In Weep for Day, there are
a lot of interesting dichotomies, most notably the one of dark and light. The story also has an interesting approach
when it comes to the relative “civilization” of the world they live in; for
example, they have electricity and trains, but also still have plate
armor-wearing knight-errants. Because of the juxtaposition of the old and the
new, there is also an interesting expression of gender roles explored in the
story.
You see throughout the first
few pages that Velag clearly idolizes their father for his bravery and strength
(traditionally masculine traits) in capturing and killing a Nightmare. When Val
suggests that their father was scared of seeing a Nightmare again, Velag reacts
violently, and Val specifically remarks that she acted of her sex saying, “I
was too shocked to scream. My ingrained submission to his power as an elder
male authority figure took over. I gave no resistance.”
And yet, as the two
characters grow, it seems more and more that Velag’s quest to kill Nightmares
is a response to fear and not bravery, and that Val is perhaps the better of
the two because of her compassion for the Nightmares. The story seems to
present traditional ideas of masculinity and femininity, only to flip them on
their head; Val’s kindness and empathy (more commonly female behaviors) lead
her to live longer and a more happy life, whereas Velag was killed in battle because
of his need to prove himself a man.
I completely agree with you and this theme was evident for me throughout the story. Not only were Velag and Val sorted into gender roles only to turn them upside down, by their parents as well. For example, when they all went as a family to see the nightmare, Val describes her father as "standing rigid and pale" while her mother "reached down in concern to wipe the vomit from my mouth and chin with bare fingers." Both of these seem to act opposite of how they would be expected to act, and therefore further support your theory regarding gender roles in this story.
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