“In every power, of which taste is the foundation, excellence is pretty fairly divided between the sexes.”
In an article in the Brisbane Courier-Mail, Ben Harrison says that women don’t write funny books.
Humph.
Maybe, however, the way that women’s comedy writing is judged is flawed from the outset. Maybe too much time spent analysing the patterns of male comedy has resulted in us simply reading things the wrong way. It took scholars until this century to figure out that Jane Austen wasn’t being entirely serious when she wrote Emma.
So could it be that all that is needed is a pointer in the right direction? Maybe.
You might want to try Northanger Abbey, dude.
February 8th, 2005 at 6:56 pm
It is far too easy for the dominant sex to define humour as they see, act and feel it; and then stamp everything else that does not fall into that definition, as “NA” (Not Applicable). I agree with you that Jane Austen was always full of tongue-in-cheek jabs at human sensibilities, foibles and behaviour.
Pity, again, that most men are not able to appreciate it because of themselves, and therefore brand her as “unfunny” like all other female authors.