I know a lot of people hate - and I mean hate - Lady Brett Ashley. And I can understand why. She seems to have little regard for other people's feelings. She uses Jake for her own personal gain. She's irresponsible and careless.
But I think this is a very superficial way to look at her character.
Overall, the level of scrutiny leveled at Brett seems unfair to me. Since she is the main female character, she is especially exposed to hard judgement. But this is a book where all of the characters are, in one way or another, terrible people. Jake, Bill, and Mike all display sexist, homophobic, racist, and anti-semitic behavior. (Brett, comparatively, does not.) Cohn's main crime is being tone deaf, but he also displays some nasty sexism throughout the book. But we do not and indeed should not immediately accuse these male characters of being one-dimensional villains. They obviously all have depth.
Yet there appears to be a strong sentiment that Brett is nothing more than a manipulative bitch. This seems very much like a double standard to me. In general, female characters are often subjected to this kind of scrutiny because we are used to them being portrayed as one-dimensional witches. We're used to there being problems in their depiction.
It's perfectly fine and, I would argue, necessary to examine how female characters are depicted. But I believe that when we approach a female character with our 21st-century perspective and expectations, it is easy to unfairly deem her 'bad' based on our narrow standards.
It reminds me of the refrain 'boys will be boys'. The male characters drink a LOT. They treat each other, as well as women (including Brett), quite badly, and show a lot more prejudice than she does. But while that may trouble present-day readers, their reaction to the men's actions is often nothing compared to their reaction to Brett's mishaps. If she drinks, she's being irresponsible. If she says something harsh to Cohn, she's mean and cruel. I'm not saying that her drinking is responsible, or that Cohn should be treated badly. But does that make her any more flawed than the other characters, who engage in the same behavior?
Similarly, when the male characters show some empathy or kindness, we see that as a sign of their deeper character, their potential for compassion. But when Brett comforts Jake, readers tend to think she's being selfish and manipulative. More specifically, when Brett doesn't mention her getaway with Cohn, she's judged to be manipulative. Yet when she's totally honest to Jake about her interest in Romero, she's still judged to be manipulative. Everything Brett does is interpreted as evil. That in itself is not an inherent problem, but similar behavior from other characters are not afforded the same level of criticism and vehemence.
I think another aspect of this double standard is the perception of male-female relationships. Bill and Jake definitely have an emotional closeness: they talk about serious things, and Bill knows about Jake's injury. We don't assume Bill is kind to Jake just because he wants Jake's attention. We get it: guys can be friends.
But I feel like Brett and Jake's friendship is constantly belittled and judged differently from friendships between men. The fact that Jake has romantic feelings for her governs our every interpretation of Brett's actions. At least on some level, I believe that she is comforting him and seeking him out because they are friends and she trusts and cares about him. Yet many assume that the only reason she does those things is because she wants attention.
She is no worse than the others. So I wonder why readers' criticism is focused on her. Is it because she's a woman? Maybe. It's complicated. But I certainly think that's part of the reason.
I don't have the time - at least, not in this blogpost - to specifically address all of her 'wrongdoings', and how I believe they reveal the greater depths of Brett's character. Believe me, I understand that she's selfish, afraid to face her fears, and makes poor life choices. I get being disappointed that a female character is not as strong or smart or kind as we want her to be, especially since female characters are often villainized or objectified. But people are flawed, and you shouldn't erase all of the deep complexities of Brett's character just because she's a woman - they are what make her interesting, and, personally speaking, they are why she's one of my favorite characters.
But I think this is a very superficial way to look at her character.
Overall, the level of scrutiny leveled at Brett seems unfair to me. Since she is the main female character, she is especially exposed to hard judgement. But this is a book where all of the characters are, in one way or another, terrible people. Jake, Bill, and Mike all display sexist, homophobic, racist, and anti-semitic behavior. (Brett, comparatively, does not.) Cohn's main crime is being tone deaf, but he also displays some nasty sexism throughout the book. But we do not and indeed should not immediately accuse these male characters of being one-dimensional villains. They obviously all have depth.
Yet there appears to be a strong sentiment that Brett is nothing more than a manipulative bitch. This seems very much like a double standard to me. In general, female characters are often subjected to this kind of scrutiny because we are used to them being portrayed as one-dimensional witches. We're used to there being problems in their depiction.
It's perfectly fine and, I would argue, necessary to examine how female characters are depicted. But I believe that when we approach a female character with our 21st-century perspective and expectations, it is easy to unfairly deem her 'bad' based on our narrow standards.
