“Men Were Just Like That Back Then”
One sentence you should never excuse while discussing books
I facilitate a classics book club. We discuss misogyny a lot because we find it all through the classics. Sadly, there seems to be an idea that, well, men were just like that back then. There is no need to be upset about it. There is no need to discuss it. Let it go and move on.
Let’s not move on. Many, many male writers have helped advance women’s role in society immeasurably by supporting female writers, by creating compelling female characters and by being good people generally.
Meanwhile some writers have pretended women do not even exist except to arrange the meals of their male characters.
Alas, then we have men who are lauded for their incredible talent, amazing characters, wonderful writing skills, and their attacks on women are swept quietly under the carpet because, oh well, that is just how men were.
Before I go on I want to make a point that I’m using the novel Brave New World as a vehicle to explore the way people ignore sexism in popular novels. It is just one example of thousands of novels I could have chosen. It is not a review or a take-down of the book. There will be spoilers.
