Subject: Re: Your "junk" is not junk!
Date: Mon, 12 Mar 2001 11:50:43 -0600 (Central Standard Time)

From: Robyn Roslak See my replies in CAPS.

On Sun, 11 Mar 2001, joellyn rock wrote:

> Thanks Robyn, for your careful reading of my messy packet!! YOU'RE
> WELCOME--I THOROUGHLY ENJOYED IT!
>
> You've raised some important questions and given me some great ideas...
>
> (I have trouble with my own "bare bones" words choices, and you give me
> some nice alternatives)
>
> I'll take to heart your thoughts, and try to refine my ideas.
>
> You are very right that I am still in need of limiting the scope of my
> project...
> (the ideas just keep expanding in my tiny brain...I've got to find a way
> to make this project do-able!!..)
>
> I have a vision now of my presentation: that it will be a multilayered
> story: my story as grad student, the story of Vasilisa, the story of
> designer as story teller. I LIKE THIS THREE-PRONGED OR THREE-LAYERED
> APPROACH. In my head, I see the public presentation both framed and
> broken by some oral recitation of my Vasislia Nodes, performed by a
> small group of women "readers". (a chorus of sorts) This way it will
> move back and forth between theory and performance, and try to
> demonstrate the idea of multi-voiced narrative. (I will be flashing
> digital images, created by me and others throughout the lecture.)
> Ultimately my goal is to illustrate the ways that narratives are located
> subjectively and collectively. Does this make sense? YES, BUT THINK
> ABOUT THIS: IF YOU HAVE WOMEN READING ALOUD YOUR NODES, FOLLOWING THE
> MODEL OF A GREEK CHORUS, THEIR VOICES INDEED WILL BE COLLECTIVE ONES BUT
> WILL THEY TRULY BE SUBJECTIVE AT THE SAME TIME (AFTER ALL, THEY WILL BE
> READING YOUR RE-WRITING OF THE TALE, AS OPPOSED TO THEIRS)? THE FUNCTION
> OF THE GREEK CHORUS WAS TO COMMENT ON THE MAIN ACTION OF WHATEVER DRAMA
> WAS UNFOLDING, USUALLY TO HELP CLARIFY IT FOR THE AUDIENCE. THUS, THE
> CHORUS WAS LESS 'SUBJECTIVE' THAN IT WAS A CAREFULLY CONTROLLED WAY IN
> WHICH THE AUTHOR OF A PLAY COULD AFFECT THE INTERPRETATION OF HIS WORDS
> BY AN OFTEN-DIVERSE AUDIENCE. IF YOU'RE SEEKING A MULTI-VOICED NARRATIVE
> (IN THE SENSE THAT MULTI-VOICED MEANS THE VOICING OF INDIVIDUAL
> SUBJECTIVITIES, AND ASSUMING THE FACT THAT NARRATIVE DOES NOT EXIST IN
> ISOLATION BUT IS INDEED A FORM OF COMMUNICATION), THEN YOU MAY WANT TO
> RE-THINK HOW YOU WILL UTIILIZE YOUR FEMALE 'PERFORMERS.' I CAN IMAGINE A
> SCENARIO IN WHICH YOUR WOMEN WOULD HEAR YOU READ PARTS OF YOUR NODES
> ALOUD AND THEN COMMENT INDIVIDUALLY ON HOW THEY UNDERSTAND (OR PERHAPS
> QUESTION) WHAT THEY'VE JUST HEARD (OF COURSE THIS COULD ALL BE REHEARSED
> AHEAD OF TIME FOR THE SAKE OF A SEAMLESS AND GRACEFUL PERFORMANCE). THAT
> WOULD TIE IN WITH WHAT YOU SAY, BELOW, ABOUT YOUR DESIRE NOT TO HAVE
> SO-CALLED PROGRESSIVE VERSIONS OF THE TALE--INCLUDING YOUR OWN--ALSO
> FALL INTO THE TRAP OF BECOMING DOGMATIC OR ONE-SIDED AND MONOLITHIC.

> My re-writing (AND ALSO IMAGING, RIGHT?) of the tale is an attempt to
> illustrate/demonstrate and immerse (indulge?) myself in the subjective
> role as narrator. CERTAINLY YOU DO NOT HAVE TO READ THIS NOW, BUT FOR
> FUTURE REFERENCE CONSIDER LOOKING AT WALLACE MARTIN'S BOOK ENTITLED
> RECENT THEORIES OF NARRATIVE (1986). The tale I've started with has
> already been repurposed by feminists and jungians (feminist therapists
> like C.P. Estes) to guide popular thinking. I am not so much interested
> in subverting these interpretations, as in expanding and fragmenting
> them, lest they too fall into the trap of authoritarian dogma. But
> ultimately, the core of Vasislia (as a Cinderella tale) is the story
> about power constructs and their contests. On a political/social level,
> I'm concerned with how we as women uphold or reject patriarchal
> hierarchies as we operate in our various spheres: home, school,
> community,corporate work place. Interestingly, there are many stories
> out there about how women in positions of power operate in regards to
> the women beneath them. I think that these Cinderella tales are worth
> examining in this light. THIS IS INTERESTING AND WORTH EXPLORING,
> ALTHOUGH PROBABLY NOT IN YOUR THESIS AS YOU WON'T HAVE ROOM OR TIME. BUT
> IN AN EXPLANATORY FOOTNOTE (ALWAYS A GOOD PLACE TO ACKNOWLEDGE IDEAS
> THAT YOU FIND VALUABLE BUT DON'T HAVE TIME TO DELVE INTO) YOU COULD
> INCLUDE WHAT YOU'VE SAID HERE, NOTING THAT IT IS A DIRECTION WORTH
> PURSUING IN THE FUTURE.

