tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-137677673775151256.post1720035778946656948..comments2024-03-28T10:31:55.774-07:00Comments on The Passing Tramp: Archie Goodwin and That Bottle of Dom Perignon: Some Thoughts on Masculinity in Mid-Century MysteryThe Passing Tramphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09830680639601570152noreply@blogger.comBlogger10125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-137677673775151256.post-3386383328323292422020-07-14T12:05:01.959-07:002020-07-14T12:05:01.959-07:00I have to nuance it, because it's so darned am...I have to nuance it, because it's so darned ambiguous as presented.The Passing Tramphttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09830680639601570152noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-137677673775151256.post-77610538013399277322020-07-14T12:04:09.349-07:002020-07-14T12:04:09.349-07:00I would challenge that characterization, though I ...I would challenge that characterization, though I would agree he's sexist! Wolfe feels he has to keep women out of his life entirely. It's very much a phallocentric world in the Brownstone! But you can be sexist and still not approve of violence--and this is bigtime violence--against women.The Passing Tramphttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09830680639601570152noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-137677673775151256.post-23062402152990829852020-07-11T07:16:46.422-07:002020-07-11T07:16:46.422-07:00Honestly, Archie kind of is a knuckle-dragging Nea...Honestly, Archie kind of is a knuckle-dragging Neanderthal, although Wolfe and Fritz have worked hard at polishing him. This kind of behavior is disappointing from him but not very surprising.Rand Brittainhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06699129891290332783noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-137677673775151256.post-29184946707540705132020-07-07T08:38:47.851-07:002020-07-07T08:38:47.851-07:00I haven't read the book, but was still interes...I haven't read the book, but was still interested in your analysis - very nuanced. I would be shocked, like everyone else, if that nice Archie behaved unchivalrously. We have to try to give him the benefit of the doubt, though you make clear that it's not THAT easy.Clothes in Bookshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00058207970686573597noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-137677673775151256.post-79184606343998554012020-07-05T21:25:14.215-07:002020-07-05T21:25:14.215-07:00And thanks for the comments!And thanks for the comments!The Passing Tramphttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09830680639601570152noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-137677673775151256.post-49015620053626827532020-07-05T21:24:32.839-07:002020-07-05T21:24:32.839-07:00I think when Archie says he has to make his eyes g...I think when Archie says he has to make his eyes go to Di, it gives an idea. He wouldn't have described in such detail if he it hadn't made an impression on him. It's not a situation that Archie can toss away with a flippant comment. It's unsettling because Stout is really letting in something dark for a moment.<br /><br />I have been reading Too Many Women and I know that's a book which gets criticized for sexism, but it has some interesting comments from Archie about men and "their women" which contradict the idea that Archie thought it was great for Hough to assert his "mastery" over Di in this way.The Passing Tramphttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09830680639601570152noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-137677673775151256.post-51081534426113363742020-07-03T13:49:17.349-07:002020-07-03T13:49:17.349-07:00I agree with your interpretation, but also agree w...I agree with your interpretation, but also agree with Don Coffin that Archie's behavior is more ambiguous than most readers familiar with him would expect -- and more so than I would have liked.Christophehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01978885973806549838noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-137677673775151256.post-2368703111007096512020-07-02T19:34:05.898-07:002020-07-02T19:34:05.898-07:00If Archie had been congratulating Hough on the bea...If Archie had been congratulating Hough on the beating of his wife, he would not have sent the exact champagne that his wife shared with her boyfriend. Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13243341306214190989noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-137677673775151256.post-34553506869705466882020-07-02T19:26:36.222-07:002020-07-02T19:26:36.222-07:00I think it's more ambiguous than that. He may...I think it's more ambiguous than that. He may be chiding Hough, he may be making an ambiguous statement. But he never explicitly says--to Hough or to us--what his reaction to the beating is. (This is a scene that has always troubled me, I might add...)Don Coffinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07198988872512792834noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-137677673775151256.post-1563602058432201492020-07-02T19:07:10.947-07:002020-07-02T19:07:10.947-07:00I agree, that sounds like he's taunting Hough....I agree, that sounds like he's taunting Hough. Archie would never condone, let alone reward, that kind of behavior.Graham Powellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01775285782385634486noreply@blogger.com