Stretch Your Mind: The Gift of Challenging Literature
Written by Markley Anthony
“This book is so hard, Dad. Do I have to read it?”
“Read it. It will stretch your mind.”
This exchange took place many times during my childhood as my dad frequently surprised me by leaving a new book on my bed: a book slightly more difficult than whatever I had chosen to read on my own. So I would have to leave Nancy Drew for awhile to meet Elizabeth Bennet, or exchange Archie and Veronica for Hobbits. If the book was really good it took me a few weeks after I finished it to be able to pick up the lighter books again, because they seemed so flat in comparison. This is still my experience.
As I look back on several years participating in Well-Read Mom, (since the Year of the Friend!) I am so happy that in every book list there has been at least one book that stretches my mind. The mental exercise required for me to truly appreciate Four Quartets and Brideshead Revisited last year helped me to grow not only in my appreciation for beautiful English prose, but also to think in new ways about some of the themes of those works. This year I was pleased to see The Aeneid on the list.
From the first book of The Aeneid we glimpse one of the benefits of what we do here in Well-Read Mom. As Aeneas enters Carthage he is confronted with a frieze that depicts the story of Troy, a story he has just lived through: “He himself he saw” (1.90). That is what we do when we read quality literature. Literature designed to stretch our minds helps us to see ourselves and our stories from a new angle.
Maybe we are seeking duty and piety like Aeneas, struggling to find life’s meaning like Charles Ryder, or learning to cope with the sufferings of life like Asher Lev. Reading about the experiences of these characters can teach us life lessons, expose our own foibles and help us to see consequences of decisions that we hope we never have to face in real life.
Sometimes we see ourselves in more delightful ways or laugh as we realize we’ve just made a snap judgment about someone’s character like Elizabeth Bennet or manipulated someone into giving in to our desire only to find out it wasn’t a good idea in the first place like the Grandmother in “A Good Man is Hard to Find.” We see ourselves and gain life experience and wisdom without having to make all the mistakes or suffer all the horrors that befall the characters we meet.
In this Year of the Father I am truly grateful that my dad encouraged me to “stretch my mind” through literature. As an adult I am grateful for the opportunity to keep stretching through the thoughtful selections of Well-Read Mom and the great discussions in our group. Together, “We shall not cease from exploration / And the end of all our exploring / Will be to arrive where we started / And know the place for the first time” (Eliot, “Little Gidding” V.27-30).
About Markley Anthony
Markley Anthony lives in Texas where she uses her previous experience as a teacher to homeschool her three daughters. She has been an avid reader her whole life, and has never lost her sense of wonder at diving into a book she has never read before.
About Well-Read Mom
In Well-Read Mom, women read more and read well. Our hope is to deepen the awareness of meaning hidden in each woman’s daily life. We long to elevate the cultural conversation and revitalize reading literature from books. If you would like us to help you select worthy reading material, we invite you to join and read along. We are better together! For information on how to start or join a Well-Read Mom group visit our website wellreadmom.com
