Yarmouth HS Daughter of Fortune

This blog will focus on the second question:

What does the way women are depicted in contemporary fiction say about our culture and identity? Evaluate the purpose of presenting women in this way in your novel.

I feel that women are becoming more and more prevalent in contemporary fiction. I also think that female characters are becoming more independent and less of a support character for a male. I feel that this shows our progression as a culture towards a more equal ideal.

Now for evidence of that. Well, from the American literature class we are taking, very few of the main characters are women. And an even smaller number are independent of male counterparts. The Scarlet Letter is an example of this. Hester is the main female character of the book, but she is not independent from men in anyway. Her crime is directly related to her male counterpart, as are all her problems.

I feel that in today’s fiction, women are being portrayed with stronger personalities. Even though TV and movies will remain at their brainless norm, fiction does portray women as stronger figures. Take a look at Stephen King’s works. The women he portrays aren’t completely independent, but they are intelligent and have their own, strong personalities.

This novel presents women as being strong and independent. This is because Allende recognizes the fact that women today are ready to be equals to men. The glass ceiling is ever cracking, with more and more women coming into positions of power. Allende recognizes this change, and supports women with her portrayals.

This one is focusing on the first question:

How are women depicted in contemporary fiction and media? During your reading of the novel, comment on the ways in which women are being portrayed. Consider relationships, experiences, situations, etc.

I feel that women are portrayed in a different manner than we have become accustomed to in today’s society. I feel that society still places traditional roles on women. Even though our society claims equal rights to women and men, women are judged in a harsher fashion then men are. I’m sure we all know the derogatory terms for women, and most of them are related to using sexuality for personal gain. Also women are depicted as being romance obsessed. There are plenty of movies out there, for example, that portray women to be guy obsessed ditzes. I know this isn’t all movies but I’m sure all of us could come up with a few of them. Now, this isn’t to say that some women aren’t romantic, but this single minded romance isn’t realistic.

Now, with that said, I think that this book portrays women as being who they want to be. The life of a Chilean woman in the upper class did not fit Eliza’s personality. Because of this, Eliza had no problem with taking her life into her own hands and changing her own fate. Yes, she does run off after her ‘love’ in a romantic way, but she eventually gives up on her love. She ends up a free woman.

Eliza frees herself from her social ties and moral obligations by traveling to a lawless land. In this land she claims the same rights and respect as a man would. She does pose as a man for much of the book, yet this freedom that she has as a woman is an incredible experience for her. She is able to take care of herself without any male intervention. She befriends Tao Chi’en, however their relationship, on whatever level it is, but that relationship isn’t necessary for her survival.

Overall the women are portrayed as strong and intelligent people. It could be easily argued that Allende portrays women as the better of the two sexes in this book. Allende’s representation of women makes them feel equal or superior to the males in the novel; also, these women are much more independent and strong willed than the woman portrayed in today’s media.

I owe an apology to my group mates for not blogging sooner. I have read the book, I finished it a few weeks ago. Anyway, onto my thoughts.

Since I’m behind I’ll just combine my blogs into one massive one if that’s alright with everyone.

Well, let me first say that I enjoyed this book. The different cultures and how they blend together during the book made for great reading. I’ve read two other books by Allende, and I enjoyed them as well, but this one had a much different feel to it. She didn’t spare the details in any part of the book, and that was different from most media published today. A book that graphic couldn’t be made into a movie without losing much of the feeling from the necessary censorship.

I did like the ending. I feel like there was enough closure to put my mind at rest. Yes, I did wonder what happened to them next, but I suppose that’s exactly what Allende wanted the reader to feel. It lets the reader’s imagination and wonder take hold and makes you think, something that doesn’t always happen in books. I think that it would have been nice to see what happened between Eliza and Tao, but then again the whole history of their relationship has been fuzzy. At some points Eliza talks about him as a friend, and other times as more of a husband like figure. The ethnic differences in their relationship and how they were treated by others could have made a great side story, if indeed they did end up in a sort of long term relationship.

I really enjoyed the strength of Eliza during the entire novel. She takes hold of her life, much like Rose did in her own life. Rose tells Eliza that she wishes she was a man so she could be free. From Rose’s influence Eliza develops into a very strong woman, that doesn’t obey the strict laws of her Chilean society. And I enjoyed that. Allende portrays the women in this book as strong and loving, yet trapped by the society in which they live. I think that women today have much more freedom, yet this exaggeration from history tells her own views that women are still partly trapped in their societies. In the US it’s much less than the rest of the world, yet there still hasn’t been a woman president, and the number of female CEO’s and presidents of large corporations can be counted on fingers alone.

