This piece is an absolute must read if you enjoy reading. Or if you are a woman. Or a man. Or if you like humor. Or heck, if you are bored.
Firstly, apologies for the gap in posting – I’ve been crazyy busy.
I finished “We Need to Talk about Kevin” by Lionel Shriver. Review soon (teaser – great book!). Currently reading “The Glass Castle” – Jeannette Walls.
The god-man
Is it just me or are we getting better and better at building up our idea of the perfect man? Lately, whatever I read seems to over-idolise men.
And that made me think.
Modern literature has always flirted with the image of the rich and powerful man. These are men who are not only wealthy, but abominably so. Jay Gatsby has his Gothic mansion at West Egg, Christian Grey his Escala suite (yes, I’ve read the series, quit judging me!) , and Fitzwilliam Darcy his Pemberley estate.
And its not just wealth – they each have a certain something that manages to win our heart – Alexei Vronsky is charming, James Bond has his racy fleet of cars and Beretta 418, and Chuck Bass has the whole brooding badboy image working for him.
These men are always, and I say always, strikingly handsome with a chiseled jawline, a sculpted torso, and height that lets them tower over other men.
As Anastasia Steele said “He (Christian Grey) is not merely good looking – he is the epitome of male beauty, breathtaking”.
Edward Cullen is described as beautiful, gorgeous, even. As Bella puts it – “His hair was dripping wet, disheveled – even so, he looked like he’d just finished shooting a commercial for hair gel. His dazzling face was friendly, open, a slight smile on his flawless lips.”
Throw in oodles of confidence, a keen intellect and voila! You have the perfect package. Some, like Oliver Barrett IV (a Harvard preppie, no less) even come with an Ivy League degree to boot.
If they have any not-so-redeeming qualities at the beginning, they always manage to redeem themselves by the time we flip the back cover. Be it Darcy’s prejudice, Chuck’s hedonistic lifestyle, or Will Traynor’s caustic truculent behavior.
And the most surprising part?
A vast majority of them fall for not-so-perfect women – women who are unaware of their charms or beauty.
William Traynor falls for the ditzy Lou Clark, Gatsby for the shallow Daisy Buchanan, and Maxim de Winter for the unnamed heroine of Rebecca, who is shy and highly self-conscious. Bella Swan is ‘average’ at best while Anastasia Steele has been described as insecure of her looks, plain and somewhat of a ‘misfit’.
My point?
Whatever happened to keeping it real? And if this is realistic, where are all these men in real life??
Most of the men I know are non-rich, non-powerful, non-Ivy League, non-handsome, non-gun-toting, non-charming, non-well read (you get the drift). And the funniest part? They all want the perfect woman.
People looking for an arranged marriage will know what I mean 😉
This post is meant to be in humor. Please don’t take it too seriously.
SoulSpeak with Sonam 