'A Hole in the World'
There's more to life than watching Buffy the Vampire Slayer! No. Really, there is! Honestly! Here's a place for Buffistas to come and discuss what it is they're reading, their favorite authors and poets. "Geez. Crack a book sometime."
The idea that woman requires that man master her like a horse or other domestic animal stuck in McKinley’s craw and pissed her off.
Really? Has she re-read her own Beauty recently? I did, and it was like a Stockholm Syndrome extravaganza.
I'm all for spunky heroines, but perhaps my definition of 'spunky' is a little more out there than hers.
There was a time in the late 40s when movie heroines, at least, were damned spunky. Barbara Stanwyk has the greatest line, but I don't know what hte movie is. Typical ganger situation, she's lounging in the boss' office. Visitor to the office gives her the once-over, then says to the boss, "Is that your girl?" Barbara gives him a sneer: "I'm my mother's girl."
That's sassy. Spunky is kicking the visitor in the nuts.
Never mind the kick; I'd expect Stanwyck to just shoot the mouthy bastard.
And then straddle his bleeding body, and purr at him "Oh, honey! Was it as good for you as it was for me?"
Mmmmm. Stanwyck.
"Beauty" is a pretty limp heroine IMHO, McKinley's version or no. Even if she is a bibliophile.
Speaking of spunky heroines, a friend of mine told me that the original Nancy Drew books had Nancy as a much more independent heroine, and that they were watered down when republished in the '60s. Has anyone here heard anything about this? My friend has forwarded some Snopes-disproved stuff in the past, so I don't know how much to credit this theory. I suppose I could ebay some Nancy Drew first editions and compare them to later reprints, but I'm not quite at that level of curious.
The 30s and 40s were actually a very good time for spunky/sassy heroines. I think the post-WWII "the men are home from the wars, time for the women to get back to womanly things" trend was what changed things. IE, the 50s.
There are definite differences between the various reprints of Nancy Drew (I remember once finding a few different versions of the same title and comparing them -- it wasn't just small changes, but entire scenes were changed), but I really can't remember enough to say whether the original was more independent or not.
The Nancy Drews I read were all my sister's. She was born in 1959, so they were probably mid- to late-60s imprints. So I've no idea what the originals were like.
Harriet Vane, from the Dorothy Sayers books in the 30s, seemed pretty spunky. I like the beginning of Have His Carcase:
The best remedy for a bruised heart is not, as so many people seem to think, repose upon a manly bosom. Much more efficacious are honest work, physical activity, and the sudden acquisition of wealth.
Sounds good to me. Although I wouldn't mind having both cures.
Mmm, that reminds me it's been over a year since my last Wimsey re-read.