I am unsure as to whether I should refer to Patrick as a he or a she considering his identity as a transvestite, but for the sake of not confusing myself, or the rest of the class for that matter, I am going to refer to Pussy (Anyone else feel weird calling him that?) as a he, sorry Patrick.
I think that it is fair to say that Patrick “Pussy” Braden’s parentage was the leading cause of his dysfunctional and destructive lifestyle. The two most important aspects of Patrick is his identity as a transvestite and his “vocation” as a prostitute or as Pussy liked to call himself "a high-class escort girl." (1) In terms of Pussy’s identity as a transvestite, I find myself in agreement with Terrence, “I think the truth, Patrick…is that maybe you always secretly wanted to become her, Eily. After all – she could hardly walk away then!” (95) I believe that Patrick’s desire for his mother triggered his gender confusion and his desire ‘to have a vagina of his own’, while also fueling his desire for a companion. Pussy’s relationship with Louise is a perfect example of Pussy’s attempt at obtaining a parental figure in the form of a lover. “I got more than accustomed to the little grey jacket and the short trousers and really began to get excited when she asked me to call her ‘Mammy’…After a while I started to really like it, just sitting there on her knee and being engulfed by all this powdery warm flesh.” (92)
When looking at Braden’s profession it appears that he had two intentions in becoming a prostitute, however subconscious they may have been. The primary and most obvious reason being to put himself in direct contact with men, preferably older, who found him attractive and offered him the attention that his own father never provided. Every time Father Bernard laid eyes on Pussy “he put his head down and made a detour around by the back of the chicken-shed.” (59) This first reason led to such relationships as that with Eamon Faircroft, Pussy’s “Married Politician Man”(31) an arms dealer for the IRA who was eventually killed by a bomb placed by the IRA or the Ulster Defense Association. Being Pussy’s first “sugar daddy,” Dummy, as Pussy liked to call him, was the first man to bring to light Pussy’s distorted concept of love, believing that affection was shown through gifts. "Well, obviously I couldn't be his girl into perpetuity but I was quite prepared, if he continued to lavish me with compliments and cash, certainly to remain with him for as long as--well, who knew!--and would indeed most likely that have done, if he hadn't gone and died." (33) It becomes clear after this first relationship of Pussy’s that in looking for a lover Pussy was subconsciously looking for a caretaker.
The second purpose behind Pussy becoming an escort girl in Piccadilly Circus was as a means of providing himself with all the street time in London he needed to search for his missing mother, whom he continually mistook complete strangers for, “‘What are you on about? My name’s not Bergin! Nor Eily neither! Get lost before I call the police!’ I made more mistakes like that – but there’s no point in me pretending! I just couldn’t help myself!” (94) This obsession with locating his absentee mother reveals his true motives throughout the novel, and his live, "To be able to say: 'This is where I belong - right here in this place." (114)
OK, so for my final project I was thinking that I might write a fan fiction. Being that my artistic skills are EXTREMELY limited, not to mention my technological skills (It took me awhile to figure out how to work the whole blog thing, let alone create a whole website!), I thought sticking to writing was my safest bet. Having never written a fan fiction I am curious as to how it will go, but it seems like it will be pretty fun, especially when compared to writing a 7 to 10 page paper on what we have already written. As for the storyline of said fan fiction I will need a little more time in figuring that out. I am pretty sure that I will be basing it off of Carmilla, although that may be subject to change. If anyone wants to help a sister out and has an idea for a fan fiction that they are willing to share it would be greatly appreciated☺
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Fay, I'm glad you opened up your blog with a query about what to "call" Patrick/Pussy Braden. I think it's important to note the differences between a transvite, a transgender, and a transexual person. You can find a fairly good response below from the oh-so-credible "yahoo answers."
ReplyDeletehttp://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20081112043427AAxwMjf
A transvestite is someone who gets their "jollys" off of dressing up in the clothes of another gender. It is very much related to fetishism. Let's say (and why not?), my oh-so-male-identified significant other just *happens* to like to dress up in a cheerleading uniform every once in a while (haha! He very much doesn't, but boy he would kill me if he knew I just posted this!). Just because he likes flashing his pom-poms during his off hours, doesn't necessarily mean that he identifies as female.
A transexual is a person who was born with ambiguous genitalia. For some extra gold stars for next week, you and perhaps other students, may want to watch The Crying Game, an excellent film by Irish filmmaker Neil Jordan that uses gender to explore "The Troubles" in Ireland.
Pussy would most likely fall under the category of "transgendered" in the sense that she fully identifies as a woman (although it's interesting to see moments where she "performs" the role of a young boy later in the novel). She sees herself as a woman in the same way I see myself as a woman. I have a good friend who was born a girl, but for whatever reason has always identified as a boy. He is now going through hormonal therapy to become a man, and I think it would be rude if I started calling Bryce "she" when that's clearly not how he sees himself.
I know the concept of transgendering can be challenging for some people, so don't feel as though you have to ascribe to my philosophy. I just wanted to provide an explanation for your sake and for the class. Everyone has the right to call fictional characters by whatever name they would like! :)
With that in mind, though, consider the similar ways in which labels such as "Catholic" and "Protestant" become as ingrained as gender identity in this novel. We might continue to consider how Pussy "troubles" those constructions.
