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| Detail from An Officer and a Gentleman (1983 dir. Taylor Hackford; starring Richard Gere and Debra Winger) |
After an exhausting, vicious day in the OR, Rye picked Frankie "up in his arms and carried her through the burning, smoking camp" (177).
Does that gesture strike you as gallant and romantic? Does it affirm traditional gender roles in a problematic way?
Don't answer this question if you've already read ahead in the book.
I believe the gesture in question of Frankie beong swept up by her big strong man could be seen as a romantic gesture by Rye, whilst also affirming traditional gender roles. Whether there problematic or not is a matter of perception. Obviously in the time the book is set in tradtional gender roles were incredily prevalent. Frankie's mother is a very good example of this. Very classical in recommending conservative clothing along with ecouraging her to work until she gets married and then letting her husband make the money. However this time was also a period of great change in America. Many protests against the war broke out and among those changes you could argue were the views on gender roles. Certianly among Frankie and her nursing friends. As Ethel went back to the U.S. to pursue Veternary School. A conservative individual could argue that the gender roles of the time were just fine how they were. Another more progressive individual could say that those roles were dated and modeled in such a way to surpress women. I believe the affirmation of these traditonal gender roles and it's implications boils down to the eyes of the beholder.
ReplyDeletePlease excuse the spelling errors in the original response.
DeleteHere is a revised version:
I believe the gesture in question of Frankie being swept up by her big strong man could be seen as a romantic gesture by Rye, whilst also affirming traditional gender roles. Whether there problematic or not is a matter of perception. Obviously in the time the book is set in tradtional gender roles were incredily prevalent. Frankie's mother is a very good example of this. Very classical in recommending conservative clothing along with encouraging her to work until she gets married and then letting her husband make the money. However this time was also a period of great change in America. Many protests against the war broke out and among those changes you could argue were the views on gender roles. Certainly among Frankie and her nursing friends. As Ethel went back to the U.S. to pursue Veterinary School. A conservative individual could argue that the gender roles of the time were just fine how they were. Another more progressive individual could say that those roles were dated and modeled in such a way to suppress women. I believe the affirmation of these traditional gender roles and it's implications boils down to the eyes of the beholder.
It strikes me as romantic. A woman being carried away by a man is traditionally romantic. Nowadays you don't see such affirmations in gender roles. However, in the time during and around the Vietnam War, gender roles were more embraced by people. To me, it does not affirm gender roles in a problematic way. I believe a problematic way of affirming gender roles would be in a misogynistic or feminist way and Rye's action was neither.
ReplyDeleteI recently had a conversation with my friend about how romance is often considered feminine and treated more as a fictional construct than a genuine human experience. Romance novels and films are typically marketed toward women, and the genre is frequently dismissed as a trivial “schoolgirl fantasy.” I often hear people insist that “the real world does not work that way,” and I was taught not to expect such love because it supposedly does not exist. Yet this raises an important question: why is a genre centered on authentic human emotion reduced to an unreachable feminine fantasy?
ReplyDeleteIn the moment when Rye sweeps Frankie off her feet, I see a romantic gesture rather than a problematic act. It conveys care, protection, and tenderness in a dangerous context, allowing her to feel loved. While the action may evoke traditional gender roles, that does not inherently make it harmful. He did not lift her to belittle her, but rather to comfort her.