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This interview was given 4 years before he died. That's what I quoted: a statement he made in this interview. Apparently he didn't take his own themes to heart

This interview was given 4 years before he died. That's what I quoted: a statement he made in this interview. Apparently he didn't take his own themes to heart, then

GeekyBear 5y ago
What part of that statement do you imagine that people should find offensive? That some people do want to be parents? Someone else mentioned The Unpleasant Profession of Jonathan Hoag, a detective story Heinlein wrote in 1942. The detective's wife is called out in the story as being the brains of the outfit, a very progressive notion in 1942. Exceptionally competent women have been a staple in Heinlein stories forever.
- dragonwriter 5y ago
  > That some people do want to be parents? I think what people would most likely object to is the implication that every woman should want that.
  - loki49152 5y ago
    That's not in his work, though. That's in the insecurities of people who set out to be offended. The closest he gets is the characterization that's it's natural to women to have babies because their bodies are capable of it, and most women do or at least want to. That shouldn't even be controversial because it's borne out by all of human history.
    - dragonwriter 5y ago
      > That's not in his work No, its pretty directly in his interview response, not his work: “I don't think there's much future in a gal who's thoroughly opposed to having babies.”
bigiain 5y ago
I remember reading an article claiming that The Number Of The Beast was the start of his "later, post-talented phase". This part of the article _striongly_ reminded me of that: In 1978, he suffered a near stroke from a blocked carotid artery that temporarily paralyzed one side of his body and left him to choose between the Damocles sword of massive seizure or the scalpel of a risky operation. He took the surgery, beat the odds, and immediately wrote "The Number of the Beast" (1980) -- four lubricious characters on a romp through various universes -- "to see if my brain would work." (Many critics said No.) As a kid, I loved Have Spacesuit Will Travel. But even as a 14-15 year old I understood Number Of The Beast was not the same...
- godshatter 5y ago
  Everybody seems to hate it, but I loved The Number of the Beast. I read it when it came out and still read it every few years. It was definitely different than what came before it, though.
- GeekyBear 5y ago
  Have Spacesuit Will Travel is another story that makes the case for Heinlein's female characters being exceptionally smart and capable.
  - bawolff 5y ago
    Is anyone doubting that Heinlein writes highly competent female characters? Like he's pretty famous for that part. That's not the part people tend to object to.
- TMWNN 5y ago
  >As a kid, I loved Have Spacesuit Will Travel. But even as a 14-15 year old I understood Number Of The Beast was not the same... One is a Scribner's juvenile, and the other is a novel written for adults. Anyway, Friday is a post-carotid artery novel and is fantastic. Job, the novel the article discusses, is also great. They're just different from his earlier works.

This interview was given 4 years before he died. That's what I quoted: a statement he made in this interview. Apparently he didn't take his own themes to heart, then

GeekyBear 5y ago

What part of that statement do you imagine that people should find offensive? That some people do want to be parents? Someone else mentioned The Unpleasant Profession of Jonathan Hoag, a detective story Heinlein wrote in 1942. The detective's wife is called out in the story as being the brains of the outfit, a very progressive notion in 1942. Exceptionally competent women have been a staple in Heinlein stories forever.

dragonwriter 5y ago
> That some people do want to be parents? I think what people would most likely object to is the implication that every woman should want that.
- loki49152 5y ago
  That's not in his work, though. That's in the insecurities of people who set out to be offended. The closest he gets is the characterization that's it's natural to women to have babies because their bodies are capable of it, and most women do or at least want to. That shouldn't even be controversial because it's borne out by all of human history.
  - dragonwriter 5y ago
    > That's not in his work No, its pretty directly in his interview response, not his work: “I don't think there's much future in a gal who's thoroughly opposed to having babies.”

bigiain 5y ago

I remember reading an article claiming that The Number Of The Beast was the start of his "later, post-talented phase". This part of the article _striongly_ reminded me of that: In 1978, he suffered a near stroke from a blocked carotid artery that temporarily paralyzed one side of his body and left him to choose between the Damocles sword of massive seizure or the scalpel of a risky operation. He took the surgery, beat the odds, and immediately wrote "The Number of the Beast" (1980) -- four lubricious characters on a romp through various universes -- "to see if my brain would work." (Many critics said No.) As a kid, I loved Have Spacesuit Will Travel. But even as a 14-15 year old I understood Number Of The Beast was not the same...

godshatter 5y ago
Everybody seems to hate it, but I loved The Number of the Beast. I read it when it came out and still read it every few years. It was definitely different than what came before it, though.
GeekyBear 5y ago
Have Spacesuit Will Travel is another story that makes the case for Heinlein's female characters being exceptionally smart and capable.
- bawolff 5y ago
  Is anyone doubting that Heinlein writes highly competent female characters? Like he's pretty famous for that part. That's not the part people tend to object to.
TMWNN 5y ago
>As a kid, I loved Have Spacesuit Will Travel. But even as a 14-15 year old I understood Number Of The Beast was not the same... One is a Scribner's juvenile, and the other is a novel written for adults. Anyway, Friday is a post-carotid artery novel and is fantastic. Job, the novel the article discusses, is also great. They're just different from his earlier works.