( An excerpt from the essay The Naked and the Conflicted, by Katie Rophie)
- We denounce the great male novelists of the last century for their sexism. But something has been lost now that innocence is more fashionable than to virility, the cuddle preferable to sex. -
(End excerpt)
Well ain’t that just the feed to start me gallopin’ off about literature. Because men have always been stereotyped as the sexually dominant gender, biogically wired to fill up spread their seed for all and sundry. In contrast, women laud the virtue of innocence and find comfort in the protective, loving cuddles, finding much unhappiness with their being objectified and possessed at the expense of their independence. Hence, as can be seen, the rise of the feminist movement through the suffragates, women writers and such other advents.
I might for a moment wonder why generations of X chromosome homozygotes, who make up approximately half of the world’s population, allowed themselves to be oppressed and their authority usurped for a few millenia before coming to – perhaps cavewomen were more concerned about their kids and their attitudes hung over a for a few thousand more years.
Feminist literature was a revolution of sorts…and thank goodness for the likes of Angela Carter, Sonya Hartnett and Marilyn Robinson… and I willingly salute those who (finally) stepped forth (under male aliases) to express ‘the oft silenced view’.
Here goes the tangent from mildly analytical to completely rather; there are few things remotely interesting about the subject of muliebrity. A girl’s journey to womanhood, fraught with expectations, society, suitors and swooning, rape, subjugation and domination by men, ho hum. But I’ve realised that’s only the thorn of the rose, so to speak. In fact, I’ve enjoyed studying Women in Lit far more than I’ve honestly expected to. Carol Ann Duffy (whom we’re studying) and Angela Carter (whom we aren’t, to incredible dismay) are two serious geniuses for twisting a conventional story. Just a few examples :
Angela Carter : The transformation from a maiden of iron underwear (so to speak) to a beast (See The Tiger’s Bride ) is magnificent. Little Red Riding Hood sexually assaulting a hot and hairy werewolf - unexpected and very kinky. Puss in Boots matchmaking his master to a princess (rather than riches and land, as is the conventional) and then observing their physical tryst which much disdain – hilarious!
Duffy : Queen Kong picking up her man like chocolate from a box, and pining after him in her monthly cycles. A maid obsessing over her mistress’s pearls. A psychopath comparing Shakespeare to a fly and God to a goldfish (blasphemous!!) and my personal favourite, Pilate’s wife describing Jesus as a hunk!
There is no doubt that these talented women are very good at what they do, as good as the likes of Tolkien and George R.R. Martin, (though the stars forbid that they move on to feminist literature instead of their usual fortes). Still, I wish that literature themes were the more far-ranging, less ‘worldly’ and rather more…whimisical.
I mean; take maybe the theme of transformation. There is a wealth of material about metamorphosis or simply the process of learning, which might not be for the better. I’m not even talking about Bleach and Espada Bankai, because even Kuchiki Byakuya’s Senbonzakura needs The Crimson Tide by Nightwish to support the visuals. I’m talking about works like Charles Baudelaire and the translation for The Metamorphose du Vampire. The Tiger’s Bride could work for this too. Dr Jekyll and Mister Hyde. All sorts of timeless, wonderful pieces that are lesser known because of their darker and more gothic themes. It’s rather wasted that literature is very often about the great and widely acknowledged issues of humanity, like racism, globalization, government, feminist rights, child exploitation, and less often about, say, the inherent angel and demon within each person, supernatural encounters, darkness and savagery, and the like.
Well, I guess that’s what H3 literature is for. Although I might have written myself into a corner because there are few books (known, that is) about dark and twisted relationships besides the two I already have. Damn!
