Chapter 24 – Concubine

I have not much to say on this chapter. It flows beautifully and is business-like, with a lot expressed and (as ever) little repressed, I feel.

A great opening:

The white satin sheets slipped softly as I shifted slightly.  They smelt of my mistress' light floral perfume, and of the love we had made.  An owl hooted from beyond the dark blue curtains, threaded with silver.  My mouth was filled with the waxy taste of scarlet lipstick spent in our passion.

An interesting description of 'pillow books' is also included and, separately, of opening doors:

... opening the door to those who knocked was not a difficult task, but there was an art in being sufficiently and demonstrably proud.  Lady Isobel's prestige demanded that visitors, excepting those of the highest rank, were made to feel inferior to the slave who admitted them.  My derision was particularly marked when the caller was a student – and doubly so if the wretch was to be punished – but it was important to keep a straight face, laughter spoilt the effect.

Tuerqui is puckishly sexist:

It is my impression that the truculence of the male sex has to do with their dangling parts – slave boys are much sweeter once they have been trimmed.

And a delightful descriptions of Tuerqui's two birthday presents from the sexually active Lady Isobel is another highlight.

I like this touch of (Ligottian?) dolls, too, which was not one of those birthday presents:

Lady Isobel gave Tuerquelle a box of honeycake candies, which she offered to her fellow slaves, although none were accepted.  Our mistress was also kind enough to allow me time and materials to make a gift – a pair of rag dolls stuffed with turquoise gauze, I wondered whether it was the remains of my first concubine's costume.  One doll in a dress, and complete with whip, was the mistress – the other, harnessed in leather, her slave.  The dolls accompanied Tuerquelle to bed, where they soon acquired the worn appearance of well loved things.

No typos or queries although I got hung up for a while on considerations of 'neither/nor' and 'regnal' before satisfying myself.

Loved this passage:

Although half – or more – of the untrained slaves must have been dangerous, one in particular was the subject of frightened comment from Passibelle and others.  He was a male of the most intractable kind – a barbarian bulging with overdeveloped muscles.  Once trained – and preferably trimmed – he would undoubtedly fetch a good price for heavy work.  In the meantime, his breaking was to form a study in technique for Elisabeth Endor, a postgraduate student.

"Oh Tuerqui!"  Passibelle murmured: "He's horrible!  He's in a secure shed, right over the other side of the campus – but what if he escapes?  It doesn't bear thinking of – he must be terribly strong."

Shuddering at the thought of the brute, I had no reply.  We rarely referred to him above a whisper – as though afraid that he might overhear.  It scarcely seemed an over-reaction.  A barbarian had fathered my beloved Tuerquelle – in spite or, perhaps, because of that I feared the breed as much as did any household slave.

By night, I clung in increasing desperation to whomever shared a bed with me, drawing comfort from her soft feminine body.  My cheek sought the smoothness of her chin, my fingers the curve of her hip, the roundness of her belly.  The other concubines exhibited similar symptoms of anxiety.  Only Lady Isobel seemed immune.

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Word docs of the actual chapters are freely available to readers of this blog.

The links to all Chapter comments by me are here: http://weirdmonger.blogspot.com/2008/06/odalisque.html

Posted by: newdfl on 8/31/2008 12:03:55 PM , 5 comments

Submitted by Pet at 9/1/2008 12:25:42 PM

Neither typos nor queries -- crumbs! Perhaps I was more awake than usual when writing and polishing this chapter.

I did check the almost queries, though -- and the pairings of "neither" and "nor" seem to me unobjectionable, as does the usage of "regnal". "Regnal" means "of a reign" and "regnal year" means "year of a reign". The year Berenice Blackheart became Empress would be her first regnal year. Of course, this anticipates background events later in the book.

Submitted by Pet at 9/1/2008 12:33:37 PM

Little repressed? Well -- there are no specific details of sexual acts. But does that omission count as repression? Maybe not. Omitting such details allows the reader to supply them to the reader's own taste. Being specific would be less sexy. So -- maybe little really is repressed.

Submitted by Pet at 9/1/2008 12:40:38 PM

I think that the truculence of the male sex really does have to do with their dangling parts.

The final quotation is in contrast to the muscle-bound barbarian = girl magnet, as found in the Conan saga and plenty of other fantasy stories.

Thank you for the comments!

Submitted by des at 9/1/2008 1:23:08 PM

Re  the sexism/ male truculence etc, I was referring to Tuerqui's attitude, not any inference from the novel as to your own attitude.

Submitted by Pet at 9/1/2008 2:04:20 PM

Tuerqui certainly seems a firm believer in the idea that male slaves should be trimmed.