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Hi Kim! Thank you, it's nice to be back. I used to get all firebrandy in here back in Rabble's infancy in the late 90's *waves cane around*.
Just thinking!
I thought maybe that was the case. There is antagonism in the relationships of almost every character in the book even the more minor ones such as the drug dealer guy who like to antagonize Gord.
Whoops, I'm a slow typer...wait a sec...did I just ask Lynn Coady if she is an angry dude...for realz?
Hi Lynn. I've read and love all your books. You mention Rank's theological musings... Actually I notice a "God" awareness running through most if not all of your books I've read. Can you comment on how religion has influenced your writings?
HI Alex, not really, certainly not in any direct way, but I definitely have had experiences with male anger--and my own anger and feeling envious, sometimes, of guys for the more straightforward ways in which they are permitted to express it. Strangely, it wasn't that difficult a novel to write, or a voice to write in. There was something really freeing and energizing about Rank's anger. It had it's own built-in momentum!
Hi corinnew , yes, Catholicism. That does seem to be one of my "things". In fact as I was writing above about the 3-man antagonism triad of Adam, Rank and Gord Sr. I realized there is a whole 'trinity' thing going on. I can't seem to get away from it. That's something Rank and I have in common.
Is Catholicism something from your past you're still trying to shake or something other???
From Cassia:
Rank is clearly a damaged individual: how does the relationship with his mother and her subsequent death weave into this? (And religious nature!)
"Next question comes again from Cassia:
Rank is clearly a damaged individual: how does the relationship with his mother and her subsequent death weave into this?"
Well, Rank being raised Catholic, he was kind of subconsciously weened on the whole virgin/whore holy mary/mary magdalene dichotomy. And when it came to his mother--well as far as he was concerned she definitely fell on the "holy" side of the spectrum. And yet Sylvie represents the downside of that ideal too--she's passive, she a bit of a martyr, she holds on to her suffering as a kind of virtue, until finally she decides she can suffer no more.
*spoiler alert*
So near the end, when Rank discovers his mother plans to leave Gord, a part of him is thrilled because finally she's repudiating the martyr role. But the fact that she dies almost immediately after he learns this feels, on some level to Rank like a cosmic punishment of them both. Like his mother is being punished for her "sin" of deciding to abandon her husband. But even more importantly, Rank takes the sin upon himself, because he's the one who always wished she would make this decision. Hope that makes sense.
I wonder if Rank is more drawn to his mother pre-marriage or post-marriage? She seems to waver on that dichotmy as well, representing indepedence before and submissiveness after marriage.
Corinnew: My Catholic upbringing is something that has given me a lot of gifts in terms of my writing--the bible is a source of incredible drama and poetry. At the same time, I'm always struggling, psychologically, to counter some of it's not-so-great effects of that conditioning upon my psyche. A propensity to feel guilty 24/7 for example. I just participated in a conversation with Russell Smith on CBC to do with the fact that I never seem to write about sex. I don't say this with any pride, it's not something I do on principle--it's a psychological block that I am constantly having to chip away at!
*forgive any grammar and punctuation and spelling errors if you would, I don't have my editor on hand.
*
Years of marriage to an angry guy like Gord could erode someone's identity and independence. His anger is so large there wouldn't be room for much else in the relationship.
"I wonder if Rank is more drawn to his mother pre-marriage or post-marriage? She seems to waver on that dichotmy as well, representing indepedence before and submissiveness after marriage."
Kaitlin, yes, that's a good point. On some level I think Rank's struggle with loving his mom pre-marriage vs. post-marriage is a refelction of his struggle with Catholicism. Is it ok to love a version of his mom that wasn't quite so "holier than thou" as she was post-Gord?
Elizabeth1970--exactly!
Hi Lynn,
The epistolary form was popular in some of the first Canadian novels (18thC), and it's kinda cool to see it used in the modern context, email. What made you decide to use that form?
@Elizabeth1970: but she also married him in the first place (source of anger in the book for me!-- and Rank) what would drive her to do this? Since she also seemed financially independent? Is this Catholicism's influence as well?
Also, on some level, Rank is really angry at his mom for allowing Gord to take over to the extent that he has--for never putting her foot down.
...Just as my cat is really angry at me right now for ignoring her.
Rebecca, I decided to use that form precisely for the reason you identified--I thought it would be an interesting, 21st century twist on a very traditional form!
Elizabeth1970 wrote:
Years of marriage to an angry guy like Gord could erode someone's identity and independence. His anger is so large there wouldn't be room for much else in the relationship.
Agreed...I did find the characters of Sylvie and Kirsten quite passive and your observation is bang on here -- what else could they be, especially from Rank's POV?
...funny you should mention it as I often have people asking me questions along the lines of "where in the world did you get such a unique idea for how to structure a novel"? And I tell them, Thank you, but it's centuries old.
It is an interesting 21st century twist. I like it!
I feel like the email format forced me to get inside Rank's head and mannerisms. Do you think using email exposed more elements to Rank's personality and reasoning than a more traditional style of writing?
(also no spell check in babble=death)
Kaitlin: but she also married him in the first place (source of anger in the book for me!-- and Rank) what would drive her to do this? Since she also seemed financially independent? Is this Catholicism's influence as well?
It's not just Catholicism at work, it's a lot of pressures of the time--Syvlie was a rural Canadian girl in the 1960's.
Kaitlin: feel like the email format forced me to get inside Rank's head and mannerisms. Do you think using email exposed more elements to Rank's personality and reasoning than a more traditional style of writing?
Kaitlin, yes, the email format allowed me to "trick" Rank into writing his life story. AT first, he doesn't realize that's what he's doing. He thinks he's just getting back at Adam and "setting the story straight". I wanted Rank to be seduced by the pleasures of narrative, and in that way he'd start to see things from Adam's POV--he'd start to relate to Adam as an author.
true. I suppose the frustrations stems from the fact you paint Sylvie as someone able to overcome these pressures only to fall to them. Oh the 1960s (and just patriarchy in general)
Well, yeah, that is a question for me...Sylvie is a fascinating character. She was gruff and tough, leading an independent lifstyle and then she marries Rank GORD!? Then again...I feel like I've known a lot of Sylvies in my life having grown up in the suburbs of Calgary...
Yes, because he was not editing himself and revising as one might if they were writing a traditional narrative. He is raw but has a great deal of intelligence behind his emails. They showed him to be a complex character who managed to develop and become better than his father.
I think the pre-Gord Sylvie and post-Gord Sylvie cast a bright light on how a stong, unconventional and independent woman would stay in an abusive relationship. This is something many people can't understand, and Rank's anger toward her is a sort of indictment of our society's inability to understand what abuse does to women.