Cat Lady on a Hot Tin Roof

Cat Lady on a Hit Tin Doll's House

Chapter Two

The First Lecture, Wednesday, 1/20/2066

Emily was very concerned to present herself as a serious scholar at her first lecture. Indeed, in a loose dark dress that went from her neck to her ankles, almost a hijab, she was rather overdressed for Mississippi in 2066 for any time of the year and covered up more than even the most modest women in town.

Standing at the podium to face about seventy undergraduates, Emily said, "Southern women have been thought to be docile, caste conscious, religious and puritanical. Undoubtedly some were like that but is that what we see reading literature of the last century. This class will explore a variety of views of southern women and southern society's view of women through the lens of southern literature written well over 100 years ago.

"As we know in 2066, it is generally thought that women about forty years ago in the more conservative portions of North America reverted to the ways of their great-grandmothers of before World War II. The stereotype holds southern women largely rejected both promiscuity and feminism while feminism continued to be the predominant attitude in the north and along the coasts of North America.

I will not speak of the present 2066 attitudes of the South. You know more about that than I do.

"I will present a view of just what those pre-Second World War views were by and of women. I think we will find that the ideas of and by southern women of so long ago were far more diverse than is imagined by those who believe that children, kitchen and church was the only role played by southern women before the contamination brought by American contact in WW2 with European decadence, existentialism, and the Civil Rights movement. We will do this through an examination of a few portions of a few works, by southern men and women. These authors - William Faulkner, Carson McCullers, Eudora Welty, Margaret Mitchell, and Tennessee Williams - are still known among scholars but are less read by most readers of the mid-21st Century.

"Most of these works were written in the 1930s. The Tennessee Williams piece can be seen as a bookend and a "looking back" on the prior years as it was written in the 1950s. It is quite contaminated by the thoughts of that later post-WWII time, but it still upholds the tradition of the southern woman even if as in mocks that woman and her family.

"Partly for this reason, I have asked you to watch the "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof" movie with Paul Newman and Elizabeth Taylors, very famous actors of 100 years ago, rather than to read the play. Williams hated the movie because of its deemphasis of the male homosexual theme but for our purposes of looking at the classical view of southern women, the movie is better than the play. The movie, while sharply criticizing some of the classical picture of southern morality, can be seen as endorsing many of its central components.

"But we will not get to "Cat on Hot Tin Roof" for weeks. Instead, I would like to set the stage today by presenting a few of the intellectual currents and views by southern women that preceded the period on which we will be focusing. We will start with 'The Storm' (1898) by Kate Chopin of St. Louis, Missouri."

After discussing Chopin and her work, Professor Fuchs read a small portion of the story, "When he touched her breasts, they gave themselves up in quivering ecstasy, inviting his lips. Her mouth was a fountain of delight. And when he possessed her, they seemed to swoon together at the very borderland of life's mystery. He stayed cushioned upon her, breathless, dazed, enervated, with his heart beating like a hammer upon her. With one hand she clasped his head, her lips lightly touching his forehead. The other hand stroked with a soothing rhythm his muscular shoulders."

Professor Fuchs continued, "Chopin did not attempt to have the story published during her lifetime particularly as the message of the story would have been totally unacceptable in 1890s. It must be admitted, though, that even in this early period women were grasping to understand passion and, at least privately, did not deny the value of physical romance and pleasure.

"Even more shocking, was Chopin allowing the lovers of 'The Storm' to take their casual pleasure and enjoy it thoroughly without afterwards being plagued by tragedy or guilt. This starkly violated the convention that adulterous or promiscuous women, whether Anna Karina or the girls killed during sex in the late 20th Century slasher movies, always paid for their libido with their lives or at least their reputations.

"Coming from another unpopular direction, there were also women of the south prior to the period that will be our focus who questioned the social structure, particularly as it involved saddling women to constant reproduction. Indeed, to take one extreme example, some of the poetry of the 1920s, foreshadows feminist themes of the 1960s and '70s.

