Female Bodies in Resistance in Alice Munro’s Friend of My Youth

Zhang+Sen

【Abstract】By close reading of the texts from the short stories in Friend of My Youth and careful studies on those vivid female characters， this thesis intends to interpret the work from the perspective of Michel Foucaults theory of body and Helene Cixous theory of feminine writing， to recognize and analyze the emergence and significance of the feminine writing in Munros Friend of My Youth， her consciousness in revealing female plight and initiation through their bodily experiences and her effort to encourage women to establish their wholeness as a self.

【Key words】Female body； Friend of My Youth； Resistance； Wholeness

Although female body is the very site for oppression， it turns out that in Munros stories there are still several women who strives to break away from the body-cage， to fulfills their body as an entity own by themselves and to explore whats deep inside their bodies and hear the voice from their own body instead of getting to know their own body from man. They resist to a body caged and trapped by either man or their own. Only when women have control of their own body can they truly gain freedom physically and mentally.

“Feminist readings of Alice Munro are rewarding because of the mere fact that her stories offer distinctive female perspectives and portray women in different historical， reginal， and social contexts.” （Staines， 2016： 75） In Friend of My Youth， by presenting the female bodies as both language and materiality， Munro creates a great vision of womens life experiences. Through the textual exposure of female body， Munro reveals the fact that female body has long been caged and oppressed while on the other hand， it has also great potential to resist， provoke and subvert in the patriarchal society. This thesis aims to explore how Munros textual representation of female body light a fire for female identity and how she conduct the feminine writing appealing to concerns on womens life predicament and initiation.

Michael Foucault， as one of the most influential philosophers， has greatly promotes the development of the body theory. He suggests， in an essay “Nietzsche， genealogy and power” （Sara Mills， 2004：83 ） that the body should be seen as ‘the inscribed surface of events， it is a “historically and culturally specific entity”. In his eyes， human body is both an independent entity and a kind of social text. Additionally， Foucault draws attention to the body as one which is viewed， treated and indeed experienced differently depending on the social context and the historical period， thus he holds that bodies in a sense are always “subjected to change and can never be regarded as natural， but rather are always experienced as mediated through different social constructions of the body.” （Mills， 2004： 83）

Without doubt， Foucaults body theory has greatly influenced feminism. The French poststructuralist theoretical and feminist writer， Helene Cixous writes in her famous article “The Laugh of Medusa” that “Women must write herself”， which inspires many feminist writers as a war car. And she continues： “（women） must write women and bring women to writing， from which they have been driven away as violently as from their bodies” （Cixous， 1975： 334）. Furthermore， Cixous claims that the most powerful way to present the female body is to express their true feelings and experiences by adopting a unique language of their own. Then Cixous firstly coins the item “l(fā)ecriture feminine”， which is widely translated as feminine writing. When it comes to writing the female body， Cixous argues in her work that “almost everything is yet to be written by women about femininity” which then she further explains as “that is ， its infinite and mobile complexity， about their eroticization， sudden turn-ons of a certain miniscule-immense area of their bodies” （Cixous， 1976： 880）.

There are many impressive female figures in Munros stories， among which in Friend of My Youth， there stands out Joan from “Oh， What Avails”， Flora in “Friend of My Youth”， Almeda in “Meneseteung” and Maya in “Differently”.

Seeking for Extramarital Affair

In this collection， nearly every major character is a woman and most of them are adulterers， some of them “are perceptive and articulate about their own longings and failings.” （Thacker， 2011： 439） Joan， in the story “Oh， What Avails”， she is a woman who has everything being on track except that her husband is a sailor and always cheating on her when he is on his sea voyages and her marriage has long lost its passion. Things started to change when she had met John Brolier， who invited her to his place in another city， a kind of hint to have sex with him. From then on， she cannot help her yearning body magnetically attracted to him. Munro writes Joans mental activity and imaginary with every bit of its movement：

She has been in the habit of putting herself to sleep with a memory of John Broliers voice—his hasty， lowered voice when he said， “I want to， very much.” Or she pictured his face； it was a medieval face， she thought—long and pale and bony， with the smile she dismissed as tactical， the sober， glowing， not dismissible dark eyes. Her imagining wont work tonight； it wont open the gates for her into foggy， tender territory. She isnt able to place herself anywhere but here， on the hard single bed in Morriss apartment—in her real and apparent life. （205）

……

She knows that， and she knows what she will have to do. She casts her mind ahead—inadmissibly， shamefully； she casts her mind ahead， fumbling for the shape of the next lover. （205）

It is the very well-written mental activity of Joans yearning for Broliers caress， her loins and desires burning in her body. “She feels as if she had been shunted off to some corner of the world （201）” after she waited nearly a week get no letters from Brolier to invite her. Then when the letter finally comes on Saturday with a brief note setting up a time and place， she does feel guilty towards her family once， but she makes up her mind to meet Brolier：

She imagines it because she has a feeling that shes waving to her husband and her children as well， to everybody who knows her， except the man shes going to meet. All so easily， flawlessly deceived. And she feels compunction， certainly. She is smitten by their innocence； she recognizes an irreparable tear in her way， either. She is more than glad； she feels that she has no choice but to be going. （206）

She does go meet Brolier and might have sex with him and she does get a divorce but not for Brolier but for her own sake. Now she is fifty years or so. “Joan thinks of her own history of love with no regret but some amazement. Its as if she had once gone in for skydiving.” （207） Munro writes out Joans happiness with the word “amazement”. Joan is a woman who knows her body and who grasp her own life， and resist the yoke of in-name marriage， which has already been caging her body for nearly 20 years.

