Harry Dresden's Old-Fashioned Values
May. 20th, 2009 06:18 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
kutsuwamushiI'm currently reading the first book in the Dresden Files series by Jim Butcher. Most of what I've heard about it is the same: It's good paranormal-detective fun, but the first book is pretty bad. It gets better as the series progresses.
I don't mind the prose. It's not good, but it's not obtrusively bad either; it sort of fades into the background most of the time and only jumps out to go "BLARRRHGH" at you when there is a clumsy info-dump. I'm not far enough along to really judge the plot.
What does stand out is the sexism.
Harry Dresden, the protagonist, is a self-proclaimed "old fashioned" man. For example, he holds doors open for women--not something I would blame him for, but he continues to do it even after they tell him that they don't appreciate it.
In his own words, "men ought to treat women like something other than just shorter, weaker men with breasts." Women should be treated differently, regardless of their feelings on the matter. And this is portrayed as if it makes Dresden more noble.
I'm alright with flawed protagonists--in fact, I love them, but when it seems like those flaws are reflections of the author's prejudices, I'm uncomfortable. I don't like it when an author's racism, sexism, or other -ism is showing. I could accept that this was Harry Dresden's problem, not Jim Butcher's, if not for how sexism suffuses the portrayal of women in the book, which can't always be explained away as being due to Dresden's point of view.
I can almost ignore the icky amount of attention that is given to female characters' appearances, because this is one respect in which the writing really is clumsy: all characters, even male ones, seem to get a paragraph of physical description the first time that they appear. With the female characters, though, the assessment is sexual.
At one point, Dresden observes that a female detective has "the kind of cute nose you'd expect on a cheerleader." Well, no, I wouldn't expect a particular type of nose on a cheerleader, because I don't stereotype women by their facial features. I don't look at an attractive female detective and think, "she doesn't look like a detective. She's too pretty."
The lowest point so far is in chapter six, when Dresden returns home to make a potion. His spirit computer suggests he make a love potion. His objection to that idea:
He begins to experiment with the love potion anyway, to kill time while the potion he really needs is brewing. The ingredients are all womanly things his spirit computer suggests: Diamond powder, chocolate, money, lace, perfume, a page from a steamy romance novel. Oh, and booze to lower the inhibitions. These are chosen for their "significance" to the person who will be affected by the potion. The spirit computer is a comedic character, but it's not played as if he's off the mark--at least, not yet.
Edit: What happens with the potion - minor spoiler warning: A female character drinks it by accident and is immediately overcome with lust, but thankfully there is no sex. I'm not sure that would have been the case if they hadn't been in a dangerous situation. The point is, anyway, the potion worked.
I haven't read far enough to see what happens with the love potion. It's possible that he wises up and discards it, realizing what a horrible act he was considering committing, or that he tries to use the potion and it doesn't work because it's made of bullshit. I'm not expecting it.
So, Harry Dresden's old-fashioned values:
Women should be treated differently than men regardless of their opinions about it. Women are more hateful than men, and more subtle than men. It's unexpected if an attractive one has a traditionally male job. They love romance novels land chocolate, and what they're looking for in a man is money. Using a mind-altering substance to get a woman to fall in love with (read: sleep with) is bad because it makes you look desperate.
I don't mind the prose. It's not good, but it's not obtrusively bad either; it sort of fades into the background most of the time and only jumps out to go "BLARRRHGH" at you when there is a clumsy info-dump. I'm not far enough along to really judge the plot.
What does stand out is the sexism.
Harry Dresden, the protagonist, is a self-proclaimed "old fashioned" man. For example, he holds doors open for women--not something I would blame him for, but he continues to do it even after they tell him that they don't appreciate it.
In his own words, "men ought to treat women like something other than just shorter, weaker men with breasts." Women should be treated differently, regardless of their feelings on the matter. And this is portrayed as if it makes Dresden more noble.
I'm alright with flawed protagonists--in fact, I love them, but when it seems like those flaws are reflections of the author's prejudices, I'm uncomfortable. I don't like it when an author's racism, sexism, or other -ism is showing. I could accept that this was Harry Dresden's problem, not Jim Butcher's, if not for how sexism suffuses the portrayal of women in the book, which can't always be explained away as being due to Dresden's point of view.
I can almost ignore the icky amount of attention that is given to female characters' appearances, because this is one respect in which the writing really is clumsy: all characters, even male ones, seem to get a paragraph of physical description the first time that they appear. With the female characters, though, the assessment is sexual.
At one point, Dresden observes that a female detective has "the kind of cute nose you'd expect on a cheerleader." Well, no, I wouldn't expect a particular type of nose on a cheerleader, because I don't stereotype women by their facial features. I don't look at an attractive female detective and think, "she doesn't look like a detective. She's too pretty."
The lowest point so far is in chapter six, when Dresden returns home to make a potion. His spirit computer suggests he make a love potion. His objection to that idea:
That would be like admitting I couldn't get a woman to like me on my own, and it would be unfair, taking advantage of the woman.Unfair. Really? Your first objection is that it would make you seem desperate, and your second objection is that it would be unfair?
He begins to experiment with the love potion anyway, to kill time while the potion he really needs is brewing. The ingredients are all womanly things his spirit computer suggests: Diamond powder, chocolate, money, lace, perfume, a page from a steamy romance novel. Oh, and booze to lower the inhibitions. These are chosen for their "significance" to the person who will be affected by the potion. The spirit computer is a comedic character, but it's not played as if he's off the mark--at least, not yet.
Edit: What happens with the potion - minor spoiler warning: A female character drinks it by accident and is immediately overcome with lust, but thankfully there is no sex. I'm not sure that would have been the case if they hadn't been in a dangerous situation. The point is, anyway, the potion worked.
I haven't read far enough to see what happens with the love potion. It's possible that he wises up and discards it, realizing what a horrible act he was considering committing, or that he tries to use the potion and it doesn't work because it's made of bullshit. I'm not expecting it.
So, Harry Dresden's old-fashioned values:
Women should be treated differently than men regardless of their opinions about it. Women are more hateful than men, and more subtle than men. It's unexpected if an attractive one has a traditionally male job. They love romance novels land chocolate, and what they're looking for in a man is money. Using a mind-altering substance to get a woman to fall in love with (read: sleep with) is bad because it makes you look desperate.
