Wednesday, November 08, 2006

A FEMINIST?

Do you think Levin is sympathetic to women, as evidenced by his treatment of female characters? Or do you think he's just the opposite, or somewhere in between?
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3 comments:

kc said...

I personally detected a bit of a feminist consciousness in him, which surprised me a tad in a male writer from this era (especially when I just discovered that this was his first novel and he wrote it at age 22). I read it knowing that he had written "Stepford Wives" and "Rosemary's Baby," neither of which I've read, but the movies based on those books seem to have a pretty sophisticated awareness of how creepy that 1950s attitude toward women is, and how creepy and controlling men are when they have the power of institutional sexism behind them. I think what he really pointed out was the extreme selfishness at the core of a male-centered society. It wasn't so much that these men had well thought-out ideas about the roles of the sexes; it's that they simply wanted a lifelong maid to cater to their needs. They all wanted to be little kings in their own castles, as in the Stepford Wives. The controlling aspect is very haunting in Rosemary's Baby, too. Her husband has forced her to get pregnant (by the devil!) and won't let her leave the house, controls her every move, and when she finally gets to a doctor she trusts, he betrays her (because she's just a silly woman who, unlike her husband, doesn't know what's best for her!). Those are extremes, but I see a little of that in this book. In Bud, obviously. But also a little in Kingship, who mistreated his wife in some vague way and most of his life hasn't done too well by his daughters. And even the secondary male characters come off as quite creepy at first (the two Ellen is scoping out as potential killers). I thought that each of those guys might sexually assault or kill her at some point. I know this latter was just part of the suspense, but I think all in all Levin takes a pretty dim view of traditional masculinity and its privileges.

I also thought he was saying something significant when he was explaining how impressed Bud was by the copper factory and how it was a sort of metaphor for American manhood (raw, elemental power going full steam ahead).

And yet I could imagine certain feminist critics lighting into him for his portrayal of women (they're all dupes, even the smartest among them — they're essentially creatures of emotion who will do anything for love — and they have to be protected by strong men from their own follies). I don't think that's really a fair reading of his work, but I can see the argument. What do you think?

11:22 AM, November 08, 2006
kc said...

And note that, in the end, Bud boils to death in the cauldron of industrial manhood that so impresses him!

11:25 AM, November 08, 2006
cl said...

I think "Stepford Wives" not only makes him women-friendly, but conscious of women's issues. Now what I would like to do is read "Stepford Husbands," which I never have found in a library or bookstore (but could probably find online), and that would be telling how he portrayed the men and their justification for inventing sexbots.

I thought he explored femininity in "A Kiss," particularly because Bud exploited all three of the sisters despite their varying character, but none of the women were inexcusably obtuse. There was no sense that Ellen would have guessed Bud's intentions, and in retrospect, probably not Dorrie, either.

10:07 AM, November 09, 2006

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