Classic Rants

happy pride to ishmael and queequeg

why is Robert Walton genuinely so down bad for Victor Frankenstein in these letters damn “He must have been a noble creature in his better days, being even now in wreck so attractive and amiable” so you think he’s hot whilst being a complete and utter wreck? “My affection for my guest increases every day” oh I’m sure it does.

Every chapter of Moby Dick could literally be titled like youtube clickbait.. 'Only one bed (and he's a Cannibal!)', 'My top three favourite things to do with sperm'. 'A whale is a fish. FIGHT ME'. 'Sailor's tasks I carried out while tied to my boyfriend.' 'At least we're not on that other ship who founded a religious cult'. 'The captain had 4 Parsis HIDDEN BELOWDECKS', 'Why Sperm is vital to culture and the economy'. 'Coffin building with the bf'. 'I told this story in a South American bar and everyone LOST their MINDS'.

wait i started reading moby dick can the rest of this book just be about queequeg and ishmael sharing a bed and smoking tgt i dont fucking care about the whale

Look it's not like The Portrait of Dorian Gray isn't a misogynistic book but Oscar Wilde was clearly aware of the weakness of his narrative and tried really hard to course-correct. That's why Lord Henry's wife emerges from the darkness of their mansion for no other reason then to chat with Dorian in the original magazine version and it's why the 'censored' version (the novel length one available for sale wherever books are sold) includes a fiancee for Dorian, an extended scene with Sybil where she talks about her hopes and dreams, and uses her brother as a specter at the end as a reminder that Dorian fucked up and should feel bad about his actions. That obviously didn't fix the problem, I'm just saying it doesn't take much research to see Oscar sweating and straining to give girls agency in this book.

#if you're only familiar with his work in Dorian Gray and maybe The Importance of Being Earnest you might never know #that for most of his life #oscar was seen as the eponymous Male Feminist #who is always lecturing about how girls can totally kick ass #and should be allowed to wear pants vote and work #lady windermere's fan got panned by critics for having women have too much agency #his masters thesis was about women in ancient greece #obviously he was still a man #but I get weirded out by people using Dorian Gray as proof of gay men's misogyny #like hey now #can we give some credit to the guy who was foundational in the fight to let women wear pants? #oscar wilde's Women's World is one of the only archives we have of women intellectuals of the nineteenth century #of COURSE it's weird that every issue starts off with a letter from the editor explaining why their work is important #of COURSE he had to be a man #justifying women's writing #i'm just saying #maybe women's rights had worse enemies

I love going in the moby dick tag because like once a month you'll have someone be like "oh my god. This book is incredible. Why did I think this would be boring. This book has changed my life."

remember when Ishmael woke up to Queequeg's arm around him, and so he studied the arm, with its tattoos and different levels of being tan (farmer/whaler tan Queequeg) and compared it to the patchwork quilt they were sharing?? Remember how much Ishmael values being snug under a blanket?? Queequeg's embrace is a warm cozy blanket. Don't even TALK to me right now