from Wolf Hall
Hilary Mantel: "I recently found myself βmisgendered.β I received a university publication, with news items relating to alumni, where I was referred to as βthey,β not βshe.β My books were βtheir books.β I wasnβt singled out β the other alumni were similarly treated."
"I thought, βBeing a woman means a lot to me. My sense of it has been tested. I have thought deeply about it. I value it, even though it has meant struggle and pain. I do not want my womanhood confiscated in print. It is not right to deprive an individual of identity on a whim, and make him or her into something neuter, plural. I have not given my consent to become a grammatical error.β"
βThat wish to make nice,β she says. βI canβt understand it. Iβve never gone to books for that. Since childhood, Iβve gone to them to learn more about life than I could from my own circumstances; to be made aware of what was coming at me, what weapons I needed. I require books to advise and to warn, not to make me feel good. You want to be enriched, not consoled. A clear window, not a rosy light.β
I guess this is the problem with the modern age and parasocial relationships but ugh it hurts so much when the people you respect and look up too actively despise your existence.
Just read an article where Hilary Mantel, an author and booker prize winner I have always liked talks about her support of JK Rowling, and how important it is to her to be a woman. The way she talksβ¦ itβs likeβ¦ so you understand. You understand how important that is to your storyβ¦ but in the next sentence suggests itβs a βfadβ to use they/them pronounsβ¦ and anyone who can read the essay JK Rowling wrote and still support that ideology would be so anti me if they knew me and the choice I made to transition.
Itβs just hard to remember how much of the world doesnβt get it: thinks itβs a fad, thinks youβre gross or overly politicalβ¦
Itβs just hard.
Hilary Mantel, the (deservedly) acclaimed author of the Wolf Hall trilogy, had this to say about Jane Austen: "I love Jane Austen because sheβs so shrewdly practical: you can hear the chink of cash in every paragraph."
This made me smile, because it was cleverly said and because it aligns with my own thinking.
Although Austen is widely treated as a great romantic, perhaps especially by those who have not read her books, I wonder what others on this subreddit think of Hilary Mantel's observation.
