Sidetracks - March 12, 2011

[helloladies]

Ana

1. I loved Laura Miller’s response to Sebastian Faulk’s piece on what constitutes a “true hero” versus a “mere heroine”, using Jane Eyre and Becky Sharp as examples. Even if we leave aside his misreading of Jane Eyre as a novel, which Miller has already addressed so well, there’s so much in that piece that boggles the mind. I’m sure there will be many people ready to argue that there is not, in fact, anything sexist about it, because look! he uses two female characters as examples! While I don’t believe that the focus on emotional connections he so clearly disdains is inherently feminine, you can’t really separate his definition of heroism, of the narrow box into which people have to fit to be taken seriously as human beings, from the sexist culture in which it was created -- not while keeping a straight face, anyway. ( Read more... )