Hey interweb,
oh, what having I been doing today you ask?
I performed at a music thing today, and otherwise, this...

As far as many feminists are concerned, most literature prior to the twenty-first century portrayed women in fiction in a sexist light, as female characters were either written by men, or written in a time when men held precedence over the ideals portrayed in fiction. There are some exceptions: Austen, Woolf and Bronte are all perfect representatives, but it was the concepts, as opposed to the authors, which stirred the pot regarding female stereotypes, and which helped woman gain headway on the path to equality. Sexuality is one of the most double-edged swords in literature and society, as the way women and their bodies are is often reflected and refracted down the line until it reaches more everyday people. Sexuality is, however, not necessarily a degrading part of being a woman, because although it is not always expressed in a positive way, (phallus-centred pornography, the weak-willed Eve in theology and the Sirens in mythology) it can be a positive and empowering tool for women. In the novels To the Lighthouse by Virginia Woolf, Gravity’s Rainbow by Thomas Pynchon and Cat’s Eye by Margaret Atwood, the double-standard of female sexuality is examined, as each female protagonist relies upon their sexuality as a means of empowerment and fulfillment in their lives, and as a tool to control those around them. The role of these women and the degrees of the ‘sex’ in their sexuality differs in each respective environment, but each woman weaves a spell over those around them, and are continuously perceived as inhuman by others. Of course each woman is only human, each flawed, and the main flaw in each is their extreme need to be needed, as their role as the satisfier of other’s needs, whether they be sexual or maternal, is a role that they require to feel complete. Unfortunately, this need to be needed sets feminism back, as the women want to be put in the roles of the seductress, or the mother figure. They should not be condemned for feeling power in their seemingly degrading roles, as long as those roles give them empowerment and strength of some sort.



A common misconception in society is that a woman giving love or re-assurance does not gain any reciprocated satisfaction, and each woman in the three aforementioned works of literature defy that misconception. The comfort of putting one’s children to bed, appeasing each individual child’s wants and desires and putting them to sleep with happy thoughts in their heads is satisfaction in itself; despite the fact that the word ‘sexuality’ immediately brings to mind an image of a voluptuous, scantily clad woman, sexuality also is closely associated to the word ‘power’, which almost instantaneously brings to mind an image of a man. Power is not exclusive to politics, or the phallus, and a mesmerizingly beautiful and alluring woman can carry with her a power and sexuality which blends into a hybrid, a strength that is revolutionary, and addictive.


The beautiful and apparently ageless character, Mrs. Ramsay, from Virginia Woolf’s To the Lighthouse, is an example of a woman who wields her lovely nature and appearance as a means to self-sufficiency and strength, and casts a spell of sexuality on those around her, but does not use her sexually in an explicit manner. Although her lack of promiscuity may be a direct result of the time period in which she was written in, the early twentieth century, Mrs. Ramsay in the most romantic of the three different characters, and has a grace which is widely acknowledged, as even roaming poets herald her as “the Helen of [her] days” (P33). Mrs. Ramsay’s rapturous qualities are effortless, as she does not seduce those around her with anything but her kindness and her physical beauty: even the visiting male-chauvinist Charles Tansley is awe-struck by her presence, and looks upon her as “the most beautiful person he ha[s] ever seen” (P20). Additionally, the slightly condescending feminist painter, Lily Briscoe, cannot help but see Mrs. Ramsay and be “in love with her” (P26), and “in love with it all” (P26) ; “it all” refers to Mrs. Ramsay’s family, and her lifestyle, but it is not the superficially ideal family that it appears to be to smitten visitors: Mrs. Ramsay can only stand so much of her husband’s arrogant attitude, which he uses to bring others down and, therefore, elevate himself, and is infuriated so much that she looks at him and sees an “odious little man” (P21). At other times, Mrs. Ramsay is nothing but contentedly obedient towards her husband, as the character she embodies while partaking in his fantasy can be anything, in one instance silent, as Mrs. Ramsay pretends to be “[reading] a book” [P128], while Mr. Ramsay revels in “man’s strength and sanity” (P129). Mrs. Ramsay knows that her consent “fortifie[s] [him]’ (P128) and “fill[s] [him]” (P128), and that is why she does what he wants and makes him feel good about himself, because the fact that he is empty and self-conscious without her, and the fact that he needs her to be complete, is the satisfaction that Mrs. Ramsay needs as well. It seems ironic that in a story where there seems to be such effortless beauty and rapture, that there is such starving need, and a need for that need; but every deity has an Achilles heel, and fault is inevitable. The extremity of Mrs. Ramsay’s fault –her desire to be a “strong influence” (68) on those around her – is best exemplified through her relationship, or lack thereof, with Mr. Carmichael. Mr. Carmichael is not overwhelmed by Mrs. Ramsay’s good looks, and “does not trust her” (P47), unlike virtually everyone around her. The fact that Mr. Carmichael never accepts Mrs. Ramsay’s offers, which seem trivial at face value, is an example of his dismissal of her, which is why Mrs. Ramsay so desperately seeks his approval. Although Mrs. Ramsay attributes her obsession with being in his favour to “some demons” (P47), it is really her need to be accepted, worshipped, or even acknowledged, that makes her so frantic. This specific infatuation of Mrs. Ramsay’s, her desire to be the person that makes one feel as if they “could do anything” (P87), is that which drives her to always maintain her position as the mother, as the kind temptress, and it is the same desire that is also present in Katje Bourgeoisie, who plays a more literal seductress in the novel Gravity’s Rainbow.


