even physically tackled) the man who was the biggest Bully - standing-up for the vulnerable and unjustly treated Heroine(?) of this story. …I relate so strongly to ‘Laura’ in many ways, so I would want to champion her FULLY because of that; I also have always hated bullying and cruelty, and the complete-injustice of how this Woman (and the Author) were treated - how they were alienated at the very least - awakes the Dragon in Me.

[@nieketholen9419]

Really great story and wonderful sensitive analysis. I absolutey love Jean Rhyss.

[@NannyOggins]

I empathised very much with Blanca, as I can remember well the narrow minded misogynist attitudes I grew up with in the 1960s and 1970s in rural England. British men, the whole of British society, has changed beyond recognition from that time . Occasionally I retail an incident from my youth that leaves young people gaping in disbelief at the suffocating atmosphere that existed then. I was treated as a “foreigner” simply because I came from London! This story is beautifully crafted, it resonated with me both from my own history and attitudes I still see today . The petty gossiping (as prevalent in men as in women) seems to come from fear, insecurity that people who plant begonias instead of asters may have far more dangerous differences hidden away, the idea that a closed mind is a defence against social armageddon. I appreciated your summary and comments after the story. Your analysis seems sympathetic, balanced and incisive . Many thanks.

[@MartiWilliams-r2z]

Thank you, Tony. Gripping, disturbing, thought-provoking. Masterful as always.

[@tzaph67]

Thank you SO much for reading this story Tony. Jean Rhys is one of my personal heroines as well as a favourite author. This is one of my favourite short stories ever!

[@jeanettesdaughter]

Yes Rhys had a very very tough time. Her prequel novel to Jane Eyre is fascinating for its detail and frame for a marginalized woman. Madness is your first portion!

[@nonosays]

Marvelous and very chilling story - Echoes of Covid lockdown and current political divisions from distant WWll. Beautifully read. Thanks for your very fine and heartfelt analysis. Best to you from Brooklyn.

[@TedaR]

Tony? I knew ye immediately! I ❤ the intro music!

[@classic-literaturesstories]

It was me! (not the music, that's Erik Satie)

[@martinholmes-ue9ko]

Excellent as always Tomy. Thanks!

[@margaretmiros1672]

Good morning Tony, writing from Malvern, USA with appreciation for your keen analysis of Jean Rhys' remarkable story. Your commentary brought the characters, including the author to life.

[@franken-pattern]

It's been a very busy day, and I'm thrilled to be finally sitting down to my favorite podcast and relaxing! Thank you so much, Mr. Walker! 🎉

[@donaldkelly3983]

Enjoyed the story! And thanks for reminding me that there's a backlog off Jean Rhys to read!

[@nancynickerson4341]

Thank you Tony. This was a thought-provoking story. I would have liked to know what happened to Laura in the future. Did she spend the rest of her life in the sanatorium? Or, did she become "well enough" to be released, and perhaps come to terms with her past? Etc. I guess we'll never know.

[@keymeter1917]

That story is brillyunt!😀💙💘

[@nocount1]

A Jean Rhys story. Thanks, this is rare.

[@andersonfilmandsound]

I enjoyed you talking a bit about Jean Rhys's life...these writers who face great difficulty seem to have a much richer understanding of humanity and these works can often be spiritually imbibed, evoking feelings and ideas that can change us profoundly. Must be clear! Communism and Marxism are NOT the same as Socialism. It still horrifies me to know some of my most highly educated friends still do not understand this. Scary.

[@MartiWilliams-r2z]

Communism and Marxism are Not the same as Socialism.

[@MartiWilliams-r2z]

Thanks so much for pointing this out. I too have friends who do not understand. Truly scary.

[@applthorn]

Thank you! I really like Jean Rhys, and I appreciate your comments on the story!

[@mijiyoon5575]

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Thanks *Tony*

[@MarilynMayer-cd5qk]

Amazingl sad.

