In my young years I took pride in the fact that luck was called a lady. In fact, there were so few public acknowledgments of the female presence that I felt personally honored whenever nature and large ships were referred to as feminine. But as I matured, I began to resent being considered a sister to a changeling as fickle as luck, as aloof as an ocean, and as frivolous as nature. The phrase 'A woman always has the right to change her mind' played so aptly into the negative image of the female that I made myself a victim to an unwavering decision. Even if I made an inane and stupid choice, I stuck by it rather than 'be like a woman and change my mind.' Being a woman is hard work. Not without joy and even ecstasy, but still relentless, unending work. Becoming an old female may require only being born with certain genitalia, inheriting long-living genes and the fortune not to be run over by an out-of-control truck, but to become and remain a woman command the existence and employment of genius. The woman who survives intact and happy must be at once tender and tough. She must have convinced herself, or be in the unending process of convincing herself, that she, her values, and her choices are important. In a time a nd world where males hold sway and control, the pressure upon women to yield their rights-of-way is tremendous. And it is under those very circumstances that the woman's toughness must be in evidence. |
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Quotes from Anne Le Marquand Hartigan's paper
A few of my favourite quotes from "Almost There" - My #1 Summer 2016 book
Amazing Anne Hartigan, second Irish female author that I feel grateful for discovering this year. The Big Grieving
From To Catch Life Anew: 10 Swedish Women Poets, 2006
There is this an idea of romantic love out there, an idea of love so dedicated, so complete that one who feels it is believed to be unable to see any flaws in her/his beloved. Which leaves those loved ones feeling insecure and misunderstood somehow because not all of them is acknowledged, their flaws overlooked for a time being sure to become an issue later on. While they may be afraid of embracing that "complete romantic love" this is what the other person might be feeling:
http://vimeo.com/82283265
Good sequence of themes in the book, I thought. Love the twist at the finale.
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