> But my FIRST interest in Vasilisa was in the notion of her relationship
> to her own intuition (the guidance of the doll ) to navigate her way
> through difficult tasks and tests. ONE THING I FIND INTERESTING IS THE
> FACT THAT THE DOLL--AS A SIGN FOR VASILISA'S INTUITION--WAS GIVEN TO
> VASILISA BY HER MOTHER, PERHAPS IMPLYING THAT FEMALE INTUITION OR
> UNDERSTANDING IS THE RESULT OF SHARED OR TRANSMITTED FEMALE EXPERIENCE
> (I.E. IT REQUIRES SOME SORT OF ENGAGEMENT WITH, AND COMING TO GRIPS
> WITH, THAT EXPERIENCE). IN A WAY, THAT'S WHAT THE VASILISA TALE HAS DONE
> FOR YOU, TOO (ALTHOUGH IT WASN'T WRITTEN BY A WOMAN ORIGINALLY, WAS
> IT?): IT'S GIVEN YOU A MODEL FOR UNDERSTANDING YOUR OWN LIFE, BUT A
> MODEL THAT YOU'VE HAD TO DECIPHER AND REINTERPRET IN TERMS THAT MAKE
> SENSE TO YOU, NOW--JUST AS CERTAIN FEMNISTS AND JUNGIANS ALSO HAVE DONE.
> On a very very personal level, it was the negation of my own intuition
> that got me into the most trouble in my life. I made some REALLY bad
> choices, (take full responsibility for that) in quieting my own inner
> voice and bowing to the power of someone else's authority. After
> extracting myself from my marriage (long story, which would make your
> hair stand on end) I vowed that I would never censor my inner voice
> again. Obviously, this makes for another set of problems...as my openly
> verbal airing of personal concerns is seen as inappropriate by some. God
> knows, I've got a long way to go in figuring out the balances in this
> process. This project is part of my investigation of these
> contradictions. When do we as women or people speak up and speak out for
> ourselves...and when do we acquiesce to the power of some other
> authority? At this point, I'm still willing to err on the side of
> voice, because my experience of silence was as close as I've ever come
> to spiritual death. THE GREAT THING ABOUT BEING AN ARTIST IS THIS: YOU
> CAN INCLUDE THIS KIND OF PERSONAL NARRATIVE IN YOUR THESIS OR YOUR
> ACCOMPANYING PROJECT WITHOUT BEING CONSIDERED SELF-INDULDGENT. I THINK
> IT SHOULD BE THERE IN SOME FORM, DEPENDING ON HOW MUCH YOU WANT TO
> DISCLOSE.

> > My version of the tale is influenced by CP Estes' version and jungian
> interpretation, but i suppose I am also challenging some of the spin she
> puts on it, and creating my own position as spin doctor. I will try to
> re write the entire tale in my voice (s) and Now have some interesting
> ideas about the ending, which may be the place where I diverge furthest
> from her story...
>
> Loose thoughts...
> Sorry for rambling there,
>
> I thank you for your time on this, and perhaps we can meet after break
> so that I can pick your brain about the semiotics of this stuff (one
> semiotics-lite please!). I am struggling with a book called: Postmodern
> Fairy Tales, Gender and Narrative Strategies by Christina Baccheliga. OF
> COURSE WE CAN MEET. AND AS ALWAYS, FEEL FREE TO RUN IDEAS OR PROBLEMS BY
> ME ON E-MAIL.
>
> There's important points in it, but the vocabulary is just too dense for
> me!
>
> Now back to Momming: JJ has been throwing up for the past 2 days!!!
> Poor thing! I REMEMBER WITH HORROR SEVERAL BOUTS OF THROWING UP AS A
> CHILD. TO THIS DAY, I CANNOT BEAR THE THOUGHT OF HAVING STOMACH FLU. AS
> A RESULT (I'M CONVINCED MY BRAIN HAS HAD A BIG ROLE TO PLAY IN THIS),
> I'VE HAD IT ONLY ONCE AS AN ADULT. >
>
> thanks,
> joellyn