Kelsey’s Blog

Different Characters Goals and Beliefs

February 26, 2009 at 12:00 pm (Uncategorized)

        The women in this novel, which so far include: Myra, Mary-Ann, Letitia, and Gloria (from the orgy, but not important) are all a very specific kind of women; as are the men for that matter: Buck, Rusty, Clem, Dr. Montag, and Myron.  Rusty and Mary-Ann have the same kind of attitude toward life when it comes to gender roles and they both represent the traditional roles of male and female. Myra and Myron, being the same person, are without a doubt one another’s counter parts. Clem represents a different type of male than Rusty, because Clem is the musician that is not extremely good-looking, according to Myra, and Rusty is the archetypal, traditional football player, big, and tall male.  In Myra’s opinion Rusty is the definition of masculine which is why she wants to break him in order to have her own personal victory.  

         Letitia is sort of Myron’s and Myra’s counterpart, she is sexually “non-traditional” and she represents the strong female character: “Two masterful women had met and there is no man alive capable of surviving our united onslaught… Women like ourselves owe to one another to present a united front to the enemy” (111).  Letitia, as far as we know, has not had a sex change, but she definitely has the same attitude toward men that Myra has; that they are to be used to the woman’s satisfaction and that is it, Letitia and Myra both hope to exert their power and prowess over men sexually.  However, there is a big difference between these two women.  Myra likes to break men down and have sex with them, but does not like them to enjoy the sex, because when they are not enjoying it, Myra has all the power over the man.  Whereas, Letitia uses her power as an agent to actors to make them have sex with her, so Letitia exerts her power in a different way than Myra.  Letitia basically blackmails men into bed, but Myra breaks them down emotionally and pretty much rapes them.  

      Dr. Montag plays a significant role in this novel, even though he has had almost no dialect, Myra’s constant reference to Montag plays a crucial role.  Montag represents the time in Myra and Myron’s life when they both existed in the same body and Montag represents the traditionalist that does not believe that the sexually promiscuous lifestyle does/ought to exist: “Since that traumatic experience for us all, Randolph has been, in some ways, a new man, a changed dentist.  How he almost believes those stories his younger patients tell him of parties where sexual roles change rapidly, according to whim and in response to the moment’s pleasure, stories he used to reject as wish fulfillments” (87).  As the psychologist/dentist Dr. Montag almost believes that the sexual ambiguity of the “new age” exists.  He doesn’t quite believe it, and this role in the novel provides the reader with some insight into Myron/Myra’s difficulty in the process and in life.