Day Three Hundred and Twenty Three
The Rabbit books are depressing me. They evoke a working-class malaise that is familiar and oppressive. Also the obsession with sex is just difficult to read. Unpacking this is a bit hard for me. I’m not a prude. I’m not uptight. But I often feel that if I object to sex in a book that is how I will be labeled. So here are my problems with the way sex is a part of the Rabbit Angstrom books.
Marriage is a sacrament and sex is sacred to the bonds of marriage. This is not just some over-the-top ideal but how some people do, and all people will one day, live. I hate the cheapening of something so beautiful, so important and so loaded with meaning. Sex is not “just” anything. It is not “just” a physical act. It is not “just” a release. It is not “just” a moment of pleasure. It is rich and complex and rife with meaning. It makes one person out of two seperate adults and then, millions of times every year, makes another whole human being. It heals wounds in a marriage, cements emotions good or bad and can wound deeply. It is sacred and playful and mystical and procreative. It is humbling. It is serious and hilarious and the hilarity is tinged with awe. It is a terrifying gift, a small picture of the relationship between Christ and the Church and that is why it ought not to be cheaply portrayed.
I don’t think every depiction of sex is necessarily a violation but it is very difficult for me to deal with the emotional roller coaster of reading about it. Like teevee shows depicting violent crimes or movies where children die, I have to be wary of that which stirs too deeply without cause. Real children suffer, real marriages crumble, I want to save my pity for them.
So taking that line of thought, do you think that people sometimes over share what God is doing in their life? If marriage is a shadow, and there are certainly things that should not be discussed in company…
November 20th, 2008 | #
I certainly agree.
“Oh, I just had the most wonderful time of prayer! I really felt like the Lord was RIGHT THERE WITH ME! It was like we were in a meadow full of flowers and He was saying ‘I’m always with you my child’”
Is parallel to:
“When my husband and I cuddle, he knows just how to blah, blah blah…(I can’t even type an appropriate simile!)”
November 20th, 2008 | #
Even further off-topic, is it ok if I come bug you tomorrow? Same time…
November 20th, 2008 | #
Mandi,
this is a great post. I totally agree with you. On another note, need new pics of the boys! You haven’t posted pics since Luc started walking, would love to see them!
November 21st, 2008 | #
Great post. You put into words ideas that are very difficult to express. Bravo! Sex outside of the purposes that God intends for it is pretty empty. Ironically a world that has rejected Him has elevated His gift to the highest place. But all by itself it just can’t satisfy our deepest longings.
By the way, did your husband ever get around to reading Imitation of Christ? I finished it recently and thought about you both.
November 22nd, 2008 | #