[LMB] sharing knife discussion

[Tzivia Adler]

Kait wrote:
> I'm getting very near the end of Beguilement now. Fawn and Dag are at 
> Fawn's
> home, and Aunt Nattie has just declared her support for their marriage. 
> The
> rest of the family seem more doubtful.
>
i always wondered if aunt nattie is slightly more open to outsiders because 
she is herself an outsider in the famiy, both becase of her blindness and 
because she is not married.  she is literally a spinster - supports 
herself - brings income to her host family - by spinning.  yet, she is not 
part of the parents/children system.

i also wondered, if fawn had met another farmer along the road - one with 
better manners than stupid sunny - and brought him home instead, would the 
family have still objected, because the family drudge is going to marry and 
leave the farm?  i seem to remember that one of hte brothers complained that 
'it was so thoughtless of you to leave, we got stuck with your chores.'

or is that just her fair share of the farm chores, and since it is a 
good-sized farm, there is a good-sized amount of chores?  i know some people 
on the list grew up on farms, someone give an opinion?


> I really like Aunt Nattie, although I could give Bujold pointers about how
> blind people look and behave (having grown up among blind people). 
> However,
> that's a minor detail.
>
really?  do tell.  minor details are fun!

> One of my favourite scenes in the book is when Fawn and Dag first make 
> love.
> When I think of the boring, mechanical, way-too-explicit sex scenes in 
> many
> books, this makes a wonderful difference! But it just proves Bujold's
> exceptional writing skills, I guess.
>
i liked that too.  i think its because they were both happy.  i find that a 
lot of books with explicit details are dreadful, not because of hte smut but 
because of the boring smut.  really, why bother?

when miles lost his memory and then seduced his doctor, he 'remembers' that 
if he made her smile (or laugh, not sure), he's doing well.  i approve.  the 
brain should be engaged in this act, along with the body.

ziviya
by the way - note change of subject line.  we of the list try (most of the 
time) to change the subject as the content of hte message changes. 
sometimes we end up with three threads under one heading, very frustrating 
for those of us who want to read only one thread.