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| Red White (1962)
Ellsworth Kelly (1923 – 2015) |
"Viv decided her favorite was a piece called Red White with a single bright red shape on a white background. When Charlotte asked what she liked about it, Viv shrugged and said, 'Well, I've always liked red. And that thing in the middle reminds me of a pair of red shorts Vince had when he was little. He always looked so cute in them . . .' "
by Marie Bostwick
This novel is about a small group of women who get together in 1963 to read the recently published Feminine Mystique by Betty Friedan (1921 – 2006). In creating this ficitonal group, Bostwick looks back to the experience of her own family:
"This book is dedicated to the original Margaret, my Margaret, my mother, who inspired this journey by her example and with these words: 'I don't know if I ever told you but that book changed my life.' ""Changed my life." Intriguing words! I myself have said the same about a few authors: Marilyn French, Leonard Shlain, and David Shields (see QK & FN). Somehow my coming of age included The Female Eunuch but not The Feminine Mystique. Therefore, I number myself among those who are grateful to Bostwick for inspiring us to refresh our understanding of Betty Friedan's manifesto.
For Bostwick's four "Troublesome Women," it was Friedan who opened their eyes. In her honor, they call themselves "The Bettys" -- that's how deeply moved they are by Friedan's imperatives for claiming greater autonomy, in their home life and at work. They rally around each other in the quest for meaningful careers: Margaret as a writer, Viv as a nurse, Bitsy as an equestrian, and Charlotte as an artist.
One of my favorite chapters is their outing to the Washington Gallery of Modern Art (sadly no longer in operation). Luckily, it was flourishing in 1963, when Charlotte decides to lead The Bettys in a one - day immersion experience. As she explains to the others:
"The point is less what you think it looks like than how it makes you feel. Good art, the best art, elicits a reaction of some sort, not always a positive one. It might make you feel peaceful or joyful or curious. But it could also make you feel angry or ashamed or afraid. The response will vary from person to person. But if the piece evokes something genuine, even raw it has fulfilled its purpose."
"Margaret was attracted to two works by Jasper Johns [b 1930]. The first titled Map [1961] and painted with broad, seemingly hurried brushstrokes of blue, red, yellow, and orange, bore a rough resemblance to a map of the United States, but with the borders blurred and overlapping.
"The second False Start [1959], with chaotic, sharp-edged splotches of blue, red, yellow, gray, white, and orange, also had words for the colors teenciled atop the splotches but almost never in the same color as the word. Margaret wasn't sure what all that meant, but she liked the bright, happy colors. Though she wouldn't have said so for fear of offending Charlotte, she really did find them somewhat childlike--but that was what she liked most about them. There was a playfulness to them, the sort of unbridled enthusiasm that usually fades with age or becomes buried by disappointments.
"Bitsy's appreciation of Johns was more nuanced.
"He's a trickster, trying to confuse our brains by painting the word in a different color, forcing us to look twice to make sure we got it right. Or a joker, she said, leaning closer to study the canvas, a naughty boy who scribbles on walls because he knows he can get away with it. Or maybe a philosopher? Challenging us to confront the fact that borders are just arbitrary lines marked out by somebody who woke up one day and decided to put them there. Or possibly all three. Hard to say." (all passages, 87 - 89)
Here's one more, not mentioned in the novel,
but similar style: Alphabet (1959)
