Today's installment (and next week's) is what I call my Bechdel Qualifying Passage. For those of you who are not writers or womanists or fans of lesbian-authored graphic fiction (or any combo thereof) there exists what some call the "Bechdel Test" (read all about it in Wikipedia) that judges a work of fiction on a simple question: Is there a scene in which there are two female characters who have a conversation that is not about a man?
It's a very simple question and you think, sure, most works pass right? But they don't. You can find websites that run critiques on everything from classics to current bestselling potboilers, and most fail.
In my particular story, and also in the sub-story, this is a bit of a challenge because you don't want to put something in that does not advance the plot, and the plot of both narratives is basically the common trope "Stranger Comes to Town," and the stranger is a man, and it's all about the guy who disrupts everyone's expectations and causes trouble.
When I applied this test, to my own work in the story so far, sure enough, it failed. All conversation between any of the females has been Clete-centric. So the focus goes now onto Qin Qin, and I have to say it creates a narrative distraction to me, but I think it'll work. What this means is that all my fictional works from now on are going to include a lesbian romance subplot, just so that I'm always compliant. And that's cool. Some of my best friends are lesbians and you all know who you are. Of course that probably means I'll never find a publisher. Too bad. Back to business...
There is a small reference to Clete, which I almost didn't put in, but it seemed disingenuous to not have him at all in this conversation. I think it's naturalistic enough in a work of comedic satire that relies heavily on implausible coincidences, I hope you'll agree.
Qin Qin wrote a euphoric report to her annals last go-round. Like a good history writer, she put it aside for a time and came back to it a bit more calm. Turns out on the preceding night, she could not sleep. But this is normal for her. She has chronic insomnia. You will find out why. A couple conversations happened the night of August 14, 2012, first with her mother and then with the Sea Witch Elder.
The Story: Clete Wong, a 50-something, foul-mouthed, workaholic, wildcat oil-and-gas entrepreneur, but at heart a geology professor, takes a 90-day eco-vacation conducting a general geological survey of a small Pacific island thought doomed to sink into the ocean due to global warming. While told to avoid contact with the natives (10 middle aged women and their 10 daughters) he is increasingly drawn into the mystery of who they are and why they are there.
Last Week: Clete arranges for an experimental drone aircraft to bring a pair of glasses to his nearsighted teenage lab assistant, Qin Qin--all totally illegal and unauthorized of course.
Additional note from the reporter:
If you read my last entry, I just
want to note that I am very much not a sentimental person even though my last
notes may look that way. I care about my family, and I especially am fond of
and appreciate people who take me seriously and care about what happens to
me—and I am talking about the Professor.
It so happens that I had two
conversations the day before, on Tuesday, August 14, 2012. It was the night of
the waning crescent moon, so it was very dark out. Mother and I had gone to
bed, but I could not sleep, so as I usually do, I bothered Mother.
“Ma.”
“What?”
“Are you awake?”
“Yes.”
“I can’t sleep. I’m wide awake.”
“As usual.”
“I told Wen something recently that when I think about it I should have
told you first.”
“So you are going to tell me now?”
“I think maybe I was angry? With Wen that is.”
“Anger can make you honest, can’t it then?”
“I guess. It’s too bad. Isn’t it?”
“But you do speak your mind without thinking, quite often.”
“I DO NOT! Do I?”
“What do you think?”
“Maybe I do. She asked me why do I push everybody into not liking me.
Why do I? Ma?”
“You need to answer that yourself. It doesn’t have to be now. Nothing is
ever in a hurry. Just start thinking about why it’s so.”
“I WANT it be in hurry. I can’t stand that nothing happens here. I want
something to happen.”
“ So, what did you tell Wen that you think I needed to hear?”
“One way or another, I am not staying on The Island.”
“Sigh. I wondered. You’ve been absorbing new ideas. You’ve been thinking
about this a lot lately, haven’t you?”
“Yes. Especially since I’ve been reading the laws and legends and uploading
them onto the cloud.”
“So you know what that means. For us? For you and me?”
