The Lensman series was originally written in the 1930's, before America got involved in WWII. And one thing I'm noticing is how strongly a certain ethos/attitude comes through in it.

I would call it "chivalry". A feminist would call it "male chauvinist piggery", I think.

Kinnison is quite willing to, and often does, slaughter men by the dozens or hundreds, but he never kills a woman so far as I remember. He always finds some other way to cope with her, even if she's his utter enemy.

And he's willing to do almost anything to protect a woman in danger.

That's the ethos in which I was raised. That was what was prevalent in the 1950's when I was a kid. By the time I entered college, however, I was being told something else entirely. For me to feel that way about women indicated that I was sexist and lower than a frog's hind leg.

I never lost that ethos, but I learned to hide it when I was in proper (read "leftist") company.

Treating women as if they were defenseless children isn't really good, but Kinnison doesn't do that. He eventually makes MacDougall a lensman, and sends her into combat, for instance. But the basic idea that men should cherish women and protect them, well, it runs all through this book.

I think we lost something precious when organized feminism tried to kill that idea off.

Posted by: Steven Den Beste in General Entertainment at 11:19 AM | Comments (8) | Add Comment
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