The Gorean Voice - December 2003 - Vol VI Issue 6

Free Woman

Read a Book

By Kittiara

Tal and greetings all,

As the cold winter months descend upon Earth it is getting to that time a year where it is nice to just lock yourself in the house and curl up with a book. So why not a Gorean one? There are, after all, quite a few in the series and they are enjoyable to read, at least, that is what I feel. Granted John Norman isn’t everyone’s taste of top reading, because of his style and he can get rather repetitive. Yet there is a lot to be learnt from his books.

This may sound like preaching to the choir but on my travels I have met many who have told me they never read the books, or only one, or two. Admittedly the books are not easy to get your hands on, I will also admit that I, writing this article, have not yet read all the books, though I have read many of them.

Many learn Gor from the chat rooms and by reading quotes. And so we come to the reason for this article…the quotes can be deceptive. Yes they are part of the books…yes they are written by John Norman. Thus they are a reflection of Gor. But what do they reflect?

Reading Nomads of Gor a few days ago, a very nice novel, I found many online quotes in there. I had not read Nomads before, as I was only just recently able to buy it. And found out that many quotes I recognised, did not quite reflect the scenes in which they were set. Or were cut off so that it seemed to tell us something else than, in my opinion, the books do. Thus it would teach those just learning Gor through quotes, something subtly but perhaps significantly different than was intended.

A brief example…I found this quote on a site.

“The institution of freedom for women, I decided, as many Goreans believed, was a mistake.”
~Nomads of Gor, page 286~

This could be read as meaning that women should not be free. Yet the setting is a funny one, an amusing scene in the book, and Tarl Cabot actually freed the woman himself, did not wish see her as a slave. In fact a few slaves were freed, in Nomads, one even to become the Ubara Sana of the Tuchuks.

Other things that I, as a Free Woman, would find significant, I have not yet found online.

Page 290 and 291 of Nomads speak of a woman’s wish to surrender to love in the arms of a man, but in a different way than often portrayed online.

“Women,” said Miss Cardwell “do not wish to submit to men, to be dominated, to be brutalised”

“We are speaking of different things,” I said.

“You think” I said “that I am saying that a woman is nothing – that is not it – I am saying she is marvellous, but that she becomes truly herself and magnificent only after the surrenders of love”

“And what will happen to these women afterwards?” asked Elizabeth.

“They may wear chains or they may not”, I said, “but they are whole – they are female.”

Of course for the whole scene, I recommend the book, as now I may reflect something different than what you would read into it.

And that is an important point, we each read something different in the books, because we each look for something different in the books. And who is to say who is correct…perhaps only the author.

I chose Nomads of Gor for this article as I just read it, as said, and enjoyed it, but there are many more examples out there.

So happy reading.
And happy holidays.

I wish you well,

Kittiara

PS I welcome any comments on my writings, or any ideas or suggestions for future articles.

Simply email me at roxannah_acomeh@hotmail.com.