The reason Miss Ramchandin paid me no attention was that, to her mind, the outfit was not something to either congratulate or scorn-it simply was. She was not one to manacle nature, and I sensed that she was permitting mine its freedom” (Mootoo, 77).
The words “congratulate” and “scorn,” offer a binary, which is quickly dismissed when Tyler says “it simply was,” implying that the normality or abnormality of his ensemble did not matter to Miss Ramchandin and thus was a moot point. Therefore, the binary is evident, but holds little to no meaning. Although Miss Ramchandin may not be 100% “with it” mentally, her blindness to Tyler’s change suggests that perhaps she looks for deeper qualities than can be found on the exterior.
Tyler treats her with fairness and respect, something that she may not be used to, given her incest-filled past, and as a result; she looks at Tyler as a kind-spirited person, no matter how he dresses or acts. Similarly, Tyler is not always treated well or taken seriously, so from that regard the two share a special, non-judgmental bond.
“She was not one to manacle nature.” This passage suggests that Miss Ramchandin may disagree with the male/female gender binary that exists. Manacles are often used when discussing restraining measures taken on criminals, which is interesting, because those who do not conform to one or the other gender are often treated as criminals, as if there is something wrong with them.
You’re either a man or a woman; if you are a man, you are masculine and if you are a woman, you’re feminine. These are the expectations, a biological imperative, and anything that does not fit the mold is out casted and treated differently than those who conform. But why does nature have to be “manacled?”
Kate Bornstein discusses her opinion concerning the issue in “My Gender Workbook,” openly disagreeing with the binary expectation placed on us by society. The quote from Mootoo’s novel indirectly supports this, saying essentially that gender should be “permitt[ed] its freedom,” something that Miss Ramchandin does! Overall, I think that Miss Ramchandin’s difficult past has allowed her to see past the “societal bad” in people, or rather, the differences that they may exhibit
This descriptive explanation gives great insight into the characters working of the novel. I love how you incorporate the use of men and women binaries. It is true either you are a man or a women in the novel but do you believe that is true in 2014 in life?
I really enjoyed that you said that “her blindness to Tyler’s change suggests that perhaps she looks for deeper qualities than can be found on the exterior;” ‘her’ being Miss Ramchandin. A word that I find to be extremely important in this quotation by Tyler is “was.” “Was” is a form of ‘being.’ This shows that, to Miss Ramchandin, Tyler is nothing far from just a human being, regardless of sex, gender or gender identity.
“Freedom” is also a huge word in this passage, as you mentioned with your connection to Bornstein’s My Gender Workbook. Freedom suggests a form of ‘being’ as stated above, yet a form of ‘free being;’ a state of being without thought, and maybe even being without shame.
This is directly related to when you said that this allows Miss Ramchandin to “see past the ‘societal bad’ in people, or rather, the differences that they may exhibit.” I like these connections between ‘being’ and ‘freedom’ and consequently, ‘free being’ that allows one to exist without shame.
Awesome quote, awesome blog.