Quote:
Originally Posted by Gwen Morse
Don't ALL writers (male and female) have a "message" to deliver? Why are we reading books if the authors aren't communicating messages to us? If you're using message to refer specifically to a feminist message, well, I personally strongly disagree with the suggestion that many women writers are proselyting a feminist agenda to the point that "harms the book".
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A message is not the same thing as a story. There are many things that can be transmitted with writing, and the best are not necessarily messages. Really good books are about ambiguity, questions suggested rather than answered. A "message" is the exact opposite of these things.
I don't like an author trying to force their opinions on me, whether I agree with them or not. Of course it's worse if I don't agree. When I get the feeling the authors has a "message" to deliver, it means they are trying to force their political opinions into the story, regardless of whether they fit or not, and without subtlety. Suggesting is one thing, voicing an opinion once in a while is OK, but not if it's taking over the story.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Gwen Morse
As for Margaret Atwood, "The Robber Bride" and "The Handmaiden's Tale" are two of my favorite books. I re-read both at least two or three times a year. I've also read "The Blind Assassin". One of the things I love most about these books is that the men are reasonably irrelevant. The focus of her books is on women and their relationships with each other, maternal, sororal, and oppositional. Men show up to be foils for the female characters, and then are shoved back into whatever cupboard they hide in when their scenes are over. I don't find it "feminist"...just a reflection of what women are really like. I *don't* actually spend every moment of my day thinking about the men in my life, and my most influential relationships are female. It's nice to have a writer who understands this and tells interesting stories from a similar mindset.
I don't know if you're male or female (I didn't bother to check  ), but I know a few men who have read the books and not liked the irrelevance of the male characters. |
That's a great analysis about Atwood! I hadn't consciously realized that but it's very true about the role of men in her books.