Later Chapters Discussion: Modern Icons [ Edited ]

[jweinstein]

In her one book of nonfiction, Brave Dames and Wimpettes: What Women Are Really Doing on Page and Screen, Susan Isaacs writes:

Oh sure, we talk a good game: Assertiveness. Power. Take back the night. Just do it. After all, we've been through a revolution in women's rights in the last thirty some-odd years. Except even after all the fireworks, the speeches, the marches, our female icons seem to me a pretty pathetic lot. Ditto for many of the characters we meet these days in movies, on TV and in novels. There are not enough of those courageous spirits to reflect the times. I miss the Jane Eyres, my heroes, the brave dames I always admired and sometimes loved. Too many of today's female protagonists are still the tremulous, the willfully naive, the self-absorbed and self-pitying, the queens of passive aggression. They are the Madame Bovarys. Wimpettes.

Into which group do the women in Past Perfect -- Katie, Lisa, Maria, Maddy, Katie's mother Carol -- fit?

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Message Edited by jweinstein on 03-03-200711:42 PM

[kiakar]

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jweinstein wrote:
In her one book of nonfiction, Brave Dames and Wimpettes: What Women Are Really Doing on Page and Screen, Susan Isaacs writes:

Oh sure, we talk a good game: Assertiveness. Power. Take back the night. Just do it. After all, we've been through a revolution in women's rights in the last thirty some-odd years. Except even after all the fireworks, the speeches, the marches, our female icons seem to me a pretty pathetic lot. Ditto for many of the characters we meet these days in movies, on TV and in novels. There are not enough of those courageous spirits to reflect the times. I miss the Jane Eyres, my heroes, the brave dames I always admired and sometimes loved. Too many of today's female protagonists are still the tremulous, the willfully naive, the self-absorbed and self-pitying, the queens of passive aggression. They are the Madame Bovarys. Wimpettes.

Into which group do the women in Past Perfect -- Katie, Lisa, Maria, Maddy, Katie's mother Carol -- fit?

---

Note: This discussion topic is particularly suitable for readers who have finished, or nearly finished, The Past Perfect.

Click on "Reply" to post your thoughts about this discussion topic, or click "New Message" on the main page to start a new topic thread.

Message Edited by jweinstein on 03-03-200711:42 PM

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For Katie, I wouldn't ever even whisper a word of wimpness concerning her character.
She seems to stand up for what she believes, and doesn't hind behind anyone. That is how I see her, she might think before she plunders out their in the wilderness, but she takes the plunge so to me she is certainly a brave dame.Maddy, I can't make up my mind about her. She is radical , spontanuous and witty but does she really do things on her on. And Carol's mom seems to me as I remember she is very submissive and protective, wants things to be alright in the world. So I would have to go the other way with her. I would say Lisa, was maybe alittle of both. She knew how to shake things up but maybe alittle wimpy after the fire got started. Now Maria, she was a gutsy lady, but whether you would say she was wimpette or brave dame. A very interesting concept of different characters in this list.