Russ's The Female Man is a key text in feminist science fiction. Writing in response to Ursula Le Guin's The Left Hand of Darkness, Russ explores "gender, utopia, and the divided self" (xii) in her convoluted narrative that spans multiple universes and hundreds of years. A key concept in this exploration is undoubtedly the theme of violence, which plays an important role throughout the various storylines. Postulated as both a cause and response to female repression, female violence serves various purposes across the four different universes, from Joanna's attempt to subjugate Janet's independence to Jael's visceral murder of a man who proposes to her. Russ's use of violence is sometimes shocking, sometimes cathartic, but always thought-provoking as she seeks to bridge the gap between what her women essentially are and what they (in the case of Joanna and Jeannine especially ) claim to be. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get an original essay Although not a utopian text per se, The Female Man contains within it a world that many critics describe as utopian: Whileaway. However, Whileaway also contains examples of violence, which seem instinctively to contradict the idea of ​​a perfect society, or a traditional utopia. However, by considering Whileaway as a response and reflection on the shortcomings of female agency, it could be argued that the perpetration of violence could be read as a utopian element. Russ's narrative structure deliberately blurs the lines between the four worlds she explores. . Through the segmentation of his chapters (parts), with often little obvious sequence between the speakers and the events, Russ invites comparison between the characters, the episodes, the worlds, and sometimes between the fictional situations of the book and reality . The reader is forced to piece together several plots and events, while exploring the minds and stories of four different women - who are then revealed to be all the same women, in different time continua. This mix of events and people forces the audience to think about the theme of “Everywoman”; the shared experience of the female gender and the role to which women are relegated, despite cultural and social differences. In turn, the novel contains many different examples of violence, in many contexts and of varying severity. The treatment and purpose of female violence, in such a convoluted text, are difficult to pin down and rationalize. However, there are underlying themes and ideas that intersect and are amplified by Russ's depiction of female violence, as well as the surrounding political structures that both validate and condemn violence throughout the novel. Violence is therefore arguably not only a novel inclusion here, but is intrinsic to the effect of the text as a whole, helping to develop the characters, the conclusion and even the reader's understanding of reality through reflections on the limitations to which women are subjected in society. The beginning of L'Homme Féminin is littered with examples not only of male oppression, but also of female repression: "I will watch the ailante" (4) thinks Jeannine, agreeing to make love without wanting to. “Say it loud.” Someone will come and help you. (44) Joanna instructs Janet, while praying that she does not run away. Although Jeannine's and Joanna's social worlds are both products of prior male oppression, the majority of the action concerns women and their interactionswith each other. The violence in The Female Man primarily works with this repression as being larger, part of the “divided self.” We see violence carried out in three main ways: to support repression, to combat repression, and to be regulated in Whileaway's unrepressed society. By supporting the repression, Joanna tries in vain to contain Janet, striving to “civilize” her. During Joanna's land party, Joanna repeatedly kicks and even strangles Janet, in an attempt to prevent her from upsetting the status quo of male-female interactions. Interestingly, although they are portrayed as quite vicious, it is unclear whether these actions are actually being carried out or whether they are only taking place in Joanna's mind as she watches. The lack of reaction from their male companions to Joanna's actions suggests that Joanna was either incredibly subtle or did not actually touch Janet. However, a man notices a change in Janet's expression, supposedly due to Joanna's restraint, and he attributes it to his own effect on her, showing a comical ignorance of women's actions outside of his own presuppositions. . This last idea strongly echoes other episodes in the book - the interview between Janet and the journalist during the first contact, for example, or Cal's sexual persistence despite Jeannine's aversion. Joanna's violence can therefore be treated either literally or metaphorically, although there are better arguments for a literal reading. In any case, it perpetuates the doctrine of his world; that women are secondary to men, to the point that they themselves will punish other women who overstep their boundaries. This episode also touches on the theme of invisibility, which Joanna and Jeannine try to get around, and Janet and Jael are confused and ignored, respectively. These last two women, accustomed to being both seen and heard among the women of their own world, break this lack of recognition with violence, the two major scenes of violence in the novel. In the first half of the book, Janet becomes the object of unwanted sexual attention, relegated to the status of an object to be imposed on rather than a person in her own right. Having already spent most of the evening attempting to at least partially follow the social mores of the partygoers, Janet loses patience and physically subdues the male host, although she does not cause lasting harm. In contrast, when Jael is subjected to the unwanted attention of a man while attempting to do business in Manland, she relishes the anger it arouses in her and violently kills the man in question. Although each situation differs in terms of context and outcome, the interactions between the men and women in both episodes follow essentially the same structure. Men and women come together for a conversation, during which the men are presented as comically unaware of their own exaggerated sense of superiority. Men automatically treat women as inferior, viewing them primarily as sexual objects designed to bolster their own ego. At first, women quietly refrain from disrupting the flow of things, until the men's overtures exceed their limits, causing the women to quickly and physically overpower them. Janet and Jael's physical reactions are cathartic in different ways. With Janet, we see a character already established as intelligent, independent and entirely self-sufficient, locked in the position of a helpless sex object: if you scream, people say you're melodramatic; if you submit, you are a masochist; ifyou insult, you are a bitch. Hit him and