And there is Brenda， whose husband gets injured in an accident， and turns out to be disabled in the lower part of the body， which means he could not perform sexually since then. Brenda has to put up with her husbands bad temper and deal with all the stuff of their store.

Dying a Virgin

Back in Munros mothers time， when “sex was a dark undertaken and for women” （22）， it seems to be a kind of suffering. Women would never talk about it even when they could feel their bodys crave for it. They mostly have little choice when it comes to sex， since they were supposed to be the passive one， waiting for man to invite.

In the story “Meneseteung”， Munro portrays an eccentric and talented poetess， Almeda， whose family had died off， was left alone with the empty house in the small town for years. When Jarvis Poulter comes to the town looking for oil， as a respectable investor， “Everyone tales it for granted that Almeda Roth is thinking of Jarvis as a husband and would say yes if he asked her.”（59） Almeda does feel something for Jarvis when they walk side by side：

…she can smell his shaving soap， the barbers oil， his pipe tobacco， the wool and linen and leather smell of his manly clothes. The correct， orderly， heavy clothes are like those she used to brush and starch and iron for her father. She misses that job—her fathers appreciation， his dark， kind authority. Jarvis Poulters garment， his smell， his movements all cause the skin on the side of her body next to him to tingle hopefully， and a meek shiver raises the hairs on her arms.（60）

And she even imagines the scene when Jarvis come to her bed：

She thinks of him coming into her—their—bedroom in his long underwear and his hat. She knows this outfit is ridiculous， but in her mind he does not look so； he has the solemn effrontery of a figure in a dream. He comes into the room and lies down on the bed beside her， preparing to take her in his arms. Surely he removes his hat？ She doesnt know， for at this point a fit of welcome and submission overtakes her， a buried gasp. He would be her husband. （60）

Munro boldly writes out this eccentric poetesss sexual fantasies and reveals the deepest secrets from her female body. Now she wants him to be the husband. However， she suddenly changed her mind somehow after she witnessed Jarviss indifference and mercilessness toward the scarred body of a drunken women， who was chased and beaten by his husband last night. Almeda was so shocked by the scene of the seemingly dead female body in front of her back door.

A womans body heaped up there， turned on her side with her face squashed down into the earth. Almeda cant see her face. But there is a bare breast let loose， brown nipple pulled long like a cows teat， and a bare haunch and leg， the haunch showing a bruise as big as a sunflower. The unbruised skin is grayish， like a plucked， raw drumstick. Some kind of nightgown or all-purpose dress she has on. （65）

Almeda is so shocked by such a display of female body， while Jarviss behavior shocked her more：

Jarvis Poulter doesnt hurry or halt. He walks straight over to the body and looks down at it， nudges the leg with the toe of his boot， just as youd nudge a god or a sow. （66）

Almeda was so terrified by what had Jarvis had done to the female body， to a degree that “she realizes that the pain and fullness in her lower body come from an accumulation of menstrual blood that has not yet started to flow.” （68） Then she refused Jarviss invitation for a walk in the evening， which she had had dreamed for many times in her long times. But no， when the scene of Jarvis nudging toe onto the scarred body floats in her head， she feel sick and dizzy. She witnessed truth of mans brutal and obscene behavior towards a female body； she is scared of imagining what if her body is under that of Jarvis， or any man on the street in that small town， which horrifies her a lot. Thus she begun to turn away from man and uses her pen as the hole through which she peers into the world and into her body.

Its a brave and fierce way to against male-dominate power for women in that days to live without man. A body turning away from man is just another unique way to protest to say no to the male-dominated world， since its not duly respected and cherished. Almedas tender and sensitive body has transformed into some firm and fulfilled body by creating excellent verses form her dedicated illusions and imaginaries. Like Flora firms her body which is just strong as a man by her high-mindedness and hardworking， like a “whirling dervish”.（7）

Being Different as in “Differently”

“…the objectification of the female body” on one hand is result from “a female dependence on male signification of her body”. （Staines， 2016： 71） As whats mentioned in chapter one， female body is always under the surveillance of man or of themselves as the body needs the approval from him， they wear makeups， high heels tight clothes； they do manicures and hair perms， try every possible way to show and approve the attractiveness of their body. Some feminist deem this kind of self-uncertainty of female body is just a significant cause to the devaluation of it. In Munros stories， there are many girls or women try their best to “make up” their body and to attract mans attention. However， there standouts some unconventional and unique female spirits for that they live up to their own expectations not anyone elses.

