I
Like sands in
the hourglass...
b y S arah K oehl
"L ike sands in the hour glass so are the
days o f o u r lives," o r so I th o u g h t as I sat down
to read three fictiona l love stories about les
bians by lesbians.
Iris, Janine Veto’s first book is fast paced
and violent. It involves tw o w om en w ho meet
and fall in love, but find they m ust m urder
various aggressors in order to live the ir lives
in peace. Veto devotes great tim e and effort
in to descriptive repeated rapes perpetrated
upon the m ain character called Iris. W hat
appears to be an escapist and rom antic
captivating fro n t cover o f tw o w om en kissing
never is actually characterized throug ho ut
the novel. So as you cannot judge a book by
its cover, Iris , has been placed am ongst the
lesbian love story genre although carrying a
distasteful ho m ophobic and m ale-hating un
d e rc u rre n t Veto had m any opportunities to
salvage her lesbian as victim them e. Iris is
brutalized to the po int o f being physically
disabled and has to prove her power with
w itch cra ft over her aggressor and the violent
lesbian-hating society that allowed such bru
ta lity to take place. Sadly, what one would
hope to be a victory over the violence against
w om en at the end o f the book, becom es the
bru ta l m u rde r o f an innocent male child. Iris
has one saving grace as it serves to rem ind us
as w om en that a th in line exists between our
ow n aggressive nature as hum an beings and
o u r ow n personal breaking points. Let us
hope we can recognize this as a potential
only, and not follow in o u r male counterparts
footsteps in believing aggression deserves
aggression. I do not recom m end Iris fo r the
squeam ish o r pacifistic, but perhaps som e
lesbian separatists w ill regard it as supportive
m aterial.
The Price o f S alt, w ritten in 1952, by Claire
M organ, was one o f the first lesbian "p u lp ”
novels w ritten w ith a realistic life quality and a
happy ending. The hom osexual novel thirty
years ago was always tragic, male and psy
ch o lo g ica lly unsupportive. The 1980s reader
m ig h t fin d Therese, the m ain character, a
little tim id , bu t I’ll adm it her actions rem inded
m e o f shy and awakening feelings in all o f us.
Therese m eets Carol, a stunning older wo-
Just Out February 17-March 2
m an, at the clothing departm ent store where
she is a clerk. As their affection for one another
grow s into love, Therese realizes she m ust
deal w ith m ore than her awakening as a les
bian, bu t jealousy, and her search o f self.
C arol in turn, is faced with a custody battle
w ith her ex-husband over her only daughter,
and m ust com e to term s w ith her decision to
live w ith Therese o r face losing her child.
M any w ill identify w ith Carol and Therese.
They characterize the struggle fo r fulfillm ent
in all o f us and a search fo r love that we all
hope to attain.
A g a in st the Season, by Jane Rule, written
in 1971, was finally published in the United
States this spring. Rule’s exquisite w riting
style and penetrating insight has created
another winner. A g a in st theSeeison is a con
sciously old fashioned, stylized novel about
cycles o f birth, grow th and death. The m ajor
ity o f its characters are (refreshingly) over
forty, som e over sixty, and a few over eighty.
Ju st as S ix o f O ne, by Rita Mae Brown, co l
ored sm all tow n life and its inhabitants.
A g a in st the Season revives that same
h u m o r and sm all tow n adventure. Dina Pyros
and Rosem ary Hopwood, the lesbian couple
in the novel are a som ewhat stereotyped
"b u tch and fem m e” but are w onderfully
am using as they begin to cou rt publicly and
privately. (W ith a twist, as it is the fem m e who
chases and catches the butch). A particularly
sentim ental and m eaningful part o f the novel
em erges when an elderly m an and woman
both over eighty, lonely and frightened by
death, find they love each other, but were
never able to make the vulnerable step to
wards co m m itm e n t and sharing their feel
ings. In the face o f public ridicule they make
th e ir love apparent and support one another.
A g a in st the Season challenges the classic
lesbian love story as it incorporates hetero
sexual love and love between the elderly, a
refreshing change. I recom m end A gainst
the Season. It’s richness o f detail and thought
harm onize and create the continuity o f dignity
needed so desperately by all o f us as we age,
and m akes the subtle connection between
agism and respect, so often lost in our society.
th ro u g h o u t the book as Celie’s story unfolds
in her letters to God, her only sustaining
realty. U ntainted by judgem ental doctrine,
she w rites fervently to God o f her love for the
flam boyant Shug Avery. It is Shug, Mr.
s
m istress, w ho becom es aware o f Celie's
p lig h t and teachers her that life can be m ore
than a daily struggle to survive.
N ettie’s story is revealed in her letters to
Celie, all o f w hich have been intercepted by
Mr. _____.
Ju st as C elie’s life is filled with hope and
love and laughter, all that is central to her
seem s to be stripped away. In the lonely,
shocked silence, Celie learns, to her. the m ost
im p o rta n t lesson.
In the calm ness, the reader is lulled into
expecting the last chapter to be an epilogue,
but Ms. W alker skillfully raises em otions to a
crescendo, the final twist, leaving no lingering
questions, leaving passion at its peak.
The book is artfully w ritten throughout. Ms.
W alker’s econom y w ith w ords and her afflu
ence o f feeling and insight present a story
th a t is abundant in both intellectual and em o
tio n a l understanding o f basic hum an rights,
sexual preferences and what it means to be
alive. All o f this is presented w ithout apology,
w ith o u t vengeance, couched not in politics,
but in the sim ple, natural reality o f who we
are.
JUST O U T at the rink
A roller skating party sponsored by
The Color Purple
b y H elen Lottridge
A lice W alker’s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel,
The C olor Purple, published by W ashington
Square Press, is crystal-clear sym plicity that
delivers such pow erful messages and feel
ings that one is prom pted to turn from the
last page back to the first and re-read it
im m ediately.
Ms. W alker draws the reader into the core
o f the oppression o f Black people — and
particularly w om en o f color — from the per
spective o f the innocent Celie. In the m idst of
a barrage o f physical and em otional viola
tio n s bearing no hint o f justice, we relate to
Celie on a being level, and find inside her the
quiet acceptance o f one w ho has no way to
know that change can com e.
A survivor o f incest her children taken from
her, she finds herself the last-choice bride in
an arranged m arriage. C elie’s husband,
M r._______ appropriately nam ed, m uch pre
fers her sister Nettie; but his affections are
unrequited and nettie is sent away to an
unknow n fate, leaving Celie with the loss o f
the on ly person w ho loved her.
A subtle but potent spirituality is evident
SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 26,5 pm-7pm
PORTLAND SKATING CENTER
MAIN BETWEEN SE GRAND & UNION
$2.00 INCLUDES SKATE RENTAL
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