Clarissa

Last night, I wound up having to "share" a car with my daughter, who works in a mall. I drove her to work, then had an hour and a half to kill before my gardening class, which was in a community center close to the mall. I had a gift and card to buy, and thought I'd try to find a new spring coat (I had a hankering for a three-quarter length trench coat) and perhaps some new shoes.

Alas, and not surprisingly, I had no luck with the clothes. This is usually the way with me -- if I go shopping intending to buy new clothes, I will not find anything. If I'm looking for something else, chances are I might see something I like and that fits. If that happens, believe me, I buy it, because otherwise, I'd never get new clothes.

However, and to console myself, I decided to buy the DVD of Clarissa, a BBC production based on the novel by Samuel Richardson, which is a Georgian version of Dangerous Liaisons. It stars Sean Bean as the rake, Lovelace, who's determined to seduce the virtuous Clarissa. This was the first thing I'd ever Sean Bean in, and I still think of this show every time I see him. Lovelace is not a nice man; however, there is one point where Clarissa admits she could love him. You see the moment when he could go from villain to hero. But he doesn't.

The other thing I like about this is that Richardson was writing about his own time, and you get a peek at the sort of machinations a Georgian cad would use to seduce a woman. You know what I'll be watching tomorrow night! (Tonight, it's Survivor, My Name is Earl and Stargate SG-1.)

As for my gardening class, well, we've got one thing right (curved lines rather than straight). A few no-nos - the lone butterfly bush and the instructor is not keen on forsythia. I'm supposed to do a drawing for next week and figure out what I'd like to do, and then she'll tell me if it's possible or I'm dreaming.

Now back to Chapter Three. I think Chapter Two's better since I expanded an argument. I think it's always good to have some interpersonal drama in what's still basically the set-up.