I also like your discussion of some of the reasons as to why Pussy may have developed some sort of gender "confusion" (although I use that term hesitantly. In my opinion, not identifying with the gender one is born with is not necessarily a sign of a disorder or "confusion," but again, that's my perspective). I do think, however, because the story is being told against the backdrop of a psychiatric hospital, McCabe invites us as readers to analyze Pussy's psychological motivations. We might want to further analyze the role of Dr Terence in this novel and the ways in which Pussy thwarts his attempt to "diagnose" her.
I'm also glad to hear that you'll be doing a fan fiction piece for your final project. I've always been interested in the character Carmilla. Perhaps you could write a story from her first person perspective (?). Maybe Carmilla could be a lot more sympathetic than we give her credit.
ReplyDeleteHi Fay,
ReplyDeleteI really like your idea in writing a fan fiction about Carmilla. I was thinking of doing something similar in adapting the novella into a screenplay. I also liked Colleen's idea of maybe writing it from a first person perspective (of Carmilla). That would be really interesting to read. Also it might be interesting to rewrite the ending. This could completely change the whole meaning of the story. You could play with some of LeFanu's ideas while creating your own at the same time. Anyways, just some thoughts. Good luck!!
Hi Fay,
ReplyDeleteI really like your analysis of Breakfast on Pluto. I haven't finished the whole novel yet but yes, from what I have read thus far it is clear that Patrick has some "daddy issues" and craves nurturing maternal affection. Something that I pondered while reading was if Patrick in fact had true feelings for these older "companions" or if it was just a need for affection. I'll be honest. The figurative nature of the language is sort of confusing for me to understand. So I may be way off on some on the things I have inferred. Patrick talks about Father Bernard often but does he really see him as often as he is mentioned in the book? That seems so strange. And does everyone in Tyreleen know that Father Bernard is his dad? I will spend more time this week with the novel so hopefully I will understand it a little better.
As for your final project proposal, I think a fan fiction piece on Carmilla is a great idea. I agree with Colleen, I think doing Carmilla is a challenging yet exciting idea. I'm interested to see what you come up with. Have confidence as you work because I don't think there is any sort of wrong approach to this idea. Good luck
I started Breakfast on Pluto a little late (actually yesterday morning) due to a series of poor planning/unfortunate preceding events. Nonetheless I found myself laughing out loud at the first few pages of Patrick Braden's unapologetic account of his "assorted" past. I do believe that many of his actions can be attributed to his confusing and somewhat raw childhood. He became aware of his somewhat scandalous beginnings through the whispers of the townsfolk. This of course would make any young person become somewhat 'confused'.
ReplyDeleteYour final project idea will be quite an undertaking and I look forward to seeing what you come up with. I'll agree with Nicolein saying that there is no wrong was to go about this so BEST OF LUCK!
So, I have to admit that I had to look up fan fiction, because I wasn’t exactly sure what it was. However, I think that your idea is pretty cool and creative. And don’t worry, it took me a long time to figure out Blogger too…I still don’t have it down pact! I definitely think that it will be more fun to write (and read) than a 10 page paper. I’m also interested to see how it will relate to Carmilla, and how it will turn out, but I bet it will be great. I also think that a fan fiction of A Portrait of the Artist would be interesting as well, but maybe not as interesting as Carmilla ;)Good Luck!
ReplyDeletePerhaps it is a bit small minded of me, but I absolutely dislike the conclusion you make when you say "I think that it is fair to say that Patrick “Pussy” Braden’s parentage was the leading cause of his dysfunctional and destructive lifestyle" and felt like I was reading a bit of Freudian literature. I don't believe being transexual is a sign of dysfunction, nor do I believe that the family structure (or in Pussy's case, her lack of family structure) is to "blame." I think sometimes biology just gets it wrong and who are we to say choosing one gender over the other is wrong? While I do not agree with your conclusions I did like the passages of "Breakfast on Pluto" you used to back up those claims.
ReplyDeleteAfter reading your final project idea, as well as many others I'm starting to wish I was a tad more creative! Good luck on whatever you choose to do!
Fay,
ReplyDeleteI can't agree more with you on your initial confusion at what to call Patrick/Pussy (and yes...I personally hate that word and have been having a hard time actually calling someone by that name). But hey, if that's what someone wanted to be called...who am I to judge?
I really liked Colleen's discussion about the differences between transvestite, transexual, and transgendered. I was already familiar with these terms but thought the explanation was quite good.
I also agree that I think Pussy was confused but I don't agree that it is what "caused" her to have "gender" issues. I agree with your statement,
"I think that it is fair to say that Patrick “Pussy” Braden’s parentage was the leading cause of his dysfunctional and destructive lifestyle".
Meaning that Pussy had a fairly dysfunctional life caused by a traumatic childhood and constantly seeking the sense of being "loved" and having a "home". But I personally don't believe that a person chooses to be transgender nor do I think it is "caused" by any external environmental factors. Just like I don't view homosexuality as a choice or an environmental development. I think that we are all born as we are, physically and mentally and when there is somehow a disconnect between the two, there's really not much to do about it but be who you feel you truly are.
Not sure if that made any sense, but overall I enjoyed your post. I also thought it was interesting when Terence stated,
“I think the truth, Patrick…is that maybe you always secretly wanted to become her, Eily. After all – she could hardly walk away then!” (95)
This is an interesting concept and even if it's not what "caused" him to be transgendered it was definitely a huge factor in his feelings of a loss of love and belonging.
As for your creative project, I too think that sounds like a great idea. Especially if you write it from Carmilla's perspective. You could have so much fun with that!!