"Lucia Trent, born in Richmond Virginia, the capital of the Confederacy and the Old South, wrote a short poem that I would like to read you now. It must have been shocking to many in its day:

"Breed, Women, Breed"

Breed, little mothers

Breed for the owners of mills and the owners of mines

Breed for the bankers, the crafty and terrible masters of men,

Breed for the war lords, the devouring war lords,

Breed, women, breed!

Professor Fuchs then discussed at length the artistic and cultural currents prevalent in the south in 1930 and the recorded thoughts of women of the period before stating, "But we will start next week with a novella written by a man, William Faulkner, that presents views of women that, while recognizing that divergences from proper morality exist, implicitly do support the view that women are either to be safe housewives or prostitutes. The extent to which Faulkner himself endorsed this dichotomy is unclear."

The students seemed impressed with the lecture and the course plans and Professor Emily Fuchs went back home and freshened up slightly before her second teaching assignment of the day, the seminar at the Talmadge mansion.

The First Seminar session

At the Talmadge Mansion at 17:00, the initial meeting of the discussion group was held. There were thirteen participants of three different age groups whose attitudes to a large degree reflected the period in which they grew up. A lot of the first seminar was taken up in letting the participants describe themselves.

That night Emily Fuchs described the participants in her private "Temple Drake" blog, naturally giving her own slant on each of the participants.

"It was rather interesting learning about all the women in my seminar. They come in three age cohorts.

"Virginia Talmadge, age 60, my host here in Yoknapatawpha and host of the seminar, Emma Abbott, 61, and Sophia Lewis, 60, are wealthy grand dames born near the beginning of the 21st Century. They are all in good health for their age. They look their age but are not overweight or suffering from bad cosmetic surgery. At least Virginia and Sophia seem to still know how to have fun. Virginia and Sophia are widows having married much older men when they were 18 or 19.

"In their introductions, all three of the grand dames made clear that they remembered vividly the old United States, the 2028-30 Civil War, the national divorce, the formation of the Free American States under God, the national reconciliation of 2055 that put the United States back together to some extent while allowing the states and regions more autonomy than they had had, and the issuance of the new dollar that was less inflated and standardized across the new United States.. 'I don't know how much anything is worth anymore,' Emma made a point of saying.

"Although Virginia and Sophia are among the oldest in the seminar, they seem in some sense to be more broad-minded than many of the younger women. They've experienced the broadest range of political and social views.

"Emma seems a little disconnected and a bit too direct for politeness. She volunteered that her husband is demented asked me what church I attend before giving me her name. It may be her age but perhaps she's always been that way.

"Sophia mentioned something along the lines that she'd lived long enough to realize that much of what she'd thought was freedom was just following the herd but still she did not regret anything she'd done. She mentioned that she had five children, all now grown, and was on her third husband. She said she reads a lot.

"The second cohort is made up of women roughly my age. Nora Helm, age 29 and the stunningly beautiful woman whose picture I saw, is the second daughter of Virginia Talmadge. She is participating in the discussion group with her three friends, Christine Lind, age 30, Donna Davis age 31, and Avery Gelt, age 29.

"Although they didn't quite come out and say it, it's clear that Nora and each of her friends were lucky in their childhood and among the popular kids in high school. Although Nora stands out, they are all very attractive women who were student council members, cheerleaders, homecoming queens, much sought after dates; in short of the debutants of the Yoknapatawpha aristocracy.

"But some years have gone by and the cheerleaders and homecoming queens of 2055, while still very attractive women, if I can judge female beauty well, are now mainly housewives living in Memphis suburbs. They have to drive over an hour to get to Yoknapatawpha. I think they carpool.

"Donna is the exception as she is staying in a B&B in Yoknapatawpha.

"Nora, with very dark hair, an hourglass figure and fire in her eyes, is married to a corporate lawyer, Woods Helm, and has two children. Although she is a healthy, very attractive and very well-dressed woman, Nora seems to have a few chips on her shoulder. I got the feeling she did not like me although she hardly knows me.

