What a cozy weekend! I've also had my eye on Polite Society for a while, but I didn't realize it was the We Are Lady Parts lady! That definitely bumps it up considerably!
If she likes or admires a character, they display modern sensibilities, challenging (even if only in the privacy of their own mind or marriage) religious and sociocultural certainties of their era, so as to make them more likeable to Penman's perceived 21st-century readers' capacity for empathy. I don't always mind this kind of thing, if I feel the author is conscious that they're doing it, but I'm not convinced that Penman was, and, if challenged, would have protested about her in-depth research and so on.
This is really interesting, and I know what you mean about the consciousness of it being a big part of whether it's overlook-able.
no subject
If she likes or admires a character, they display modern sensibilities, challenging (even if only in the privacy of their own mind or marriage) religious and sociocultural certainties of their era, so as to make them more likeable to Penman's perceived 21st-century readers' capacity for empathy. I don't always mind this kind of thing, if I feel the author is conscious that they're doing it, but I'm not convinced that Penman was, and, if challenged, would have protested about her in-depth research and so on.
This is really interesting, and I know what you mean about the consciousness of it being a big part of whether it's overlook-able.