Mariana

She only said, "My life is dreary,
He cometh not," she said;
She said, "I am aweary, aweary,
I would that I were dead!"

I'm resigned to the fact that Mariana was a lovesick sop with crappy priorities as a consequence of her society's expectations of women. No-one can blame a girl for being daft when she's been brought up to think of herself only as a man's potential favourite doll. Mariana waited for her dude. He never came back. Maybe he was down the pub; maybe he got cold feet. Perhaps he was a poetic proselyte who fell victim to La Belle Dame sans Merci. In any case, Mariana wore herself out with wishing she was dead, and ended up out-drearying her setting by far.

[broadgeneralisation]We have a tendency to scorn Mariana and her female kin - or we profess a patronising gratitude that we are trousered children of the Age of Equality, with our bucketloads of free will and self-awareness.[/broadgeneralisation] It's only - just a small thing, really - well, you know... don't we act awfully similarly at times?

Alright, not all of us. A helluva lot though, or so one would think from popular telly shows, literature, films, music, pretentious art, all full of representations of women who align themselves with other women, perhaps, but orbit around men (solar system analogy FTW!). Twilight's Bella feels like too easy a victim, buuuuuuuuut I'm going to go there anyway. So, a relatively clever, modern, attractive adolescent female character, who - in the space of four bestsellers - manages to become a teenage mum with a nonagenarian husband and no college degree. Sure, immortality has its perks, and bloodsucking in-laws are a danger regardless of whether one associates with vampires or otherwise, yet shouldn't our heroines be just a little less dependent on our heroes?

Picture this: Bella thinks it over and realises that vampirism is a bit of a raw deal - what if the Edward thing doesn't work out? Perhaps, just maybe, there is something a little bizarre about being pressured (bribed) into a marital contract before the age of 20? So, sensible girl that Bella is, she decides to ditch the chap, head to college, move to somewhere sunny (San Fran) and become a professional something-or-other. California is teeming with vamps anyway, courtesy of His Magnificence Mister Joss Whedon, so she'll feel right at home. Initial regrets will fade away when Bella realises that her life is her OWN, and she doesn't need a large-eyebrowed hero brooding about the house to feel fulfilled. Her confidence resulting from her status as a successful and interesting woman allows her to attain sexual independence, and she is able to choose partners who, instead of having to restrain their rampant bloodlust, are quite happy to pop over for dinner and the occasional shag. When/if they're invited.

Although it's important to continue working on those naughty male chauvinist attitudes towards women (we babes are all totally empowered now guys, didn't you know derr?). It's SUPER DUPER important, however, to keep on scrubbing away at women's attitudes towards men. The Postmodern Mariana needs to delete her scummy chevalier from msn, and head over to La Belle Dame's flat for a few glasses of wine and some Buffy.

"Moi, aussi, je joue de la flute;"

From the mouths of asses.

Starting up a new blog which will reflect these global attributes:

- Witty observations re: modern society
- Pretentious literature reviews
- Occasional dramatic moping, generally dependent upon current financial state
- Rants a la chateauedness

Ooh 3pm, time for alcohol. Tally ho!