"In her introduction, Nora gave a little speech that she was, alone with the children and her servants much of the time because Woods works so much. She said Woods represents among other companies, Servants Service, Inc., and that Servants Service arranges for the creation of contracts for indentured servitude and the marketing of the services of indentured servants. Nora said it is nice to get out to the seminar as otherwise her main activities outside of the house were church, the exercise club and trips to the beauty parlor.

"I don't know why, but Nora seems to resent me a little bit for not being married at home with children. She made a crack about how it was interesting to hear about life from one who seems to live entirely through literature and maybe she should have continued to graduate school instead of marrying at the end of college. She made a crack something like 'literature seems a lot more fun than reality.'

"Christine Lind is a widow as a result of her husband being killed in a road rage shooting. She has three children. Fortunately, she received enough in a lawsuit settlement from the shooter to contract with an indentured servant to take care of her children. This has left her free to pursue an masters in zoology which is what she wanted to do before she decided that she had to marry a prosperous man because she couldn't afford college.

"Christine said that while she hates to admit it, she did pretty much marry for money although she misses her husband now that he's gone. Christine said she takes her son and daughters out of the country often to expose them to other cultures and museums with less biased science.

Christine said something about how she could not allow her children to grow up entirely among ignorant people who did not even believe in evolution. I could feel Emma and Avery bristle at that remark.

"Avery has four children and is married to Robert Gelt, Chief Operating Officer of the auction house and indentured servant management facility of Servants Service in Memphis. She said something like, 'I spend much of the time at home and I enjoy my Bible lessons and church activities but I'm also eager to talk about something stimulating.' She also explained that 'Nora's Woods and my Robert work together a lot. The fact that Robert has to work around so many young women involved in indentured servitude auctions is something I have had to accept.'

"Avery has probably put on a little weight since she married but you can see that she has the money to be able to buy a lot of fancy exercise equipment and diet coaches. The big cross she has on her neck is a bit off-putting to someone like me who comes from a place where God is more dead than alive.

"Donna said she spends much time hiking and swimming, but she lives in Manhattan. It's clear she grew up rich. She has trod the road less travelled for southern belles and has been out of country seeing the world for years. She says that she is happily single. She decided to come back to Yoknapatawpha for a few months 'for the hell of it' although it is hard for her to satisfy some of her appetites in Yoknapatawpha.

"I'd say she's trying to satisfy a number of her appetites the best she can as her outfit looked like it was something a hot young movie star would wear to the Oscar's. Although this was an informal meeting of women, her full breasts were on the verge of bursting out of her minidress. She mentioned she was going to some dance party afterwards. The fact that her hair was dyed multiple colors with some wild braids also was sending some message although I don't know what message.

"After I asked about what they remember of the Free States of America under God, Nora, Christine, Donna, and Avery said they do not remember well the old country or the national reconciliation that happened when they were in their early adolescence. For them, the land of their birth has always had a conservative view of the proper role of women but not, they think, the most extreme views of how to control women that prevailed in the Free American States under God before the national reconciliation. Then the area was controlled by preachers and constitutional sheriffs.

"Codie, age 22, Virginia Talmadge's youngest daughter and a few other female students in my class are the youngest at the seminar. It was never explained to me how the students to attend the seminar were chosen.

"Codie, attractive enough but far from as stunning as her older sister, has made no secret of the fact that she does not believe she fits in in Yoknapatawpha society and hopes to emigrate. She glances over at Blake more than others as though she's hoping Blake will take her home with her.

"Madison Hood 20, Crimson Maree 21, Kimmy Longstreet 20, and Blake Cabot 21 are all students in the class, healthy and attractive, but their situations are very different.

