Misogyny, Arthur, and G. Gordon Liddy

Well, Joel has me convinced of Wolfe's misogyny. At the moment, I can't think of a single really admirable woman in any of Wolfe's works, nor of a case where a man has a satisfying long-term relationship with a woman. Perhaps Wolfe is saying that men expect too much of women...but that shouldn't really prevent the occurrence of positive female characters. I just finished CASTLEVIEW last night. I don't see why people say this novel makes less sense than any of Wolfe's others. I mean, how much sense do you expect Arthurian irruptions in downstate Illinois to make? There were some puzzles, but all in all I thought I was able to follow things quite well. (Of course, this probably means I totally missed everything!) Mrs. Shields is a good case in point for Joel's contention: she's a glutton (thinks constantly of recipes), and seems to care for her husband only inasmuch as he provides her with things (at one point, she burbles, "I really love you!" when he agrees to let her use his car). She doesn't seem to be unduly disturbed by her husband's death. The daughter, Mercedes, seems nice--but that's no doubt only because she's not a woman yet! My absolutely favorite character in the book was G. Gordon Kitty. He was a scream, and purrfectly likeable (but then he was a tom). When he pulled out his "Browning Grand Pussance" I just about rolled off the bed laughing. (Well, it's funnier if you're into guns: "Grand Puissance" is the French name for the Browning High Power pistol...) Does Wolfe have a fascination with G. Gordon Liddy? I seem to remember him saying in an interview that the "North" character in THERE ARE DOORS is actually G. Gordon.

Yes, and remember that when she tries to pray, all she can do is recite recipes rather than the Lord's Prayer or the Rosary! But Wolfe is going to say that, yes, she has her problems, but not necessarily any more than any other character.

Hey! Thanks for that!!

That was my interview. He explained that he initially thought that Oliver North was the same type of person as Liddy, but later decided he was wrong. His perception of Liddy was of a machiavellian manipulator, which is pretty much the face Liddy wore for many years. Nutria