Here is the article which discussed Mantel's views: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/201...-writers-must-stop-falsely-empowering-female/
As a historian, writer, and feminist, I'm reallllllly troubled by this. Maybe I'm just reading this the wrong way, but I feel like she's saying that women weren't powerful back in the "olden days."
I also haven't read any of Mantel's books--and now don't plan on it--but I also feel like she shouldn't be trying to throw shade at other authors. From what I understand, she has tampered with historical truth herself.
That's not the point.
The reason why I'm bothered by this is that, to me, she seems to say that powerful women are only a recent phenomenon.
Throughout history, women have wielded power. Maybe it's not power such as running for a presidency or holding a political office, but women have been--and continue today--to be powerful rulers and leaders. They resisted and fought back in their own way. Look at Joan of Arc, Eleanor of Aquitaine, Harriet Tubman...I could go on. Then there are the women who fought against the system, but don't make the history books.
I think writers should portray them with the mindset of the time their characters live in, but women have never been passive, which I feel is what Ms. Mantel is trying to say. They were empowered, just maybe by a different standard than we think of today.
I'm really struggling to write down my thoughts coherently, as I'm kind of seeing red right now, but I'm just so upset by this. It breaks my heart this comes from a fellow woman writer, who I thought knew she was writing about some pretty ballsy women for their day.
As a historian, writer, and feminist, I'm reallllllly troubled by this. Maybe I'm just reading this the wrong way, but I feel like she's saying that women weren't powerful back in the "olden days."
I also haven't read any of Mantel's books--and now don't plan on it--but I also feel like she shouldn't be trying to throw shade at other authors. From what I understand, she has tampered with historical truth herself.
That's not the point.
The reason why I'm bothered by this is that, to me, she seems to say that powerful women are only a recent phenomenon.
Throughout history, women have wielded power. Maybe it's not power such as running for a presidency or holding a political office, but women have been--and continue today--to be powerful rulers and leaders. They resisted and fought back in their own way. Look at Joan of Arc, Eleanor of Aquitaine, Harriet Tubman...I could go on. Then there are the women who fought against the system, but don't make the history books.
I think writers should portray them with the mindset of the time their characters live in, but women have never been passive, which I feel is what Ms. Mantel is trying to say. They were empowered, just maybe by a different standard than we think of today.
I'm really struggling to write down my thoughts coherently, as I'm kind of seeing red right now, but I'm just so upset by this. It breaks my heart this comes from a fellow woman writer, who I thought knew she was writing about some pretty ballsy women for their day.