Inspiring women: Roseanne McNulty

This might make me a cheater, because this woman is a character written by a man. But, I do think Irish writers (thinking particularly of William Trevor, Colm Tóibín and Sebastian Barry) write women beautifully, with startling insight. In fact, when I find myself under-represented by portrayals of women on television and in magazines, I often find a grounded, complex, soft and mysterious character who embodies the sense I have of myself as a woman in the pages of a book.

If you haven't read The Secret Scripture, Roseanne McNulty is one of those characters who leaps off the page in her tragedy and loveliness. And although I have zilch in common with her, something about Barry's telling of her is so resonant, yet delicate, I find myself relating to her deeply.


And when I think of the characters created by Jane Austen too; their foibles and virtues, I wonder why 200 years later it's depictions of women as silly Carrie Bradshaws and Shopaholics that we mostly see today. Moreover, why so many women lap up those latter portrayals? It makes me feel conflicted about how I perceive and relate to my gender.

And I suppose this is all reminds me of why I started this series in the first place. It was about finding women for myself to admire not because they're just rich or beautiful or live charmed lives. It was about complexity and intelligence and softness and vulnerability. And it was about not feeling shitty about the other kind of portrayals, because they're not what I want to be like anyway.

I guess I need that reminder this week. Because it's perversely easy to be made to feel inferior by or jealous of something you don't much like or admire.
Posted by Jane Flanagan
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11 comments:

  1. I found her a great - and inspiring - character as well. Allthough the book was one of the most heart-breaking stories I've ever read.

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  2. i love this post jane! i very rarely come across a character in a tv show or movie that i can relate to. (i know it'll probably sound silly, but rory is the main reason i loved "gilmore girls" so much - never before had i seen a female character i could relate to on so many levels: smart, shy, bookworm, etc.)

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  3. Another of your series that I very much appreciate!

    I haven't read this so will add it to my Amazon list. (Thank you.)

    I COMPLETELY agree on female characters and I still love and relate to Elinor Dashwood and Elizabeth Bennet more than so many others. (Argh, when Elinor tells Marianne that she's been holding in her emotions and feelings about Edward, I want to sob out loud!)

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  4. i'm with you, jane.

    so many of my heroines are fictional characters who are somehow much realer and more relate-able to me than a lot of people i encounter in my day-to-day life.

    xo

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  5. I love and appreciate this series!

    Have you read any of Laurie Colwin's work? She is not only a terrific food writer, her fictional heroines are smart, funny, and tend to be "domestic sensualists".

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  6. Excellent points! Someday I'd like to find all of the books you mention on your blog and start checking them out of the library, one by one. You have superb taste.

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  7. Yes, that was a memorable book. I kept coming across individual little phrases of genius, so beautifully written.

    I would like to read more of Willa Cather's books, because in O Pioneers there is a female character who doesn't get a lot of the things which in other books provide the happy ending, but there is a wonderful peace about it all, and a sense of her absolute strength and importance. Also a poignancy about the unfulfilled aspects of her life but understated. If I remember rightly, it is a while since I read it but that was the impression.

    This is such a good series because you are right - isn't it annoying how we do get jealous of things we don't admire? What's that about? Maybe I don't want to know.

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  8. This sounds like a great book. I totally agree with what you are saying about many modern protrayals of women. I think there is a lot to be said for finding inspiring women in the pages of a book as there are so many.

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  9. I found her heartbreaking, to recognize the forces working toward her destruction with a full understanding of her own powerlessness to stop it. And yet to not hate and to continue living...

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  10. oh good! I love that book and now that I am housebound for five weeks it is time for a second reading.

    I think modern portrayals of women are responsible for the alienation from society that many women feel. Well seen, Well said.

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  11. Jane, I feel the same. I want to meet good women, and be proud of my gender. People like my grama Jane. I have met some good older women, but most of them are cowards, or brutal. I just don't understand it. I do know this, the age is not relevant. All the good sweethearts I have met=all ages. All the poor selfish and mean women=all ages. So it must mean who we run into in our lives. And believe me, I tell the darlings I am so proud of them. Don't say much, always kind, to the stinkers. I want to tell you I have told so many people, go read Jane Flanagan's blog. There is a Real Lady. sincerelyl, mary.

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