Men versus Women: Literary Edition

These are some thoughts that had been floating around for a while; maybe Women's History Month is a good time to express them. 

I would say it all started back in 2012 when I read The Worst Hard Time: The Untold Story of Those Who Survived the Great American Dust Bowl by Timothy Egan, published in 2005.

It was a really good book anyway, but one thing that stuck out was a book he mentioned that has just been published the previous year: 

Whose Names Are Unknown by Sanora Babb was originally slated for publication in 1939.

Babb worked for the Farm Security Administration, part of the New Deal. She had published some short pieces and as she interviewed the farmers and took notes, she began to have a book in mind. She wrote it and Random House agreed to publish it, then backed out due to the appearance of a new, very similar book, The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck. 

Her book did not get published until 2004. 

Babb's boss, Tom Collins, gave Steinbeck Babb's notes.

I am not saying that either Collins or Steinbeck knew that Babb was writing a book and were trying to undercut her that way. I am saying that they took no thought of letting her know or giving her credit. Steinbeck dedicated his book to his wife and to Collins, but made no mention of Babb.

That incident alone is one story. It's a common and frustrating story, and it relates to a lot of things, but that's not exactly what this blog post is about.

For reference, I read The Grapes of Wrath in 2010 and Whose Names Are Unknown in 2018. 

(Two points I will make from that is that it taking me six years to get to a book I want to read is not at all surprising and that I truly appreciate Goodreads for letting me check these dates.)

Shortly after the first inauguration of the worst president ever, I started catching up with books that seemed like they might be relevant. The spreadsheet column where I track the ones I have read is now at line 105 (I swear when I started it was only about 20 books). There have also been offshoots for specific areas... I don't know when that will be done.  

I can say that one of the original books was The Jungle by Upton Sinclair, which I read that April (right between Catch-22 and The Handmaid's Tale.). How capitalism can corrupt and require government regulation seemed pertinent.

Jurgis reminded me a lot of Tom Joad. Part of their "heroism" involves casting off others. In Tom's case it is that he needs to flee criminal prosecution, whereas Jurgis -- previously so sure that his strength would be enough for anything -- loses his wife and children to death and other family to vice, though the level of attachment can seem questionable. 

The similarities weren't overpowering until I read another work by Steinbeck, Of Mice and Men, in 2024.

I know having to kill Lenny hurt George, but there were still people willing to work for the dream. He didn't have to give up on it all. 

The big difference in Whose Names Are Unknown is that no one goes off on their own. Yes, they have faced persecution in their attempts to build a better life, but they are committed to working together, forming new bonds and strengthening them. They are a team.

They may not be able to solve capitalism on their own, but they have better odds of surviving it by working together.

If more people would band together, we could see real progress. 

Foolish pride and competition gets in the way, then machismo allows the fools to think they're heroic as they set themselves and others up for failure.

Babb did meet Steinbeck once. He did not thank her for her notes. It is possible that he didn't want to tip her off that he was using them for a book, but it is completely plausible that he just didn't see the need. The dedication was to Collins, "who lived it." Collins didn't live it; he supervised people observing it. 

Babb was even from Oklahoma! 

There is a long history of men using the work of women and taking the credit, often while abusing the women.

In another Steinbeck work, East of Eden, there is one incredibly evil woman and one delightful girl whose father was disappointed that she wasn't a boy. There is a horrific rape, but those men then become very caring fathers to Lee. 

Curley's wife doesn't even get a name. 

I don't think Steinbeck was a bad man, but much like structural racism there is a structure that supports misogyny. Women are expected to serve and be at men's disposal. As much as we should have progressed past it by now, there remain deep problems.

Unsurprisingly, those problems hold back men, too. Racism has a negative impact on white people. 

Are we ready to deal with it?