Wow, we really went all over the place during class, didn't we? I agree with you Tim, I think we're all at a consensus about not wanting to end up like the Eloi. I still haven't changed my mind about the shortcomings of the book and I think other people wanted more of the world too, but c'est la vie, tis not to be.
I did want to comment further on the gender roles in the book, something I'd glossed over before. Maybe it wasn't a big point for Wells, but he does relegate Weena to be a pet, a creature comfort for the Time Traveler, something Victorian women were-just a possession. The Time Traveler expresses a tiny bit of loss but doesn't seem to try to go back and save her, just moves on after the loss of his companion, as if he'd lost his tie. I think we now expect women to be a bit more, which is why in movie versions, however bad they may be, Weena becomes more fleshed out and a love interest. Untrue to the book, perhaps, but closer to a better version of the female lead.
Also I couldn't help but think of the movie Serenity (for those who don't know it, it was a movie that tacked on to the Joss Whedon series Firefly, which was cancelled prematurely by Fox, a recurring dilemma for that network) and the planet Miranda. On that planet, a centralized dictator-ish government introduced a chemical into the air (it was a terraformed planet) called the "pax" meant to weed out aggression and calm the population. However, it worked a bit too well as most of the population (sorry if I'm spoiling the movie for some of you) simply gave up the will to live, having lost so much due to the pax they went to the ultimate calm, simply not breathing. However, for a small percentage the pax served to rev up their natural aggression to new heights until they became (Well's favorite) cannibals. So, the Eloi I paralleled to the ones who simply died and the Morlocks to the cannibals, called Reavers.
And thus, I conclude my thoughts for this week. See you all next week on the moon!
Links:
http://imdb.com/title/tt0379786/
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4 comments:
Let's be a little more fair to Wells here - the entire Eloi race were so stupid as to be relegated to the role of pets. Further, the entire race is nearly identically androgynous. If you're going to be offended at the portrayal of women in the book, be offended that Wells describes the Eloi as having become womanish (read:weak and helpless).
Myself, I'm just tired of people criticizing hundred year old works for being chauvanistic. Of course they were. These were just the terms in which Wells society thought of things. We cannot assign blame to Wells for perpetuating it because there would have been no way for him to really have put his points in any other terms. In this era, where artist's intent means nothing to the average critic, I hope that at least we can read things like this in the context of their times.
I simply must say: I refute your consensus. I DO want at part of the Earth's population to reach that level of hedonism and lack of drive to achieve. I feel like it might propel the remnants of the Earth's people to new heights, upon seeing what laziness and sloth can lead to. (I might just be providing a counterpoint, but I think there is something to having a warning against seeking pleasure to the exclusion of achievement).
-Mike
I agree with Chris that when looking at what any novel has to say concerning any social issue it is important to look at it in the context of the time, and be careful how one critisizes the author. I don't mean to say that one should ignore the issue or just be like "oh well that was then" but to make sure that the context of the time period is taken into concideration when doing a criticism . But as a modern reader agree the "female" portrayal was too 2 dimentional and not complex or interesting, but that once again says something of society at that time.
And I want to thank you for posting about the movie Serenity, I haven't seen it but it is a very interesting parallel and does have an interesting point.
Lena
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