Page 6 - Boca ViewPointe - April '23

Page 6, Viewpointe April 2023
Book Review

Hail The Autonomous Ladies during time of war was not considered a crime; and
according to French law, a woman could not sue the man
Selby Wynn Schwartz. After Sappho. New York: Liveright, who was responsible for her pregnancy. In contrast, the
2023. Girton Girls were cyclists who took to motoring to assert
Karen Brooks. The Good Wife of Bath, A Mostly True Story. independence and equality, who not only could drive
New York: William Morrow, 2022. but, as well, maintain their bikes. To the consolidation
“You will remember, for we in our youth/ did these things of the National Congress of Italian [upper class] Women,
Yes, many beautiful things”. Sappho, Fragment 24A in 1908, with tea in the garden followed by plans for
“Experience, though noon auctoritee concerted action of redress.
Were in this world, were right ynogh for me Dr. Karen Brooks offers an imaginative retelling
To speke of wo that is in mariage. Wife of Bath of Chaucer’s Wife of Bath Prologue and Tale cast as a
historical novel. She offers profound insights into the
By Dr. Ronald J. Meyers dire condition of women in the middle ages whether
they were indentured as servants and except in rare cases
In my book, a cultural consigned to illiteracy, even had no choice as to their
study published two decades to be different, described in a noted erotic dictionary choice of marriage partner; whereby a child of twelve
ago, Waiting for Godiva, A as those “who prefer Sappho to Phaon,” not solely in could be forcibly betrothed to a man in his sixties. Further,
Guide for Thinking Woman Lesbian sexual preference, but also their insistence on they could be abused before marriage and particularly
and Men to the Story of their autonomy (self choice), or free thinking. Natalie afterwards and enjoyed few rights and limited control.
Love, I explored the role Barney who authored a play about Sappho could be seen But the smart woman could survive on the basis of
of great woman and their strolling arm in arm the rue de l’Odeon in Paris with Ms. her wits, and her ability to use her sexual attraction
influence on the literary Gertrude Stein when she was not with other friends. The and tools to keep men in check. Like the heroine of the
imagination like the title Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen shook the foundation novel who seemed to have the skills to manage—while
character, the very social of middle class morality in his characterization of Nora berating her baker’s half dozen marriages. Dr. Brooks,
activist Lady Godiva. Additionally, I alluded to two other Torvald. It turns out that Ibsen actually drew upon the like Dr. Schwartz, has carefully researched her subject
prominent figures from the historical and literary past, the biography of Laura Kieler who left her doll’s house to and presents an engaging tale--including interactions with
poetess Sappho who inhabited the Greek isle of Lesbos assert her superior claim as a human being, to that of the poet Geoffrey Chaucer and his complexly interesting
around 630 B.C.E. and the fictional but true to life, Wife wife and mother, an epiphany both in literature and the personal life.
of Bath, who inhabited—perhaps dominated the cast of cultural history of the time. Together these books present a continuing story of
fourteenth century Pilgrims in Geoffrey Chaucer’s The The noted female actresses Eleonora Duse, who the evolution of feminism and women’s rights. As well
Canterbury Tales. premiered Ibsen’s play about Laura in Milan, and Sarah as providing this enlightenment, perhaps these two books
The poetess Sappho about whom next to nothing is Bernhardt fit into the mold of Sapphists, as do Virginia will influence at least some to delve further into the
known besides the fragments of her poetry that survive; Woolf who cogently argued for the Feminine voice in subjects of the poetess Sappho and The Canterbury Tales.
these invariably celebrates love, both heterosexual and fiction and her muse, Vita Sackville West. Dr. Schwartz
homosexual. Selby Wynn Schwartz commences her novel: also highlights the grim reality of discrimination whereby Dr. Ronald J. Meyers, a resident of La Paz, is Emeritus
“Who was Sappho? No one knew but she had an island. She according to the statutes of European law, rape of women Professor of English. rmeyers@esu.edu. 
was garlanded with girls. She could sit down and dine and
look straight at the woman she loved, however unhappily.
When she sang, everyone said, it was like evening on the PLEASE CALL TO DISCUSS COMMISSION RATE
riverbank, sinking down into the moss with the sky pouring & FOR A PROFESSIONAL CONSULTATION
over you. All of her poems were songs.” One accepted belief
is that Sappho threw herself off a cliff to her death in the Buying or Selling
Mediterranean Sea for the love of a man named Phaon. Specializing in Boca Pointe!
Though her life and style were enigmatic, her influence
was widespread, in fact ubiquitous over the millennia in Prudence J. (PJ) Carswell
the history of love poetry and love between and among the
sexes. Dr. Schwartz’s presents a well researched series of REALTOR EMERITUS 41 Years
nearly hundred vignetters rendered as fiction which focus
how reimagining Sappho had a very significant influence Licensed Real Estate Advisor. Licensed CAM
on the women’s movement of the last century and a half, Resident Owner of La Mirada Village
which saw amazing strides in the situation of women in the
modern world. After Sappho. Direct: (954) 242-4260
A cascade of women from across the globe and
from every class in the arts and in society who dared pjcarswellrealtoradvisor@gmail.com

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