Is this novel a feminist text? I have resolved to say no, taken in the present context, and yes, taken with its contemporaries. I compared it with Austen's 'Emma', which was written in 1815, 58 years earlier than Ruiz de Burton's text. I saw several similarities between these novels, as I would say both present smart, engaging heroines who achieve their success through marriage. As well, both Lola and Emma are taken care of by older, paternal figures throughout their lives, and exhibit little true independence. These factors taken in the present context would communicate a clearly non-feminist viewpoint, however one cannot pretend that the status of women is the same now as it was in the mid-late 19th century. Overall, I believe that the very existence of the novel, published anonymously or not, constitutes an advancement for women of the time, and especially women of minorities.
Monday, September 15, 2008
Ruiz de Burton Response
I have, since my last post, managed to acquire Ruiz de Burton's 'Who Would Have Thought It?' from the bookstore. I power read, and finished it this weekend. Overall, I would say I was pleasantly surprised with the novel. I had a bit of a different experience as we had discussed the novel before I'd had a chance to read much of it. This did, however, give me a chance to read it more critically, and ask myself the questions that we had addressed in class.
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2 comments:
Hi Leanna,
I think it's really interesting that you read through the novel post-discussion, as it seems to have altered the way in which you perceived it. I definitely agree with you in the sense that this is not a feminist novel. However, I'm not sure I agree with your last comment. I don't believe that the publication of the novel constituted any real and valid advancement for women at that time. In fact, I believe given the way characters such as Mrs. Norval were portrayed it may have just done the opposite. Women were not exactly the interesting, intelligent and exciting characters in this novel.
Good points though! Enjoyed your comment.
-Kaan
I enjoyed reading your posting as well. I though it interesting that you compared R. de B.'s book with that of Jane Austens', because I had been thinking about the similarities of the two story lines while I was reading as well. I have to agree with you in that I think this book is not a feminist novel. As was discussed in class, it is not about women rising to power and claiming their rights. I feel that the characters are merely "playing" the roles they were born into. I can however see that R. de B. points out how unfair these roles can be...but there aren't any characters who try to rise above them and fight for their rights.
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