Part III

Conversation Concerning Our Favorite Hag: A Rebuttal
by Annie Hawkins and Marie Winger

Brrrrring!

Hi Annie! It’s me, Marie. Hey, did you read Alan’s piece in Works in Progress?

Annie: You mean Alan’s little hissy fit about Dame Ragnell?

Marie: That’s the one. What did you think?

Annie: Poor Alan. He doesn’t get it.

Marie: No. He doesn’t. I sort of understand what he is saying about structure, but a story is more than the sum of its technical parts. What a story has to say to us transcends the mechanical. The other night when Tim and I were waiting in a long movie line I was telling him about Alan’s diatribe. He couldn’t quite remember the plot of Ragnell so I began to tell him a bare bones version. I realized the woman in front of us was listening intently while trying to look like she wasn’t eavesdropping. After they bought their tickets she was hanging behind her date so she could hear the end of the story. Even abbreviated the story certainly captured that woman’s attention.

Annie: I’m sure you told it with grace and style, Marie, so anyone would be compelled to listen. And I do agree with Alan that tellers need to infuse old tales with new personality and insight - that’s part of our contract with art. But I didn’t get what he was saying about the punchline. It may literally be a punchline for some men to hear what women want—SOVEREIGNTY!—so boldly proclaimed, but jokes end with punchlines. Stories don’t need to be so blatant. They provide what Lee–Ellen Marvin calls "the moment of truth" or what I can an epiphanic instant, without bludgeoning the listeners with "the message." Lee-Ellen says when the moment of truth is revealed, the story ends. Ragnell’s story ends when her husband experiences an epiphany, and we can be pretty sure we’re not going to be reading about them in the "Can This Marriage Be Saved" column of Redbook.

Marie: So why do you suppose so many people, men and women, are drawn to tell what Alan considers a flawed story?

Annie: I think it’s because its relevance is timeless. Alan seems to forget that women as a class still haven’t achieved sovereignty anywhere in the world. In some countries women are forbidden jobs and educations. They’re not allowed to own property, drive cars or dress as they please. Women everywhere suffer sexual harassment, sexual abuse and other forms of physical violence. Here in the US of A women storytellers may be getting equal pay for equal work but that isn’t the case in all professions. And the glass ceiling ain’t no fairytale. So I believe it’s vitally important to hear stories about women who get what they want. When they have husbands and lovers who support their sovereignty the denouement is doubly positive. It also makes for hot romance.

Marie: I’m all for hot romance, but don’t you think that, ultimately, the story of Ragnell, Gawain and Arthur is a story about honor? They live by the code they espouse. None will compromise for the sake of expediency or personal gain. Arthur didn’t have to return to Sir Gromer1. Gawain did not have to abide by his promise to Ragnell.

Annie: Yes, Blessings on him. Gawain reminds me of all my favorite men. He’s a man of his word. In my version of the story he has a great sense of humor and he’s a fabulous dancer. He’s smart, but he’s not overly attached to his intellect; he’s intuitive, too. And he doesn’t dick around in the wedding chamber when Ragnell presents him with the choice, he just says, "Honey, that’s up to you." Another thing I love about Gawain is his ability to embrace the hag. I have a friend who says, "When you love her, a woman can be the most beautiful woman in the world and also the ugliest." He’s also willing to embrace the hag. He doesn’t need love dressed up in pearls and a ball gown. Like Gawain he’s popular with women and this is no mystery story.

Marie: And Gawain’s response in the bridal chamber showed Ragnell was right to refuse Sir Gromer. She could have given in to Sir Gromer and kept her position and beauty. Imagine what her life would have been like if she had given in to Sir Gromer. She would have had beauty and position, but no love, no choice, no sovereignty and no honor.

Annie: Yuk, we’ve all run into guys like Gromer. The way I tell the story Gromer puts the spell in Ragnell because she wouldn’t give him her land, her gold or her body. "He said I was unnatural and unwomanly," she explains to Gawain. Gawain rolls his eyes and replies, "Oh, that old line." Everybody laughs because Gromer is the guy who freaks out when we say, "Thanks, but no thanks."

Marie: Guys like Gromer make me want to scream. We need to tell as many stories about sovereignty as we can. Still, as important as sovereignty is, I believe the message of honor and respect in the story is the true reason it is so popular. When people are honorable and hold each other with respect, sovereignty will be a natural part of their relationship. Gawain could only leave the choice up to Ragnell because, as an honorable man, he knew it wasn’t about power or mastery but about self-determination and choice. That’s why the climax of the story isn’t at the point in the story Alan calls the punchline, but in the bridal chamber. Like sovereignty, honor and respect is a message that needs to be heard—Geez, I sound like a speech writer for Bob Dole.

Annie: Well, honor sounds great for the campaign commercials, but sovereignty is never gonna fly in the Republican party these days. You better keep your day job. I have to tell you a funny story about this story. Last winter, after I told Gawain and Ragnell, a friend said, "That story is an old favorite in our house. We studied it in our Jungian workshop and every time a man whines to me about problems with his wife or lover I tell it to him. My friends sighed and shook his head. "So many men are still so invested in control," he said. "You mean you tell them "SOVEREIGNTY, STUPID’?" I asked him. "I do," he said, "and some of them even get it."

Marie: I wish Gawain and Ragnell lived in my neighborhood. Then we could have them over for dinner. Which reminds me, my sovereign self has to get busy and make dinner. Talk to you soon.

Annie: I’m ordering out for pizza. The delivery man is a hoot. Last week he came to the door and said, "I know what you want, Ms. Hawkins." I said, "Yeah, what?" He answered "A small pizza with all the veggies, no meat, and sovereignty." I gave him a big tip and a great big smile. Bye!

Click.

on to Part IV
Alan Responds to the Rebuttal

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