[dark_crystal]

In chapters 7-9 i continued to be struck by how lucky Stephen is. What if there had been no Puddle, what if there had been no opportunity/inclination for a writing career? I guess that is what makes this book extra-depressing. She had the best situation an "invert" could hope for, with the exception of a supportive mother.

And why was her mother so unsupportive? I think there was a more sympathetic portrayal available, in that the same sex parent always has a harder time with their child's queerness, as it was on them to provide the proper example. I also think in a social class where mothering is the whole of a woman's role that it is easier for the father to be supportive of idiosyncrasies in children of either sex, role model or not, because they are not held as responsible for how the child turns out. The judgment of their neighbors will always fall on the mom.

Also it is weird that Hall made such an event of the dad buying a car. The advent of the automobile is not a major plot point. I enjoyed the digression, however, as i could pretend i was back at Downton Abbey.