Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Posting-Version: version B 2.10.PCS 1/10/84; site hocse.UUCP Path: utzoo!watmath!clyde!floyd!harpo!eagle!mhuxl!houxm!hogpc!pegasus!hocse!dls From: dls@hocse.UUCP Newsgroups: net.sf-lovers Subject: Heinlein and FRIDAY Message-ID: <149@hocse.UUCP> Date: Tue, 6-Mar-84 13:53:12 EST Article-I.D.: hocse.149 Posted: Tue Mar 6 13:53:12 1984 Date-Received: Sat, 10-Mar-84 08:33:09 EST Organization: AT&T Information Systems Labs, Holmdel NJ Lines: 43 Once again, my off-net friend has something to say: ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ >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. and >I don't think this is well taken. For one thing, ordinary human psychology >doesn't necessarily extrapolate to Friday. For example, it's clear that the >rape was not (as such) traumatic to her; with her mind control discipline, >she could and did simply turn it off. In that long scene of which the rape >was part, she dispassionately recounts the several responses she considered >making to the rape. So why does everyone hold up Friday as an example of how well Heinlein portrays a strong female (human) character? Either she's a valid example of a strong female character (which implies some degree of believability in her portrayal as a HUMAN female), or she's not considered HUMAN (which implies that she can't be held up as a valid example of a strong female character). You can't have it both ways. It seems like the whole point of the novel was that Friday was as human as any 'normal' human. ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ My two cents worth: Friday was supposed to be the best any human could be, but still human. Her reaction while being raped is not the issue; I can believe that she could "turn it off." You could find real people who could do the same in worse circumstances. The problem is with her falling for the rapist AP. The suggestion is not that this is impossible, just that it was tossed off with too little justification or development, and is fundamentally unlikly to boot.