In a famous letter to her husband, future First Lady Abigail Adams wrote: “I desire that you would Remember the Ladies and be more generous and favorable to them than your ancestors. Do not put such unlimited power to the hands of the Husbands. Remember all men would be tyrants if they could. If particular care is not paid to the Ladies we are determined to foment a Rebellion and will not hold ourselves bound to any Laws in which we have no voice or or Representation.”
She reminded him that if the men were going to rebel against Britain’s authority for equality, then they needed to practice equality at home as well in front of their wives, daughters, mothers, sisters, and female servants and employees. It was hypocritical she said to fight for a voice and representation when they won’t permit women to have theirs.
Aside from the title of Judie Mitchell’s Revolutionary War Historical Fiction novel, All Men Would Be Tyrants If They Could, Adam’s letter is not discussed, quoted, or referred to in the text. However, it is still very much in the background in this story of a woman enduring an unhappy marriage and a patriarchy that forces her to stay in it.
In 1773, Abby Goodwin is unhappily married to the much older John. He abuses her so her homelife is a constant battle that will soon come to a head now that thoughts of revolution are sweeping the country. Abby and her more outspoken sister, Connie are also inspired to make some changes in Abby’s own life.
This is an effective fascinating look at what life was like for women in Colonial and Revolution-Era America. As a new country was being fought for and created, women were also swept up in claiming independence in their own lives including the rights to education, having a profession, being self-sufficient, and the right to shape their own lives and destiny as the men were doing around them. Abby is a textbook example of a woman who was made to feel that she didn’t have any rights until she had to stand up and fight for them.
The book has plenty of graphic moments that illustrate exactly the hellacious reality that Abby was put through during her marriage. He belittles her personality and intelligence. He strikes her then blames her for causing him to lose his temper. Even though he is of the old school belief that women should not earn a living, he helps himself to the goods and payments that Abby receives as a midwife and healer.
Unfortunately, Abby has very few options in a patriarchal society that treats marriage like a social contract. While divorce is possible, Abby is trapped by the coverture which states that a woman’s rights were subsumed by those of her husband with the wife’s legal status of feme covert that believed that a husband and wife were one person. Abby would be left without money, her daughters, her stepsons whom she has lovingly raised, and be branded a pariah. She would get away with her life but would have very little to live for.
Abby can’t find solace in a church that tells her that leaving her husband would be a sin. Even though her parents were progressive enough to encourage their daughters to become educated, they still harbor traditional beliefs about marriage to the point that Abby finds it difficult to reveal the fullest extent of Abby’s cruelty. It is a patriarchal society that men like John benefit from and women like Abby are captives.
John not only dominates his wife but other women as well. In some of the most heart wrenching moments, John forces himself onto two younger women using his position as head of the household to manipulate them to consent to his advances. Then he pits them against his wife so they can’t trust Abby enough to confide in her or expect her to help them. They are moments of emotional and mental abuse against not only Abby but these younger women who for different reasons are made helpless by their status in the household and society. They are rendered as helpless as Abby is.
Connie, Abby’s younger sister and the book’s co-narrator (along with Abby herself) is an antidote to this male dominated society. As Abby is forced to endure her marital unhappiness, Connie is more attuned to the sounds of revolution. She represents the fiery outspoken women like Abigail Adams who wanted the ladies to be remembered and were going to use this new found independence to make them count as well.
While men like Connie and Abby’s brother fight on the battlefront, Connie fights on the homefront. She protects and shelters Abby from John’s abuse. She enters a relationship but makes her views known to her intended so he can treat her like an equal and not even think of dominating her. Connie represents the women whose goals, views, education, writing, and support will inspire feminists for centuries to come. Connie and Abby begin their independence from home and those actions create a ripple effect to inspire others.
Horace by Kevin McLean
This is a summary of the review. The complete review can be found on Reader Views.
Horace by Kevin McLean is a complex haunting psychological character study of two high school misfits whose rivalry and hatred for each other spans across decades.
The book starts with an unnamed Narrator recalling his childhood friend and classmate, Horace Grebner. He and Horace are part of a clique of school misfits and outsiders whose main outlet is a weekly game of Dungeons and Dragons. During this time, Horace has some nasty encounters with Arthur Spinelli, a local bully. Horace and Spinelli’s rivalry and hatred continues from their teen years to adulthood when it reaches dangerous, illegal, and fatal proportions.
This book is largely a character study of two different outsiders: Horace and Spinelli. Their starting paths were in many ways very similar as different types of school outsiders. Instead of bonding, they chose different means to counter those struggles.
Horace is a misfit obsessed with D&D to overcome a childhood of abandonment and neglect. Spinelli is a troublemaker using football and bullying as an outlet to cope with abuse.
Horace and Spinelli have a series of confrontations that shape their adulthood as they take divergent paths but confront one another frequently. They are two opposing forces destined to collide in a dangerous impact.
Horace and Spinelli’s mano y mano war becomes even more violent and intense until they have to face each other. They are each other’s mirror image, foil, shadow self, and split personality. It is the type of competition where there might be one winner but no matter who walks away, they have to become each other to survive and then lose themselves.
