#tsh notes

[hellframe]

Francis the Carrot Top

In chpt. 7 Francis and Richard arrive to Shady Brook for funeral and meet Mr Corcoran:

This scene shows that, unlike his friends, Francis was quite fond of Mr Corcoran, and vice versa. But why exactly Carrot Top? Not that it was an uncommon tease, it still sounds peculiar.

There's a wordplay, of course: Bunny was gnawing on Carrot, so Carrot killed Bunny — prey becomes the hunter, if we can think of rabbits and vegetables in that fashion.

And another possible wordplay. There's an idiom 'carrot and stick', in which carrot means a reward, something that is used to tempt/seduce — Francis is a seducer.

That's it, unless "Carrot Top" stands for something more particular.

I think, it might imply a classic French story about miserable childhood "Poil de Carotte" (1894) by Jules Renard, translated as "Carrot Top" in English.

[pic source: pinterest]

This assumption is based on a specific set of features, which belong to the main character. In short, it goes like this:

A boy François, called Carrot Top because of his red hair, has an extremely problematic relationship with his mother, living under pressure and suffering humiliation from his milieu in the French country. He's sometimes ironic, sometimes a bit cruel, and chronically unloved. Life seems bitter, and young François desires love and recognition.

Name, appearance, experience and personality — all that sound too familiar in the context of TSH. Even an attempt of suicide in water is present here, though in a different way. And the author, Jules Renard, looks right in his place among other references to the Victorian era and Fin de siècle.

If a nickname "Carrot Top" in TSH actually relates to that French book, at least as to a source of inspiration, it might add a dramatic undertone to the background of Francis Abernathy.

In many respects Francis appears to be not that spoiled as it was depicted initially. His alcoholic mother was shown at once neglecting and controlling. And with such a childhood even Mr Corcoran would give the impression of exemplary father figure, evoking "depth and warmth".

Or it can be just another grain of sand on the shores of Metahemeralism.

#the secret history #metahemeralism #francis abernathy #tsh notes

[villanevedenier]

Donna tartt - Clarence House 26.03.2024

#donna tartt #tsh #her being the only person in the room holding a glass of champagne in ANY of the pics ive seen iconique #anyway thank you to the *checks notes* queen camilla fanpage who alerted me to this #the secret history #the goldfinch #tgf #the little friend #tlf #if i call her the m word will you all hit me with rocks

[1l0vefri3sx]

not to b a bunny defender or anything but like idk i just feel like BUNNY DIDNT DESERVE TO BE MURDERED?!!? like i get that the group felt threatened bc they thought he might tell but if u rlly think about it like realistically bunny wouldnt had told anyone apart from julian. no one else would believe him. and if someone did believe him (highly unlikely) bunny would probably b lumped in w the rest of the greek class and ppl would probably assume bunny was in on it or smth and he would be guilty by association if u get what i mean. i mean think abt it: a group of super isolated students, learning ancient, dead languages doing rituals during the 80s which may i remind u was the peak of the american 'satanic panic' era. bunny fs would have been rlly fkn hated if he told anyone about what he knew abt the bacchanal and i feel like he knew that and literally wouldnt risk telling anyone unless he thought henry or someone was actually going to kill him. also julian wtf he played such a big part in this. i feel like he essentially manipulated and isolated the greek class into having the bacchanal most likely knowing that there would be some pretty severe consequences. and bc he islotaed them from the rest of the estudents AND STAFF at hampden they wouldnt be able to tell anyone, or no body would believe them. omg i could acc go on abt this. still havent written my notes down tho so yh this was a (very unplanned and messy) rant so soz but i truly hope u get what i mean!!

#bunny corcoran #tsh donna tartt #the secret history #henry winter #murder! #julian morrow #donna tartt #notes #opinions #pls help #i'm procrastinating #wtf i need to sleep #i love this book sm its not healthy...

[lanabanana79]

#70s #aesthetic #it girl #lana del ray aesthetic #nostalgia #notes #ootd #outfit #pink #poetry #tsh #the secret history #camilla macaulay #francis abernathy #henry winter #richard papen #bunny corcoran #donna tartt #dark academia #romantic academia #academia aesthetic #chaotic academic aesthetic #chaotic academia #light academia #books and reading #book #books #bibliophile #Latin #Greek

[apostate-in-an-alcove]

I genuinely don't get what you people see in The Secret History cause the hype around it sure as fuck was wrong.

#the author is a skilled writer but good god i hate every single person in this book #like NONE of them are likeable or interesting people #i genuinely could care less what happens to anyone in TSH #I'm halfway through this shit novel and it just feels like a waste of time but I'm stubborn and seldom ever leave a book unfinished #the secret history #i could care less about spoiled out of touch college students #side note: i got two asks in my drafts and I'll answer them soon

[ittybitterspidr01]

Analysis on The Secret History

While reading the first few pages of "The Secret History" I can tell the main character Richard, doesn't like his parents nor his town Plano. He dreads both in many ways. His upbringing wasn't so well, with his parents give a limited amount of attention to him. His parents expect to much from him and expect him to do things he doesn't want to fulfill. Out of spite and a quest for relief he applies to Hampden University. He is in awe to what he sees, he finds comfort in this college (pgs 3-13)

My favorite quotes

" When I think about my real childhood i am unable to recall much about it at all except a sad jumble of objects..." (Tartt, 7)

"Sunday was a sad day-early to bed, school the next morning, I was constantly worried my homework was wrong..." (Tartt., 8)

#the secret history #tsh #Richard papen #henry winter #camilla macaulay #bunny corcoran #charles macaulay #francis abernathy #studyblr #study blog #studygram #studying #studyspo #study aesthetic #study notes #student #stem academia #chaotic academia #light academia #academia aesthetic #dark academia #lifestyle #uni blogging #uni studyblr #uni student #architecture student #aestethic #anaylsis

[readsbydes]

I'll be like "I hate men," but then whenever I hear or see anything that involves Henry Winter, I somehow turn straight.

