Is There Any Escapism Left in a Time of Political Toxicity?
The Growing Trend of Political Preaching in Women’s Fiction
Subtlety is a lost art in today’s world. Between the constant need to express outrage on social media and the toxic political climate on display in DC, nearly everyone wears their indignations on their sleeve. Unfortunately, the toxicity doesn’t stop there. For many of us who enjoy reading fiction to escape from the harsh world of politics and social media outrage, that escape is becoming increasingly difficult as more and more authors inject their own brand of outrage into many genres of fiction.
That’s why “I Wish I Might,” by Lisa De Pasquale, is a welcome respite from all of the incivility and noise that surrounds us, even more so than what the typical romance novel typically provides.
The genius in De Pasquale’s writing falls in the underlying theme that, although everyone is somewhat shaped by their political ideology, these views are not the predominant force in most peoples’ lives. Although they may ultimately influence a decision, they often are not the crux of the decision. Accordingly, she finds no need to indoctrinate readers with her own political views (De Pasquale is a well-known conservative columnist and commentator), but rather only casually cites political references when relevant and in furtherance of the book’s narrative.
For example, when she makes reference to the color of Melania Trump’s lip gloss — “soft pink, glossy. No more matte, please!” — it is in the context of the staff of Lilac, the women’s magazine at which the main character, Caroline Presley, works, discussing summer fashion trends. Although Melania Trump is (albeit somewhat reluctantly) a political figure, her lip gloss is not a political statement, and the reference to it is not interwoven with a political-driven diatribe about the pros or cons of Melania as the First Lady or the merits of her husband’s policies as President.
Moreover, in noting that Melania’s style might be an interesting topic for the magazine’s readers — the First Lady had a lengthy career as an international model after all — Caroline observes that although “[t]he rest of the fashion and beauty industry was largely nursing hurt feelings at not getting their first women president, [ ] something was brewing.” This reference is perfectly placed because throughout the novel, Caroline is trying to come up with innovative ways to differentiate Lilac from other women’s magazines, and Melania’s fashion is just one example she considers in that context. In other words, the political reference is not only subtle but also contextual. And, more importantly, these subtle political references imply that Caroline identifies as a conservative without trying to force readers to also identify that way.
Despite the fact that many people view reading as an escape from reality, in contrast, some novelists operate on the liberal assumption that they’re readers want to be indoctrinated with leftist ideals at all times.
For example, as recently discussed by Elizabeth Look Biar, in Emily Giffin’s recent novel, “All We Ever Wanted” — the novel not only operates on the assumption that its readers want to be social justice warriors, but it also does so in a way that perpetuates negative stereotypes. As stated by Biar:
This novel hit on every social justice issue that I can think of, and not neutrally or positively. Many issues were not even relevant to the story at hand. Even “Planned Parenthood” had to be mentioned in some absurd, unneeded utterance.
The book also touched on every condescending position that elite leftists try to take. For example, a character in the book, Teddy, has good morals — with Christian faith and a Southern accent. He’s portrayed as small town, small minded, and naïve. She also pokes fun at another character who has a Bible Study, not portraying her as anything but a hypocrite. While this may be true of some folks, the blanket profiling of Christians is demeaning, and actually, mean.
At another point in the novel, Ms. Giffin talks about a relationship between a white girl and a black boy. Of course, one of the characters, a rich, white character says something derogatory about the bi-racial couple. And for what? This depiction of racism has absolutely nothing to do with the story.
De Pasquale’s novel does just the opposite. It not only portrays conservative characters in a positive light, but it also develops them in a way in which they are hard-working, professional, and not in any way solely dominated by their political views. And, perhaps most importantly, the characters also do not pass judgement on those who may disagree with them.
Although lesser known as a novelist than Giffin, De Pasquale is a far better writer in terms of her understanding of the intersection between fiction and reality for those of us who still want to use the occasional romance novel to further our belief in happy endings, and escape from the current social media climate of anger and outrage.
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