Re: James Morrow: Only Begotten Daughter

From: Anny Middon (AnnyMiddon@aol.com)
Date: Mon Jul 14 1997 - 23:39:01 PDT


In a message dated 97-07-11 10:22:04 EDT, bernip@ix.netcom.com (Berni
Phillips) writes:

> I enjoyed _Only Begotten Daughter_, but his
> point of having the title character being female seems only to tweak the
> noses of those who are so sure Jesus in His second coming will again be
> male.

I have no idea what Morrow's intent was in having the main character be
female. Does it matter? If a female character is in a position that is
typically thought of as being somehow the purview of the male, doesn't the
work become feminist, even if presenting a feminist viewpoint was not the
writer's objective?

> OBD has some good stuff in it, like the scene where Julie visits
> her half-brother (the big JC) in hell, finding him dispensing water to
> the hotly damned, totally unaware that a whole religion has grown up
> around Him.

I liked that part a lot, too.

> Overall, I felt the book fell apart in the middle, as if
> Morrow just had this great idea and didn't know what to do once he'd
> written the set-up, and never really recovered.

I don't agree. I thought the middle was the strongest part, and was
disappointed in the climax and denouement.

Anny
AnnyMiddon@aol.com



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