Possible disappointment

Lauren and Bankole's relationship makes me very uncomfortable. Not only because of the age gap, but because of the very bizarre power dynamics between them. Bankole seems shocked at first by Lauren's age, but they still continue the relationship and he even proposes to her. He is older, has been lying to her (and might still be), and clearly sees Earthseed as no more than an amusing ideology. He has money, land, and far more experience/knowledge. He has the upperhand in about every category, and yet he is willing to support and accept her. I cannot for the life of me understand why he would be so obsessed with Lauren.

Books this reminds me of:

1) Jane Eyre: could not stand this book. Rochester has all of the money and status, plus he is much older than Jane. Also, why did Brontë pull such a deus ex machina at the end?? Justification for Rochester's obsession: Jane's smart and cool and not scared away by how ugly he is

2) Twilight: Edward is literally hundreds of years older than Bella and also is basically immortal. Plus he almost gets her killed several times and doesn't even bother telling her the truth. And he does actually kill her after impregnating her. Justification for Edward's obsession: it's just how vampires work. He likes the smell of her blood.

3) Lolita: Haven't read this book but it's about a man having sex with a 12 year old girl who also happens to be his step daughter. Reminds me of how Bankole is old enough to be Lauren's father as well. A lot of other messed up stuff happens that I won't mention. Justification for Humbert's obsession: his childhood love died young and therefore he is only sexually interested in girls at that age?????

4) Romeo and Juliet: this one is problematic for reasons other than the age gap. However, I do think that Juliet was somewhat dragged along by Romeo's fixation. Plus, she does kill herself at the end (you could argue that maybe she was too naïve and got manipulated into thinking she couldn't live without him) Justification for Romeo's obsession: love at first sight, I guess

It's one thing to have a problematic relationship, but it is another to justify its presence in a book. The four I listed above are more or less books entirely devoted to the couple. (Although Jane Eyre is technically about the life of Jane Eyre but everyone always focuses on Rochester and Jane) However, Parable of the Sower has so many other themes that I really do not understand why Butler felt this relationship was necessary. I don't think Lauren and Bankole have reached the level of problematic as these examples but only time will tell.

Comments

  1. L. MoffittMay 10, 2021 at 7:37 AM

    This is a great post. Rochester is terrible, agreed.

    ReplyDelete

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