"Madison, and Kimmy are smart, serious students. They are 'bookish' women who wear short brunette hair, glasses and don't dress to attract men. Nonetheless, they cannot help attracting men to some extent because Madison has a very womanly figure and Kimmy has a very pretty face. Madison reminds me of how I was after I began to focus on my studies.

"Kimmy has a model's thin figure. She said she has done a small bit of modeling but not enough to pay her tuition. She said she'd like to be a literature professor like me, but no corporation will put up the money for her to study to do that.

"Madison volunteered that she not wealthy and cannot find anyone who wants to pay her to study sociology. Madison is less remarkable in her facial appearance than Kimmy but is cute and could probably be a femme fatale if she wanted to be. Some would say Madison is a tad overweight but not in an unhealthy way and judging by the way I have seen her interact in class, the boys don't seem to mind that she has a little bit of a tummy along with her large breasts.

"I hate to focus on these physical traits, but, although it's horrible, the physical traits cannot be ignored in explaining how women think about themselves or the world around them. Certainly, appearance counts for much in the south where things seem to be what they were like in 1956 in many respects.

"To tell the truth, beneath the surface things have not changed much in the north either and I believe there are parts of Ohio, Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin that have about the same attitudes of and about women as those of a century ago. Isn't it funny that a bit larger breasts, the width of hips or longer legs can shape a woman's whole life as though those purely physical traits are important?

"Crimson reminds me of how I was in high school and my first two years in college but much richer. She said she is the daughter of a comfortable family with a large plantation in Alabama. Red headed, she likes to wear tight blouses over her somewhat large breasts and very tight jeans that show her long legs beautifully.

"I'm not quite sure why she decided to go to college unless it was to get away from boys who want to marry her in Alabama and fill her with babies. From the way she interacts with every guy in the class, it appears that in college she is majoring in parties and other fun.

"Mrs. Talmadge told me yesterday when she told me who was coming to the seminar tonight, that there are rumors Crimson has taken trips up north to deal with a pregnancy in a way that would be illegal in Mississippi and Tennessee. She also said that Crimson seemed more likely to become some old man's trophy wife than a professor. This raises the question of why Virginia invited her to the seminars unless she thinks Crimson will add some sort of special tone or comic relief? Maybe Crimson reminds Virginia of how Virginia was except being a very hot redhead instead of a very hot blond?

"I often don't understand what Virginia is thinking.

"Blake Cabot came right out and said she is 21 and is a 'progressive feminist' from Boston who is taking a semester in the south to get away from the rainy winters (there is hardly ever snow anymore) as part of a cultural exchange program that was fostered by the government as part of the national reconciliation. Big glasses, loose clothing designed to hide her healthy body, and light blond hair, she fits the stereotype of a northern liberal woman. She said she does not wear her "Proud Bi-Sexual" T-shirt in Yoknapatawpha, but does in Beantown. She made a point of mentioning that her mother is a member of the Daughters of the American Revolution, but she refuses to join those 'old dykes.'

"I can see men and women eyeing Blake even though she dresses to avoid being attractive. If Codie is after Blake in a romantic way, she'll have a lot of competition.

"All of these women in their early 20s remember little of what life was like before the national reconciliation that happened when they were young girls.

"I thought that 13 women was a bit much for a discussion group, but Virginia Talmadge insisted that there was plenty of room in her parlor and it would work out. It turned out that Mrs. Talmadge was right. The women were quite comfortable sitting in plush furniture even allowing for various servers from the catering company to come in to serve hors d'oeuvres and cocktails."

"We set up the seminars so that the women are to discuss the readings and my lecture for an hour and a half. To follow is a light dinner and unorganized chat with the party to break up early enough for the ladies to make it comfortably to bed, childcare or classes on Thursday morning.

"After the introductions, I asked each woman to say what she hoped to get out of the class and seminar. I was a bit surprised to hear Nora Helm say that she was 'hoping to see if the past will give hints as to how to escape the boredom of the present.' I was also surprised to learn that most of the women had barely heard of Faulkner although many of them had grown up in Faulkner's hometown.