Egalia's Daughters A Satire of the Sexes

by Brantenberg, Gerd

• ISBN13: 9781580051255
• ISBN10: 1580051251
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2004-12-14
• Publisher: Seal Press

Summary

Reminiscent of Orwell and Huxley's dystopian novels, this classic of women's literature is an intelligent and well-written contribution to the sex-role debate.

Welcome to the land of Egalia, where gender roles are topsy-turvy as "wim" wield the power and "menwim" light the home fires. This re-telling of the prototypical coming-of-age novel will have readers laughing out loud and wondering who should prevail: poor Petronius, who wants more than anything to cruise the oceans as a seawom; or his powerful and protective mother Director Bram, who rules her family with an authoritarian righteousness. But for better or for worse, as the masculist party begins to organize and protest, the landscape of Egalia threatens to change forever. More than just a humorous romp, Egalia's Daughters poses the provocative question of whether the culprit in gender subjugation is gender itself or power-no matter who wields it.

Author Biography

Gerd Brantenberg was born in Oslo, Norway, in 1941 and spent her childhood and youth in Fredrikstad. She has been active in the feminist movement since the early 1970s. Her translated works include The Four Winds, a coming-of-age novel set in Norway. She lives in Oslo.

Table of Contents

PART ONE
Bram, the director, and her family	9	(8)
Spinnerman Owlmoss teaches the children about nature's injustice	17	(5)
The Maidmen's Ball	22	(10)
Egalsund, pearl of the seacoast	32	(4)
Ruth Bram and her housebound - for better or worse	36	(8)
The Narcisseum Club for Gentlewim	44	(11)
Bosomby, the school principal, calls Spn Owlmoss to account	55	(7)
The shore, the stone statue and the oak wood	62	(10)
Petronius as a seawom	72	(10)
The little rose of the slums	82	(9)
Spn Owlmoss teaches according to Directive No.287	91	(11)
Petronius reaches his sixteenth birthday	102	(11)
He becomes hers	113	(8)
Gro Maydaughter and her proud family	121	(5)
Inside the Palace of Birth	126	(7)
Nursing and the dreams of a youth	133	(4)
The history test on General Sheracles and her exploits	137	(8)
Egalsund at night	145	(8)
PART TWO
The villa on the Moonhill	153	(8)
The masculists break a taboo	161	(7)
The subjection of menwim - a historical necessity	168	(12)
Fish and romance	180	(5)
The studs' tragedy	185	(7)
New adventures for the masculists	192	(8)
A mother's righteous anger	200	(3)
The Egalian election and the menwim's daring coup	203	(15)
Peho burning and other masculist activities begin to spread	218	(5)
Why struggle for menwim's rights?	223	(8)
Gro and Petronius - wom and manwom	231	(8)
Father and son	239	(5)
Consciousness-raising in the 'Fighting Cock' menwim's group	244	(5)
The Grand Menstruation Games	249	(7)
Walking around the egalitarian city	256	(5)
'The Sons of Democracy'	261	(2)
The reader's final farewell to Ruth Bram, her son Petronius and the others	263