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Whatever (novel): Difference between revisions
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''Whatever'' (French: ''Extension du domain de la lutte'' literally "Extension of the domain of struggle") is the 1994 debut novel by French writer [[Michel Houellebecq|Michel Houellebecq]]. The French title refers to the main character's idea that the class struggle has extended to the realm of relations between the sexes, resulting in similarly unequal social hierarchies, stratifying the sexual marketplace into sexual 'haves' and sexual 'have nots'. The main character of the novel, Harel, lives through inceldom. It is perhaps the most frank depiction of [[inceldom]] ever in literature, containing arguments about [[inceldom]] that the media later attributed to incel forums around 2018. | ''Whatever'' (French: ''Extension du domain de la lutte'' literally "Extension of the domain of struggle") is the 1994 debut novel by French writer [[Michel Houellebecq|Michel Houellebecq]]. The French title refers to the main character's idea that the class struggle has extended to the realm of relations between the sexes, resulting in similarly unequal social hierarchies, stratifying the sexual marketplace into sexual 'haves' and sexual 'have nots'. The main character of the novel, Harel, lives through inceldom. It is perhaps the most frank depiction of [[inceldom]] ever in literature, containing arguments about [[inceldom]] that the media later attributed to incel forums around 2018. | ||
Like most of Houellebecq's novels, it is written in a darkly humorous style, is highly offensive and vulgar at times, and contains sharp criticisms/observations of the widespread social atomization, materialism and consumerism he implies is a result of modern Capitalism and Liberalism. Its acknowledgement of a social hierarchy as being instinctive to human sexuality makes it arguably the most [[sexual realism|sexual realist]] novels in history.<ref>https://www.irishtimes.com/culture/books/whatever-1994-by-michel-houellebecq-a-superb-declaration-of-hostilities-1.3919923</ref> | Like most of Houellebecq's novels, it is written in a darkly humorous style, is highly offensive and vulgar at times, and contains sharp criticisms/observations of the widespread social atomization, materialism and consumerism he implies is a result of modern Capitalism and Liberalism. Its acknowledgement of a social hierarchy as being instinctive to human sexuality makes it arguably the most [[sexual realism|sexual realist]] novels in history.<ref>https://www.irishtimes.com/culture/books/whatever-1994-by-michel-houellebecq-a-superb-declaration-of-hostilities-1.3919923</ref> | ||
==Other critics of sexual liberalism== | ==Other critics of sexual liberalism== | ||
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*[...] '''Help yourselves.' No other word was uttered; each person chewed his food. Sometimes one of the inmates was overcome by a fit of trembling, or began to sob; he went back to his room, and that was that. The idea gradually dawned on me that all these people - men or women - were not in the least deranged; they were simply lacking in love. Their gestures, their attitudes, their dumb show betrayed an excruciating craving for physical contact and caresses; but that wasn't possible, of course. So they sobbed, emitted cries, lacerated themselves with their nails; during my stay we had a successful attempt at castration.'' <ref>Michel Houellebecq, ''Whatever'', 1994, translation by Paul Hammond, 1998, Part Three, Chapter 5: ''Venus and Mars''.</ref></blockquote> | *[...] '''Help yourselves.' No other word was uttered; each person chewed his food. Sometimes one of the inmates was overcome by a fit of trembling, or began to sob; he went back to his room, and that was that. The idea gradually dawned on me that all these people - men or women - were not in the least deranged; they were simply lacking in love. Their gestures, their attitudes, their dumb show betrayed an excruciating craving for physical contact and caresses; but that wasn't possible, of course. So they sobbed, emitted cries, lacerated themselves with their nails; during my stay we had a successful attempt at castration.'' <ref>Michel Houellebecq, ''Whatever'', 1994, translation by Paul Hammond, 1998, Part Three, Chapter 5: ''Venus and Mars''.</ref></blockquote> | ||
==Criticism== | |||
Due to the frankness of Houllebecq, [[incelphobe]]s assert that reading to much into Houllebecq is a fools game, and assert (without any evidence and without challenging the ideas) that because the arguments are contained in fiction, that they cannot be taken seriously. | |||
== References == | == References == | ||