Sara Paretsky's Femininity Analysis

As a female hard-boiled detective writer, Sara Paretsky makes the choice of creating a character in a masculine world that must compromise between her newly acquired masculinity and natural femininity. Beverly Jenkins on the other end is already set in a familiar genre being a romance writer, however she creates a character who assumes a male –dominated career in a male-dominated world who wrestles with what she is told to do as a woman and what she believes she deserves as a person. Both authors present strong female characters engaged in worlds were they must make compromises between their commitment to their jobs and engaging in interactions where the traditionally feminine elements of emotion and love determine their actions and choices. However by establishing this situation of compromise between masculinity and femininity, Paretsky and Jenkins create a gap where the denial of one part for the other becomes detrimental to the entire

Warshawki’s femininity creates “ an occasion for parody”(Paradis 86), when she constantly says she is focused on her job and cannot be distracted with the thought of her partner “stewing”(158) because she is not back home. However, her feminine edge at the same time dreams about having the family life with a husband and children. The conflict in her gender identity creates a scenario of self- denial that makes her appear to be unsure of herself and what it is she really wants out of life. V.I gives mixed signals saying she is satisfied with her career and satisfied with her life whilst at the same feeling that maybe she is not doing the best thing with her life (Paretsky 157). A balance in her personality where she is both focused on her career whilst still enjoying the community of family which she longs for is an idea Paretsky portrays as a “myth” (Paretsky157) but in the real world is actually possible. Paretsky’s technique creates room for questioning with regards to her inclination to feminist ideas. This imbalance Paretsky creates is a great resemblance to Raymond Chandlers, Phillip Marlowe, who lives under this “self imposed isolation” (Paradis 88), which is believed to help him investigate effectively without any form of attachment that could alter his credibility or full attention on a case. (Paradis 88) Does Paretsky mean to say women must act just as men in order to be successful in their careers especially in male-dominate professions? Paretsky puts V.I on the career extreme of the career versus family whilst Jenkins places Olivia on the love/family extreme of the argument. Jenkins choosing to create a story line where Olivia has to loose her job as a result of her relationship with Neil is evidence of an imbalance in the gender identity of Olivia. The idea of a woman having to sacrifice a