What an incredibly detailed, thoughtful, incisive comment! WOW! Thank you a million times!
What you say about gender roles is s interesting to me. Beyond a solitary Women's Studies course in college more than 10 years ago, I've never studied much about feminism or gender roles in school - it's an area of my education that's been sadly lacking - so I'm afraid I can't speak very knowledgeably on the subject. I agree about the gender-segregated world as it was back in the Middle Ages, and especially the early Middle Ages. The church had a lot to do with that, I suppose, and also the violent uncertainty of the times, in which physical strength often equaled worldly power. We are so blessed to live in modern America where brains are more highly valued than brawn, and society has evolved to a place where discussions about gender can be openly conducted and quite influential on the culture.
I love what you say about Jensen being an ambiguous force in Tristan's life - role model, daddy replacement, friend, love interest, etc. They have a complicated relationship, and I'm looking forward to elaborating on that in future work. I'm reading a book on gays in the early Middle Ages now and it is fascinating! A much more complex subject than what I expected to find - unrelenting intolerance and hostility.
It's such a pleasure to hear your thoughts and analysis. Intelligent friends are awesome!
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Date: 2011-06-30 12:10 am (UTC)What you say about gender roles is s interesting to me. Beyond a solitary Women's Studies course in college more than 10 years ago, I've never studied much about feminism or gender roles in school - it's an area of my education that's been sadly lacking - so I'm afraid I can't speak very knowledgeably on the subject. I agree about the gender-segregated world as it was back in the Middle Ages, and especially the early Middle Ages. The church had a lot to do with that, I suppose, and also the violent uncertainty of the times, in which physical strength often equaled worldly power. We are so blessed to live in modern America where brains are more highly valued than brawn, and society has evolved to a place where discussions about gender can be openly conducted and quite influential on the culture.
I love what you say about Jensen being an ambiguous force in Tristan's life - role model, daddy replacement, friend, love interest, etc. They have a complicated relationship, and I'm looking forward to elaborating on that in future work. I'm reading a book on gays in the early Middle Ages now and it is fascinating! A much more complex subject than what I expected to find - unrelenting intolerance and hostility.
It's such a pleasure to hear your thoughts and analysis. Intelligent friends are awesome!