Sometimes when I'm really immersed in a piece of fiction, as I am currently with Steig Larsson's The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo series*, I realize how easily influenced I am by fiction authors. In that I become crazy when I read them.
I've always had an extremely empathetic relationship with fictive characters. This can be demonstrated through my firm belief that my slayer abilities will keep me safe during night runs. Or the utter devastation I was forced to combat sophomore year when the Lord of the Rings film trilogy concluded and I was made aware that I was indeed not a part of the fellowship of the ring. These seem like triflingly funny anecdotes meant to iterate my obsession with, for lack of a better term, various character phenomena. But it's so much more than that. There are demonstrable mood and personality alterations.
So I was not at all surprised when, as I read this book, I began to model characteristics demonstrated by the female protagonist of the book. This is somewhat unfortunate as Lisbeth Salander is an asocial computer hacker with a proclivity for violence and a possible case of Asperger's syndrome. Although much of the book is about her sociopathic inability to engage in trusting relationships with the people around her, I cannot help but be drawn to her vitriolic reaction to the repression (physically and emotionally) of women. While I don't agree with the violent ways this reaction often manifests itself it's somewhat encouraging to read about a female character who adheres, strongly, to her own self-discovered convictions. I won't offer texual support of this claim from the book because I want you all to read it.
Again, I promise I'll start talking about my own life again.
I think I may have begun to perceive this blog as an esoteric space in which the audience is people like Carey Mulligan's character from An Education, Willow Rosenberg and Dave Eggers.
I hope Sarah Jackson isn't this weird.
*I know everybody is reading it. Shut up. It's AWESOME.
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