When Urania was young/ All thought her heavenly/ With age her eyes grow larger/ But her form unmaidenly

Monday, June 06, 2005

More Romance: That Loving the Hero Thing

I had originally intended to discuss fantasy and sf genre endings in response to the comment by the ever smart but perhaps not entirely bitchy Candy that they required the saving of the world, but then I intended to do that on any of the 12 non Smart Bitch days between then and now. So, instead, as a nonromance reader, I'm stretching for something more relevant.

In a long ride down from Philadelphia, the ever smart and impressively bitchy Beth explained about the centrality of the hero in Romance, and I saw from last week that wanting the hero, at least in some literary way, seemed to be the engine that made the inevitable happy and paired resolution so satisfying the romance readers. Leaving work at an ungodly hour tonight, it suddenly occurred to me that only twice do I remember feeling something like that for a female character, and in neither case was it the protagonist, and in both cases I'm probably pretty whacked.

It's so easy to skim past the usual literary "heroine," especially if you don't have ready access to insulin. All the filling-aching Dorotheas and Amelias and Sophias by male authors - man, is that what they REALLY wanted in a girl? And women writers? Another earnest bluestocking of a Dorothea? The Cathy of the Heights who seemed like yet another drama queen of the high school green room. Emma Woodhouse, god forbid?

True, I wanted Elizabeth Barrett, but I wanted her as a sister, or a roommate, or a friend's amusing wife. And I really wanted Becky Sharp around, especially if I could convince her I was thoroughly gay and therefore an ally rather than prey (and liked that she appreciated Dobbin). When I think about it, I could have loved Anne Elliot, although it didn't occur to me at the time.

But, okay, there were two and both whacked. The first was Sophie from War and Peace. Underappreciated, lost her final play for Nicholas and had the condescending Natasha remark that she really was more like a cat, attached to the family not in love, content to be the maiden aunt and general factotum. I wanted to slap Natasha - just because Sophie could do that, doesn't mean that's what she was supposed to do. Amid the monstrous egos and moral self-importance of all the other characters, she seemed so sane, so measured. However, when I let slip this sentiment among my Russian-novel-mad friends in college, it was clear this was an, ahem, unorthodox reaction. But the novel was set in traditional upper class Russian society; she was virtuous - that meant NO SEX AT ALL, EVER. Evereverever. She NEVER got to. I dunno why that seems so bad. Well, yes, I do. Anyway, lustrous dark hair and a pale complexion was appealing.

The other was even more whacked - a woman named Eluned, from a historical romance by the aforementioned Beth. Okay, get this: that's the heroine's MOTHER. A ruthless Welsh nationalist widow in a lonely castle. I just wanted to take her in my arms, tut to her that it didn't have to be all guttural consonants in her life, and, c'mon let me buy you a vowel, let's sell the depreciating real estate and move to a Marina del Ray condo. Plenty of more productive use for your ruthlessness in SoCal, although it won't be a pushover. The food's better too, sushi and guacamole and for God's sake chocolate being all undiscovered in wedieval Wales. Ah well - Eluned is fictional and all I got was inadvertantly flummoxing the author. Not that I deprecate that little benefit.

Now, it's true if I had read Tolkien when I was like 14 instead of 20, Eowyn (also underappreciated - Like Sophie and Eluned. What am I - a bargain hunter?) might have snared me, especially in the great set piece when she is facing down the Nazgul. Or Goth, from The Witches of Karres, who WAS 14, and therefore much more age appropriate for me than for the novel's protag. But, in fictional loves as in the real, timing is everything.

Do I speak for my sex on this? I dunno: it's really creepy to think of pimple-faced boys getting all moony about Dejah Thoris or something, but pimple-faced boys are creepy, speaking in the first person but past tense. However, I suspect the usual Burroughs cover, with Dejah modelling the latest in Nearly-Nonexistentwear, puts any such impulse firmly into the category that encompasses centerfolds and the heroines of Penthouse letters.

5 Comments:

Blogger Beth said...

I'm all honored and stuff, that Eluned is so special to you. It's quite a distinction, especially for a minor character.

And yeah - totally whack, man. Totally.

8:06 AM

 
Anonymous Anonymous said...

This is just an observation and it's based solely on personal experience, so take it for what it is, but males seem less prone to develop crushes in quite the same way females do. I mean, we girlies get possessive and shit over our crushes. "Simon LeBon is MINE," she says, and the bitch means it too. I have NEVER seen a guy do this, not even Internet nerds who have an unhealthy obsession with anime characters.

I think the same bit of the brain that makes many females prone to having crushes on fictional characters and celebrities (same difference) is largely missing from many men.

7:44 PM

 
Anonymous Anonymous said...

p.s. I hereby modify my statement about fantasy/SF endings to include a caveat about some cyberpunk novels and Philip K. Dick and Ray Bradbury short stories.... but by and large they do require the Evil Empire to be vanquished.

7:46 PM

 
Blogger Paul said...

Candy - I think about the obseesed star stalkers, the ones with a string of restraining orders - there must be some who don't quite have the courage of their convictions.

I wonder what it says, though, that what's potentially psychopathic in a man is just a normal psychological adornment in a woman.

Vivre that difference thing. - Paul

9:59 PM

 
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Oh, yeah, forgot about the looney-tunes star stalkers. Women do it too. Quite a few women, actually--I remember hearing about some woman who snuck into Brad Pitt's house and slept in his bed or something for several days before people twigged on or something like that.

Anyway, I guess I was referring to regular non-stalking fandom. In that arena, it seems to me that way more females are into it than men.

12:54 AM

 

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