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cinaedWhen I was younger, I hated books with main female characters. Seriously. I'd roll my eyes and go to find another book. There were a few exceptions, of course. All of Tamora Pierce's books, Meredith Pierce's Darkangel Trilogy, Patricia C. Wrede's Enchanted Forest Chronicles, anything by Bruce Coville, that sort of thing.
...And now I am seriously considering doing my senior seminar project on female sensuality in American literature. *laughs* I had a thirty-minute discussion with Poland, my American Literary History professor, in the middle of class today (as everyone else fell asleep, heh) about female sensuality, sexuality, and identity in Chopin's The Awakening and Fitzgerald's "Winter Dreams." It was the most interested and engaged I've felt about a topic in college in these past three years.
The thing that intrigues me about The Awakening and "Winter Dreams" is that both of the main women (Edna and Judy, respectively) are sensual beings. What fascinates me the most, however, is how that sensuality ends up destroying them, albeit is very different ways and for very different reasons.
Awakening's Edna is not a sensual woman at first. However, during the novel, she experiences a metamorphosis and becomes an individual, with her own opinions and sexual identity. For a brief, shining moment, she is not constrained by the moral laws of the time period she lives in or public opinion, which is a powerful force that can make or break a person. However, that individuality and freedom to chose her own sexual partners ends up destroying her because she cannot survive without that sensuality, that freedom, and the time period she's trapped within will never allow a woman to have these things.
Meanwhile in "Winter Dreams," Judy is the next generation of women, who have more power and freedom. However, in the end, we find that they are just as controlled by men and public opinion as Edna was. Yes, Judy has power and influence over men. However, she only has that power, that ability to manipulate men when her beauty and sexuality is in full bloom. Once her youth and looks fade, she is tossed to the side and cannot survive the fact that sensuality was what defined her. Without men appreciating her looks, she is no one. She has lost her identity. Unlike Edna, she survives, but is regulated to a passive life, where she is identified as Simms's wife rather than an individual.
...And now I am seriously considering doing my senior seminar project on female sensuality in American literature. *laughs* I had a thirty-minute discussion with Poland, my American Literary History professor, in the middle of class today (as everyone else fell asleep, heh) about female sensuality, sexuality, and identity in Chopin's The Awakening and Fitzgerald's "Winter Dreams." It was the most interested and engaged I've felt about a topic in college in these past three years.
The thing that intrigues me about The Awakening and "Winter Dreams" is that both of the main women (Edna and Judy, respectively) are sensual beings. What fascinates me the most, however, is how that sensuality ends up destroying them, albeit is very different ways and for very different reasons.
Awakening's Edna is not a sensual woman at first. However, during the novel, she experiences a metamorphosis and becomes an individual, with her own opinions and sexual identity. For a brief, shining moment, she is not constrained by the moral laws of the time period she lives in or public opinion, which is a powerful force that can make or break a person. However, that individuality and freedom to chose her own sexual partners ends up destroying her because she cannot survive without that sensuality, that freedom, and the time period she's trapped within will never allow a woman to have these things.
Meanwhile in "Winter Dreams," Judy is the next generation of women, who have more power and freedom. However, in the end, we find that they are just as controlled by men and public opinion as Edna was. Yes, Judy has power and influence over men. However, she only has that power, that ability to manipulate men when her beauty and sexuality is in full bloom. Once her youth and looks fade, she is tossed to the side and cannot survive the fact that sensuality was what defined her. Without men appreciating her looks, she is no one. She has lost her identity. Unlike Edna, she survives, but is regulated to a passive life, where she is identified as Simms's wife rather than an individual.
