Comments | glass_cats: so why the Glass Cat, anyway?

ex_truepenn in glass_cats

so why the Glass Cat, anyway?

Mar 25, 2006 13:36

She is not notable, among Baum's creations, for her positive qualities. She is, after all, arrogant, supercilious, vain, and not nearly as bright as she thinks she is. "My magic made you, and made you live," Doctor Pipt tells her, "and it was a poor job because you are useless and a bother to me; but I can't make you grow. You will always be the ( Read more... )

l. frank baum, literary criticism, the glass cat, feminism

Comments 16

matociquala March 25 2006, 20:01:54 UTC

She's a bit like the Witch, don't you know?

Somebody pointed out somewhere recently that "wicked" is different than "mean."

Well, yes.

Because mean also means *parsimonious*. Or *average*.

And the joy of the wicked faeries is that they are neither of those things. They are very much themselves, old women in crimson hats who don't care what you think.

ex_truepenn March 25 2006, 20:12:12 UTC

Yes. Not interested in meanness, thank you very much. But wicked and not apologizing ...

matociquala March 25 2006, 20:06:24 UTC

oh, and you can see her think, of course.

ex_truepenn March 25 2006, 20:10:57 UTC

"That's the idea, Scraps," said the Glass Cat, approvingly. "I'm glad to find you have decent brains. Mine are exceptionally good. You can see 'em work; they're pink."

And she uses semicolons when she talks.

matociquala March 25 2006, 20:14:00 UTC

Oh! Another reason why the Glass Cat is a feminist icon.

She's not afraid of being smart. And not afraid of telling people she's smart, either.

ex_truepenn March 25 2006, 20:15:15 UTC

Yes!

The Glass Cat does not believe in hiding her light under a bushel.

Thread 11

tekalynn March 26 2006, 00:21:38 UTC

It's interesting how, while Ojo is the narrator, he's constantly steamrolled by loudmouth female characters like Scraps and Bungle and Dorothy, and he sort of stands by waving his hands and yelling "Girls! Neutral corners!" while no one pays the slightest attention. Poor guy.

ex_truepenn March 26 2006, 00:42:43 UTC

Baum has this tendency to write REALLY feminized boys. Ojo, Inga, especially Button-Bright (surely the type specimen, if there ever was one, of the Dumb Blond). They tend to be passive and helpless and inclined to whine. Whereas the girls are strong and active--not masculine, and The Land of Oz and The Tin Woodman of Oz, with the story of General Jinjur, show that Baum was not in charity with the suffragettes--they do things, and they rely on themselves, and the adults treat them with respect.

The ultimate demonstration of this, of course, is Tip, who literally gets turned into a girl and therefore gains sovreignity of Oz.

tekalynn March 26 2006, 00:47:48 UTC

"'But I don't WANT to be a girl!' exclaimed Tip." You get the feeling that perhaps Ozma regrets having had to change back, sometimes. She's grown up, insofar as a fairy *can* grow up, and her tomboy days are behind her. Though she does sneak off and get lost/kidnapped at times--I seem to remember her being very imperious about wanting to go on a journey in one book (_Glinda_?).