#i don't hate men i swear #you're all very cool #just a side note 💀 #the secret history #donna tartt #henry winter #tsh #francis abernathy #richard papen #charles macaulay #bunny corcoran #camilla macaulay

[dreadpirateroe]

bringing tsh into booktok and its consumeristic ideologies imbeded in the online female 'booktok' community is like bringing a knife to a gunfight. one has been around for years and will be around for many more and the others are a fad that will disappear when the average person grows tired of being a 'reader'

#idk i just like tsh and dont like it being grouped with colleen hoover #but i also think that just because you read tsh doesnt mean u are automatically the smartest person out there #idc how many neutral coloured stick notes u put in it

[lost-in-eriador]

The uncomfortable truth that many tsh fans like to ignore is that sir Henry Winter is fat. He is described as fat numerous times throughout the book, just never in any sort of condescending way because Richard respects him so much. i’m just tired of seeing fanart depicting him as Michelangelo’s David reborn or as thin as a twig.

#richard literally says that Henry loosing 20 punds doesn’t show because of his size #his largeness is never left un noted but people like to imagine the broad shoulders of a man with a thin waist #he is fat but still recognized by Richard as being beautiful #come on we all read the same book #the secret history #henry winter #richard papen #francis abernathy #camilla macaulay #charles macaulay #bunny corcoran #dark academia #academia #tsh

[secrethistoryfan]

bunny is a fundamentally flawed character but him being fat is not one of those flaws stop drawing him as skinny! its not that hard

#the morticians autopsy notes #tsh #the secret history #bunny corcoran #i will pull up proof from the book that hes not as skinny as a twig

[hellframe]

T. S. Eliot & The Secret History. Part I.

beauty and terror

These words occur together in the poem Gerontion, which Elliot originally included into The Waste Land:

Some critics suppose these lines to be extremely personal for T. S. Eliot. But is it even possible to lose beauty in terror?

I think, TSH can provide a response to this matter.

Tartt's paradox 'beauty is terror' relates to Freudian terms Eros and Thanatos, considering the context in which it was suggested:

The lecture proceeds with a question of what is desire, and Bunny answers 'to live forever'.

In Freud's drive theory Life and Death are two basic instincts that counterbalance each other in human existence as the opposite cosmological principles, the driving forces of civilization.

What happens in TSH can be seen as the result of ruined balance between these forces. Here both beauty and terror become the instances of the death drive, and nothing is left for Eros, the life.

Life without beauty is an empty desire.

So Henry Winter was infatuated with death: dead languages, dead knowledge, dead moon in the sky. With all his love to poetry, he knew that the most beautiful thoughts and feelings evolved from an encounter with the idea of death.

However, no word was said about beauty after the Battenkill murder. And when they planned to kill Bunny it was just 'redistribution of matter'.

Maybe 'to lose beauty in terror' actually means to lose the difference between these two concepts.

Henry's expression of triumph before he shot himself could've been the result of regained sense of beauty. Sublime beauty of tragedy, of course.

#the secret history #tsh notes #henry winter #metahemeralism

[lovrsleft]

If I studied biology how I study every word Henry Winter says, I wouldn't have flunked my test so hard

#dark academia #book things #book tumblr #donna tartt #francis abernathy #henry winter #the secret history #penguin classics #currently reading #dark acadamia quotes #greek myth retellings #greek myths #pythia #book analysis #annotating books #sticky notes #book notes #tsh

[annprocrastinates]

the process of setting up~

#this is a project for my photography class and im rlly proud of my arrangement #these were shot on a nikon d5600 #dark academia #dark academia aesthetic #dark academism #study motivation #studyblr #studyspo #annprocrastinates #study notes #study aesthetic #studyinspo #education #stationary #books #wine #reading #donna tartt #tsh #the secret history #dakota warren #photography #nikon #nikonpictures #still life

[tsh-readthrough]

mission statement

the purpose of this blog is to collect my random and scattered thoughts as I read through The Secret History.

i will be making notes on character, setting, themes, metatext and links to other works, and basically whatever. everything here is a personal thought unless stated.

the major themes I am currently tracking (though this may change) are:

beauty, aestheticism, and obsession

fate and destiny

Gothic elements

funny bits

personally-liked passages

metatext and intertext (references to other works)

characterisation and character description

cult and cult thinking

#the secret history #tsh #dark academia #close reading #reading notes

[er-cryptid]

Hyperthyroidism

-- the thyroid gland hormones are responsible for carbohydrate, fat, and protein metabolism

-- these are required for calcium regulation

-- primary hyperthyroidism is called Graves’ disease

-- primary hyperthyroidism is caused by excess thyroid hormone secretion

-- secondary hyperthyroidism is caused by hypersecretion of TSH

-- TSH is thyroid-stimulating hormone

-- a thyroid tumor may also cause hypersecretion of thyroid hormones or TSH

#medblr #studyblr #notes #hyperthyroidism #primary hyperthyroidism #secondary hyperthyroidism #graves disease #tsh #thyroid #hormones #anatomy and physiology #pathophysiology #pathology

[eisthenameofme]

Not going to detail all my reasoning here yet but. Henry Winter is so autistic coded actually-

#a lot of neurodivergence from him in general but like. #tsh #the secret history #ill have to go back through and make notes of the Moments at some point #but ive been rereading and. the special interest vibes. the way he does social interaction. etc etc