Crown Princess of Japan Masako greets well wishers at The Imperial Palace on January 2, 2007 in Tokyo, Japan. I look at this woman and think of Rapunzel - locked in a palace and wishing for someone to save her - anyone. The immense pressure to produce an heir rather than pursuing her career as a diplomat has put great stress on Masako. She has become a recluse of sorts rotting away in a system that has no place for a woman's will let alone freedom. 
Over the break I was reading three books at once. The first is Jane Fonda's autobiography - My Life So Far. She is such a shape shifter. I mean that in the nicest possible way. Complicated child - needing love from her mother and father and receiving little. Funky hipster wowing everyone in the sixties. Political activist in the seventies. Workout queen in the eighties. Ted Turner wife and devotee in the nineties. What this century holds is someone that has a lot of wisdom and prefers her own company rather than needing any male definition. She worries me though going back to her original faith.
The next is Germaine Greer's biography - Untamed Shrew. This disappointed me. It was full of stuff and then only passed wind gently giving a whiff of who Greer really was. I was shocked about her obsession with Mike Willesee though.
Last but not least is Margaret Whitlam's bio. Now I've never really been interested in this dear ol' chook but I can't resist any reading about how a woman lives through a husband like Gough Whitlam. It is full of common sense and determination but sadly me thinks that her own identity was never a priority. The moral of the story? Make sure you have a great 2007!
6 comments:
Hi Sheila,
What a wonderful post to start off the New Year! While all four women may’ve strived for equality in some form or another, they’ve all apparently been influenced to some degree by men in their lives. I’ve been a fan of Jane Fonda for years (not during her “Hanoi Jane” stage). Through each of her “reincarnations” there’s always been a man behind the scenes, influencing her actions. Her marriage in 1965 to French film director Roger Vadim (who’d been married to Brigitte Bardot) catapulted her into movies like “Barbarella”, where she became a sexy Sixties cinematic icon. Apparently she struggled for years with bulimia and anorexia; it was Tom Hayden who steered her towards exercise and got her on the road to healthy eating (along with becoming a political “radical” for a while). When she married Ted Turner, she once more reinvented herself, this time into a 1950’s version of a devoted wife. Now that Ms. Fonda is turning 70 this year, perhaps she’ll have gained a sense of self and be able to become her own person.
Its strange how all four women you mentioned could have been strong in their own right, but have allowed unnecessary male dominance to sway the direction of their lives.
Happy New Year, Sheila!!
Hi Miss Litzi,
Yes, Jane Fonda is a complicated gal. When reading her book (and the bio of her brother Peter) I found that their father Henry was such an overwhelming influence in both their lives - whether good or bad - that it probably defined Janes relationship with men for the rest of her life. She is quite an endearing ol' bird now.
Happy New Year Miss Litzi!
Hi Shelia!
How can anyone produce anything under such pressure, especially a child! I really feel for Princess Masako.
Being a child of the late sixties and having a father that served five terms in Vietnam I have never been a fan of Jane Fonda, until she married Ted Turner. Since then my feelings have softened as she has done wonders in the film industry with Ted.
As for the other two, Germaine Greer and Margaret Whitlam I received both books for Christmas and I have not had a chance to read them.
I will...
Says a lot doesn't it about Princess Masako... There was a reason she turned down the Prince initially...
But maybe the pressure is off as there is a Prince born last year to her sister in law... But sad as I thought they were really going to reform the Chyrsannymum Crown to allow for female succession...
So while reading the powerful book about women going by a different drum...Powereful... and yet... here was so much pressure there and everywhere to have a boy, even the House of WIndsor... so sad... They oviously have not read about the great women that are out there... Leading by powerful example...
But after my rhetoric is all said and done...
I will have a great 2007... Happy New YEar!!!!
Hey Rain, I'm thrilled you actually received a book on Margaret Whitlam. I was certain this book would only do well in Australia and perhaps Britain. Let me know what you think. I feel that the book could have been oh so much better - but then I have a reputation for being hard to please. I also had a father that served in Vietnam. When he came back it was like I had met him for the first time (too young to remember him going). I would say that it affected him tremendously. If anyone opposed that war I was pleased regardless of how they did it. Later, as an older gent before he died, my dad was very anti-war - he never mentioned anything to do with it really before that.
Hi Pendullum, its great to hear someone else knows about poor ol' Masako. I have heard that she was not keen on the marriage from the start and that she finally answered 'yes' to make everyone happy namely her family. I'm so intrigued with the role of women in Japan. In a lot of ways they live a life that many women would say was behind the times - forced to marry young - saving face for the family. Yet there is something going on in Japan that is modern and forward thinking - but I don't really know who the hell is benefitting the most.
Happy New Year to ye all!!
I envy you, I wish I could find the time to read!
A note about Jane Fonda...she's got a really cute son, lol.
Post a Comment