Tuesday 13 October 2009

Help me along, anyone?

As some of you might know, I am/ have been working on a book about a succubus.
The name that we give to that dastardly female, that makes us do anything for her, re-named for the female sexual spirit that appears to men in the middle of the night and makes them have sex with her, and she in turn drains their life forces; in many cases their health, longevity, and bodily fluids which many equate to the same thing.
This concept of course covers many themes; erotic dreams and the many ramifications of sexual desire, male and female, normal and the unusual, the mundane and the deviant.
What is the most intriguing thing for me, apart from the fact that this female spirit appears very ubiquitously in almost all cultures, almost unchanged, is that the general emotional response to such an idea is fear and rejection of the concept.
Many of the literature of the time, while influenced by women, is still largely documented by men. If we accept this to be so, then can one say that men are afraid of sex, a sexual woman, erotic dreams? Or does it mean that in real life, it is much preferred that a woman take a passive role in sexual relationships, or in all relationships? So that the worst manifestation of a woman, the thing that we are most prone to fear and rejection, is as a demon that prowls on men at night?
AND, if there is a universal fear about what a female SHOULD not be, what a female monster or malevolent spirit looks like, flipping that theory on its head, is there a universal theory on what she SHOULD be?
Is there a woman that every man fall in love with? Is there such a woman that can MAKE every man fall in love with her?
This is my theory, also my question, and I have been battling it out on the pages of my book; literary, fiction, for a long time. (2 years and some odd months).
As with everything, sometimes I get stuck on the direction in which to proceed forward.
The characters look like they are forcing themselves to be (any other writer out there feel me on this one, holler)
But ill pass on to you one of the nuggets of wisdom that I have gleaned from writing forums, something that is so simple, its nearly redundant to repeat.
And that is that when you are stuck for inspiration, take a break, and look at life for the inspiration that evades you in the fiction.
Simple huh?
In the spirit of that, I have been spending some time looking at some of the great examples of Succubi in local legend, urban legends, contemporary news, even in literature that was written before me. Jezebel and Jagua Nana, anyone?
Some of them overt, the others covert. The unifying character seems to be that woman who is so sure of her own power and appeal that is draws you in like a spell.
This is irregardless of her looks, or perhaps even her brains. (even though you have to admit that being a seductress requires some appreciable grey-matter cunning).
Arrogance aside, you do have to admire that grit. To get men’s balls, (sorry, there was no other way to put this), you need some yourself.
I think to myself, if I had that power over men, what would I do with it?
(Cleopatra changed a country from inside a carpet, my kinda gal)
So I will in the spirit of my work post a picture of my succubus of the week on this blog.
You are welcome to say yay or nay, just remember that for every succubus you knock off, you have to give me one back.
That’s fair isn’t it?
This week, I present to you, Madame Chantal Biya.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/picturegalleries/worldnews/5195855/Chantal-Biya-the-first-lady-of-Cameroon.html?image=1

15 comments:

wordsmith said...

hello,been a silent reader of your blog,but today you brought me out
first chantal biya is hot...and i thot i was the only person dat noticed....been admiring her for a long time..
two:about your book,i am working on a novel myself..the first thing i did was to have a map.this are different postcards of my character, scenes,etc.i know my major characters, the minor,and i try as much as possible to supress the voices of the minor,believe me they shout the loudest,they want to take control of your story. but you have to control your story,you are the writer, so when it wants to steer out of control,gladly whip it to shape.so the point is try and stick to the beginning plan.don't try and force it.dn't beat yourself if it is not going well at first,trudge on,the first draft is never the final draft.you can always edit.and editors/publisher would also do their bit.anyother probelms feel free to halla,coz i kinda of a bag load of answers.

wordsmith said...

plus i love jagua nana and the sequel jagua nana daughter by cyprain ekwensi...
wat made them hot, and their character's apealing. is they had confidence,tons of it, no moral scruples. they only listen to theirselves.

laspapi said...

This piece is a novel on its own. Looking forward to the book.

And true, no man wants a demon-spirit, no matter how attractive, playing under his 'hood when he's asleep and at his most vulnerable.

Wole's Girl said...

thanks for dropping by, Wole and wordsmith.
Wordsmith, thanks man, (?) will keep in touch.
Thanks for your comments Wole, but like i said, the question is why?
why is his state of sleep thought to be the state that he is "most vulnerable"
Why would he "fear" the demon-spirit that just wants to play, so much....
questions, questions.
Thanks for visiting, stop by again soon

Jeremy said...

