Leave Me Alone, I'm Reading!

Maureen Corrigan does the book reviews on NPR's "Fresh Air." My love for books about books (while not as strong as yours, Chris!) led me to buy yet another book to show me what else I should read: Leave Me Alone, I'm Reading!. I bought Kingsley Amis's Lucky Jim on her recommendation, and I'll probably go back to buy a few more. She has unassuming taste, even though she has her PhD from Penn and is a college professor. However, she goes to far as to embrace contemporary "hard-boiled" mysteries, her specialty in both personal taste and academia, whereas that's a genre I tend to stay away from now (after reading plenty in junior high).

Corrigan examines the hard-boiled mystery, the Catholic martyr stories and something she calls the female extreme-adventure tale. The first two I will probably never pursue, but I was intrigued by the third since I wouldn't normally put that label on Jane Eyre, Pride and Prejudice or Wuthering Heights. Her main argument is that as male extreme-adventure tales focus on physical strength and courage, their female counterparts describe the psychological strength and endurance a woman must have in the face of their seemingly innocuous trials. A woman's life hangs in the balance when, for instance, she considers or waits for marriage proposals, when she cares for aging parents or her husband, or when she dares to deviate from the path usually laid out for her according to her gender.

As a girl who often fantasizes about being a police officer or joining the Marines, I would like to take refuge in the idea that stoically facing life changes amounts to some sort of heroism. It's a valid comparison in many ways. However, the value of dubbing these kinds of stories "female extreme-adventure tales" is dubious. As Joseph Campbell notes, many stories are journeys or quests. While the female version of a quest usually takes a different format from the male version, the quest motif is a much more helpful way to talk about "women's" stories.

An extreme-adventure tale is as narrow a genre as the name betrays and trying to squeeze the female experience into that category takes away from the importance of the story. I don't see the use in comparing Jane Eyre and Elizabeth Bennett to John Krakauer; on the other hand, I do see value in comparing their plights with those of Odysseus or Raskolnikov or Holden Caulfield or any other male character who "goes through" something. Besides, the name "extreme adventure" is derogatory given recent popular culture's usurption of the word "extreme" for soft drinks and pseudo-sports.

There is value in pointing out that women go on meaningful journeys even if they never leave home, and highlighting the similarities in the physical versus psychological challenges faced by men and women. But as much as I hate to admit it, men and women are different and that's not changing any time soon. For now, men are still the ones who excel at mountain climbing, military careers and fixing cars and women are the ones expected to deal with children, aging parents and breast cancer. If Corrigan wants to remind us that Women Are As Good As Men, point taken, but the comparison to extreme-adventure tales is one to mention and then move on from and not one that deserves any lengthy consideration. As a woman I don't care about feeling as manly as someone who climbs Everest, but I would be honored to be counted among the ranks of those who take a meaningful, often perilous, journey through life.