The fifty-something author, Erica Jong, of the 1998 book, What Do Women Want?, first became controversial with her bold first novel, Fear of Flying, in 1973, which I haven’t read yet. She actually talked about men’s impotence before it was probably even called that! More specifically she said that the ultimate feminist existential dilemma was “a liberated woman face-to-face with a limp prick.” I’ll be reading it next, but in the meantime please refer to my Playgirl review for limp pricks, hehe.
Before and after Fear of Flying came books of poetry, six novels and four nonfiction books, What Do Women Want? Being her latest. It’s subtitle is Bread, Roses, Sex and Power and the three sections deal with those things she believes that women want. I would add Spirituality, but that’s just my opinion.
In the fascinating first section, Power, Jong has eight chapters dealing with mother-daughter relationships, an indepth look at Hilary Rodham Clinton and why she and Bill need each other, being a mother, a witch and a writer, the importance of Jane Eyre for women (I realized I’d never even read it, too!), the late Princess Di as Icon and becoming older.
In the inspiring second section, Sex, she discusses such things as Nabokov’s Lolita on its thirtieth anniversary and censorship is making a comeback. I just watched Adrian Lyne’s movie version of it, so now rereading her reflection means more. Jong also has chapters on pornography, Incest and Anais Nin (I couldn’t find the movie Henry & June, which is discussed here, as well as Henry Miller’s novels), being pregnant and more creative, the perfect man (she’s been married three times, still married), Viagra and having orgasms, sex appeal and the President’s penis, referring to Bill Clinton’s scandal.
The third and shortest section, Bread and Roses, has Jong taking us to her Italy, Venice, in particular, and everything that inspires her writing. She wonders why writing a book is compared to having a baby because, for her, pregnancy was a breeze and a joy whereas writing is difficult and frustrating. It’s a section that basically discusses why she writes (for love and because she must) and how being a poet first has helped her.
I was lucky enough to learn early...that if you are relentlessly honest about what you feel and fear, you often become the mouthpiece for others’ feelings as well as your own. People are remarkably similar at the heart level-where it counts. Writers are born to voice what we all feel. That is the gift. And we keep it by giving it away. Pp 178
Comments
I’m glad I read this. As a fellow poet and writer, I can appreciate her love for the “sacred gift” and how she knew from an early age that she only wanted to write. I didn’t start out writing and publishing poetry books like she did, but I’ve written some I haven’t published and also believe in the value of being poetic. Poetry helps you to focus on what you want to say and to get that across as powerfully as possible.
I gained new perspective on Hilary Clinton and the strong woman image she brought to her role as First Lady and equal partner with the President. Her reflections on sex in literature made me anxious to read what I’ve been missing and hope that she’s wrong that censorship is coming back.
One thing I didn’t agree with is her belief that people’s souls change in marriage while in their twenties and thirties, especially. I think maturity develops at a different pace for people, but that entails emotions and intelligence, not your soul. Maybe I’m being picky, but I think souls are more than our human attributes and if we’re aware of our souls, we will become closer to people rather than want to separate from them.
That aside, it was extremely interesting, the first two sections moreso, and Jong has a warm, honest and compelling writer’s voice. Getting to know a famous female writer with some mileage on her and the courage to share her wisdom was fun. I didn’t learn how to write better, for that wasn’t her purpose, but rather I understand better the important role of a writer and what a gift it is.
Did the 202-page book answer the question ‘what do women want?’ Men reading this would probably think so and I think she did a pretty good job, except for leaving out spirituality and world peace. I don’t want more people getting killed and I can’t imagine the majority of the world, male or female, wants that, either.
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