Portrayals of Femininity

Use this forum to discuss the October Book of the Month "McDowell" by William H. Coles.
Theresa Moffitt
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Re: Portrayals of Femininity

Post by Theresa Moffitt »

Kendra M Parker wrote: 22 Oct 2018, 15:14
Life In Books wrote: 22 Oct 2018, 01:31 William H. Coles has portrayed feminity in a very positive manner. It didn't seem that he contained any of the female characters as per the limits about females thought traditionally. He described different female characters quite appropriately.
I agree with both opinions. I think the author created non traditional roles for women in the book and I found those characters to be interesting but then toward the end they did just fade away

I think these women were very strong and interesting, but I felt they had a lackluster finish. Sophie follows the guy, Paige fades away in disappointment, Anne gets injured and only becomes a check-in point instead of a living character.
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Post by ShailaSheshadri »

I don't think Cole has restricted any of his female characters to follow gender roles. Sophie, Paige, Tasha, and Carole took decisions which were suitable for them and moved forward in life. Until the end, all these characters didn't show any features that were like the ones which the traditional women followed.
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Post by Highly Favoured One »

Gender roles is always a thorny issue, not just for the female characters of the book but also in life. What is the definition of a successful woman? Different people have different views, and if a woman fails to realize her intrinsic value and know her limits, she may try to please everyone and end up frustrating herself and wearing herself out.
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Post by Zora C Penter »

Aside from "giving" them those roles, they are often painted as unsuccessful in them because of their femininity. I am not sure if there is a book equivalent of a Bechdel Test, but this one would surely not have qualified. The women are almost props in this novel and are only defined by the relationships to, and actions of, the men around them.
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Post by Zora C Penter »

Caylie_Cat wrote: 30 Oct 2018, 18:30
Radiant3 wrote: 30 Oct 2018, 10:09 I found that there was a theme of loneliness for the older women in the book. Ann, Rima, Carole, Paige, Helga, Winona, Kitsy. They were older and had to fend for themselves. They were without a solid support from a partner or companion. Even Carole, when she was married to Hiram, she still felt alone. Ann had little support from Robert who was present but not really there for her and the children.
I didn't see this when I read the book, but I think you are right. In hindsight, the book treated women in general as 'necessary evils', who were mostly problematic to the male characters. Even the sexual partners and descriptions were portrayed in a dispassionate and critical manner.
Don't even get me started on the descriptions of each new woman he meets! I was actually worried while reading because I thought McDowell was going to put the moves on Maude's daughter. The things he noticed about her really piqued my attention. If I noticed a grown man looking at my students that way, I'd ask him to leave.
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Post by BelleReadsNietzsche »

Zora C Penter wrote: 13 Feb 2019, 00:29
Caylie_Cat wrote: 30 Oct 2018, 18:30
Radiant3 wrote: 30 Oct 2018, 10:09 I found that there was a theme of loneliness for the older women in the book. Ann, Rima, Carole, Paige, Helga, Winona, Kitsy. They were older and had to fend for themselves. They were without a solid support from a partner or companion. Even Carole, when she was married to Hiram, she still felt alone. Ann had little support from Robert who was present but not really there for her and the children.
I didn't see this when I read the book, but I think you are right. In hindsight, the book treated women in general as 'necessary evils', who were mostly problematic to the male characters. Even the sexual partners and descriptions were portrayed in a dispassionate and critical manner.
Don't even get me started on the descriptions of each new woman he meets! I was actually worried while reading because I thought McDowell was going to put the moves on Maude's daughter. The things he noticed about her really piqued my attention. If I noticed a grown man looking at my students that way, I'd ask him to leave.
Preach.
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Post by Hiruni Bhagya 81 »

What's more important is not remaining inside or outside of traditional roles of femininity, but allowing women to play the roles they are content and happy to play. This is limited by the expectations and beliefs of the society. In a way, we can't exceed this boundary. So, within this boundaries, women have the ability to play the roles they like. I think that's what the author has tried to show.
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Post by Mellino Itz »

I think the female characters were well portrayed in this book. Each developing gradually and growing with the story. The females grew out of their traditional female roles, but the author had a way to balance things up at the end of the story.
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