Her-Stories in the Context of the City

1
Her-Stories in the Context of the City
His-Stories

• in The Robber Bride

2
History Her-Stories
Zenia
U.S. versus Canada
Toronto

Rozs Oct23, 1990 and her past (WWII,
post-sixties commercialization)
Tonys
Chariss
Rozs survival

• Their Differences
• Zenia her death
• Views on each other
• Position in the City

3
How Zenia reflects Rozs Inner Outer Conflicts

• What Roz needs the real story about her father.
  
• Zenias story
• pp. 404 - In what sense is her story true?
  (Zenia war baby and a mixture, definition of
  Jews, living out of suitcase)
• no person born with such a name with so many
  false documents 420-21.

• Outside The fathers mysteries ? Jewish
  histories
• Inside
• Her view of doing facial work ? I do it for me.
  . .Screw you, Mitch
• ??If it werent for him, she could relax, she
  could be middle-aged. (82)
• Her deep sense of failure. ?

4
Roz about Larry

• The one shes failed most is Larry. If shed
  only beenwhat? prettier, smarter, sexier even,
  better somehow or else worse, more calculating,
  more unscrupulous, a guerrilla fighterMitch
  might still be here. Roz wonders how long it
  will take for her kids to forgive her. . .
  (93).

5
Rozs Survival

• Zenia
• You should give me a medal for getting him off
  your back . . . You babied him. 494-95
• blackmail her with lies about Larry He is
  dealing . . . Hes been sampling the product
  pretty heavily too. (496)
• Roz upon knowing that Larry is gay
• Can handle it if she bit her tongue hard
  enough
• Her own marriage not a good example of
  heterosexuality
• Tomorrow shell be genuinely warm and accepting.
  For tonight, hypocrisy will have to do
  (511-12).

6
Examples of the Threes Differences

• The Three Characters View of Zenia
• For Tony, Zenia is white Russian orphan 'a
  lurking enemy commando.'
• For Roz, Zenia is Romanian gypsy 'a cold and
  treacherous bitch.'
• For Charis, Zenia is Berlin Jew a kind of
  zombie, maybe 'soulless.'"
• Their view of her first death
• Tony Zenia is inoperational Charis
  peaceful
• Roz kaput(broken) wants to take a dog to pee
  there

7
After Zenia re-appears Tony and Charis in Rozs
Eyes

• Tony is so little, Charis is so thin, both are
  shaken. She feels as if shes hugging the twins,
  one and then the other, on the morning of their
  first day at school. She wants to spread her hen
  wings over them, reassure them, tell them that
  everything will be all right. . .Both smarter
  than she is. . .But neither one of them has any
  street smarts (115).

8
After Zenia re-appears Charis and Roz in
Tonys Eyes

• Charis is shivering, despite her attempt at
  serenity
• Roz is flippant and dismissive, but shes holding
  back tears.

9
Chariss View of Her Friends and Zenias
Reappearance

• Goes to Tony for rational solution Goes to Roz
  for hug (69) Tony reminds her of snowflakes
  Roz with golden, many-colored and spicy aura
  (69-70)
• Compassion for all living things, . . .Zenia is
  alive, so that means compassion for Zenia (79).

10
The Threes Positions in Toronto

• Tony
• at school surrounded by male colleagues.
• Likes the mix of skins on the street but when
  she walks on the sidewalk, she keeps away from
  the ragged figures who lean against the wall
  (28)
• her marching on the street as if on war fields.
  
• Charis'
• sees the city from afar pp.47 57-58
• works in a store owned by one with mixed blood
  cannot understand the racism the latter
  experiences.
• Roz The rooming house is now taken by the
  Chinese
• --Now she has an overview of the city,
  drives most of the time has a bathroom some
  South-Asians could live in
• Has a Filipino maid.

11
Canada in the context of Worldwide changes and
American Imperialism

• The Soviet bloc is crumbling, old maps are
  dissolving . . . (p. 4)
• Persian Gulf War Tony Dont think of it as a
  war, think of it as market expansion. . . .
  Canadas attendance will be required. If you
  take the kings shilling, you kiss the kings
  ass (33).

12
History and Her-Stories

• His-Stories
• the political histories of nations fighting
  against each other
• Fairy tales
• Atwood Where have all the Lady Macbeths gone? 
  Gone to Ophelias, every one, leaving the devilish
  tour-de-force parts to be played by
  bass-baritones. ? Stereotypes of women in
  traditional culture
• Her-Stories History is a construct.
• of a villainess using men to victimize women
• Mixing the domestic with the political
• Story-telling to survive.