Sex, lies, and the absent patriarch -the Mennonite way

Sex- Check
Lies- Check
Absent patriarch- Check
Armin Wiebe is a true Mennonite writer. And not just because his last name meets the criteria.


Last spring I took a Manitoba Literature course at the University of Winnipeg studying the work of authors Armin Wiebe, Patrick Friesen, David Bergen, Di Brandt, and Miriam Toews (who quickly became my favourite author) so I was relatively familiar with the themes in Mennonite literature.

Moonlight Sonata of Beethoven Blatz (written by Armin Wiebe, directed by Kim McCaw) deals with the sexual frustrations of a young couple who want to conceive, a single female who is in love with her married friend, and a random drifter who transfers his "affections" for someone named Sophie onto the same married women.  The married couple at the centre of it all, Obrum and Susch, wish to conceive a baby and have been unable to, which may be due to Obrum's past brush with poison ivy on his parts needed to reproduce. So, one day, instead of bringing home a washing machine for Susch, Obrum brings home a broken piano and Beethoven Blatz to fix it when NEITHER OF THEM know how to play the piano. Beethoven then sets up shop and camp at the couple's home for many months to fix this piano.

What struck me as weird about this was how random the piano was in the story even though it was basically the reason for the story. From what I have read in Mennonite literature, the patriarch was very unlike Obrum. Obrum was far more flexible like Nomi's father in Toews' A Complicated Kindness, communicative, and modern than the stern male characters in other Mennonite lit, like Lucy's father in Toews' Summer of My Amazing Luck. In the Moonlight Sonata, Obrum appears to give his houseguest permission to have sex with his wife, which does not fit with the typical male Mennonite character portrayed in other novels.

The language in Moonlight Sonata of Beethoven Blatz came as no surprise either. Similar to that of Wiebe's Salvation of Yasch Siemens was the improper sentence structuring of English, like when Susch said "What want you with such a thing on a farm?" (referring to the broken piano). I also recognized the combination of Flat or Low German used exclusively in Wiebe's novels.

I have yet to read a Mennonite novel where sex doesn't play a large role. The Salvation of Yasch Siemens also relies on heavy sex content with a comedic angle, where a young man accidentally impregnates a Mennonite girl. All deal struggle with feelings of rebellion towards tradition and religion.

The lies and ambiguity that I find present in many Mennonite novels were too in The Moonlight Sonata, particularly in the end when we are unsure of who the father of Susch's baby is and Susch decides to say nothing of her affair with Blatz. Miriam Toews' A Complicated Kindness (ACK) contains many ambiguous parts that lets the reader's imagination take its own course, like whether Nomi's mother did kill herself or what happened to her father, Ray, in the end.

One thing that I obsessed over during my Manitoba Literature course that stuck out with me the most, was the patriarch's tendency to be absent throughout the major parts of the story, whether it be emotionally or physically. Like in Sandra Birdsell's Agassiz Stories, Maurice Lafreniere spends many days away on drunken binges and later died, without much of a role in his children's lives. In ACK, Ray Nickel was emotionally absent for much of the novel after his wife and eldest daughter disappeared. Obrum was away doing carpentry work during much of Susch's pregnancy, as one of the scenes was of Susch deciding whether or not to tell Obrum of the pregnancy but she doesn't need to since she was already showing.

The Moonlight Sonata of Beethoven Blatz is another hilarious example of Mennonite work riddled with sexual content. It was a great performance played by very talented actors. I don't think the talkback given from Armin Wiebe furthered my knowledge on the story, but provided context to certain aspects of the story, like that his inspiration for Obrum's previous brush with poison ivy came from a similar story he heard about his grandfather.

**All of the above information is based off of opinion and classroom assignments and discussions about novel themes. I don't believe this information to be true of all real-life Mennonite families.**

$#!% My Cat Does- Part 3

He's the King of the castle and we are all the little rascals.

Hanky, who I have always compared to characters like Stewey from Family Guy or The Brain from Pinky and the Brain, likes to leave his mark on every piece of furniture and room in the house. I don't mean the gross kind of mark, he's an impotent male (sorry ladies). I mean fur, claw marks, and his bum print.

Since the renovations at home have stopped and the vents have been put back on the wall, things had been pretty quiet in terms of his wacky wackiness and adventurous adventures. 

Until yesterday.

It was a busy morning since I was rushing around trying to get to my IPP panel on time and the rest of the family was heading off on their days and whatever that entails. 

Anyways, so after the "man of the house" (besides the real man of the house) was fed his Turkey and Cheese Friskies, he was ready to head out for his morning stroll. Since it became warmer out, he races us to the door everytime we get up from the couch or look in his direction. 

CONTEXT:

Another thing to know about Hanky is that he makes ME look like the most decisive being alive. So since the house has thawed, we have been able to let him in and out of the window if walking to the door seems like a struggle. But the window behind where I normally sit on the couch is missing its crank. So I've been forced to get up and walk to the door to let the little hyper guy out.

So when my mom gets home at the end of the day, she walks in to find the window behind where I normally sit wide open and the cats have been grazing in and out of it all day. Leaves were littered all over the floor and burs stuck to certain pieces of furniture and the living room area rug. 

So no one is home ALL day but a window that I had been toying with all week, trying to open so I don't have to get up off the couch is wide open. I've seen the little guy knock vents off the wall, open pantry doors, and climb mountains of stuff that would make my knees shake from my fear of heights. 

I know what you're thinking. This CAT opened the window. This is his next step before world domination. And what a world it will be. 

This video was probably inspired by my little kitty kins. He has friends in big places.