The most impressive one is Maya from “Differently”. After Georgias forst visit to Mayas house， she left with the impression that “Maya was a suprise”：

She opened the door herself， barefoot， wearing a long shapeless robe of coarse brown cloth that looked like burlap. Her hair was long and straight， parted high at one temple. It was almost the same dull-brown color as the robe. She did not wear lipsticks， and her skin was rough and pale， with marks like faint bird tracks in the hollows of her cheeks. This lack of color， this roughness of texture about her seemed a splendid assertion of quality. How indifferent she looked， how arrogant and indifferent， with her bare feet， her unpainted toenails， her queer robe. The only thing that she had done to her face was to paint her eyebrows blue——to pluck out all the hairs of her eyebrows， in fact， and paint the skin blue. Not an arched line——just a little daub of blue over each eye， like a swallow vein. （224）

The whole outfit and appearance of Maya is a surprise even in the eye of another woman. And how would Mayas husbands opinion on her？

“Im not looking for any big revelation or any big drama or any messiah of the opposite sex. I dont go around figuring out how to make things more interesting. I can say to you quite frankly I think Maya made a mistake. I dont mean she wasnt very gifted or intelligent and creative and so on， but she was looking for something——maybe she was looking for something that just is not there… ” （240）

In Mayas husbands eyes， she is an eccentric， “some kind of hippie” （241）， whom he can never understand all the time. Maya， by her side， never reaches for his understanding or appreciation at all. She might just elope with some artists and move around with her unpolished face and bare feet. She does designs for her own house， her own outfit and her own life， she protests all the time against her husbands conventions and all the norms around her. She， indeed， is a free spirit， taking her unbound body to show to the world that her body is free and beautiful.

While Hazel， in “Hold Me Fast， Dont Let Me Pass”， is also a firm and steady female figure that once saved herself from depress and fear of her aging body， dying inspirations. When she comes to pay a visit to her husbands old lover， who is much younger than her and she begins to reflect something：

Hazel was thin， too——wiry， not brittle like Antoinette. She had muscles that came from gardening and hiking and cross-country skiing. These activities has also dried and wrinkled and roughened her skin， and at some point shed stopped bothering about it. She threw out all the colored pastes and pencils and magic unguents she had bought in moments of bravado or despair. She left her hair grow out whatever color it liked and pinned it up at the back of her head. She broke open the shell of her increasingly doubtful and expensive prettiness； she got out.

She got out from what or where？ Thats the Munros provoking message for the readers. She may possibly get out from the “bravado” and “despair” that once controlled her body so much that she could not “took hold of her life” （82） ， and get out from the swamp that is about to sucking in her body and smothering her for good. “She has said and thought that there came a time when she had to take hold of her life”， she actually made effort for it， “she urges actions， exercise， direction”. （83） She builds up her body with sweat and callus and wrinkles， on the other hand， “after she had married for about fifteen years， Hazel started to take extension courses. Then she commuted to a college fifty miles away， as a full-time student. She got her degree and became a teacher， which was what she had meant to do before she got married”. （77） Eventually Hazel got her whole body out of on matter what it is， she achieves her wholeness. From Munros description of Hazels appearance and mental activity， its not difficult to see that she thinks highly of this type of woman， who could free her body from mans watch and perspective and who has the ability to save herself from sinking down to despair.

Mayas body is free and floating while Hazel firm and steady， however what they share in common is that they can get hold of their own body and without being yoked by males confirmation or approval. Though their bodies rebel in different ways but both serve as powerful declaration that female body is independent on its own. Munro is no doubt by Maya and Hazels side， when she writes at the end of the story in the dialogue between Georgia and Raymond：

Raymond smiles more and more and puts a hand on her shoulder. “How should we behave？” He says.

“Differently，” says Georgia. She puts a foolish stress on the word… （243）

References：

[1]Alice Munro（1990）.Friend of My Youth.New York.First Vintage International Edition，May 1991.

[2]Cixous，Helene.（1994）.The laugh of Medusa.Trans.Keith Cohen and Paula Cohen.New York，USA：St Martins Press.

[3]Thacker，Robert.（2011）.Alice Munro：writing her lives.Toronto，Canada：McClelland and Steward.

[4]Thacker，Robert.（1983）.Clearly Jelly：Alice Munros narrative arts（pp-37-60）.Downsview，Canada：ECW Press.

[5]Staines David.（2016）.The Cambridge Companion to Alice Munro.United Kingdom.Cambridge University Press.

[6]Sara Mills.（2004）.Michel Foucault.New York，Routledge Press.

作者簡(jiǎn)介：張森（1992.3.28-），女，漢族，湖北人，碩士研究生在讀，暨南大學(xué)外國(guó)語(yǔ)學(xué)院，研究方向：英語(yǔ)語(yǔ)言文學(xué)。