It must be of no great surprise now...we've added another to our family.
This is Eliot. He came a bit more quietly than Edgar. He is quite the lover with a sweet amiable nature. We assume him and Edgar to be brothers--they compliment each other so nicely.Edgar definitely has the traits of an older brother as he is always pushing poor little docile Eliot around and frequently stakes his territory on the wooden ledge of our back porch, looking down on sweet Eliot. We often find the two kissing and showing brotherly affection toward each other, but there are oftentimes we find the two in a hissy fit--Edgar of course initiates this.
But no matter what, we still love them both dearly.
It's rather canny how with each blog post comes a new cat purring its way into our two sizes too small spinster hearts.It may seem like canny coincidence--involuntary and a frequent happening, but it is really a choice. We choose to care for these little lovers and we choose to to stay at home drinking Delicious Red (yes, wine straight from the box) and read poetry out loud.
These certain aspects of our life may ring lonely, deplorable,in a sense, or just unfortunate circumstance, but my friends, it is a choice! Today's blog is about choices, and we're going back about thirty years to the little village of LOI, Vietnam.
(With many thanks to one of my Professor) I discovered this article on women in this small village who were considered "too old for marriage" when they were a mere twenty-six years old. These women decided that this was not going to be their fate--they were not going to be told by their society that they would remain alone. They chose a life of solitude for themselves, but here's the twist (which breaks the barriers of my own "spinsterhood"): a group of women would find men willing to impregnate them and then would choose to raise the child on their own. They preferred to remain alone, and so they did without allowing society to deem them "qua la" or "past marriageable age." They just really wanted babies!
Here is a link to the website (again, many thanks to my professor for showing me this) that'll give you these women's stories in a bit more detail:
So there are many different aspects to this life choice we call "Spinsterhood," or "Qua La" or what have you, but one thing should be made clear: For most (including my roommate and myself) it is a choice, a lovely simple and quiet choice that entails (at least for us) many glasses of boxed wine, poetry by the lamp light, and lots of purring kitties.
Fascinating choice beefy, and again I love the cat references; it lets me know what this is about. Although, I was more intrigued by the Vietnamese women, and, seeing as how I have yet to click your link, I was wondering if you could incorporate more information about the society of post Vietnam War spinsters stationed in LOI. The entire concept of propagating a society of spinsters without men really interested me, and I’m a little unsure of how these people obtained food, clothing, and shelter while operating on the fringes of society. Did they produce and sell goods with groups external to them, or produce their own necessities?
ReplyDeleteHa! Your lifestyle gets more interesting with each new blog. I think your guys' infatuation with semi-stray cats is cool. I like cats more than I like dogs, but I have more dogs than cats which sucks. Your inclusion of the Vietnamese spinsters is interesting, and in a way I see the concept as reverting back to pre-civilized practices of mothers raising children communally. I don't see it as a bad thing, but rather liberating because they don't have to conform to superficial and oppressive (for females, as well as exploitive) social customs and contracts that relationships at all levels entail.
ReplyDeleteThe funny thing is, I'm not a cat person but I find myself really enjoying your cat additions. I like the idea of befriending strays. I wish I could find some stray puppies for me! I am surely enjoying all of your posts. I feel like I am reading a fun little book when I read your posts. Can't wait to see what you have to say in your next post!
ReplyDeleteI love that first picture of Elliot. ..he looks so upset. I have more spinster references for you from Fannie Hurst's "Imitation of Life". Maybe you could look into the negative aspects associated with early twentieth century American women who decided to spin. Great post!
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