For me, I noticed first in Elizabeth Kostova's the Historian the lack of a strong mother figure. There is a relationship between father and daughter that is close yes, but somewhat creepy in that the pair take on an almost Nabokavian - lolita-esque nature. Next comes Diane Setterfield's the Thirteenth Tale. The mother exists, but is completely ineffectual and utterly effete. The father again takes the lead role in parenting and is the lonely figure in the girl's life. Now on to Special Topics in Calamity Physics. The mother is killed in an automobile accident when the girl is seven and the father once again is the leading man in the girl's parental universe. All girls lacking mothers, where the fathers take center stage. One can't help but notice these are three classic examples of Freud's Elektra complex in modern fiction lit. But perhaps there is more at play here than just sexual innuendo. Do modern women on some secret level bemoan the lack of strong men in their lives? Perhaps this ancestor worship of their father's generation of men points to a void that has been created in these men's abscence who provided, protected and even guided. The sexual revolution, largely liberating women, has pretty much come to it's full conclusion. It's all been done, said, laid bare for all of us to see. Is something missing now? There is a saying we are condemned to be free. There is another saying we are born free, but are everywhere in chains. Have we become too free? I am picking up on a gheist that is blowing through parts of our society where women are wanting attention, not to be left to their own devices, perhaps even restricted just a little in their freedom. And more, they are wanting this from men and not women. Is there a sea change?
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