It reminds me of the refrain 'boys will be boys'. The male characters drink a LOT. They treat each other, as well as women (including Brett), quite badly, and show a lot more prejudice than she does. But while that may trouble present-day readers, their reaction to the men's actions is often nothing compared to their reaction to Brett's mishaps. If she drinks, she's being irresponsible. If she says something harsh to Cohn, she's mean and cruel. I'm not saying that her drinking is responsible, or that Cohn should be treated badly. But does that make her any more flawed than the other characters, who engage in the same behavior?
Similarly, when the male characters show some empathy or kindness, we see that as a sign of their deeper character, their potential for compassion. But when Brett comforts Jake, readers tend to think she's being selfish and manipulative. More specifically, when Brett doesn't mention her getaway with Cohn, she's judged to be manipulative. Yet when she's totally honest to Jake about her interest in Romero, she's still judged to be manipulative. Everything Brett does is interpreted as evil. That in itself is not an inherent problem, but similar behavior from other characters are not afforded the same level of criticism and vehemence.
I think another aspect of this double standard is the perception of male-female relationships. Bill and Jake definitely have an emotional closeness: they talk about serious things, and Bill knows about Jake's injury. We don't assume Bill is kind to Jake just because he wants Jake's attention. We get it: guys can be friends.
But I feel like Brett and Jake's friendship is constantly belittled and judged differently from friendships between men. The fact that Jake has romantic feelings for her governs our every interpretation of Brett's actions. At least on some level, I believe that she is comforting him and seeking him out because they are friends and she trusts and cares about him. Yet many assume that the only reason she does those things is because she wants attention.
She is no worse than the others. So I wonder why readers' criticism is focused on her. Is it because she's a woman? Maybe. It's complicated. But I certainly think that's part of the reason.
I don't have the time - at least, not in this blogpost - to specifically address all of her 'wrongdoings', and how I believe they reveal the greater depths of Brett's character. Believe me, I understand that she's selfish, afraid to face her fears, and makes poor life choices. I get being disappointed that a female character is not as strong or smart or kind as we want her to be, especially since female characters are often villainized or objectified. But people are flawed, and you shouldn't erase all of the deep complexities of Brett's character just because she's a woman - they are what make her interesting, and, personally speaking, they are why she's one of my favorite characters.
You bring up some very fair points. It is an all too familiar narrative to have the lead female character be vilified because of her sexuality, and her character reduced to only that. But I’m not sure this is quite the case with Brett – I think she is an immensely complicated character, and yet personally, I dislike her. I guess for me the question is: are Jake and Brett friends, or something more? Throughout your post, you refer to her as being a friend, but clearly there is romantic interest on both parts. If you do think of her just as a friend, I’ll agree that the vehement dislike may not be very justified. But I think that there is an inherent difference between Brett and Jake’s relationship, and Jake and all of his friends relationship in that he has intense romantic feelings for Brett and not only that, but that she knows it. If the roles were reversed, and it was a man doing the things Brett is doing, to a romantic “partner”, I think I would dislike him just as much. I think there is something very vile about giving a person some sort of hope that maybe they’ll eventually get a happy ending (like all the times Brett kisses Jake and tells him she loves him), but never actually getting with them, and yet never telling them flat out no.
ReplyDeleteI guess I should clarify: I totally understand why someone would dislike her. But this blog post was in reaction to hearing people talking about or writing about how she's a flat character who only serves as a male object of fantasy and desire, which I think discredits her complexity. I agree with you that she behaves hideously throughout the book!
DeleteI agree and disagree with you. But in general, great, in-depth post. I really enjoyed reading it.
ReplyDeleteI agree that we often judge female characters too harshly, especially for being promiscuous. Which, like you mentioned, is a big issue that needs to be addressed. We cannot only define Brett's character through her (sometimes) misguided choices. I definitely agree that Brett is a very complex character, and her previous life experiences may influence how she interacts with others. But personally I think that Brett is still manipulative, whether she's doing it on purpose or doing it subconsciously. The way she has men wrapped around her finger is alarming. Perhaps she was considering Jake's feelings when she confessed she was in love with Romero, but I often think she could have gone about that in a less hurtful way. Even though one might argue "this is just the way Brett is", ideally, she would realize her wrongdoings and try and correct some of the more faulty aspects of her character.
By the way, I think the men are just as worthy of scorn. But Brett is the only prominent female character in the novel, which is perhaps why readers scrutinize her behavior more. That, and sexism/gender issues ingrained in all of our brains.