|
Post by Mini Mia on Jan 18, 2023 0:52:27 GMT -6
A Note on the Novel
JUNE 6: August Epp, Before the Meeting
|
|
|
Post by Mini Mia on Jan 21, 2023 0:01:04 GMT -6
Okay. I read this just a few hours ago, and I may reread it again tomorrow.
At the moment, I am irked that these women, who were physically and sexually abused by a few men of their community, and then ignored and mentally, emotionally, and spiritually abused by most of the rest of the men in their community, had to have a man at their private meeting to keep the minutes. And that this man pointed out many times how much more he knew and understood than the women of this community. Perhaps it wasn't a snub, or to prove his superiority, but it still rubbed me the wrong way. That these women had to discuss their trauma in front of a man because they were never allowed to learn to read and write and be able to take their own minutes.
|
|
|
Post by Phalon on Jan 21, 2023 12:23:46 GMT -6
I'm going to have to reread too - first time around it was late, I was sleepy, and was nice and toasty under a quilt, drinking hot chocolate and Bailey's. Too comfy to get up and grab a notepad, which I meant to do before getting comfy, and too sleepy to focus entirely on what I was reading.
It didn't really irk me that the minutes were being taken by August. Any another man in the community, yeah, it would have been an act of superiority and further control over the women. August though, is different than both the women and the men of the community in that he is literate. Isn't that the reason he was let back in after his family was excommunicated - so that, because he graduated University while away from the colony, he could give reading lessons to the men because they were illiterate also? (One of the reasons, I'll have to reread while I'm more alert)
I didn't see it, on August's part, as him trying to prove his superiority - I see him as socially inept. An example was when Ona, in a laughing manner, personified the sun, saying it was a traitor and a coward for starting to disappear as the evening crept in. August though, thought about telling her about the science behind it all. A weird comparison, but the first thing that popped into my head reading that bit was that the exchange between August and Ona was something similar to how Reid would have reacted on Criminal Minds; seeing only the literal and factual aspects of something rather than seeing things in an abstract or conversational view, because his social skills are somewhat lacking.
Just from the first chapter though, I know that this book is going to p!ss me off in so many ways. Foremost is the way the women are treated, not only by the rapists, but by the male leaders in the community. Then there's the submissive attitudes of the women who are not taking part in the meetings, because they think it's better to just sweep it all under the rug. The reason August's family was excommunicated is another. More on all of that later, though. I really should reread first.
|
|
|
Post by Mini Mia on Jan 21, 2023 23:42:35 GMT -6
Well, I went into the book angry, so that most likely clouded my point of view. I've been watching clips and trailers of the movie on Instagram, so I already had a bias opinion when reading the first chapter.
I can see that August was chosen because he is both an insider and an outsider. He wasn't there until the last year of the attacks, so he had no part in either the physical/sexual attacks, nor the verbal (mental, emotional, spiritual) attacks. Plus, he and Ona had been good friends before he and his family left. So, to the women, August doesn't represent the men of their community. He hasn't yet earned his place among the men, and hasn't yet given the women a reason to distrust him.
|
|
|
Post by Phalon on Jan 23, 2023 9:35:01 GMT -6
I've stayed away from articles, trailers, and the like of the movie, just for that reason. I do have to say though, that if I hadn't known the basics of the story, and the events upon that it was based, I'd probably be thinking that August was a nefarious character - he kinda gives off a creepy vibe.
I've got a million errands to run and stuff I hafta, hafta get done around the house today. I'll try to be back later to post just a couple of things that jumped out at me in the first chapter, so we can move on. I don't want to hold us up.
|
|
|
Post by Phalon on Jan 23, 2023 21:56:27 GMT -6
My last thoughts on the chapter (briefly)...
The couple things that angered me in this chapter, is the choice the women were given by the colony elders: either forgive and forget, or be forced to leave the colony. Act as if it never happened, and everything will all go back to normal, and presumably the elders won't have to deal with the bothersome task of clearing the black cloud hanging over the community. The reason August's family was excommunicated - for sharing a book of art he found - was just as frustrating. Keep 'em illiterate, keep them from experiencing anything from the outside, and keep them submissive and able to be controlled. Urgh!
Something I didn't quite understand was the rabbit and squirrel story that Ona gave as the reason that she asked August to take the meeting notes.
|
|
|
Post by Mini Mia on Jan 24, 2023 0:38:14 GMT -6
Could it have something to do with their jousting as children? Maybe she saw it as some sign that she should ask August to be at their meetings? (Perhaps it will be explained in a future chapter.)
