[S]ome of the professors held events in their homes and I was never able to go. I felt as though I was always throwing a wrench into their erudite plans. I was not mistreated, but they were simply unprepared for a physically disabled student. It was a complete lack of recognition that dealing with disabilities involves complex and nuanced solutions.
Fretting about whether or not the doubtless unpleasant experience of being publicly shamed will send Chelsea Clinton into labor has no more basis in scientific reality than past beliefs in a “maternal imagination” so powerful that looking at a distressing animal or disabled person could directly cause birth defects. What it does do is let us off the hook of meaningful advocacy for women’s health.
Like any novelist, I did what my characters and my story led me to. The place, Siena, which I’d been to 10 years before I started writing the book, drew me in because of the way it exists in both past and present. Being there blurs the boundaries of time. Siena’s people live their centuries-old traditions with profound seriousness, and a deep emotional connection. And in Siena a mystery resides about what happened during the plague of 1348, an unsolved mystery that I uncovered as I began to learn more about Siena’s history. So my story took me there, and then.
Many believe that Monica’s story is especially important right now, as she re-emerges as an activist and advocate with the rise of the #MeToo and #TimesUp movements.
Although the recent controversy has felt painful and personal, I will continue to participate in movements like the Women’s March. Rather than taking myself out of the conversation, I will bring my full self to the table.
As I sat and listened in class, I found myself being pulled out of the bubble I had created for myself. The discussions we had were not just about English; they also related directly to my personal life and values. I found myself growing as a feminist and as a student, confronting my biases, and becoming more socially aware.
It is high time for the creation of “Gloria: A Life.” which is both a history lesson and, a visceral connection to the anger, the excitement and the hope of the feminist movement.
The play turns out to be a complicated but riveting drama that explores the issues of money and morality, family relationships, social justice and women’s place in society—issues that Hellman often pursued in her writing and that resonate today.
What does matter – what is absolutely clear – is that in the power structure of the university environment, she violated her position.
Kalokairi, the fictional Greek island where Donna Sheridan decamps, is a matriarchal paradise: the animals are friendly and the men in thrall to the self-assured women who run things. It’s a place where “having it all” means having cake, dancing, and feeding other people cake while they dance.
