ok so as the juliette/ella ambassador i feel i have to make a statement on the accusations tahereh is getting that she has made juliette’s character “all about her pregnancy” or she’s been absolved into the role of a mother/wife
cos girl did we even read the books…
FIRST OF ALL let’s carefully think about author intention. tahereh mafi is mainly using juliette’s difficulties in pregnancy to push her character to the side because otherwise the book would become more about aaron and juliette and this is rosabelle and james’s book, she needs focus on them. her pregnancy is a plot device and being used as a way to round off aaron and juliette’s characters, it’s an ending that makes sense for them and is a nice full circle with their own childhood experiences PLUS it’s giving Aaron’s character new dimensions as well as Juliette’s but it is simply not her story anymore so she has chosen to focus on Aaron so he can also draw parallels to rosabelle.
The main point i want to make is that if she was actually only playing the role of a mother/wife (in a sexist way because that’s what people are saying it is) that’s all she would be known for. Except for when she is mentioned, yes it’s concern for her (but for HER not just for the baby or for her ability as a mother which would be the sexist stereotype so many authors do do) and when the pregnancy is the current plot focus they do talk about it (mainly to provide context though), THEY TALK ABOUT HER ACHIEVEMENTS AND HER AS A PERSON. the main person who mentions her is aaron, and literally every time she has been mentioned it is mainly talking about how strong she is, her kindness, her achievements, her trauma, their relationship and not the dutiful wife stereotype at all. Aaron respects her massively and so does James you can literally see this when they talk about her. And it’s especially notable that there js concern for HER, HER AS A PERSON, CONCERN BECAUSE THEY LOVE HER. Not just because she’s the one who cooks or cleans or who raises children it is for HER.
If you seriously think that her character has been hijacked by her pregnancy that is your inability to see women take multiple roles, especially mothers in high power roles. She literally is one right now, she’s clearly in some capacity still working because otherwise she wouldn’t be in all these meetings.
peoples inability to see mothers as more than just objects of care and stability is one of importance to address, that’s why i have such a harsh stance on this issue. You’re not some radical feminist for thinking that women just should never have kids and think pregnancy is some kind of body horror. you are a real feminist if you think mothers deserve to be seen in multitudes and deserve voices and support and the proper care. god freaking forbid a man talks about the women whom he loves. It’s not radical to think that talking about the person you love and the things they do for you is instantly making them some kind of tradwife. Women deserve love in every capacity and we know that aaron gives it to juliette in tenfold with the upmost respect. I know for a fact that “true love” is an idea that is sold to women to make them become housewives that are trapped but aaron and Juliette’s love led her to be the leader of the new republic and it seems that aaron is the bigger homebody so no repressive traditional roles over here.
It’s very important to think carefully about author intention and understand the text, so I rest my case that Juliette has not become absolved into her pregnancy but actually is a character that continues to contain multitudes. It is your own inability to see mothers as actual people, especially pregnant people.
Also to add on (sorry i know) often how mothers are treated in a society (because they are an extremely suppressed class) is a giveaway as to how well functioning that society is. juliette is currently receiving good healthcare, time off work (though she is the head of state so she kinda has to work in some capacity) and most important a very large and wiling support circle. tahereh mafi clearly wants to show that the new republic is sustaining a good quality of life.
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