Australian Literature Blog #4
- Jessica Aramini
- Sep 15, 2019
- 2 min read
Updated: Oct 7, 2019
CREATIVE BLOG
This is my letter to Miss Slattery, the character from Patrick Whites' 1964 short story titled "Miss Slattery and her Demon Lover" (From his collection titled "The Burnt Ones") on her decision to leaver her lover, Mr. Szabo.
Dear Miss Slattery,
As a highly empowered and slightly feminist female of the 21st century, I cannot relay to you the relief I feel in knowing you have left Mr. Szabo. I can however relay to you my amusement in knowing the sequence of events leading to his rejection.
The spectacle you made of yourself at Apple’s party, in Woolloomooloo, was something no party-goer will forget in their immediate lifetime. It is also a delight to know the emotional pain and suffering Tibby Szabo has experienced in his attempts to get you back; the knowledge of his grovelling will be painted in my mind forever as a reminder of his humbling experience.
Though opposed to this, I do personally feel that the relationship between yourself and Mr. Szabo was in some ways an accurate representation of an unbalanced 1960’s relationship, plagued with debauchery, hedonism, and the ever-present struggle between genders. I also feel it accurately represents the personal sexual development and freedoms of female individuals as well as sexual liberation of society as a whole, at the time.
And whilst the sequence of events leading to the story’s’ ending is extremely entertaining and I am more than happy to know that you no longer surround yourself with the likes of Tibby Szabo, I do however believe that your brief relationship with him was good thing. You owe to him the acknowledgment of your self-liberation and rediscovery of your independence. Without him and his piggish, misogynistic ways you would surely still be the meek, unsatisfied and tamed woman you were before engaging with him in your relationship. The future of which was clearly doomed from the start, and its nature tempestuous and fast paced.
Yours sincerely,
Jessica Aramini
Dear Jessica,
I found your letter to Patrick White very interesting and well written. I really like how you used the letter to be able to support Mrs Slattery’s decision to leave Mr. Szabo. I really appreciated reading your blog as it exposed a broader perceptive towards female rights in our society today. Your last paragraph caught my attention because I also believe it was very important for Mrs Slattery to go through emotional pain and suffering within her relationship. Through overcoming these struggles she was only then able to experience her own growth and self-worth. Your ideas were also written out very effectively as you were able to powerfully express your passion towards woman’s freedom, self-liberation and the rediscovery…