EEK! So what does that make ME? Reliving my second childhood?
Actually, I just encountered an older genious that really set me back on my heels. I'm just wrapping up "The Idiot" by Doestoevsky. http://www.online-literature.com/dostoevsky/idiot/
There's a scene where two women, spitting nails, really go at it with each other. I am bowled over how much this man CAPTURES the feminine heart and mind. Both the noble and ugly bits. The utter SPITEFULNESS that women can go at each other. Another scene, also, where this cultured maiden yearns to break free from convention and do something WONDERFUL with her life. Also a spot-on feminine observation. This was all written before the turn of the twentieth century!
It makes me wonder, again, if there is anything new under the sun?
Great book - I do so love when dusty old book reveal human nature - it's comforting and yet sort of sad to realize somethings never change.