I'm supposed to writing a discussion post for my Women's Studies class. I'm procrastinating here instead. At least I'm writing about women.
10 women writers that I like:
1. Jane Austen.
Who else wrote only six complete novels two hundred years ago that people still read today (some of us over and over again) and that still are the basis of movies? She was writing when it was not the approved thing to do for women, and at first the novels were not even published with her full name. (like George Eliot, who was really Mary Ann Evans). Now, of course, her cottage is a museum.
2. The triple threat: The Bronte sisters.
That would be Charlotte, Emily, and Anne. Highly original, not in sync with their time, and very talented but still grew up in the shadow of their brother. Famous books include Jane Eyre (Charlotte), Wuthering Heights (Emily), and Tenant of Wildfell Hall (Anne). Anne also wrote Agnes Grey, but I haven't read that one yet.
3. Alice Walker.
Brilliant. Coined the term "womanist" to describe a black feminist in her book "In Our Mother's Garden". She also wrote the Color Purple and many others (check out the post archives for one on the play).
4. Mary Wollstonecraft and Mary Shelley.
Middle name for the this mother and daughter: controversy. In 1792, Ms. Wollstonecraft wrote "A Vindication of the Rights of Women" in which she endeared herself forever to every feminist. She also made headlines (or would have if TV news existed then), for having relationships with men without being married to them. She did marry philosopher William Godwin, with whom she had Mary Shelley. Ms. Shelley wrote Frankenstein, which was published at the young age of 21. She also had an affair with a married man. Not that their relationships are the most important thing. Men aren't judged by their relationships, are they? Actually, Tiger Woods is now that I think about it.
5. Amy Tan.
Writer of the Joy Luck Club, the Kitchen God's Wife and others. Her writing usually involves multiple generations of Chinese women here and in China and the clash between modern and traditional culture. Very good.
6. Anchee Min.
Author of the Red Azalea and others. This is one of my favorite books ever. It is her memoir of growing up during the first stages of Chairman Mao's "reign". Her other books focus on fictionalized accounts of real Chinese women such as Madame Mao.
7. Linda Woolverton.
Author of the animation screenplay for Beauty and the Beast. Amazingly, after all those years of animated Disney movies, she is the first woman to write one of the screenplays. She modeled Gaston on her ex boyfriends.
Putting aside Disney's propensity to warp classic fairy tales to their own ends:
-the Little Mermaid, in the fairy tale, endures a lot of pain from her new legs and doesn't end up with the prince anyway. The moral in the fairy tale: changing for a man is not worth it, the moral in the movie: changing your appearance drastically and giving up your whole life will catch you a prince
- in the Beauty and the Beast, when a girl wants adventure she means she wants to find a man and fall in love, and by the power of her love she can change a man no better how much of a monster he is
-and the pandering to the thin, big eyed culturally acceptable idea of beauty (which came first, the Disney heroine or this idea of beauty?) -
after all that, the Beauty and the Beast is still my favorite Disney movie. My favorite part:
Beast: I want to give her something.
Cogsworth: Well, there's the usual. Flowers, chocolates, promises you don't intend to keep...
8. Sandra Cisneros.
Mexican-American author of the House on Mango Street. While I was moving I found three copies. Nuff said.
9. Clarice Lispector.
A Brazilian Jew whose parents escaped from Russia when she was a toddler. I discovered her in a Latin American lit class with a short story about a cockroach in an apartment. It's way better than it sounds. If I had continued with a literature degree, she would have been the topic of my thesis.
10. me.
This blog counts. And I like me.
No comments:
Post a Comment