[@sheinaht]

I felt like Jean Rhyn was rejected by her mother, that would be a Theme through her books how sad that just one action could Do so much damage,

[@mary-anncraig9298]

It's an excellent short story. I enjoyed the discussion as well and found it stimulating. Not being English speaking myself, but married to a Scottish husband, I first incorrectly heard you calling the character Rex's behavior boorish. He actually hit and pushed this poor women apart from making her feeling very unwelcome and trying to get rid of her. On the other hand, during the two Anglo-South African wars, the British called the Afrikaans enemy "Boers." This is derogatory in the same way you would have spoken of the Germans as Huns in the World Wars. Kind regards.

[@mary-anncraig9298]

I have not concluded my argument. Getting lost in history. 😂 I do think that Rex rather behaved boorish. ❤😢

[@Kueytwo]

If your cousin who is a paying guest gets physically abused badly by your Husband and you laugh, it gives the impression he may have physically hurt her on more than one occasion. The doctor gives the impression this is likely.

[@staceyking8800]

Can someone tell me the pretty piano tune at the beginning of this session please it's a coomon tune but I do not have a name ❤

[@ClassicGhost]

It’s Erik Satie

[@maccoll3644]

Eric Sati Gymnopedies

[@Kueytwo]

Also, a secret thought (or story) was ripped out of her diary in tandem with the man of the house who is trying to shove her into a mental institution. I think it was a sexual abuse situation too.

[@martinholmes-ue9ko]

Hi Tony, your version of the origin of "boor" is incorrect. Nothing to do with Boer. It is early 14th Century, meaning "country-man, peasant farmer, rustic," from Old French bovier "herdsman," from Latin bovis, genitive of bos "cow, ox." This was reinforced by or merged with native Old English gebur "dweller, farmer, peasant" . Cheers!

[@classic-literaturesstories]

Interesting.

[@rachelrahman8984]

To me it was more basic. Someone who was not liked by the narzies and whose friends had all been killed by the narzies was cut out by middle class people to whom the truth was too ugly. I can understand foreigners being treated with suspicion at the time (we know they were kept separate from general society, especially those fleeing Germany) Still I feel it was an excuse. Better to call someone mad than think of the actual horror they had experienced. Denial is not just a river in Africa!

[@classic-literaturesstories]

Lol. I like that about Denial

[@nieketholen9419]

I live to be illuminated. Can you tell me the music composer

[@thomasburriss-z6f]

satie?

[@cobrajewel]

The island where Rhys was born is pronounced doh-mi-NEE-kah.

[@classic-literaturesstories]

thank you

[@ropeburnsrussell]

Who the devil is Rex?

[@ClassicGhost]

What was his name> The RAF guy?

[@ropeburnsrussell]

@@ClassicGhost the husband was Ricky, wasnt he?

[@anaderol5408]

If you think that as a white middle aged or older male you are not one of the oppressed then you are leading an incredibly privileged existence. Men are being systematically metaphorically castrated and blamed for everyone’s ills. I’m an elderly heterosexual white female - liberated in the true sense of the word - in that I carved myself a career without needing to lose self respect and yes it was a completely male dominated world but many of those supposedly misogynist males actually just wanted the right person for the job and hard work was appreciated.

[@timelordvictorious]

Poor women sounds like she suffered from xenophobia a bit and missed her own country .

[@cuthbert2546]

Considering what's going on in today's world where refugees and immigrants are too often the target of unjustified hate, Rhys's story shows that, no matter the era, this darker side of human nature has always been with us.

[@fionawhiteford2128]

Hate the AI illustrations ... Puts me off listening 😢😢

[@classic-literaturesstories]

Did you listen in the end ?

[@spitfire_2]

@@classic-literaturesstories, the illustrations are fine. They’re not the reason we lovers of literature come to this channel. I’ll listen to almost anything narrated by you regardless of the artwork.

[@clairegreenaway9653]

@@spitfire_2 Definitely!!

[@donaldkelly3983]

Enjoyed the story! And thanks for reminding me that there's a backlog off Jean Rhys to read!