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Misinterpretations of Tess of the d'Urbervilles as not containing rape are one of my pet peeves.
Extremely charitably, I can interpret this failure in reading comprehension as coming from a well-intentioned place. It can be revolutionary for women to admit they like sex. If Tess liked sex with Alec d'Urberville née Stoke, then the problem is just society telling women they shouldn't like sex, isn't it?
Problems with this theory: Alec's power over Tess. Happy, fun, consensual sex does not come from a place where the woman is dependent on the man for her daily bread and that of her family - and where the cultural climate is highly misogynistic.
(Here are some literary counterexamples: I believe Bathsheba Everdene and Gabriel Oak had happy, fun, consensual sex. I believe Anthony Trollope's Furnivals had happy, fun, consensual sex. There is a huge difference.)( Read more... )
Extremely charitably, I can interpret this failure in reading comprehension as coming from a well-intentioned place. It can be revolutionary for women to admit they like sex. If Tess liked sex with Alec d'Urberville née Stoke, then the problem is just society telling women they shouldn't like sex, isn't it?
Problems with this theory: Alec's power over Tess. Happy, fun, consensual sex does not come from a place where the woman is dependent on the man for her daily bread and that of her family - and where the cultural climate is highly misogynistic.
(Here are some literary counterexamples: I believe Bathsheba Everdene and Gabriel Oak had happy, fun, consensual sex. I believe Anthony Trollope's Furnivals had happy, fun, consensual sex. There is a huge difference.)( Read more... )