Where Mrs. Ramsay is the rapture of a rose, Katje Bourgeoisie is the allure of adultery; Mrs. Ramsay is beautiful in a way that can be admired, and absorbed in a more metaphysical manner, whereas Katje puts the sex in sexuality, and needs to be tasted and enjoyed physically by those around her. Katje is written as a sexual chameleon, a mystery of a woman, who changes with each need her client or lover desires. That ability to adapt is the reason why Katje is such a formidable asset in the war (World War Two), around which the novel is more or less centred. Katje is involved with various parties and sides during the war, “The White Visitation” being the most prominent, and is physically beneficial to these organizations, because she can manipulate and access information from others. Katje is never trusted because no one truly understands why she does what she does, as she seems to “play at playing” (P99); her first few appearances in the story are brief, but she makes a very strong impact as an eerily beautiful woman in an “incredibly phallic environment” (P100). Katje image of a fulfilled woman is first tainted when her sexual exploits with a man named Blicero are examined, and her lack of “emotional commitment” (P99) is noted, as well as the fact that the fantasy that she takes part in is “largely a preserving routine against the war” (P98). Katje’s beauty makes her feel liberated, and on a number of occasions she revels in the fact that she can seem “beautiful and frail” (P198) to those around her, but really be completely separate from her beauty in a way that no one else seems to comprehend. Although many of her companions “love her desperately” (P106), there is only one for whom the feelings are reciprocated, and that is the novel’s protagonist, Tyrone Slothrop. Slothrop is a man whose penis is of great interest to those involved in the war, as there seems to be a correlation between his erections and the release of bombs, and Katje is the women sent in to examine ‘the weapon’. When she is with Slothrop, Katje does not feel the need to create the fantasies and the lies that she weaves with everyone, and that is why their relationship is so unique. After Katje and Slothrop see each other for the last time, Katje dives back into the fantasies, as it is the only thing that is “real, and pure” (P237) in her life. While playing the role of a Dominatrix Katje’s numbness is first exposed, as she is jealous of her sexual partner, Pudding, a man who is “bound by nothing but his need for pain” (P237). Despite the fact that Katje seems like she is the one being used, she is capable of manipulation, and thrives off of the need that men like Pudding have for her, ever though it exists on a mainly delusional and physical level. It is through her sexual relations that Katje makes herself feel useful, and feel complete, and even though it is a negative way to do so, it is a way nonetheless.


Chronologically speaking, each character is the most similar to the one that precedes her, and in accordance with that, Elaine and Katje have a fair amount in common; they are similar in their nihilistic tendencies, and the physical avenues that they both go down to try and fill their internal emptiness. Elaine’s need to be needed is the most blatant in the novel, at least in terms of each her own acceptance; Mrs. Ramsay beats around the bush regarding her desires, and Katje is vague, but Elaine admits that she is in “love with [a lover’s] need” (P318). Elaine combats feelings of alienation and loneliness with the fleshy satisfaction of men, and in moments of despair she ache’s for “any man [she] knows” (P18). If Elaine was a different person – a less attractive woman like her friend Cordelia, for example – then she would have more trouble attaining the temporary pleasure of a man, but she has a power and sexuality that is unrivalled by all the other female characters in Cat’s Eye. Elaine doesn’t lure men in with her kind nature or feminine looks, but with her mysterious and introverted personality that always leaves those around her hungry for more; her power is not exclusive to men, or sex, and by ignoring childhood bullies she just becomes more attractive to them, and they need her, “and try to lure [her] back” (P208), but are unsuccessful. Even though she has a life in which relationships with men are always “effortless” (P287), and that she goes as far as marrying a man who is “incomplete in his need” (P344), just so that she can be needed, and be revived, it still isn’t enough. Additionally, Elaine continuously takes part in activities laced with masochism as a means of having “something to hold onto” (P120). The life drawing class that she enrols in as a young adult is a representation of her lifelong relationships with men, as she is unusual to the boys: she isn’t their “old lad[ies] (P323), and to her teacher and eventual lover, Josef, she is “silent, and mysterious” (P325), which he finds very appealing. Elaine eventually manipulates Josef’s obsession with her, and uses cruelty to feel empowerment, telling him after he asks that she “would[n’t] do anything for [him]” (325). The way in which Elaine uses her power is very different from Mrs. Ramsay and Katje, as Mrs. Ramsay act’s mostly for the sake of others, but Katje acts simultaneously for the satisfaction of others and herself. Elaine is the most selfish of the three women, and most of her actions are self-beneficial, as her relationships and actions all reflect her trying to appease various aspects of herself. Each woman does satisfy the needs of others for themselves, but it varies to different degrees, and Elaine’s selfishness is definitely the most predominant.