And if they jousted as children, where did they learn of it? Surely such stories were forbidden?
... ... ...
Some of the men took it upon themselves to harm the abusers, yet they wouldn't stand up for the women when they were given an ultimatum? Were these men only concerned with their own feelings of inadequacy? The abusers showed the men that they weren't even capable of protecting their own women, and this is the only thing about the situation that angered them?
I feel that August being an outsider is one reason he was picked to keep the minutes. But I also think that perhaps it is also because the women now feel like outsiders themselves. Their world has been shattered. The abuse they suffered from both the men that physically attacked them, and the men who either ignored them or accused them of being punished for their sins, have them feeling like they are no longer a part of their community.
And the women are divided, which must make them feel like they don't even have that community anymore. One group of women just want to try and go on as if nothing ever happened. And why not? To leave without anywhere to go, and without even being able to communicate with the outside world, would be a tremendous hardship on them. So, they just want to go back to life before the abuse. To put blinders on and pretend the abuse never happened.
I think it's just as brave to stay, as it is to fight or leave. Whichever their choice, it will involve strength in order to do it. Staying won't be any easier, not when the women have inner demons to conquer every day, every evening. Although, I find it hard that a mother, a grandmother, would choose to stay and raise their daughters, their granddaughters, in such an unsafe environment. Still. That they don't see that they have a right or ability to stand up for themselves and their female offspring is heartbreaking.
A part of me hopes the women at the meeting will choose to stay and fight, to change their community and lives for the better. Because even though everything belongs to the men, this community and land is their home, and they deserve to make a claim on it. They didn't do anything wrong, and they shouldn't be punished because they don't feel safe to have those men still live among them. Another part of me hopes they leave, and find a way to create their own community. A community where the women are allowed an education, and where both the men and women rule equally. A pipe dream, as the women have a lot going up against them. Their future seems very bleak, no matter what decision they make.
|
|
|
Post by Phalon on Jan 26, 2023 9:33:30 GMT -6
I thought about that too - I even thought that Ona might have been being somewhat flirtatious toward August. It is very obvious he's secretly in love with her. I thought perhaps that because she mentioned it was secret play between the rabbit and squirrel that she wasn't meant to witness, that the story was her way of letting August know that his secret love isn't really all that secret.
What throws me though, is August asked Ona why the women chose him to record the meeting, not that Ona herself chose him.
Agreed. Reminds me of that old Clash song: Should I stay or should I go now? If I go there will be trouble. And if I stay it will be double.
The hypocrisy and double-standard of the whole thing is infuriating. A fundamental aspect of Mennonite society is they are supposed to practice pacifism and nonviolence. Yet the men who committed this violence against the women are allowed back into the community, when the women will be forced to leave if they do not forgive them? Like WTF?! Why aren't the men the ones who are forced to leave. Or are the people of this particular colony only supposed to be pacifists when violent acts are committed against them? A twisted sense of logic it seems to me.
Joxie, I'm having difficulty reading this book - not the story itself, but the physical copy of the book that I have. I read about 50 pages of the second chapter last night, and had to quit because my nose burned and my eyes were watering so bad, I couldn't see the words on the pages. This morning my eyes are puffy and itchy. Our library underwent a massive renovation and expansion in the past couple of years, and I don't know how the books were stored, but I think maybe drywall or old plaster dust is affecting my allergies. It could be even just regular dust - the book has only been checked out once since late 2019, and that one time was Dec. 2021. I have a handheld vacuum and will give it a once over today, or will even try wearing a mask to read (I don't might doing that at all). If neither remedy works, I'm going to have to get a new copy of the book.
|
|
|
Post by Mini Mia on Jan 27, 2023 3:26:28 GMT -6
No worries. I'm reading at a slow pace, and will probably reread the chapter again before figuring out what I want to say about it.
|
|
|
Post by Phalon on Jan 28, 2023 10:27:17 GMT -6
It seems to be all good now - I used canned air the other day, the kind used to clean your computer keyboard, and got the nozzle thing between the book and dust cover (which is taped down at the corners), and between the dust cover and its protective plastic cover. I read the last two nights, and no major allergy problems. Who knows, it could have been just a tiny bit of dust irritating my eyes and nose, I rubbed them, and made it worse, and the worse it got, the more I rubbed.
|
|
|
Post by Mini Mia on Jan 29, 2023 5:04:21 GMT -6
I’ve finished the first read of the 2nd chapter. Debating on rereading it.
|
|