How we cite our quotes: (Part.Section.Paragraph)
Quote #1
When the—ah—the plague you spoke of killed the men on Whileaway, weren't they missed? Weren't families broken up? Didn't the whole pattern of life change? (1.7.23)
More than one character in this novel—male and female alike—believes that women and men are one another's natural complements. Why does the novel suggest that this is a patriarchal point of view?
Quote #2
"Savages!" she shouted. A hush had fallen on the party. The host leafed dexterously through his little book of rejoinders but did not come up with anything. Then he looked up "savage" only to find it marked with an affirmative: "Masculine, brute, virile, powerful, good." So he smiled broadly. (3.2.165)
When Janet calls the Host of the party on Riverside Drive a "savage," all she does is vindicate his masculinity. What insult could she have used instead? When the Host insults her back, why does he choose the language he does?
Quote #3
The little blue book was rattling around in my purse. I took it out and turned to the last thing he had said ("You stupid broad" et cetera). Underneath was written Girl backs down—cries—manhood vindicated. Under "Real Fight With Girl" was written Don't hurt (except whores). (3.2.191)
The Female Man makes it clear that violence against women is a learned behavior. According to the novel, who or what teaches this behavior? (Grand Theft Auto, we're lookin' at you.)
Quote #4
Burned any bras lately har har twinkle twinkle A pretty girl like you doesn't need to be liberated twinkle har Don't listen to those hysterical bitches twinkle twinkle twinkle I never take a woman's advice about two things: love and automobiles twinkle twinkle har May I kiss your little hand twinkle twinkle twinkle. Har. Twinkle. (3.5.1)
The men in this novel behave badly in lots of different ways. Some are outwardly violent toward women, while others are more politely condescending. Does the novel make clear distinctions between these types of misogyny?
Quote #5
Boys don't like smart girls. Boys don't like aggressive girls. Unless they want to sit in the girls' laps, that is. I never met a man yet who wanted to make it with a female Genghis Khan. Either they try to dominate you, which is revolting, or they turn into babies. You might as well give up. (4.11.5)
Laura's experience dating high schools guys has made her feel that relationships between guys and girls are all about power. She feels pretty sure that young women like her who have (or dream of having) power won't be attractive to young men-in-the-making. Do the adult relationships in the novel bear this out?
Quote #6
You can see the blood rush to his face, even in this bad light. That's what comes of being misunderstood. "Keep a civil tongue in your mouth, young lady!" (6.4.17)
Joanna/the omniscient narrator is using sarcasm in this passage, though it might be difficult to hear. When Bud grabs Jeannine's/Janet's arm and she resists, why does the narrator attribute his anger to "being misunderstood"?
Quote #7
This argument is becoming degraded and ridiculous. I will leave you alone until loneliness, dependence, and a consciousness that I am very much displeased once again turn you into the sweet girl I married. There is no use in arguing with a woman. (6.5.20)
What's the crucial difference between the words "girl" and "woman" in this passage, and what does it tell us about the man who is speaking here?
Quote #8
I think I am a man; I think you had better call me a Man; I think you will write about me as a Man from now on and speak of me as a Man and employ me as a Man and recognize child-rearing as a Man's business; you will think of me as a Man and treat me as a Man until it enters your muddled, terrified, preposterous, nine-tenths-fake, loveless, papier-mâché-bull-moose head that I am a man. (7.2.10)
In this passage, what does the word "Man" represent? When Joanna becomes a "female man," does she embrace the kinds of masculinity we've seen elsewhere in the novel, or does she mean something different?
Quote #9
There must be a secret feminine underground that teaches them how to behave; in the face of their comrades' derision and savage contempt, in the face of the prospect of gang rape if they're found alone in the streets after curfew, in the face of the legal necessity to belong—every one of them—to a real man. (8.7.24)
The "changed" and "half-changed" Manlanders help to support the novel's argument that femininity and masculinity reflect social hierarchies, and that to be "feminized" is to be made vulnerable to violence and contempt.
Quote #10
"OPEN YOUR EYES!" I roared, "BEFORE I KILL YOU!" and Boss-man did.
He said, You led me on.
He said, You are a prude.
(He was shocked.) He said, You deceived me. He said,
You are a Bad Lady. (8.8.89-93)
When Janet pushes away the Host of the party at Riverside Drive, he berates her for her inappropriate behavior. When Jeannine/Janet tells Bud to take his hands off her, he scolds her for being "uncivil." When Jael tells the Manland Boss that she doesn't want to have sex with him, he ignores her. It's not until she says she's going to kill him that he listens well enough to be offended by her "prudishness" and deception. Why does the novel replay this pattern so many times? What connections is The Female Man drawing between patriarchal conventions, male aggression, and victim-blaming?