Female Gangs
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“The moment I inject discourse from my u. of d. into your u. of d., the yourness of yours is dilutedYou are, essentially, in my power” (Barthelme, 52). Barthelmes Jane, in just two statements, expresses the single most common characteristic of postmodern feminist writing – subversion of gender hierarchy. Barthelmes writing is not strictly feminist, yet his novel, Snow White, does focus on the male/female binary opposition and one particular females quest to overcome it. Fellow postmodern feminist authors Bobbi Ann Mason and Grace Paley in their texts Shiloh and The Pale Pink Roast, also write stories revolving around strong female characters aiming to overthrow the dominion of man over woman.
Donna Haraway, in her text, A Cyborg Manifesto, chooses a very different method for eliminating the gender hierarchy. Haraway eliminates gender. “A cyborg is cybernetic organism, a hybrid of machine and organism” (Geyh, 604). The cyborg – a sexless, neutral creature – is Haraways ideal being. Haraway asserts that even if the feminist objective is met, even if gender hierarchy is successfully subverted, the problem of one gender having power over another will not be solved, just reversed. The cyborg, a being unbiased and free from any preconceived notions about gender and sex, ensures that power is equally distributed among all beings.
Bobbie Ann Masons and Grace Paleys characters Norma Jean and Anna are a world away from Haraways cyborg. Subversion is their goal, nothing more. Barthelmes Snow White, on the other hand, is more like a cyborg than perhaps even Barthelme himself realizes. Snow White, in many ways embodies Haraways cyborg; and, in other ways practices typical postmodern gender subversion.
A theme which constantly resurfaces in Barthelmes text is equanimity. Maintaining the status quo hinders Snow Whites intellectual and sexual growth by “upholding dominant norms and withdrawing the tools with which to critically engage/act”(Gender and Education, 27). “We do what we do without thinkingand never stop for a moment to consider that the whole process may be despicable”(Barthelme, 93). Snow White attempts to topple equanimity in several ways. She looks for romance outside of her apartment, depriving herself and the men she lives with of sex. Snow White takes up writing, the role of author, a role which the postmodern reader automatically associates with power. These tactics successfully subvert the gender hierarchy present in the novel. The dwarves are devastated. “The loss of equanimity was serious. We prize equanimity, and a good deal of equanimity leaked away, that day (Barthelme, 118). Destroying equanimity subverts rather than eliminates the gender hierarchy, making the rule-breaking, power-hungry side of Snow Whites personality somewhat short of cyborg ideals. Snow White manages to outsmart the dwarves and better herself intellectually, yet she does not achieve the balance indicative of a cyborg.
Snow Whites subversion of gender hierarchy via sexual dominance likens her to Grace Paleys Anna in The Pale Pink Roast. Anna pursues a sexual encounter with her former lover, Peter to show dominance. After sex, Anna tells Peter that she is married. Peter responds with fury. “You made a donkey out of me and him both” (Geyh, 98). Snow Whites thirst for knowledge and her wish to better herself intellectually likens her to Bobbie Ann Masons Norma Jean in Shiloh. In Masons work, the typical roles of male and female are completely reversed. While Norma Jean pursues higher education and physical fitness, her husband Leroy becomes stagnant, realizing that he is “whining and self-pitying” (Geyh, 276). Anna and Norma Jean both relish their victory over gender dualism, making them (and Snow White) prime examples of feminist postmodern character, but poor examples of cyborgs.
Snow White is not, of course, entirely Barthelmes creation. His Snow White is based on the textuality of the fairytale character. The Snow White from the fairytale is as un-feminist as they come. She is completely subservient to the males around her and remains content with her surroundings and everyday routine. She is a “lady in waiting”, unaware of her mental capacity. Barthelmes character is feminist – a forward-thinking, ambitious young woman looking for her place in the world. She spends the novel struggling to break free of her prescribed textuality, a cybernetic trait. Snow White, like Anna and Norma Jean, refuse to be typically female. This wish for “liberation rests on the construction of the consciousness, the imaginative apprehension of oppression, and so of possibility” (Geyh, 604). “Real-life cyborgs are actively rewriting the texts of their bodies and societies” (Geyh, 619).
In order for Snow White to embody cybernetic traits, she must construct a new consciousness in which her body abandons sensuality and no longer yearns for physical contact. Snow White partially accomplishes this by barring herself from sexual relations with the dwarves. The fact that Snow White discards sex as a way of attaining power sets her apart from typical postmodern feminist characters like Paleys Anna. Without sex, Anna would not have triumphed over Peter. Snow White shows bravery in abandoning this traditional feminist tactic of using sex to gain dominance.
Snow White must also grow intellectually and learn “new words” to become a cyborg, which she does, although her pairings of new words do not always make sense. She is often heard uttering seemingly nonsensical phrases such as “Let a hundred flowers bloom” (Barthelme, 22). However, regardless of rate of success, like Norman Jean, Snow White does make an effort to better herself intellectually. Norma Jean “used to go to bed with the chickens” (Geyh, 278). “Now she stays up late, writing compositions” (Geyh, 278). Comparatively, Snow White becomes a poet. She writes a four-page work in an effort to gain intellectual perspective and refuses to show it to the men in the apartment, lest they criticize her pursuit of knowledge. Snow White does achieve the cyborg goal of rewriting body text and creating consciousness, typical traits of Haraways ideal being.
Unfortunately, Snow White is unable to transform completely. While she denies the males in her apartment any sexual gratification, she lies daily with her hair, (her most beautiful trait), hanging out of her apartment window – a lure, tempting new males as they walk by. Barthelme seems to suggest that escape from sexuality and emotions tied to it is impossible for females. Humanity is inherent; and