Re: JCO: Marya: A Life
Hi, Annie. I was dazzled by "Theft" when it first appeared as an independent
short story a couple of years before MARYA was published. Now I would not
agree that Marya is not in touch with her sexuality. She has a great hunger for
sex. In MARYA we learn that she had a very hot relationship with an
ex-Marine who had come back to their hometown. The thing is that sex was a LUXURY
that Marya could not afford. The relationship with the young man had to be
sacrificed. To marry or take a chance on getting pregnant out of wedlock would have
put a permanent end to her plans to escape the rural-marriage-and-kids life
that was the lot for women of her social sphere. No scholarships for single
mothers back then; in fact, an OUT OF WEDLOCK mother would have been expelled
from most colleges -- even if she were paying her own way. It's easy to forget
how punative sex mores were before the late 1960s. (That's why the relentless
erosion of women's reproductive rights under the Bush administration is so
baffling to those of us who remember that era; we wonder what on earth young
women are thinking of to risk being driven back to those benighted times.) Not
only did Imogene have beautiful clothes and exciting vacations and god know what
all else to envy, she also had an independent sex life (Dickie) since her
family money was available to rescue her from whatever trouble she got into.
Sex, like anything else, is a comodity and let the buyer beware. Marya had only
her scholarship, as did JCO in her undergrad & grad school years. No other
safety nets available. All pleasures -- eating in restaurants, buying a new
pair of gloves, pursuing a sex life -- must be deferred until the career
paychecks start coming in with some reliability.
Happy Day of the Epiphany,
Cyrano
In a message dated 1/2/2005 12:29:52 PM Eastern Standard Time,
CoonHollow@aol.com writes:
<< I'm teaching this novel this semester, a first for me, but I've often
taught
Chapter 7, often anthologized in a slightly different version as "Theft."
I'm curious about what others think is going on in that chapter where Marya
and
Imogene are looking at photos of Dickie on Imogene's bed. There is
obviously
some seductive thing going on there, but students have argued vehemently as
to whether or not Imogene is trying to seduce Marya when she says, 'Would
you
like, you know...Sometime..." ? In any case, it's lost on Marya, who is
not
at all in touch with her own sexuality at this point.
Annie
>>
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short story a couple of years before MARYA was published. Now I would not
agree that Marya is not in touch with her sexuality. She has a great hunger for
sex. In MARYA we learn that she had a very hot relationship with an
ex-Marine who had come back to their hometown. The thing is that sex was a LUXURY
that Marya could not afford. The relationship with the young man had to be
sacrificed. To marry or take a chance on getting pregnant out of wedlock would have
put a permanent end to her plans to escape the rural-marriage-and-kids life
that was the lot for women of her social sphere. No scholarships for single
mothers back then; in fact, an OUT OF WEDLOCK mother would have been expelled
from most colleges -- even if she were paying her own way. It's easy to forget
how punative sex mores were before the late 1960s. (That's why the relentless
erosion of women's reproductive rights under the Bush administration is so
baffling to those of us who remember that era; we wonder what on earth young
women are thinking of to risk being driven back to those benighted times.) Not
only did Imogene have beautiful clothes and exciting vacations and god know what
all else to envy, she also had an independent sex life (Dickie) since her
family money was available to rescue her from whatever trouble she got into.
Sex, like anything else, is a comodity and let the buyer beware. Marya had only
her scholarship, as did JCO in her undergrad & grad school years. No other
safety nets available. All pleasures -- eating in restaurants, buying a new
pair of gloves, pursuing a sex life -- must be deferred until the career
paychecks start coming in with some reliability.
Happy Day of the Epiphany,
Cyrano
In a message dated 1/2/2005 12:29:52 PM Eastern Standard Time,
CoonHollow@aol.com writes:
<< I'm teaching this novel this semester, a first for me, but I've often
taught
Chapter 7, often anthologized in a slightly different version as "Theft."
I'm curious about what others think is going on in that chapter where Marya
and
Imogene are looking at photos of Dickie on Imogene's bed. There is
obviously
some seductive thing going on there, but students have argued vehemently as
to whether or not Imogene is trying to seduce Marya when she says, 'Would
you
like, you know...Sometime..." ? In any case, it's lost on Marya, who is
not
at all in touch with her own sexuality at this point.
Annie
>>
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Tone Clusters: The Joyce Carol Oates discussion group
To send a message to the group, email jco@usfca.edu
To subscribe, email majordomo@usfca.edu: subscribe jco
To unsubscribe, email majordomo@usfca.edu: unsubscribe jco
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