The lives of two young women desperate to improve their lots are
contrasted in a short, sharp, shockingly frank assessment of sexual
politics and modern life: a story (first published in 1975 in
Germany) by prize-winning Austrian writer Jelinek (Lust, etc.).
Town girl Brigitte has her eye on the electrician Heinz, believing
him to be her ticket out of drudgery as a piece-rate seamstress in
an undergarment factory. Village girl Paula dreams initially of
dressmaking as her way out but changes her tune when she sets eyes
on dark, handsome woodcutter Erich. Both women set out to charm and
claim their men, Brigitte with a bright tint in her hair and a
steady diet of sex, Paula with rich food and drink and one quick
roll in the hay. Heinz, however, intent on his future as a
tradesman, proves reluctant to be more than Brigitte's stud, and
she also feels competition from Susi, his more educated, wealthier,
prettier acquaintance. Meanwhile, Erich, thought dull-witted by all
but Paula, proves man enough to impregnate her the first time, but
has more interest in motors and mopeds than marriage. The aging
parents of both men also resist, since they don't want to share
their future breadwinners with women they deem inferior.
Eventually, though, both matches are made, when Brigitte finally
gets pregnant, too, and Paula's asthmatic father suddenly dies.
Unfortunately, by now both women have come to hate their mates.
Still, Brigitte has the home and shop she always wanted, while
Paula, becoming a prostitute, begins to earn money that Erich can't
drink away, until she's discovered and loses everything - marriage,
family, and hope. The banal horrors of everyday life, and the
layers of love and dreams, are dissected with savage indifference:
a chilling but truthful vision of women's precarious position in a
society still dominated by money and men. (Kirkus Reviews)
The setting is an idyllic Alpine village where a woman's underwear
factory nestles in the woods. Two factory workers, Brigitte and
Paula, dream and talk about finding happiness, a comfortable home
and a good man. They realize that their quest will be as hard as
work at the factory. Brigitte subordinates her feelings and goes
for for Heinz, a young, plump, up-and-coming businessman. With
Paula, feelings and dreams become confused. She gets pregnant by
Erich, the forestry worker. He's handsome, so they marry. Brigitte
gets it right. Paula gets it wrong. Using the conventions and
language of romantic fiction, Elfriede Jelinek has written a moving
tragedy whose power lies in its refusal to take at face value its
characters' dreams and aspirations.
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