Elaine, Katje and Mrs. Ramsay are not identical characters, but they all have one thing in common: a need for power; how they gain empowerment is subject to each individual woman, but one thing that can be said about those who lust for power is that they hate having it taken away from them. Elaine, Katje and Mrs. Ramsay are each confronted with someone who makes them feel powerless, and it is through these people that their infatuation with control is really exhibited. Mr. Carmichael is a man who doesn’t particularly like Mrs. Ramsay, and even after her death “avoids her” (P163), while others cannot quell their “insatiable hunger” (P166) for Mrs. Ramsay’s calming presence. Mr. Carmichael is not swayed by Mrs. Ramsay’s tremendous beauty or grace, and does not come to her for help or guidance; it is because he “d[oes] not like her” (P163) that Mrs. Ramsay is so obsessed with him, and why he makes her feel weak. It is the involvement in the lives of others which makes her life have more meaning, and not being involved in Mr. Carmichael’s life makes Mrs. Ramsay feel useless. The same can be said for Elaine, as the embodiment of those who put her down and thought her a “heathen” (P151) is conglomerated into the dowdy figure of her friend’s mother, Mrs. Smeath. Elaine resents Mrs. Smeath for the duration of her written life, and uses her as a central focus in many of her paintings. Mrs. Smeath is always represented as someone unattractive, and cruel, and Elaine asks herself in a moment of clarity why she hates Mrs. Smeath so much. Elaine’s hatred boils down to the same feelings Mrs. Ramsay has for Mr. Carmichael: she may not necessarily care about Mrs. Smeath herself, but the fact that Mrs. Smeath thinks lowly of Elaine makes her feel self-conscious, which leads to weakness, and Mrs. Smeath becomes a representation of Elaine’s vulnerability. Elaine’s grasp on others is consistently strong, but is the weakest during her childhood; Mrs. Smeath was a prominent figure in Elaine’s young life, and the fact that so much negativity occurred during those years meant that when Elaine looks back on them, the time when she held virtually no power, she thinks of Mrs. Smeath. Katje’s rival is not as black and white as Elaine’s or Mrs. Ramsay’s, and the person Katje has to combat the most is a formidable opponent: herself. Katje is continuously presented as someone who despises herself, and who is driven to inflicting physical and psychological pain of others to bring feeling into her life. By “searching for that something” (P337), and making love to various men, Katje revives her soul, but simultaneously feels a weight on her conscious. Ironically, by making herself feel, and be happier, Katje is digging herself deeper into a grave in which she loses respect for herself, and feels detached and “significantly more fragile” (P562).


The fight for female empowerment is a seemingly ageless battle, and it is through these three women that stereotypes are combated. Although Mrs. Ramsay is a typical, submissive mother figure, she still manages to find satisfaction in that lifestyle; even though Katje is ultimately a prostitute, she finds ways to feel strong and powerful over the men around her; despite severe verbal and mental abuse that Elaine went through as a child, and relationships with men in which they try desperately to assert dominance over her, Elaine maintains a career and raises two children, while having the upper hand in almost all the relationships she is in. Women are not delicate flowers, nor are they sharp thorns; women are whatever they want to be, and if they choose to be a housewife, or a mistress, they should not be seen as anything less than people doing what they want to do. Elaine, Katje and Mrs. Ramsay are three women who cannot seem to find ways to appease their own needs, so they satisfy themselves by constantly filling the needs of others. Even though it is not a healthy coping mechanism, they get by, and each feel content with the lives they need, and what shame is there in that.