This is an incredible essay -- some of my favourite books, the ones that bring me joy and comfort and such beauty of language, come from the 1980 or before (looking at Eva Ibbotson romances and Borges Fictions), and as I've gotten older and wiser I've been confronting some of the racist/imperialist/problematic romance scenes in them. It's been difficult, and there is such a dangerous ease of dismissing all problems as being of a different time or being in character POVs (and going, 'well, Eva had to flee the nazis and absolutely wrote plot lines that showed nazis as evil'), but you are so right. Confronting it head on is the way to stop the slippage from excuses to agreement. Thank you for this.
(Also all of the being said, The Secret Countess lives in me where other people have hearts, and with heavy caveats, I will always recommend it)
Thank you so much!! I LOVE The Secret Countess (and all of her other books); it was the first book I ever read as a kid that addressed the evils of eugenics. It's interesting to me that authors often have such a duality in their work in that they clearly understand & confront some aspects of bigotry but enable others.
Right! I think TSC was the first time I learned about eugenics, which wasn’t taught to me in school until way way later (because of course it wasn’t!). (Also— her use of language? I want to cry. I want to eat her style and write until I fall apart.) But at the same time… like, I adore A Company of Swans but the glaring racism and imperialism can’t be swept under the rug!
I love your thoughtful take on this! I agree about not supporting living authors/creators who haven’t engaged with the harm their work has done. By the way, have you read Will Eisner’s Fagin the Jew? It’s a little heavy handed, even for Eisner (who I love, but he’s never been a subtle man), but does manage to give insight into how a Jew in Dickens’ time would have wound up running a gang of pickpockets and thieves.
Thank you so much, pal!!!!!! And OH I should have included Fagin the Jew last week when listing books that expand on other books (like Wide Sargasso Sea)! I found it to be so interesting; I've always had such difficulty reading that character in Oliver Twist.
"It’s frightening to me that no matter what the state of the world is, antisemitism is always able to twist itself into a new shape." This is the scariest thing for me, as well. But you tackle this fraught topic with such warmth and good humor; I found myself laughing repeatedly.
This was a wonderful, thoughtful essay.
Thank you so much for saying this, you're very kind!!!
This is an incredible essay -- some of my favourite books, the ones that bring me joy and comfort and such beauty of language, come from the 1980 or before (looking at Eva Ibbotson romances and Borges Fictions), and as I've gotten older and wiser I've been confronting some of the racist/imperialist/problematic romance scenes in them. It's been difficult, and there is such a dangerous ease of dismissing all problems as being of a different time or being in character POVs (and going, 'well, Eva had to flee the nazis and absolutely wrote plot lines that showed nazis as evil'), but you are so right. Confronting it head on is the way to stop the slippage from excuses to agreement. Thank you for this.
(Also all of the being said, The Secret Countess lives in me where other people have hearts, and with heavy caveats, I will always recommend it)
Thank you so much!! I LOVE The Secret Countess (and all of her other books); it was the first book I ever read as a kid that addressed the evils of eugenics. It's interesting to me that authors often have such a duality in their work in that they clearly understand & confront some aspects of bigotry but enable others.
Right! I think TSC was the first time I learned about eugenics, which wasn’t taught to me in school until way way later (because of course it wasn’t!). (Also— her use of language? I want to cry. I want to eat her style and write until I fall apart.) But at the same time… like, I adore A Company of Swans but the glaring racism and imperialism can’t be swept under the rug!
I love your thoughtful take on this! I agree about not supporting living authors/creators who haven’t engaged with the harm their work has done. By the way, have you read Will Eisner’s Fagin the Jew? It’s a little heavy handed, even for Eisner (who I love, but he’s never been a subtle man), but does manage to give insight into how a Jew in Dickens’ time would have wound up running a gang of pickpockets and thieves.
Thank you so much, pal!!!!!! And OH I should have included Fagin the Jew last week when listing books that expand on other books (like Wide Sargasso Sea)! I found it to be so interesting; I've always had such difficulty reading that character in Oliver Twist.
"It’s frightening to me that no matter what the state of the world is, antisemitism is always able to twist itself into a new shape." This is the scariest thing for me, as well. But you tackle this fraught topic with such warmth and good humor; I found myself laughing repeatedly.
Thank you so much, Boze!! This means so much to me coming from you. :)