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First we discussed some lingering disputes over Butler’s Kindred, such as how, if at all, it is a “feminist didactic", as well as complaints about the book's style.

Then we were asked to describe a picture of a solemn, dark-haired, moustached woman. Our reactions to the picture of Alice Toklas:

Dark lighting; possibly posing; male or female?; prominent nose; bangs frame the face; expression apathetic, neutral, hint of sadness; focus particuarly on the effect of the eyes

Our observations on the contrast between the book’s description of Toklas and ours:

-The narrator makes her face into a story, he is much more elaborate and sensuous; uses lyrical diction, more literary devices; it’s more personal, it assumes a closer stance to woman than our class.

Why is the book written in this rich, effusive style?

-It’s a reflection of the speaker’s perception of the woman

-It illustrates the sensuous nature of the novel

-It’s in excess because excess is a possible theme

-It invites many interpretations: is it an excessive description? Or an elaborate façade over shallowly depicted characters?

How does language (such as “an oyster with sand in its lips”) work on us?

Words vs. images: are words more assailable, more subject to common testing?…and tasting?

-In relation to memories – pictures, like the ones used in B of S, evoke the very idea of memory

-Do you trust the narrator? What does it mean to trust the narrator? Is he faithful to the “truth”?

We were given a pinch of salt to taste, after which we attempted to capture the sensation with words:

Salt is sweet; tongue rejects, it’s pungent, stinging; clear physical reaction; basic, metallic taste; many respond that it lingers; bitter; evocative of memories of foods, ocean, tears; overpowering, abrasive; disgusting; recognizable; sharp; taste buds dance, tongue shuffles

How would you describe a taste to someone with no tastebuds?

Is it more or less difficult to capture images or sensation with words?

-There’s too much to describe in images; salt is more real

-Listen to what your tongue says; slow down thinking to perceive

Why is this book in this course? What role does sensation play in feminism?

-The Gaze: who is gazing at whom in B of S? There is a fracturing of the Gaze and of gender roles

-Communication: Vietnamese, French, and English speaking characters

-Turning assumptions of 2nd wave feminism on their heads

-Gertrude Stein’s resistance to conventional (masculine?) dramatic functions, such as chronological plot

-It is “writing the body”, Cixous-style