Posted by Trusty Jules on March 23, 1998 at 02:28:51:
In Reply to: Re: Prototypical Vance hero's Romantic Interest posted by Lyall Simmons on March 01, 1998 at 14:37:11:
: Once thing is certain, Vance's books are no guides to dealing with women or picking up girls. No matter how much I love Vance's books, his treatment of women characters (I mean literary treatment) has always failed to satisfy me. With the exception of some of his latest books there are virtually no women characters playing a role as an independent thinking active person.
It took me many years to get my wife to appreciate Vance for this very reason. After reading the demon princes series she was almost offended by the way women characters are portrayed. In her view Vance was himself obviously unable to deal with women. I am less negative, Vance is simply just as or even more mystified than all of us by the female race, a point he makes no apology for. It was only on learning that Norma has a large influence on Vance's work that my wife became less concerned about this point.