tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6327348657265652781.post92129088954095811..comments2023-10-03T11:41:21.191+01:00Comments on The Truth About Lies: The AwakeningJim Murdochhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12786388638146471193noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6327348657265652781.post-58432900454855010132014-08-11T14:44:49.142+01:002014-08-11T14:44:49.142+01:00As to whether or not Chopin was herself a feminist...As to whether or not Chopin was herself a feminist, <b>Anna</b>, I can only report what her family have said. The term certainly existed as far back as 1837 even if its definition was in flux and continues to be. That said Feminists (with or without the capital F)—or any other –ists you’d care to mention—can take any text and bend it to suit their ends. I’ve even come across a f/Feminist reading of <i>Waiting for Godot</i>. But you’re right—and I hope my article underlined this—if anyone was looking for a text that supported the need for a shift in men’s attitudes towards women then this is a significant one which is why I devoted the time I did to it. I do think what everyone needs to keep in mind is that the woman in this story is a person and not a poster child. She isn’t waving the flag for any ideology; she’s only interested in her own freedom of choice. Had the story continued and Edna encountered other radical-thinking women who can say what might’ve happened? But she doesn’t and she chooses the end she chooses the significance of which we can argue about until the cows come home. Perhaps if the book had caught the right people’s attention at the time it came out the author might’ve clued us in on what she meant but we’ll never know now. And perhaps too this is why the book’s survived when plenty of manifestos have come and gone.Jim Murdochhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12786388638146471193noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6327348657265652781.post-44594352312771718322014-08-11T13:52:59.907+01:002014-08-11T13:52:59.907+01:00Hi Jim,
Your review, as always, is wonderfully we...Hi Jim,<br /><br />Your review, as always, is wonderfully well researched and fascinating to read. The point of whether Kate Chopin was a feminist or not I think is an interesting one; I'd argue that, whether she used the terminology or not, she was absolutely a radical - and so was Edna. It's not simply that she's a strong female protagonist, but that over the course of the book rejects all restrictions usually placed upon women of that time; in fact, I'd argue that Edna's wish to have an existence outside the roles of wife and mother forms the very foundations of first wave feminism.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07720933727705157711noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6327348657265652781.post-75391712259292780292014-08-10T14:17:34.490+01:002014-08-10T14:17:34.490+01:00I’m sorry I disappointed you, Martine, but in my d...I’m sorry I disappointed you, <b>Martine</b>, but in my defence can I just say that I was deliberately caricaturing feminism here; my tongue was firmly in my cheek. I’m sorry that didn’t come through. Maybe I should’ve added a winking emoticon at the end. As far as my views on feminism go I’m all for women’s rights. I don’t have much time for those feminists who think they’re better than men any more than I enjoy the company of male chauvinists. You simply cannot generalise like that. Some women <i>are</i> better (whatever ‘better’ might mean) than many men but it’s not and should not be a competition. To that end I would like to see terms like ‘women’s fiction’, ‘LGBT fiction’ and ‘black fiction’ vanish from the language; these are all divisive terms. <br /><br />I’ve been reading a lot of books this year by women and a surprising number that people would like to use as feminists texts really aren’t. What I am noticing is that I prefer books written by men but am struggling to say why exactly. It’s not because the subjects I enjoy are particularly masculine—I’m not a big fan of Hemingway, for example—because I’m really not that kind of man and was pleased as punch when my wife and daughter referred to me as an honorary women; I felt like I’d achieved something. I’m also struggling to understand what people mean when they talk about the female voice. The only thing I am settled on is that women, broadly speaking, tend to be storytellers and I’m not as fond of stories irrespective of the gender of the author as I am of character studies. And the fewer characters the better too.Jim Murdochhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12786388638146471193noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6327348657265652781.post-31096468356254986462014-08-10T13:39:25.901+01:002014-08-10T13:39:25.901+01:00Dear Jim, I am disappointed in you, your posts are...Dear Jim, I am disappointed in you, your posts are always so intelligent and thoughtful and you have introduced me to many books I might not have come across any other way, and then I read this : "no wanting to emasculate every man she encounters" which is an ignorant and clichéd idea of what feminism is and I just stopped reading. Having said that, I agree that The Awakening is not a feminist book; Pride and Prejudice has a strong female main character but could never be described as a feminist book, but books that describe the reality of women's experience do have something important to contribute to feminism. I guess I might bring myself to go back and read the rest now I've got that off my chest.martinehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14260048849955077472noreply@blogger.com