Another thing I enjoyed about this book is the character development. Many of the characters have their pasts described in vivid detail in some part of the book. Tao has a large section devoted to him alone. This book is primarily about Eliza, yet with little effort this book could be split up into several short stories about each of the characters. I really liked this. I felt that it helped to explain the characters and why they did what they did in their interactions with Eliza. And in each of these backgrounds the culture shines through. Allende obviously did her homework on Chilean and Chinese culture at the time period.

Well, there are my basic views on the book.

Hey just wanted to let everyone know that Dice-K pitches tonight!

My Musings: 200-300

I was at first irked and then amused by the comment by Eliza that “It is tedious to be a man, but being a woman is worse still” on page 277. If this statement is taken out of the context of the letter in which she says this, the reader notices that just two pages later that Eliza speaks of the entrepreneurial disadvantages of men and the economic opportunities for women, essentially destroying the logic behind this statement. However, it turns out that Eliza is speaking of the “art” of pretending to be a man…I had a whole long thing on this, but then I realized that it was essentially what is said on page 279 by Eliza herself. How do you guys think Allende portrays women in contrast to men in Daughter of Fortune in any different or unusual ways?

Something that I am noticing is that Eliza, in becoming an entrepreneur at various points in her life, is really not accomplishing the same things that women such as Paulina or Ah Toy are accomplishing with their business ventures. In the “sugar-coated reality” of Valparaiso, Eliza’s dreams faced the obstacle of a lifestyle planned by her parents; in California, Eliza’s dreams were inhibited by issues of financial security. Eliza is not so much simply following any norms of sorts set by a new generation of women (Paulina, Ah Toy, Joe Bonecrusher), but the facts are that her inclination to help others still plays second fiddle to financial security.

So is Eliza’s story still a great story, regardless of whether or not what she accomplishes as a woman in the 1850’s is not a direct result of any of her own desires? Is she simply someone on a different, higher level, whose earthly successes pale in comparison to her maintenance of morality and “inner peace”? Or, from another perspective, should she have done more on that higher level? One of the qualities that Eliza herself unconsciously generates in this section of the book specifically is a sort of mystique; “They [traveling companions] were amazed by the beardless youth with a woman’s voice who read the Holy Scripture every evening…some became his protectors, ready to beat up anyone who did” (273). We can’t charge Eliza with the duty to become a slave to society; we can’t force her to use that mystique to turn all of that energy focused on protecting her into coordinated attacks on more real threats. Still, can we consider affecting someone’s personality and outlook on life enough, or should Eliza have developed for herself and others more concrete opportunities to help others and to save others? She merely complains about the institution of slavery, and her charity, just like her business interests, is mostly a series of odd jobs. Tao Chien and Eliza are quite literally given the same starting point and resources in America; Tao Chien turns his motivation and talent into an operation to save young prostitutes. Interestingly enough, when discussing the issue of prostitution, Eliza continues to use the word “you” when speaking to Tao about what needs to be done. She asks questions like “What are you going to do?” or makes statements such as “You have to stop the traffic”. Admittedly, she does end up helping in Tao’s work and is undoubtedly interested in his work, but it would not be unreasonable to ask for her to add a little more than just herself to the operation. As previously suggested, she could have looked to do more in the way of recruiting some of her old companions. She gave reason for Babalu the Bad to save her and Tom No-Tribe from the fire, why not try to recreate that goodwill on a larger scale?

Returning to reality, am I expecting too much of someone who is only 18-20 years old? Her trip across California isn’t exactly a spring break vacation, she doesn’t have the luxury (privilege, right?) of parental support…the list goes on. But still, …

Although the women in this book are not in our culture or society, I believe Allende purposely depicted them this way to parallel women today. Paulina, Joe Bonecrusher, Miss Rose, Mrs. Andieta, and Eliza all are entrepreneurs of their own making. Paulina is by far the most successful woman entrepreneur, and she is contrasted with her husband who scoffs at her first business endeavors and in the end profits from them and relies on them. Joe Bonecrusher is, in my opinion, the most creative because she invents a business endeavor and succeeds. This parallels women in present day culture and society because more and more women are breaking into businesses and breaking the glass ceiling. Paulina was an exception in those days, but “Paulinas” are becoming more and more prevalent. I think that by writing this novel in the present day about women in history, Allende is complimenting the women of today as successful businesswomen.

i realized:

as i was reading, i was afraid to look to see the number of pages because it is one of the few things that bugs me more than anything to have a book ruined for me, so i didn’t look to see how many pages i had left (not that it was really dreadful to read it, just sometimes i can’t focus so i count pages and things), so i wouldn’t accidentally glance up the page and see a revealed ending.

but now, i realize that i could have looked at the end of the book

because it wasn’t anything revealing.

it wasn’t a terrific secret that kept me on the edge of me seat until the end of the book.

it was a lame ending.

with no closure, so even reading the last page pre-emptively, wouldn’t have ruined it.

inconclusive endings bother me, in case you didn’t realize…

i’m done.

i am furious.

