stitchwhich | (no subject)

Recently I've been reading a bunch of short story collections based in/on Darkover. I almost shudder to write that as I know what your probable reaction is to that statement. I feel oddly defiant about still liking the stories and was happy to find a selection of free fan-fic anthologies, although I'm not sure if professional writers get to be "fan" writers. After reading those, I felt encouraged to add a few of the main novels into my Nook collection so I could more easily read them when the mood struck. I like the Free Amazons, and the stories about the families of the Seven Domains, and as much as I deplore the ethics of the author and one of her co-writers I can't force myself to discard the fictional world. I am glad that whatever profits come from my recent purchasing (won't be much) will go those who can use the funds to help with healing.

This bout of reading has led me to think, again, about how I feel about artists who may be terrible people but whose art brings joy or wonder to the viewer. I don't think it serves humanity, if you will, to throw out beauty because of its creator. I also don't think it behooves me to give 'praise' in the form of funds to creators whose ethics I know are reprehensible. *cough* Rowling *cough* Card *cough* *cough*

There was a woman I once knew who inspired many of us in the local SCA kingdom to be better than ourselves, to hold to standards higher than we would have, to be more generous and kind than a hard day would merit otherwise. She was so good at that that she was brought into the Order of the Pelican. And then the news hit - she had been defrauding her best friend/roommate of thousands of dollars, and was messed up in federal charges too. She ended up in prison. And all of us who had nearly worshipped the woman were left reeling in shock. Years passed, she served her term, and once free in the world she started making financial restitution to those she had stolen from. Her marriage settled back out, her life started to improve. And in the midst of that she and her husband were both killed in a head-on car crash. I attended their funeral. Not for her, but because I dearly loved him (as did many of us). And came face-to-face with her mother and sister during a time when we were being encouraged to speak about the departed. I couldn't look at those two grieving women and say, "she was a horrible person who crushed many of us once we learned of her deceit." And realised that if I had said that, it wouldn't have been true. Because of her, many of us grew beyond our boundaries. We were better for having known her, for having been influenced by her, even though we ended up learning we'd been betrayed. I know of no one who repudiated the positive changes she had inspired. So I could look at her family, and at our friends, and say, "She only had the strength to be her Higher Self for a portion of her life, and she chose to give us that portion; to inspire, to challenge, and to encourage us. I am grateful that she gave us that gift."

So in the same vein, I read my Darkover novels and try to not dwell on what I know about the author. There are a few that I can't really read any longer because of their sexual content but the rest are still havens of respite for me. So, too, many Heinlein novels, and a few other works by authors I've learned too much about to honor any longer. Maybe them being dead influences my views about their work.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Everysoften I pick up an anthology. Most of her books I have. And loved reading them. What little I know of her personal life has me believe that the characters she wrote of, were aspects of herself that she wished to be. She was not a well person psychologically. And had a pretty crappy personal life.

Rowling I had zero respect for since she tried emphasizing that Dumbledore was gay and encouraged that...then turned around and bashed people of the LGPTQ community...all to make a buck not of any personal belief.

Heinlein, Hemingway and Card were heavily misogynistic authors and could barely/if I even tried reading any of their writings past the one or two that I ready of each.

It is easy to judge others, I go by the author's works. Sometimes that is when their true self comes through.

I read and enjoyed the Darkover books over and over in high school, because a world where magic works is super appealing. Three were aspects of the culture I didn't like, but often it seemed that the point of the story was to show that individuals can escape from the bonds of their culture to one degree or another, even though the price may be high. I was sad to learn of problems in the author's personal life, and, in hindsight one can easily see echos of those problems in her writing. I still think the magic system is cool.

So many people seem to want the world to be black and white, and completely ignore all the different shades of grey in between that actually make up the majority of it. Other people like you are willing to put in the effort to face and examine those shades, and consider whether what there is to value in the findings.

It has never made sense to me, for instance, to take someone as an epitome of all that is good and a role model to emulate in all aspects of life just because they play a sport well, and then be shocked and disappointed when news comes out that their character is not at all admirable. There are plenty of truly excellent works of art created by people whose morals do not stand up under scrutiny. There have been countless important advances in medicine discovered using the most unethical practices. There has been so much knowledge added to mathematics and science by people who, quite frankly, were just plain bad.

Or in other words, the creation is not the person, and the person is not the creation.

As long as you can tell the difference, I don't see any good reason to discard and refuse to enjoy the good parts just because other parts are bad. You're not ignoring the bad parts, but rather separating them out. It's a bit like taking windfall fruit and cutting out the wormholes and bruises to enrich your life with jam.