he will kill you. It is best to suffer in silence and long for a savior, but suppose the savior does not come? (45) This role does not suit the stubborn Janet. The juxtaposition between what the audience knows she is and what the party host assumes she is is incredibly comical. The erroneous interpretation of the word "savage", the insults he throws at him, the fact that he leafs through his little blue instruction manual, everything combines to make him a figure of contempt and ridicule. However, the real humor of the interaction lies on Janet's part, who simply cannot be insulted by the idea that she will be undesirable in the eyes of men. By using a character who cannot participate in the male/female dichotomy, simply because it does not exist for her, Russ sends the implications of a world where women appear to exist solely for the benefit of men. Likewise, Jael, who is also free from this dichotomy, is capable of committing violence without fear of reprisal. She sincerely appreciates the accumulation of anger and frustration, caused by the lack of conscience of the man who imposes on us: It's time for me to run away, leaving behind half the blood and the promises of my life, promises, promises; but you know what? I just can't do it. It's happened too often. I have no more reservations. I sat there, smiling brightly in sheer anticipation… (172) By the time both women eliminate their respective men, the audience is ready for a release, a response to the outrage to which both women have been subjected. What differentiates the two scenes, however, is the gratuitous and satirical violence that Jaël inflicts on his victims and the other women's reactions to his actions. Janet has already been shown to be opposed to unnecessary violence during a conversation with Laura Rose, and here all three women are visibly frightened. In contrast, Janet's violence causes Joanna, and even the audience, to question their experiences of similar interactions, rather than pushing them away. Her calm defense of herself makes the alternative – simply allowing the inappropriate behavior to continue – somewhat ridiculous. Jael and Janet seem justified for their actions in context, but in comparison, Jael's actions seem more morally wrong. “Was it necessary? ” he is asked, and the answer is obviously no, but Jaël responds instead with “I liked it” (177). The same question could be asked of Janet, but it isn't. Instead, Janet gently persuades Joanna to throw away her little pink book, a symbol of repression. This suggests that Russ's ideas about acceptable violence and female expression have limits. While Jael's violence befits the war her world perpetuates, Janet's home planet of Whileaway is entirely at peace with itself, but not entirely without conflict. Whileawayian society includes a curious mix of freedom and regulation. The incredibly structured system of life stages and societal expectations is juxtaposed with fluid family structures, freedom to travel, and the doctrine of personal independence amidst a strong social framework. Women are encouraged to be curious, to stray from home as far as they want, to start and dissolve families as needed, and to marry without monogamy. When compared to the three other worlds of the novel, the Whileawayian society seems to be the most perfect model of happiness, and this is moreover openly declared: "Janet... living as she does in a bliss that none of will never know us” (206). . And yet, Whileaway doesn't emphasize the importance of happiness above all else.Instead, passages detailing life on Whileaway describe the various intense emotions that arise during a normal life. Mothers and daughters “scream” when their daughters are sent to school (45), the “hurt” of falling in love (74), Janet’s “grief” about (for) Jael. Anger and violence are facets of this freedom of emotion, obviously culminating in the perpetuation of duels. Comparable to actual duels between men throughout history, often intrinsically linked to honor and convention, these duels are governed by both law and social expectations. There is also a clear difference between dueling and murder: “it’s murder if it’s sneaky or if she doesn’t want to fight” (53). The duels over Whileaway, although resulting from mutual dislike, do not occur out of hatred either: “For sport, yes, okay, for hatred no. Separate them. (48). Regulated as such, the duel does not become an escape from the constraints of society, but rather a part of the social structure. While society seems organized to promote individual freedom beyond societal conventions. This involves facilitating and regulating anger and violence, rather than condemning or ignoring them. Violence is also treated as a normal part of growing up: “Understand, I have put all that behind me now; I am an adult; I have a family. (41). But perhaps more importantly, violence is not an expectation of young women, nor the preserve of a privileged few, but a choice that all are capable of making. In the short story prequel to The Female Man, Russ explores Whileaway's society when he is threatened by male astronauts from a declining Earth. Katherina's character is portrayed as more pacifist, less aggressive and openly confident than her wife. Yet she is the one who pulls a gun on her future conqueror, claiming that the reason she had never allowed herself to carry a gun until that moment was not because she was afraid violence, but because she was afraid of committing violence. contrary to traditional ideas that men and women are actually seen as inherently violent and non-violent and treated accordingly. Likewise, The Female Man's treatment of female violence in contemporary literature is quite atypical. In writing her satirical feminist treatise, the SCUM Manifesto, Valerie Solanas suggests a process of gratuitous violence on the part of women "SCUM", in order to rid the world of men. At the time, it was met with some condemnation and disgust, and the treatise was used to slander all feminists after Solanas' attempted assassination of Andy Warhol. However, Solanas perpetuates this idea of ​​a divide between women capable and incapable of violence, condemning the latter to ruin. Another example of female violence, the short story Houston Houston, Do You Read? by Tiptree Jr, focuses on graphic male violence and only hints at female physical assault in the conclusion. Neither text views violence as an inherent part of all feminine nature, but rather as a means to an end, and neither advocates violence as a leisure activity (although the manifesto lavishes its violent language). While women are portrayed as strong in both examples, Whileaway is unique in her novel presentation of female violence for "sport", driven by inclination rather than necessity. In this exclusively female world, violence is described as the ultimate liberation from the social expectations of bigendered worlds, the ultimate freedom. Many critics consider Whileaway to be an example of. 205-218