The Buddha experienced hedonism, then asceticism, then practiced and taught a "middle way" between them.
Our favorite fictional secret agents are hedonistic on their own time but perfectly self-disciplined on company time. Everard leads a quieter life-style.
SM Stirling's Luz is female and homosexual. Bond thinks that modern homosexuality results from giving women the vote. See Attitudes To Homosexuality for quotes from Anderson's Flandry and Everard.
(The Technic History and the Time Patrol are the two most quoted series on the blog.)
6 comments:
Kaor, Paul!
I would have included William F. Buckley's spy, Blackford Oakes, as well. I can only hope you will sometime read SAVING THE QUEEN and STAINED GLASS, the fist two Oates novels, then you might agree Oates is worthy of being placed in this list.
I do recall Bond having some disapproving reflections about lesbianism in, I think, THE MAN WITH THE GOLDEN GUN.
Sean
Paul and Sean:
Pussy Galore (ye gods, the names Fleming gave women!) in Goldfinger was stated to lead an all-lesbian criminal gang. Bond noticed Tilly Masterson looking the other woman with, if I recall the wording correctly, "...eyes that yearned. Bond decided everything was now clear about Tilly Masterson."
Wikipedia states that "To some extent the situation also reflected Fleming's own opinions, expressed in the novel as part of Bond's thoughts, where 'her sexual confusion is attributable to women's suffrage'; in addition, as Fleming himself put it in the book: 'Bond felt the sexual challenge all beautiful Lesbians have for men.'"
Kaor, DAVID!
And I would disagree with Bond or Fleming. I don't believe merely having the suffrage determines whether a woman is lesbian or not. The reasons for that will be deeper!
And I suppose some men do feel challenged by lesbians.
Sean
To be fiddly: Luz is bisexual, not homosexual. Ciara is the one who's stone queer.
Bi.
Kaor, Mr. Stirling!
I should have added that Luz was not ENTIRELY lesbian, that she likes men as well.
Sean
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