[HPFGU-Catalogue] Re: more...and more

Barry Arrowsmith arrowsmithbt at btconnect.com
Fri Mar 4 11:02:10 UTC 2005


On 4 Mar 2005, at 01:06, carolynwhite2 wrote:
>  >
>  >
>  > Talisman's little ears perk up.
>  >
>  <snip wickedly funny rant>
>
>  > She's a prig and an ass and a human Howler. Pitch her in the flames
>  > and be done with it.
>  >
>  > Love and Kisses,
>  >
>  > Talisman,
>  >
>  >
>  > P.S. When I was a Girl Scout we carried weapons and swam naked.
>  >
>  > Carolyn: Those tranquilizer darts sound like just the thing. And you
>  > know the way?
>
>
>  Making an immense effort to be charitable to JKR, since Molly is such
>  a dreadful stereotype, do you suppose she's really trying to make
>  some sort of point about manipulative motherhood and the dubious joys
>  of family life? As the Weasleys unravel, I am reminded somewhat of
>  Ivy Compton Burnett's remorseless dissections - ever read 'Mother &
>  Son' ? I was once moved to give it to a particularly frightful quasi-
>  mother in law for Christmas. Very effective.
>
>  But this is just wishful thinking methinks. Sadly, our Moll seems far
>  from complex, just a stock figure to fit into the 1950s landscape.
>  Sean, Kneasy's comments tell you all you need to know as to why that
>  inspires undiluted rage in a sub-section of female readers.
>
>  Ok, so he's amusing himself pressing some buttons to get a reaction,
>  but the truth is the books do only provide these terribly limited
>  female characters. The only possible response is to treat the whole
>  thing as a joke, and a bad one at that.
>
>  Carolyn
>
>  PS Talisman, it's pretty easy to find him apparently.. the billowing
>  clouds of green and black smoke, the screams of people he's annoyed,
>  the empty bottles and broken bones..a grim sight, not for the faint
>  hearted, I'm told.
>
>  Your girl guide training will be invaluable - on the couple of
>  occasions I was forced to go, all we did was learn to lay the table :(
>


A slow smile can be discerned slightly to the north of his grizzled 
beard. His red-rimmed eyes (the result of drinking from wet glasses) 
can be seen twinkling behind gold-framed spectacles. He detects 
thrashing in the water. A touch of insecurity perhaps? A need to 
validate personal choices? My, my. Can it  be this easy? Besides, the 
site is still down and I need entertainment from somewhere.

Last year the BBC broadcast a series - Grumpy Old Men - (all of the 
participants younger than me, so they've still got time to get  
*really* irascible) complaining of the vicissitudes of modern life. 
Mobile phones, shops, modern youth, fashion, Christmas, etc. Quite 
entertaining. Now they're doing Grumpy Old Women. I detect a 
difference. While the men complained about society, the women complain 
about themselves. Enlightening. Such self-absorption. Such a seeking to 
comply with a chosen stereotype.  Still; only to be expected from a 
sub-set gullible enough to believe that somebody else's idea of beauty 
can be bought over the counter in a fancy-shaped bottle.

"Igor! Start boiling the oil. We could have visitors."
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: not available
Type: text/enriched
Size: 3574 bytes
Desc: not available
URL: <http://archive.hpfgu.org/pipermail/hpfgu-catalogue/attachments/20050304/eec4cab4/attachment.bin>


More information about the HPFGU-Catalogue archive