SEETHING.

that was the worst ending ever.

EVER.

no closure.

that bothers me more than almost anything else.

i can’t even think in full sentences right now.

GAH.

such a bad ending. i need to know more.

i’m not gonna be able to sleep tonight.

i blame it on you, allende.

I have read the entire book, so my perspective may be a bit different than Mikala’s and David’s
My thoughts up to page 200:

While it is indisputable that Allende is not making some grand novel-essay tailored to answering the two essential questions, I agree with Mikala that Allende is overloading on the quantity of characters in this book although not at the expense of the quality of the descriptions. While characters such as Joe Bonecrusher, Ah Toy, Paulina, and, of course, Eliza are not “dead ends,” Allende uses four (!) characters, admittedly with different attributes, to show that women can be successful in the business arena. Judging by the kind, smiling picture staring back at me on the back cover of my copy of Daughter of Fortune, I don’t imagine Allende to be some sort of overzealous feminist who feels the need to hammer angrily the same messages about female capabilities into my head. That said, an author would generally create characters with different attributes for the sake of demonstrating the power of the conglomeration of all of their abilities, something that Allende doesn’t ever pursue in writing Daughter of Fortune. Thus, four characters (and one could stretch this category to Miss Rose with her business pursuits), all aligned under the same theme, is probably a bit excessive on the part of Allende.

One of the advantages of having such a multitude of female characters is that Allende does cover the entire spectrum of characters with regards to almost any issue; here, I’ll focus on morality and treatment of others. While Miss Rose clearly thinks herself superior to the servants, a telling sign rises to the surface when she is going after Michael Steward for Eliza. Allende notes that (paraphrasing) Miss Rose was indifferent to the concerns of her “friends” or “acquaintances” who frequented her house every Wednesday; in fact, Miss Rose wanted to “refresh” the entire guest list. The differences are clear when one compares Miss Rose’s treatment of high-class citizens to Eliza’s crunch-time decision to save the servants from a tongue-lashing from their master in her farewell note. As we read further into the book and consider more about what Eliza gains from her experience in California, we must realize that to a certain degree Allende already had a venerable character in Eliza. Morality will certainly be put into relief in the midst of so many ventures that truly risk everything, and Allende is probably setting us up to examine whether or not Eliza’s compassion for others is lost in her “quest for love.”

Based off of the way I just phrased the reader’s dilemma, it seems as though the answer to the question will be a resounding “no.” While this analysis may seem like too much of the after-the-fact analysis that it is, I think it is important to consider alternatives. Appropriately, given one of the examples I used in the miserable writing prompt today and endless hours spent reading analyses and watching the movies, a Star Wars example came immediately to my mind. I was going to consider Anakin Skywalker’s “turn to the dark side” while following his heart’s desire, but the Anakin Skywalker-Eliza Sommers analogy is probably not going to work well for me. The truth of the matter is, however, that one can get burnt out. One can get distracted and “transform” into someone else, just as Joaquin Andieta went from next Chilean guerilla leader to California gold-hunter in a matter of moments. At this point in the book, does anyone think it possible for Eliza to lose sight of morality in California?

Women in Daugter of Fortune are portrayed in interesting ways. Miss Rose represents the more outgoing side of women. She is not married in a time when all women were expected to get married. She considers herself lucky to have escaped being tied down by a man, and to be able to rely on her brothers the way she does. Mama Fresia is another portrayal of women. She is an Indian woman, therefore by default she is expected to be submissive to the “superior” English women and men. Not all Indians are servants for the English colonists living in Valparaiso, but many can’t find employment any other way, so she is representative of the native Chilean women’s status. Eliza is yet another portrayal of women. At this point in the novel, she is just beginning to come into her womanhood. She is quickly turning from a girl to a woman. She is experiencing love and trying to figure out what she wants. She is a woman torn between two worlds because of her unknown, but obviously Chilean, origins, and then being adopted by the Sommers – a pair of English siblings come to Chile as colonists. Thus she was raised as an English woman.

I think that Allende did a fabulous job of contrasting Mama Fresia and Miss Rose. Both were significant female influences on  Eliza while she was growing up – Miss Rose in the conventional English way, and Mama Fresia as more of a free-spirit. Both teach Eliza different lessons and life virtues, yet they are extremely contrasting, and I think they contribute to the way she is torn between two cultures.

I also must add that this book was SO slow in the beginning. I’m finally starting to see some sort of a plot forming, but for the first 80 pages or so, all the different stories just seemed completely  unrelated. I couldn’t understand why a story about a Chilean woman searching for her love in San Francisco had anything to do with the del Valles and Paulina who ran away with the help of Miss Rose’s suitor, Jacob Todd. I had trouble staying focused because the book just seemed like completely irrelevant love stories of all the different people in the book. I hope that it continues to form more of a plot line.