Portrait of a Marriage
by Pearl S. Buck
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A wealthy painter finds his inspiration, and tumultuous love, in a girl he meets by chance At the turn of the century, an upper-class painter from Philadelphia goes searching for inspiration. He finds his muse on a farm-the farmer's beautiful and humble daughter. His portrait of her becomes one of his most inspired works, but his passion for the illiterate girl doesn't stop at the easel: He returns to marry her and settle down to country life-a journey that means bridging enormous gaps show more between their cultures, breaking from his parents, and creating tension between their friends. Pearl S. Buck compassionately imagines both sides of the complex marriage, and in addition, creates a wonderfully vivid picture of America leading up to the Second World War. This ebook features an illustrated biography of Pearl S. Buck including rare images from the author's estate. show lessTags
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This is one of Buck's lesser known novels which is the analysis of a marriage. The plot centers around a couple where the man is very traditional and the woman is more progressive. Buck writes about gender roles, emotional estrangement, and resentment. The story is told through monologues, mostly internal. This is not a plot driven novel and moves fairly slow--for that reason a 3 is all I can give! 214 pages
This is about a marriage between a wealthy man who finds a young girl in a country village and decides to paint her. Although their backgrounds are different, they are drawn to eachother. Beautifully written of course, but sad and somewhat tedious after a while. I have loved everything else of Pearl Buck that I have read, but I am not sure about this book. Was marriage a mistake, or was it not?
When William Barton and Ruth Harnsbarger meet by chance and fall in love they know that their marriage will be a challenging one because they come from two very different worlds. His family is one of the wealthiest in America, and his life revolves around his painting. Her's is made up of poor farmers who have lived in the same house for generations and look down on William for his inability to do any real work. In spite of their drastically different backgrounds, they remain happily married for nearly 50 years and enlarge their family with three children and numerous grandchildren.
This isn't one of Buck's best novels because she tries to do too much instead of focusing in on a single theme. In the beginning of the book, the dynamic show more between William and Ruth's two opposing worlds is the focus. In the middle, it switches to how the family is affected by World War I and World War II. By the end, it concentrates on how William and Ruth's differences have been passed down to the children and grandchildren. Altogether, the book is ok, and the story seems a bit dated. show less
This isn't one of Buck's best novels because she tries to do too much instead of focusing in on a single theme. In the beginning of the book, the dynamic show more between William and Ruth's two opposing worlds is the focus. In the middle, it switches to how the family is affected by World War I and World War II. By the end, it concentrates on how William and Ruth's differences have been passed down to the children and grandchildren. Altogether, the book is ok, and the story seems a bit dated. show less
Adolescentes
Psychologický román americké autorky je obrazem manželství kultivovaného umělce, bohatého malíře, a prosté pennsylvánské venkovanky. Celý příběh tohoto manželství je prostý jakýchkoliv dramatických vnějších dějových zvratů. Oba manželé však musejí překonávat řadu niterných konfliktů, vyplývajících z jejich rozdílných povah, odlišného rodinného prostředí a různého duševního obzoru i inteligence. Jejich vzájemná láska však přeroste v trvalý svazek, který jim pomáhá všechny rozdílné prvky překonat
May 6, 2024Czech
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Pearl S. Buck, June 26, 1892 - March 6, 1973 Pearl Sydenstricker Buck was an American author, best know for her novels about China. Buck was born on June 26, 1892, in Hillsboro, West Virginia, but as the daughter of Presbyterian missionaries she was taken to China in infancy. She received her early education in Shanghai, but returned to the United show more States to attend college, and graduated from Randolph-Macon Woman's College in Virginia in 1914. Buck became a university teacher there and married John Lossing Buck, an agricultural economist, in 1917. Buck and her husband both taught in China, and she published magazine articles about life there. Her first novel East Wind, West Wind was published in 1930. Buck achieved international success with The Good Earth, which won the Pulitzer Prize in 1932. This story of a Chinese peasant family's struggle for survival was later made into a MGM film. Buck resigned from the Presbyterian Board of Foreign Missions after publishing an article that was critical of missionaries. She returned to the United States because of political unrest in China. Buck's novels during this period include Sons, A House Divided, and The Mother. She also wrote biographies of her father (Fighting Angel) and her mother (The Exile). She won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1938. During her career, Buck published over 70 books: novels, nonfiction, story collections, children's books, and translations from the Chinese. She also wrote under the pseudonym John Sedges. In the United States, Buck was active in the civil rights and women's rights movements. In 1942 she founded the East and West Association to promote understanding between Asia and the West. In 1949, Buck established Welcome House, the first international interracial adoption agency. In 1964, she established the Pearl S. Buck foundation to sponsor support for Amerasian children who were not considered adoptable. Pearl Buck died in Danbury, Vermont, on March 6, 1973. (Bowker Author Biography) show less
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- Canonical title*
- Ons dagelijks brood
- Original title
- Portrait of a Marriage; Portrait of a marriage
- Alternate titles*
- Schets van een huwelijk
- Original publication date
- 1948
- Epigraph
- What makes a happy marriage? It is a question which all men and women ask one another. Men and women try to find teh answer, for their own marriages. They try and they fail: They try and they succeed. Sometimes the mo... (show all)st apparently mismated couples achieve the most happy marriages.
The answer is to be found, I think, in the mutual discovery, by two who marry, of the deepest need of the other's personality, and the satisfaction of that need. The satisfaction must of course be mutual. A happy marriage cannot be built upon sacrifice. Nor even upon willingness. It must be built upon joy. - First words
- The June landscape of Pennsylvania was full of pictures.
- Last words
- (Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)He dropped his arms from her waist and stood, a little figure haunted, William's spirit looking out of his eyes.
*Some information comes from Common Knowledge in other languages. Click "Edit" for more information.
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