I vote for Boudica, the warrior-woman who beat the romans in a few battles before being overwhelmed..

She probably took men by force, then bit off their member when she was done...

Wole's Girl said...

thanks Jeremy!
Oddly enough, when i researched her, there wasnt enough mentioned about how she got her freak on.....
I must be reading the wrong books!
Again, thanks Jeremy!
lol

O said...

Hi.. very interesting subject - wish you all the best with the book.
Thots for you - hope they help... sleep state vulnerability methinks equates to physical helplessness, pretty much dead really, combined with being in a spiritual realm, where we generally acknowledge the female to possess the greater potency.. double jeopardy. so why he would then fear being in a state of total weakness and unwilling submission esp when she just wants to 'play'.. well as Jeremy hints.. ultimately her play might not be too nice.. basically, the question is how well do women handle power over men.. as women? (Cleo did change the country tho for the worse.. end of egyptian civillization, colonialization) or as men? - (Elizabeth 1, Xena warrior princess).
Think you might be zeroing in on the concept of power.. who wields it, and how? Questions questions..
Universal theory on ideal woman? virgin/mother? My vote for a modern day succubus. MAD-DONNA - talk about draining..

Emi said...

What about our very own Moremi, Queen Amina, Emotan, Efunseke Aniwura, Madam Tinubu? I"m sure there's more.

DaughteroftheLord said...

Hello,
Demon spirit do not come to play. They come to destroy lives. The devil is known for being the father of lies and his best strategy is the use of denial in someone's life. The more you deny something the less you are likely to do something about it. Succubus is not good, it should not be protrayed as good and in fact it's evil. They don't just come when you are asleep by the way sometimes they come when you are awake and you are lusting or not after someone and relieve themselves and deposit their demonic contamination of your body, soul and spirit. I am pretty sure you were not expecting a comment such as this but I could not hold back. Thank You for talking about this thing that is so real but that no one who cares about the salvation of his soul wants to really deal with.
God bless you!

Anonymous said...

Angelina Jolie is one. she trapped Brad with her uterus

Wole's Girl said...

thanks everyone for contributions
the discourse is still on.
I agree with the person that nominated Angelina Jolie....well, I agree that Hollywood is certainly desperate to portray to all of us as a truly irresistible femmme fatale.
and yes...lol...Brad seems determined to remain as close as he can to that uterus indeed!.....lol
Queen Emotan, Amina, Moremi...hmmm...I think you might have something going on in there...time to brush up on my historical reading....
thanks all, for stopping by, please call again!

upfromsumdirt said...

i think 'carmen' (especially as played by dorothy dandridge) was a succubus supreme (beyond that one severe case of strangulation)...

by nature, i think men who are attracted to 'demon-women' loose interest in them the more acclimated they become with one another... true love HAS TO have some healthy (or even unhealthy!) levels of fear in order for it to be truly experienced and expressed, right?

i think there is a difference between a woman who is just wrong and a woman whose right type of wrong makes you a better man, if that makes sense.

as the-best-song-ever-written™ goes: "if lovin' you is wrong/i dont wanna do right!"

i'm jussayin.

Wole's Girl said...

thanks Ron!
For stopping by, and for the other you-know-what!
i have a (more) coherent reply/comment to yours, but i have to catch my commute home right this second.
But i will be back here asap!
peace out!
anyone have any comments on the thing-that-i-think-lies-beneath Mariam Makeba's eyes? hmmm? anyone?

CRP said...

'Moremi, Queen Amina, Emotan, Efunseke Aniwura, Madam Tinubu?' You can re-write their life and re-imagine them as such. That's what we need in African literature. Let's not be faithful to the 'original' whatever that might be. Let's us always engage in the act of re-imagining and re-telling. If what we are looking for is not there, let's tell it the way we want to see it. That's the power of fiction. That's the only way we can bring these courageous women alive and imbue them with new meaning and relevance for our contemproary period. I beg, use these women for your purpsoe. I look forward to you sending us your finished MS

O said...

hi.. just read the following article and thot of succubi.. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-1229656/The-75m-banker-stunning-wife-tryst-England-footballer-The-truth-Diana-Jenkins.html