Blanche d'Alpuget

For the uninitiated there is more Ms. d'Alpuget than that biography and that relationship. She is an accomplished and award winning author, who writes not only biographies but novels.  She is billed as the keynote to open the festival on the Friday night, to talk women and power.  I assume that the talk will be about her novels, and the role of women in writing and in public life.  The talk certainly does go there, but unfortunately it wasn't where the conversation stayed.

As d'Alpuget walked onto the stage with Hilary Harper, she was well dressed, neat and poised.  I won't discuss her looks further and Blanche herself sums up why.  She says that it is a "pain in the arse" that appearance is commented on in the Australian media.  "It has no impact of my writing."  She has a relevant  point - the media is at times ravenous in its need to document and comment on the appearance of any woman of note,  and not only Blanche - think also our first female prime minister whose appearance was commented on ad nauseam.  It is a distraction from real issues, and the real work of women. Men certainly are not subject to this kind of scrutiny, and it is really time to make a stand and move on from this type of commentary.

The talk opens discussing her historical novels, and I am very taken in by her passion and knowledge of history, and writing it into her novels.  As Blanche documents her research and many interesting facts gleaned for her stories I am finding myself feel enthused and wanting to read these novels.  After all, history of the time that The Young Lion and The Lion Rampant is set is interesting.  It would seem that the public would agree, with historical fiction having somewhat of a renaissance itself. The popularity of books such as A Song of Ice and Fire (popularly known as Game of Thrones) demonstrates this. When asked why the interest may be Blanche replies "we are currently approaching a time of incoherent violence", just as in the 12th century, and as demonstrated by George R.R. Martin and many other authors.  The violence we witness in our current news feeds can be distressing, but to read it in a historical context makes it palatable and intriguing.

What d'Alpuget manages to insert into her writing is the power that women held, stating how women could in fact choose not to live under the 'thumb of man', but mostly 'wielded' their power through family - namely through the control or influence of their children.  Some would argue that this is true of today, however I think that the power that women of today can wield can be any of their choosing. The restrictiveness of the last couple of centuries of patriarchy is slowly being stripped away, giving the space for women to once again have power.  

d'Alpuget's says that her latests writings include the powerful Eleanor of Aquitaine, whom she describes as a blend of three modern powerful women, who show their own power in different ways.  

"If you can imagine Gina Rinehart looking like Marilyn Monroe and with Margaret Thatcher’s brain, you’ve got Eleanor.’’  It's an interesting thought that as women we can demonstrate our power through beauty, brains and sheer determinism, perhaps even at the same time.  Does this make us dangerous?  Perhaps, but it is probably time for us to see more of feminine power in all its forms.

d'Alpuget had a tumultuous life of hardship and tragedy, at times abusive, and it is difficult to not have sympathy for the difficulties she has faced, despite the way Australian media often portrays her.  Indeed issues that she has faced have been the end of many people.  It is a testament to her own strength that she has not only survived, but in turn revealed her own power, shown in the written word.  It seems then unfair that she is so often only discussed as an aside to our former Prime Minister, Bob Hawke.  It does a terrible injustice to any person to qualify them through their association with other people, rather than as a person in their own right.  It is due to this that I am disappointed when Ms Harper steers the conversation to discussion of power wielded by men and the political climate, and her association not only with Mr Hawke but Bill Clinton, and the power that other men have had over her in her life.  One cannot deny the rich tapestry of experiences that shapes our lives, but surely we get to a point where what we ourselves do, or have done, counts for more than the people we know, or have met.

In all I found d'Alpuget to be an articulate and surprisingly entertaining speaker.  It was easy to be caught up in her enthusiasm for writing and I look forward to reading her work.  I will leave d'Alpuget with the last word on writing and power, for what she says I hope to be true for the times to come...

"Writers have the power for doing good".