Reviews with content warning for Rape - The Woman of the Wolf and Other Stories

Reviews tagging 'Rape'

The Woman of the Wolf and Other Stories by Karla Jay, Renée Vivien, Yvonne M. Klein

3 reviews

morebedsidebooks's review against another edition

2.5

If there is one statement I might make about a Symbolist writer like Renée Vivien, she was quite adept at vibes. Curious English speakers can access in translation several editions of the work of this British-American writer, birth name Pauline Mary Tarn, who loved Paris and chose French to express herself at the beginning of the 20th century. Most recently the prose collection Woman of the Wolf, originally published in 1904 and first translated to English back in 1983, offers fabled short works in a new 2020 edition by indie UK publisher Editions Gallic as part of a ‘Revolutionary Women’ series.

Small and feminist presses have in fact been translating Vivien’s work for decades along with notable lesbian critics adding their various analyses. Like the text they engage though such might call back contemporary readers to another narrative. All the labour and editions do reveal Vivien’s work (and short life) through ardent translators and others still holds an attraction; whether it’s too little, too much, or just right. Skill it cannot be forgotten owed as much to those who form the English books and the author image for readers, just as Vivien took her hand to translation of Sappho as well. Once more, their passions are just as clear.

Yet, history and its embarrassing or more ugly aspects should not be papered over. Certainly, if not unexpectedly, Vivien’s work doesn’t all age well. While texts may engage with violence, misogyny and lesbophobia, the gender essentialism, elitism, racism, and valourising dualistic dichotomies exhibited also makes it more difficult to appreciate the occurrences of gleams of imagination, subversion, satire, or craft.

Still, Renée Vivien and other writers of the past may have their place. I prefer her contributions as a poetess much more than her other examples of writing, however related each form may be. (If possible, read in French as translating poetry is one of the hardest tasks and I feel like with Vivien, who chose French after all, English just doesn’t quite measure up.) I can only suggest a collection like Woman of the Wolf as an artifact for those with a clear historical interest in French sapphic writing of the so-named beautiful era.

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actualspinster's review

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2.5

this was an interesting collection but i didnt really ~like it.... but as a sapphic paris enthusiast i did enjoy learning more about [and finally being able to read] renée vivien. i did think karla jay's intro to the collection was pretty trite especially in its attempts to mold viven into a feminist icon... like she's cool and all bc she's gay but like she's a complicated an sometimes gross figure & i dont want to look up to her, i dont need to look up to her to find her work + life interesting. and jay also calls the racism of vivien within these stories [reader, there is lots of racism (especially anti-native racism i would say?)!!!] "unwitting/unconcious" which is like laughable at best lol. i mean im pretty sure there is a lot of work around the connection between the way that those who identified w 'inversion'/sexological discourses of the time around queerness and deep anti-blackness & racism in how they even conceptualise & represent dissident sexuality.... and i think you can absolutely find the beginnings of that in vivien's work too..
most of the stories are rly short which is good or bad depending on the story! i think my faves were the friendship of women (<-- made me cry bc of naomi + ruth), prince charming & the sisters of silence (<-- silent queer nuns :))))

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thebookishmeg's review

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challenging dark inspiring medium-paced

Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Renée Vivien combines dark humour, frank observations and beautiful prose to create a short story collection that satirises and examines gender roles, retells myth and biblical tales, and provides a platform for strong women to flourish.

I enjoyed the entire collection, but several of the short stories really stood out for me. I loved Vivien’s satirical portrayal of men’s egotism in The Woman of the Wolf. Written from the perspective of the male narrator, this story describes his experience attempting to ‘court’ the woman of the wolf. Despite appearing unsuccessful, he continually believes her disinterest to be a sign of her love and a reason to persist. When she eventually condemns his behaviour, he is enraged, and yet still believes the woman is attempting to make him fall further in love with her. This misguided way of thinking – which is reminiscent of the way catcalling is often portrayed as a ‘compliment’ or a clear ‘no’ is taken as a sign of playing ‘hard to get’ – is cleverly explored by Renée Vivien and it was definitely one of my favourite stories. This theme is repeated in several of the stories, which unfortunate consequences for the women involved as Vivien portrays the brutality of ego-driven men.

Other favourites included Prince Charming – one of the shortest stories, and easily the cutest – The Veil of Vashti – drawn from the Bible story of Lilith and incredibly empowering – and The Splendid Prostitute – involving a badass woman refusing to be dictated to by men.

It is a text I would’ve enjoyed examining for A level English Literature; I think there is a lot to be explored, examined and unpacked. It does reflect the antisemitism and racism views of the period in which it was written (1904) and this could also be examined under the lens of intersectional feminism. The satirical writing style and frank observations reminded me of Carol Ann Duffy’s poetry, which I did study at A level, and I would definitely recommend it to fans of feminist literature.

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