Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Posting-Version: version B 2.10.1 (Tek) 9/26/83; site orca.UUCP Path: utzoo!watmath!clyde!floyd!vax135!cornell!uw-beaver!tektronix!orca!andrew From: andrew@orca.UUCP (Andrew Klossner) Newsgroups: net.sf-lovers Subject: Re: heinlein and FRIDAY Message-ID: <670@orca.UUCP> Date: Sat, 3-Mar-84 22:42:14 EST Article-I.D.: orca.670 Posted: Sat Mar 3 22:42:14 1984 Date-Received: Sun, 4-Mar-84 09:11:53 EST References: <143@hocse.UUCP> Organization: Tektronix, Wilsonville OR Lines: 25 "In all the flaming of Heinlein on the net, not one person has stated the real objection I have to FRIDAY: in real life, women do not fall in love with their rapists ... Most women are not so calm and collected as Friday, and while she may be SUPPOSED to be extraordinary, Heinlein does a grave disservice to all of us who are not such "together" people ... Heinlein may very well leave men with the mistaken impression that rape is no worse than purse-snatching." Throughout the book, Heinlein hammers away at the theme that Friday did not consider herself to be a human being and had a far different attitude toward sex from that of "real" women. This was instilled in her during her upbringing as an "artificial person", the product of genetic engineering. During her schooling, she was told daily that she was not a real person. She was also given extensive training in "doxology", the study of how to please a man in bed, so that when she became of age and her contract was sold, she could serve as a concubine. I think that the purpose of the rape scene is to emphasize this indifference. Friday really did believe rape to be no worse than purse-snatching. -- Andrew Klossner (decvax!tektronix!orca!andrew) [UUCP] (orca!andrew.tektronix@rand-relay) [ARPA]