This was such a sad read although it does sound like Skinner has been able to heal, speak her truth, reconcile with her siblings and create a good life for herself, even as (quite rightly) she became estranged from her mother to protect her children. What I find strange is how Alice Munro is being portrayed as a villain by many while in the same week or two Neil Gaiman's transgressions are swept neatly under the carpet, never to be spoken of again. It's almost as if there are two standards?!
Zoe, I had completely missed the Neil Gaiman story which completely backs up your point, doesn’t it. I think you’re right and while we can label the actions as clearly untenable there is definitely an important and nuanced conversation around how we respond in different ways both individually and culturally to these types of stories. I don’t know if I can articulate it very well at the moment but there is something I feel about this societal attitude that actually may compound Munro’s situation and back her into a corner - i.e. if and when we expect wives to leave abusers should we look at what life is like for them beyond that? I can’t find the right language for it yet without sounding like I am once again centring her and condoning her choices, which I really don’t, but there are more layers to consider that I don’t feel have been drawn out in the news articles - thank you for highlighting this.
Thanks Sara for your response, I agree that it's difficult to find language for these terrible things at all, and they just keep coming. The Gaiman story is mostly the podcast, and it was strange to read headlines such as "Alice Munro was a terrible mother" when I had just listened to interviews that demonstrated how careful and focussed predators can be, and how they manipulate everyone around them, not just their victim. Perhaps it's also that Munro was more revered writer so it's a bigger story, plus there's no chance of a libel suit, while he has the funds to bury stories. I don't know. I hope her daughter and Gaiman's nanny are both OK. It's hard speaking up.
Thank you. An important and balance piece, Sara. This is a question we must ponder…do we stop viewing Woody Allen? Picasso? And the many people who have done terrible things (and I certainly consider choosing your abusive husband over your child as one)?…but…it is art. We certainly should reconsider our opinion of the wrongdoing artist. If we choose to allow our opinion of the art to change once we know of their creator’s transgressions, it’s a personal choice. But a hard one.
Thanks for your thoughtful reply, Anna. I agree - I didn't know where I was going to land on this until I started writing, and then I realised that for me it all becomes meshed together. I think it would be dangerous to start banning the art of transgressors - too cancel culture, and only drives things into shadowy corners and the world of the unspoken, which is never good - but instead it's good to have more nuanced discussions around art/artist/context. Definitely more questions around this that would be interesting to explore - because most of the time we don't know of the moral choices of the art we read/look at etc.
Thoughtful piece, Sara, and you're absolutely right that the focus should be on Skinner, not on her mother and/or her mother's work and how this impacts our response to it.
Gutwrenching. Thanks Sara.
This was such a sad read although it does sound like Skinner has been able to heal, speak her truth, reconcile with her siblings and create a good life for herself, even as (quite rightly) she became estranged from her mother to protect her children. What I find strange is how Alice Munro is being portrayed as a villain by many while in the same week or two Neil Gaiman's transgressions are swept neatly under the carpet, never to be spoken of again. It's almost as if there are two standards?!
Zoe, I had completely missed the Neil Gaiman story which completely backs up your point, doesn’t it. I think you’re right and while we can label the actions as clearly untenable there is definitely an important and nuanced conversation around how we respond in different ways both individually and culturally to these types of stories. I don’t know if I can articulate it very well at the moment but there is something I feel about this societal attitude that actually may compound Munro’s situation and back her into a corner - i.e. if and when we expect wives to leave abusers should we look at what life is like for them beyond that? I can’t find the right language for it yet without sounding like I am once again centring her and condoning her choices, which I really don’t, but there are more layers to consider that I don’t feel have been drawn out in the news articles - thank you for highlighting this.
Thanks Sara for your response, I agree that it's difficult to find language for these terrible things at all, and they just keep coming. The Gaiman story is mostly the podcast, and it was strange to read headlines such as "Alice Munro was a terrible mother" when I had just listened to interviews that demonstrated how careful and focussed predators can be, and how they manipulate everyone around them, not just their victim. Perhaps it's also that Munro was more revered writer so it's a bigger story, plus there's no chance of a libel suit, while he has the funds to bury stories. I don't know. I hope her daughter and Gaiman's nanny are both OK. It's hard speaking up.
Thank you. An important and balance piece, Sara. This is a question we must ponder…do we stop viewing Woody Allen? Picasso? And the many people who have done terrible things (and I certainly consider choosing your abusive husband over your child as one)?…but…it is art. We certainly should reconsider our opinion of the wrongdoing artist. If we choose to allow our opinion of the art to change once we know of their creator’s transgressions, it’s a personal choice. But a hard one.
Thanks for your thoughtful reply, Anna. I agree - I didn't know where I was going to land on this until I started writing, and then I realised that for me it all becomes meshed together. I think it would be dangerous to start banning the art of transgressors - too cancel culture, and only drives things into shadowy corners and the world of the unspoken, which is never good - but instead it's good to have more nuanced discussions around art/artist/context. Definitely more questions around this that would be interesting to explore - because most of the time we don't know of the moral choices of the art we read/look at etc.
And we don't know the personal morals or behaviour of all the artists we admire! We only know of the ones who've been outed...
Thoughtful piece, Sara, and you're absolutely right that the focus should be on Skinner, not on her mother and/or her mother's work and how this impacts our response to it.
Thanks Annabel.