“I know. A Dog Island Princess cannot leave The Island. I will become a
subject if I go. I won’t be able to talk to you—any of you—directly again. Ma?
Why does it have to be that way?”
“It just is. Duty. But mothers and daughters’ lives never overlap very
long anyway in our family. Maybe that’s why we all keep you daughters close by.
I was your age when my mother died. I’m sorry you never met your grandmother.
Well, maybe not. She was quite harsh. She would have beaten you more than I do.
But she cared about me.”
“She was a lot like you then?”
“Ungrateful child! Are you saying I’m harsh?”
“Yes, you’re mean. But that’s OK. I’m a brat. They go together. Oh
Mother. I’m not going to take over your job as Fire Guardian. Is that horrible
of me?”
“Uhhh. It’s unsettling and it will cause problems, but you are not
horrible. You are different than me. Very different. Which is why I’m not
surprised by this news.”
“Oh?”
“No. This island is not a big enough world for you. Everything about you
has been a wish for escape. You were born from me, but you were never born to
the duty that I … well, …”
“Since you’re saying that I’m different, there’s something else I wanted
to talk to you about.
“You should not interrupt me, but
go ahead. What’s that?”
“Why do I have purple eyes?”
“To see, of course.”
“That’s not what I mean.”
“What do you mean?”
“Why are my eyes the color purple?”
“Who told you that they were?”
“Ba.”
“They’re brown.”
“Yi says they’re purple also.”
“When you look in a mirror, what color do you see?”
“Brown.”
“Trust your own eyes. Not other people.”
“Name something here on The Island that is purple.”
“The flesh of the blood melon is purple.”
“I think it’s brown.”
“Auntie Na’s lips are also deep purple.”
“They’re brown. To me. Name something red.”
“The giant lily that flowers just above The Grove on the east side.”
“It’s black to me.”
“Darling, you just see things differently than others. That’s normal.
“It’s NOT normal. I’ve always had to adjust the words for color that
everyone else uses. Nobody else has purple eyes. I don’t see very well. Is that
why?”
“I don’t know what to tell you. I am not a doctor. They look brown to
me.”
“How about telling me the truth about me?”
“I only tell you the truth about yourself. If I lie, I only make it
harsher to keep you from becoming prideful.”
“What else are you keeping from me other than my purple eyes?”
“Nothing, my dear. I am keeping nothing from you.
“No disrespect Ma, but I think you are lying.”
“Do you want me to beat you for such insolence?”
“This is important to me. Hit me if you have to. I am being totally
honest with you.”
“So when are you leaving me? And where do you think you will go?
“You are changing the subject but that’s OK. I don’t know yet. I happen
to know an American geologist who will give me a good reference. Maybe even a
job?”
“You don’t say?”
“More truth. I am working on him to get you a job. I want you to know
that much.”
“I do not need another job. But you do what you need to do, Princess. I’m
tired. Please try to sleep now?
So I lay still, but I continued to toss in bed. I could not
help but move.
“Wah! So active! Qin Qin? What’s wrong?”
“I’m restless. All this thinking. I don’t know what to believe anymore.
About this Island. About myself.”
“Do not be in a hurry for answers to everything. I think Perhaps it’s
time for you to go see the Sea Witch and talk about things.”
“What will she tell me?”
“She will tell you things that I don’t know. So I don’t know.”
“Now that makes sense. I’m going.”
“You’re going? Now?”
“I have questions now. And her waking hours are at night? Right?”
“Hai, but it’s dangerous walking in the dark. The poisonous bugs love to
come out on the paths after nightfall.”
“They will be safe from me because I will avoid them. I can see in the
dark.”
“Not you or anyone else can see in the dark. Take a lantern.”
“Don't need it. That is one of things you don’t know about me Mother. I didn’t think
I could see in the dark, but I can.”
© Copyright 2012 by Vincent Way, All rights reserved.
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Be truthful and frank, but be polite. If you use excessive profanity, I'll assume you have some kind of character flaw like Dr. Wong. Tks!