Crawford Killian has an interesting post about “Sexual symbolism in fiction“. Mr. Killian taught writing (if memory serves, though it might have been English Composition) at Capilano College for forty years and has written several novels. What brought the subject up was he had commented on the passing of Michael Crichton and how Crichton had been blatant in his use of sexual symbols. A commenter said, basically, “hogwash.” The post was his response.
I recommend the complete post. I liked his summary:
[Y]ou’re always going to write about sex, whether you intend to or not. Sex is a symbol for the basic human society, what Vonnegut called the “Republic of Two.” And the symbols you use—Room 101, a wizard’s walking-stick, a rose, a 9mm Glock—will tell your readers a lot about your story…and maybe about you as well.
It’s all enough to make Jane Austen blush, or perhaps she knew.
In other news, Andy Borowitz asks How Big Is Obama’s Package?