The Living Sword...
From The Living Sword by Aldo Nadi:
"Judging by American screen plays and even some literature, one has the impression that no male over eighteen can walk the streets in daytime anywhere in the U.S. without risking to be attacked by nymphomaniacs. It is not so, however, to hear it told by young and not so young American men. They will tell you instead that the American female of the species is interested in only two things: money and/or marriage. Very seldom indeed do you hear men speak of spontaneous impulses on the part of attractive females, let alone passion. In fact, in twenty years in the U.S., the word itself had hardly ever reached my ears. Little wonder therefore that so many American women are not only frigid, but also look, in their actual unquestionable beauty, about as warm and vital as an indifferent piece of crystal. William Faulkner has called them "brainless and sexless," but I love Hemmingway's splendid portrait of them, "They are the hardest in the world: the hardest, the cruelest, the most predatory and the most attractive, and their men have softened or gone to pieces nervously as they have hardened." Although I should hope exceptions exist, I am certainly not going to argue with two Nobel Prize winner. And though I know little (?) about American women, I nevertheless will say that when a woman, and she does not have to be necessarily American, thinks with anything but her heart - as a woman she is greatly diminished.
"'To fear love is to fear life,' wrote Bertrand Russell, 'and those who fear life are three parts dead.' Also, 'The sexual freedom the artist needs is freedom to love, not the gross freedom to relieve the bodily need with some unknown woman; and freedom to love is what, above all, the conventional moralist will not concede.'
"Talk of women naturally brings me to talk of children. But insofar as the upbringing of American children and adolescents is concerned, I must forgo any comments, for I am afraid they would be uncommonly severe. In fact, for that purpose the rich English language would appear to me thoroughly inadequate. I shall limit myself in stating that whoever denies the full responsibility of cowardly, ignorant parents for acknowledged million (and actuall who knows how many more?) juvenile delinquents in our United States, must be either weak-minded or in complete bad faith."
Found that interesting, and I agree with some of it. I think the exceptions he talks about are actually pretty common, just not at the upper echelons of society. Are all women dead inside? Certainly not. Are some of them? Yes.
We played some two-hand touch football today, and it was a blast. I got leveled by Kuhko, who's about 50 pounds heavier than me. Then I smashed knees with Evan. I ended up with a nice bruise, plenty of scrapes, and a good story to tell. It'll be interesting to see how our season works out.
"Judging by American screen plays and even some literature, one has the impression that no male over eighteen can walk the streets in daytime anywhere in the U.S. without risking to be attacked by nymphomaniacs. It is not so, however, to hear it told by young and not so young American men. They will tell you instead that the American female of the species is interested in only two things: money and/or marriage. Very seldom indeed do you hear men speak of spontaneous impulses on the part of attractive females, let alone passion. In fact, in twenty years in the U.S., the word itself had hardly ever reached my ears. Little wonder therefore that so many American women are not only frigid, but also look, in their actual unquestionable beauty, about as warm and vital as an indifferent piece of crystal. William Faulkner has called them "brainless and sexless," but I love Hemmingway's splendid portrait of them, "They are the hardest in the world: the hardest, the cruelest, the most predatory and the most attractive, and their men have softened or gone to pieces nervously as they have hardened." Although I should hope exceptions exist, I am certainly not going to argue with two Nobel Prize winner. And though I know little (?) about American women, I nevertheless will say that when a woman, and she does not have to be necessarily American, thinks with anything but her heart - as a woman she is greatly diminished.
"'To fear love is to fear life,' wrote Bertrand Russell, 'and those who fear life are three parts dead.' Also, 'The sexual freedom the artist needs is freedom to love, not the gross freedom to relieve the bodily need with some unknown woman; and freedom to love is what, above all, the conventional moralist will not concede.'
"Talk of women naturally brings me to talk of children. But insofar as the upbringing of American children and adolescents is concerned, I must forgo any comments, for I am afraid they would be uncommonly severe. In fact, for that purpose the rich English language would appear to me thoroughly inadequate. I shall limit myself in stating that whoever denies the full responsibility of cowardly, ignorant parents for acknowledged million (and actuall who knows how many more?) juvenile delinquents in our United States, must be either weak-minded or in complete bad faith."
Found that interesting, and I agree with some of it. I think the exceptions he talks about are actually pretty common, just not at the upper echelons of society. Are all women dead inside? Certainly not. Are some of them? Yes.
We played some two-hand touch football today, and it was a blast. I got leveled by Kuhko, who's about 50 pounds heavier than me. Then I smashed knees with Evan. I ended up with a nice bruise, plenty of scrapes, and a good story to tell. It'll be interesting to see how our season works out.
posted by Bakke at 11:27 PM
2 Comments:
I challenge your quote with another quote.
From Angiers' book Woman, an Intimate Geography:
Man wouldn't find a string of partners so appealing if:
1. No matter how much he likes a woman, his contact depends on her good mood and graces.
2. Each act of sex cheapens his status and makes him less attractive.
3. Society will think him pathetic and sneer."
Not all woman are iceburgs, its merely that this society doesn't allow them freedom to express how they feel without cheapening them. As much as I like a guy, I must wait for him to ask me out. I can primp my hair, talk about wakeboarding, and wait for him after biology class, but that doesn't guarentee a phone call, much less a date. If I were to call him, oh horror of horrors, I am labeled easy and aggressive and 'unfeminine' and he willrun the other way, no matter what his views are on gender equality.
And if I invest too much in a guy that I am not sure likes me, then when he moves on, I am left only with a broken heart. So as my one method of defense, I am left with the only option of being a little colder, reserved, and guarded.
Well, as for that last part, guys have the same problem with pursuing a woman who doesn't like them. This quote, though, is meant as a criticism of American culture from an Italian man. I think it's a problem too, and I don't blame women, only our horrible culture.
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