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Why don't you write any strong female characters?Anne Rice answers e-mail from her readers
August 26, 1996
Why don't you write any strong, unusual female characters? All of the important vampires were male, and even the all-female Mayfair witches were subservient to the male spirit Lasher. Your female characters are either silly cartoons (like Mona Mayfair) or stereotypes (the battered woman syndrome of Rowan Mayfair). Your best female protagonist to date has been the vampire-child Claudia, but she still didn't have the depth and range of your male characters. The absence of strong women in your fiction is rather sad, considering you're such a successful woman yourself.
-- Trystan L. BassI do write strong unusual female characters. Perhaps you aren't really reading my words and/or judging my females in terms of your stereotypes. I see nothing "silly" in the dilemma of precocious Mona Mayfair, sexually mature at 13, yet a prisoner of childhood. From her alcoholic parents, Mona learns to parent herself; from Gifford Mayfair she imbibes what she needs of conventional and tender femininity, and from Ancient Evelyn she receives invaluable insights which contribute to her mysticism, her faith in herself, and courage. There are thousands of Mona Mayfairs in America. I meet them at my autographings. Mona's isolation and unrewarded brilliance were prefigured by the heroine of my novel, "Belinda," another teenaged woman who refuses to accept the hypocrisy, stupidity and sheer destructiveness of American adolescence. Mona Mayfair is, next to Lestat, my own favorite character.
As for Rowan Mayfair, I see nothing that characterizes her as suffering from what you call the battered woman syndrome. A scientist, a woman of powerful sexual desire, unusual gifts and a keen conscience, she loses control of the "miracle" of Lasher. When she realizes she must destroy him and whatever knowledge he may promise for human kind, she severely wounds him, accomplishes her own escape and is once again overwhelmed by a scientific and paranormal miracle, the birth of her daughter, Emaleth. I don't know what the battered woman syndrome to which you refer is, but I do know you are expressing hostility and prejudice toward these woman characters.
The writing surrounding Dara in "Memnoch the Devil," Ancient Evelyn and Gifford and Mona in the "Mayfair" books, and Belinda represent for me some of my most skilled and inspired writing. The strength of Maharet, Jesse, Mekare and Akasha is fully developed in the Vampire Chronicles. Whatever your gender, let me suggest you have a real problem with women. And allow me to add that Louis, the passive-aggressive "male" hero of "Interview with the Vampire," is probably my most nearly autobiographical portrait of a woman.
The student tone of your question seems appropriate to a misogynist. Those who look down on us females usually lecture and insult. Read with more care, more thought, more focus. There is a great deal more I say about the rich backdrop of varied women characters throughout my books, including Christina in "Cry to Heaven," but frankly I think you have a personal problem. I love Mona Mayfair. I know her. I know Gabrielle de Lioncourt just as well. Mary Jane Mayfair, I adore.
In the end, you had high praise for Neil Jordan's "Interview" movie and so I'm curious about your taste: what are your top 10 favorite movies of all time?
-- Todd HughesYes, I did indeed praise Neil Jordan's film version of "Interview with the Vampire," and still maintain that David Geffen and Tom Cruise were the guiding angels of the film. I can't list 10 top movies for you but will soon collaborate with my friend Professor Michael Riley of Claremont College on a book about film. Let me suggest that "The Red Shoes," "The Tales of Hoffman," "The Godfather I & II," "La Dolce Vita," a Polish film called "Ashes and Diamonds" and the recent films, "The Piano," "Braveheart" and "The Bad Lieutenant" are all masterpieces. David Lean's "Oliver Twist" and Tim Burton's "Batman II" were also genius, especially in the use of the visual without narrative. Kenneth Branagh's "Henry V" was dazzling. Mel Gibson's "Hamlet" was also a triumph. "Natural Born Killers" I thought was a masterpiece of craft on the part of Oliver Stone. Gary Oldman's performance in anything makes the film worthwhile.
To return to "Braveheart," it seems almost a miracle that a film of that scope, perfection, restraint and moral vision could get made in Hollywood today. It alone will ensure the immortality of Mel Gibson, just as "Raging Bull" ensures that of Martin Scorsese and Robert De Niro.
What was the historical or mythological basis (if any) for your story of the Taltos. The name stirs bats in my belfry, but I can't, for the life of me, get a handle on why. Or why their poignant tale should strike a chord on my heart-strings.
-- Richard WheatonIn the work of Carl Ginsburg, a historian and scholar in the field of witchcraft and legend, I found the world of Taltos. Ginsburg describes a creature by that name which is part of European folklore. I built my own history on the data collated by Ginsburg. I'm glad the Taltos story in my novel touches your heart. Over and over in my work, I am compelled to return to the "gentle giant," a creature of extraordinary height and goodness. Richard Lermontant, Tonio Tresshi and Mr. Ash share these traits. Also in the story of Ash's people, I described a situation we have seen over and over in history -- the more aggressive species survives. The Taltos, in their gentleness, were no match for the sheer ruthlessness of human beings.
Knowing how involved in history you are, I wonder if you have ever contemplated writing a book about the Mayan religion. I have visited the Ruinas de Copan in Honduras, and when I visit this sacred place I get shivers. If nothing else, take a trip to this off-the-road place and see if inspiration strikes you there as it does me. Antonio Banderas would fit right in too. The Hondurans for the most part are lovely people.
-- DeeAnne BaleThank you for your recommendations on the Mayans. I read everything I can on Mayan research, but it is the Almec who hold the greater fascination. I will surely at some point yield to all the inspiration I've received from studying South and Central America.
Do you think the novel "The Hunchback of Notre Dame" is of the horror genre? I ask this because I have, what I suppose, is the same condition that Quasimodo had and I have had the experience of the villagers rioting at my gates, but it has not happened in a very long time. I remember the Revell plastic model kits of Quasimodo that were sold along with Frankenstein's monster, Dracula, and the Wolfman, and I have always questioned who and what constituted a monster. To me, Quasimodo's skeletal structure has always been a human metaphor for the beauty of the cathedral, but perhaps that is wishful thinking on my part.
-- Rebecca Anne Edwards JohnsonYou give me a precious insight into Quasimodo, with your question. It is not a horror story for me, but a story about the fear and the isolation in all of us. To see "the other" as a monster is as human as the perpetual fear in one's self that one is a monster and sooner or later others will find out. "The Hunchback of Notre Dame" is about heroism. All heroes are monsters. Only some horrify us and even then -- as with Mary Shelley's Frankenstein -- the horror is mixed with compassion, insight and an increase of understanding of human pain. Thank you for your lovely words.
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