I remember having several
disputes with my father with respect to the lack of female accomplishments
through the ages. I honed my
argumentative skills / debate acumen through many such discussions / arguments
with the wisest person I knew (I write with a smile on my face but honesty in
my heart). In the end my father had to
concede that I had scored points and he finally agreed with me. The central point of my argument was that
throughout civilization it has been a man’s world and a woman was almost always
held back from anything beyond the scope of “housekeeping”. There were pockets of time, place and
circumstance that allowed women of a certain class to become educated and/or to
have opportunity to be something beyond a pawn in a man’s world.
I use the above preface to foray
further into the world of writing.
Certainly women had written prior to the gradual publication of their
works in the late 1700’s, mostly through their letter writing. Marie de Sevigne is considered the most
talented and revered of these writers (a link below gives a list). Women authors who “broke barriers” through
history include Sappho, Anne Bradstreet, Mary Wollstonecraft, Jane Austen,
Harriet Beecher Stowe, Edith Wharton, Gabrielle Mistral, Agatha Christie,
Octavia Butler, Jeanette Winterston, Alice Walker and JKK Rowling (see link
below for reasons why). This list has 13
women but we can certainly continue the list in many different ways however
what is most important with respect to authors (male and female) is that they
have a burning desire to TELL A STORY.
Sometimes it is simply creativity wanting to burst out but oftentimes it
is a case of having a personal story to tell or simply because they are “good
and mad”. I use this last phrase in
quotations because a recent book has been published by Rebecca Traister called “Good
and Mad”.
Anne Bronte wrote her second
novel “The Tenant of Wildfell Hall” because she wanted to illustrate how humans
can fall into a state of depravity by unrestrained indulgence. She had seen dreadful things in the household
where she lived as a governess and sadly saw her brother fall victim as well as
perpetrated of this depravity. George
Eliot wrote novels that depicted rural life but often with a political slant or
theme aligned with it. Virginia Woolf frequently
wrote about the inner workings of women’s minds as well as about the creative
process. Women authors frequently
commented on and criticized societal norms.
“Frankenstein” is in many ways a precursor of S.E. Hinton’s “The
Outsiders”. Harper Lee’s brilliant “To
Kill a Mockingbird” uses a child’s view to explore racism. Toni Morrison, Alice Walker and Maya Angelou
open up the world of African American experiences with astounding
effectiveness.
Do male authors explore these
same topics? Of course. Do women have a different perspective? Of course.
Are both valid? Of course. And that is why book clubs are formed, so one
can discuss, compare and evaluate books, authors, opinions, perspectives and so
much more. Thank you Oprah Winfrey for
making book clubs contemporary and popular!
Ms. Traister was interviewed on
Amanpour & Co. the other day and her discussion on her book’s theme was
fascinating. I will address this in
tomorrow’s blog and I believe all women should pay attention and I will say
this – go out and get this book. I have ordered
mine.
"Living. All mixed up. The more kinds of people you see, and the more things you do, and the more things that happen to you, the richer you are. Even if they're not pleasant things. That's living. Remember, no matter what happens, good or bad, it's just so much velvet." Edna Ferber in So Big
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