Discussing with Barry

I:  Hey Barry I found a key quote on the world of Nowhere as old Hammond explained to Guess. Here it is:
"This is how we stand. England was once a country of clearings amongst the woods and wastes, with a few towns interspersed, which were fortress for the feudal army, markets for the folk, gathering places for the craftsmen. It then became a country of huge and foul workshops and fouler gambling-dens, surrounded by an ill-kept, poverty-stricken farm, pillaged by the masters of workshops.  It is now a garden, * where nothing is wasted and nothing is spoilt, with the necessary dwellings, sheds, and workshops scattered up and down the country, all trim and neat and pretty. (105) The footnotee on "It is now a garden", explains that Morris's writing, including Nowhere, influenced the Garden City movement in United States and Britain. He also affected modern ideas about gardening, notably through the work of Gertrude Jekyll.(413)

B:  Yes, is a very good quote indeed. You see Gertrude Jekyll was well as Morris were rich and they things for rich. The poor couldn't and cannot afford beautiful furniture.

I:  Yes, you are right, what they did was for rich people. However, the important things is, looking at their work now, that the rich were the ones with the power as well as influence. They were the ones that directed the running of  the manufacture and building industry. Therefore, the rich were the ones with the greater impact on people's lives and the environment.

If Morris and Ruskin along with the praise for the beautiful things, supported fair working conditions through which workers were allowed to their labour, then their work did not only affect wealthy people but also latter's perception of the working people.

So, Barry by playing devil's advocate brought out of me some very crucial thought concerning the usefulness of Morris's work and its relation to us now. Bless him!


And additional idea for my dissertation that came to me yesterday is :after discussing on the ecology in Nowhere, talk about ecology in the 21st century. Possible talk about the green-fashion to recycle and use reclycli-able material, organic, fair-trade etc. to the extend that the consumers are confused as what is the best to buy. Also talk about particular ecological society, even farm societies as they seem to be at Coed Hills or Embercombe. It will be interesting to make a parallel reading of the world of Nowhere to 21st West or to a particular ecological society.

Question whether we are we, now closer to Morris' Nowhere than the Victorian Era was? Theoretically, it seems that at the present time, more people and to a greater depth are more concerned about the damage we cause to the environment.