Evelyn Couch, a middle-aged woman, does what so many women do: she dedicates herself to caring for the home and others, never for herself. She shouldn’t complain: her husband’s salary allows them to live without worrying about subsistence, they are in good health and no one is harassing her. However, Evelyn is not well, although she lacks the words to name what is happening to her. On Sunday visits to her mother-in-law at a residence in Birmingham (Alabama), she meets Ninny Threadgoode, a talkative old woman who entertains her with her anecdotes from the past. Thus a peculiar friendship arises, which week after week is strengthened with new memories about the legendary Whistle Stop cafe.
Fannie Flagg (Birmingham, 1944), actress, comedian and long-time writer, achieved her greatest success with the novel Fried green tomatoes (1987), which spent weeks on the best-seller list of the New York Times. In 1991, the film of the same name was released, directed by Jon Avnet, which received two Oscar nominations and enjoyed great popularity among the public. However, prestige has never accompanied her: the light tone of the writing, along with the themes it deals with – women in middle age, depression, female homosexuality, racism, poverty – seem far from the “great American novel.” like from the literary Olympus. Or, at least, that was the perception at the end of the 20th century.
This year, the independent publisher Captain Swing, which if there is one thing that is characterized is by proposing critical readings and issues that fuel social debate, not at all suspicious of seeking public complacency, recovers it, in the translation by Víctor Pozanco, with the conviction that perhaps this is the right time to give it another chance, another interpretation. The prologue by film journalist Pepa Blanes goes in that direction: “Behind the endearing story of women who weave networks of friendship, there is also a disturbing debate that reminds us of some of the most empowered Almodóvar girls,” she analyzes.
The social space of middle-aged women
And yes, on the surface it is a simple story of friendship between women, women who are no longer young, who do not have a wasp waist and do not seem to fit into a society structured around the white man with money who only values them when they are young and beautiful (as a sexual object), when they are fertile (as mothers) and when they are in charge of the home and family (as caregivers). This last role, the one occupied by mature women, is the first taboo that breaks: the social space of middle-aged women (white, middle class), which in recent years has begun to be put on the table on purpose. of menopause, sexuality in adulthood or the representation of women over forty in cinema and literature.
In a context of fierce pressure on the body, with a beauty ideal of thinness and youth, Evelyn feels that she lacks value as a woman, she cannot find her place. And sugary and greasy food, which torments her because of the extra kilos, is her consolation; the fish that bites its tail, the trap of the system that makes harmful foods available while venerating a canon incompatible with them. Not having developed as a professional doesn’t help either; Like so many women of her generation, she locked herself at home, believing that she would feel fulfilled with marriage and motherhood. He has no money of his own, and that is a burden when it comes to letting go.
A model of freedom in a feminine key
The protagonist feels so down that she remains stuck, not knowing what she needs or how to achieve it. But the devil knows more about being old than being a devil, and Mrs. Threadgoode’s story about that café that operated during the interwar period ends up waking Evelyn from her lethargy. No wonder: its protagonists, Idgie Threadgoode and Ruth Jamison, were women who dared to live against the grain of what society expected of them; And, if that were not enough, they made their way of subsistence, a humble bar in a small town, a meeting point and solidarity with the marginalized.
Yes, there is sentimentality and melodrama, but it is not that big of a deal; and, in any case, it is not an impediment to expressing groundbreaking ideas (what’s more: due to its wide audience reach and the clarity of its message, it can exert even more influence than a work of greater literary magnitude). Between old acquaintances and passing strangers (the train plays an important role), the daily experiences of each other weave a story in which homosexuality, violence, racism, poverty, exploitation, uprooting, machismo. Above all, it is a story of love, of many types of love (for a partner, for children, for friends, for life), and of chosen families.
That’s the key: the freedom to choose who you want to be, with whom to establish ties and how you want, in short, to be in the world. The contrast between them is interesting: Idgie, like a more nonconformist version of Jo March, is brave and determined, and does not hesitate to perform functions that tradition attributes to men; Ruth is also bold, but in a different way, more calm and introverted; Her real rebellion begins after having verified that the conventional path was not for her and, even worse, it harmed her. This “second start” characteristic of Ruth also tests Idgie, who must deal with frustration and face more difficult situations with her.
Subversion in tiny gestures
Back to Evelyn, a priori Her situation has nothing to do with that of Idgie and Ruth, but their courage, along with some practical advice from Mrs. Threadgoode, encourages her to change once and for all. And you don’t need to shout, or found a party, or move to the other side of the planet; Her particular revolution, like that of those women, is forged from tiny gestures, day-to-day decisions that were always within her reach. It is what is now understood as “feminine” social struggle, that is, based on collaboration (horizontal) and care, not on authority (vertical) or violence.
Caring for others, yes, but also for yourself. That is where the most debatable point of the book lies: Evelyn’s outcome, a misinterpretation of the tale of the ugly duckling. The ugly duckling does not become beautiful, but rather finds its place; that should be the moral. The marginalized person does not change himself, he does not fight against his nature to be accepted by those who subject him. Search, find a different way of living. Evelyn, on the other hand, gives in to the social imperative. In theory, of her own free will, to feel better about herself; Now: to what extent is this a genuine desire of yours and to what extent does it respond to a need created by the system?
Not to mention the method, only available to a privileged minority; The class perspective is another criticism that is missed, especially in the time frame of the eighties. The ending even destroys the use of food as a sociocultural element a bit: in the past, as food for the stomach and the soul, since the café welcomes those who need it most, whether they can pay for it or not. . A few fried green tomatoes, the typical southern dish, are enough to comfort them (any traditional and humble equivalent would do). There is a subtle vindication of the south and its proximity; an otherwise battered south, with a history marked by squalor, segregation and misery.
In the present, food continues to play the role of communion, in the form of gifts to the old woman, of shared moments; but it is also an instant gratification with which a deeper discomfort is (badly) channeled. Be that as it may, in both plots it is the small movements that sow the seeds of personal transformation. Microhistory, only by changing one person, then another, and another, something bigger begins to move. And if something suggests Fried green tomatoes It is an emancipatory message of daring to be whoever you want to be, to bet on freedom and the joy of living. That, and an excellent example of how friendship and community can make us better.
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