tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30203557.post6144627799569715247..comments2024-03-26T01:10:13.720+00:00Comments on Teach Me Tonight: CFP: Animals and/in RomanceE. M. Selingerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00426524354823232002noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30203557.post-64653568129168797172011-06-16T22:24:23.957+01:002011-06-16T22:24:23.957+01:00I'm not surprised--and we may get some flack f...I'm not surprised--and we may get some flack for it at the journal, come to think of it!E. M. Selingerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00426524354823232002noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30203557.post-89308503404805818002011-06-16T21:35:14.147+01:002011-06-16T21:35:14.147+01:00I have used the word 'bestiality' in conne...I have used the word 'bestiality' in connection with shape-shifter erotica on other forums occasionally, and fans of the genre sometimes get a bit upset... :DAgTigressnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30203557.post-31072792626399198542011-06-16T19:16:03.556+01:002011-06-16T19:16:03.556+01:00Well, it sounds to me like you have a number of id...Well, it sounds to me like you have a number of ideas here that would make for interesting papers. I can't take credit for the blunt words--they come from a wonderful talk at PCA this year that was all about modern shape-shifter romance--but I hope they'll shake loose some lively commentary!E. M. Selingerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00426524354823232002noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30203557.post-40067309127318898992011-06-15T10:42:38.834+01:002011-06-15T10:42:38.834+01:00I take your point, Eric. :)
I think there is qui...I take your point, Eric. :)<br /><br />I think there is quite a lot to be said about the general attitude to companion animals in Western society. There has been a genuine, if subtle, change in perceptions over the last 50 years or so, and I am sure it is reflected in some romance novels, which normally give us a much better picture of changing mores than we find in 'literary' fiction. <br /><br />For example, besotted dog-lovers have always asserted, 'he understands everything I say', and non-dog-lovers have always replied, 'rubbish'. But the dog-lovers can now smugly cite scientific studies that prove that many dogs actually do command an understanding vocabulary in human verbal language (not 'tones of voice': words) that is equivalent to that of a 2- or even 3-year-old human child. More generally, the traditional Christian view that all other animals are fundamentally different <i>in kind</i> from us, sort of animated tools rather than 'people', has been totally undermined by scientific work, including advances in genetics.<br /><br />I am also intrigued by all the shape-shifter stuff, though I don't read it: my literal mind can't cope well with fantasy at the best of times (except when it is part of ancient mythology). I am just glad to see those blunt words 'bestiality' and 'zoophilia' used in the list of themes. Having thought quite a lot about this topic a few decades ago in connection with my work on with Graeco-Roman erotic art, I would find it interesting to explore it in modern fiction, if only I could bring myself to read the modern novels!AgTigressnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30203557.post-31890971730266078602011-06-14T14:14:43.221+01:002011-06-14T14:14:43.221+01:00@AgTigress,
I'm sorry you felt disappointed! ...@AgTigress,<br /><br />I'm sorry you felt disappointed! You're right that "pets / companion animals as characters" would be a "basic and obvious" topic, which is probably why we didn't think to list it outright. <br /><br />Still, I have a feeling that a good essay on one or more of these characters would end up exploring things that aren't at all basic or obvious, by the time it was through!<br /><br />An essay that tells us "here's how pet / companion animal X affects and directs the plot of novel Y" might be mundane, or it might be fascinating, depending on how the argument was developed. <br /><br />'Tain't what you do, it's the way that you do it, as the old song says.E. M. Selingerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00426524354823232002noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30203557.post-22057775412025256362011-06-14T12:42:27.909+01:002011-06-14T12:42:27.909+01:00As soon as I saw the heading (as usual, I have com...As soon as I saw the heading (as usual, I have come along rather late), I felt immediate enthusiasm. Possibly even a subject on which I could contribute a paper! But alas, no. Although I can see the potential in many of the suggested themes, I am disappointed by the total absence of the most basic and obvious one of all, the role of pets, or 'companion animals', as we must now call them, simply as <i>major characters</i> in stories, characters whose actions affect and direct the plot or whose personalities contribute in a central way to the development of central human characters. <br />Roles like that of the stray bitch Katie in Crusie's <i>Crazy for you</i>, who kick-starts the whole process of emancipation of the heroine, not to mention the building jealousy and insanity of her partner, or the irrepressible mongrel hound Luffra in Heyer's <i>Frederica</i>, who is instrumental in establishing and changing the initially unpromising relationship between Frederica, her brothers and Alverstoke. <br />There are many other examples in Crusie's books, of course, and also in Jayne Ann Krentz's work. JAK is not as well known for important animal characters as Crusie is, but there are a lot of them. Though dogs and cats are the usual species in question, because they are the species most likely to have close relationships with humans, in Jayne's 1985 category romance <i>Legacy</i>, a horse plays a pivotal role in the changing relationship of the hero and heroine and the character arcs of both.<br />I could almost contemplate writing a paper on this topic, but it looks as though it would be seen as sadly mundane and lacking in symbolic and social significance. :-(AgTigressnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30203557.post-38498808997312091552011-06-03T23:47:40.838+01:002011-06-03T23:47:40.838+01:00This gives me an idea ...This gives me an idea ...Kyra Kramernoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30203557.post-69296827020194985042011-06-01T18:34:27.001+01:002011-06-01T18:34:27.001+01:00Animals in fiction have varied uses, such as metap...Animals in fiction have varied uses, such as metaphors for dictatorships (Orwell) or existential social constructs. Not sure about romance novels.Jarvishttp://jetttellsus.tumblr.comnoreply@blogger.com