(urth) 'King Rat' and the abuse of women in Gene Wolfe's stories

[Marc Aramini]

--- On Wed, 3/9/11, Lane Haygood <lhaygood at gmail.com> wrote:


From: Lane Haygood <lhaygood at gmail.com>
Subject: Re: (urth) 'King Rat' and the abuse of women in Gene Wolfe's stories
To: "The Urth Mailing List" <urth at lists.urth.net>
Date: Wednesday, March 9, 2011, 7:27 AM


I tend to write (almost exclusively) male protagonists and narrators.  Because I am male.  I don't have any direct, subjective experience of being female.  I do not think I could write a female narrator from a first-person perspective.  Third-person limited is probably the only voice I could use for female protagonists.
 
I 
But that's me.
 
LH


On Wed, Mar 9, 2011 at 9:01 AM, Ryan Dunn <ryan at liftingfaces.com> wrote:

As an aside, whenever a story pops into my head, the hero is usually a troubled young man or boy. I have to force him to be anyone else more often than not.

Any writers on this list have a similar experience with their muse?

...ryan




A bit late chiming in on this, but my best fiction can be found in my analysis of Gene's work, posted here throughout the years. (just kidding eh?)
 
I've found if I let my pen get away from me the characters become psychotic/neurotic sociopaths with a penchant for cruelty, something I certainly would deny being - I, who cry at Starman, or even the music to it, or when I am reminded of the Bridge of Birds marrying heaven and earth one day out of the year.
 
But yeah, I don't think I would ever try a female 1st person.  And come, the abuse of women in a story does not a misogynist make.  I think Henry Miller is one of the biggest misogynists of our time, but I rarely hear the accusation made.  And his fiction wasn't fiction, really.  Right up there with accidentally shooting your wife in the head, Burroughs.


      
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