Everyone is overwhelming Amily. Dutch society in the mid-16th century told her that she had to be the perfect wife, cooking, cleaning and supporting her husband, and sleeping with him anytime, anywhere. Husband Hans told her that she should focus on housework rather than his business. God told her that even if he saw the right idea, there was only one right way to be a good woman. As creator Yudori said at the beginning and closing ceremony of the book, Amélie could feel her sky, “She looked at the land. It was the man grabbed. She looked at the sea. It was taken away by someone.
This is a powerful statement. From Amélie’s point of view, she has no place on land or on ocean, which are the two most important spaces in Dutch life, and the sky is considered the realm of God. At least, man Think of it as the realm of God – for Amélie, this is just the only place where she has hope to escape the rule of men. This also shows that she is more involved in science than religion. Because of some religious groups at the time, her desire to use the sky as scientific inquiry (and freedom) could be seen as a slightly slight direct to the church. She literally invades the realm of God, her interests are seen as a complete person, and her society tells her she is not.
Angry cloud Understanding its heroine is trapped, which makes it fascinating, watching painfully at what the heroine has to face because of the time and place she was born. Yudori tells the story in few words, primarily allowing her art to show us the misfortune of Amélie and the freedom when Hans left, far exceeding the expected time of the merchant’s voyage. Amily didn’t lift her hair when Hans left. What she eats and when she wants it. More importantly, she studied birds, eager to understand what makes them fly. Although not explicitly stated, it is clear that Amélie hopes to escape her life like a bird, although she intends to be literally symbolically unable to see it completely. Maybe it’s okay – she wants to use her time to make herself feel herself when Hans leaves herself and her pursuits.
Of course, Hans did eventually return, and he brought him a foreign woman he bought at the slave market because he felt sorry for her – at least, that’s what he told his wife. The fact, when it comes out, turns out to be very different. (It’s a good point, mentioning that there’s some random racist and anti-Semitism “fits” the environment.) Amélie feels hurt, especially since she still has to have sex with Hans, something that art shows she doesn’t like. But, most of the time, Hans’ return, with or without other women, was driving home to Amily, how confused she was. Even the woman who was bought and sold has experienced more freedom than ever before.
It is in the relationship between Amélie and the slave, a real name we never learned before (Hans called her the “Sahara”) that the story does blossom. Sahara was a Korean priestess who was raped and kidnapped by Japanese raiders and eventually sold to slavery in Lisbon. Her perspective on men was very clear, what she expected of them and what she expected of Amily, which at first seemed like surrender. But that is not the case, as later chapters sly explain, Sahara is using her position to create life for herself – and rescue Amélie from the retreating person who prevented her. While it is possible to read about the romantic attraction between two women, what is more important here is the way they understand and support each other. Life in the Sahara taught her how to subvert men’s behavior and expectations. This is a lesson Amélie has never learned. Her life is not a good thing, but the Sahara is smarter and more powerful than before. Amélie looked at the sky, but Sahara sought the same freedom from herself.
Yudori’s feminist historical novel leaves us with a lot of stuff, and frankly, it’s an appealing story. We can see Amélie begin to realize that maybe she is a lesbian and slowly understand what motivates Eva, who is the servant whom Amélie accompanied after marriage, and not even seeing not everyone devalues Amélie’s scientific mind – Miller is happy to explain how his scenery works. Art does not shy away from showing its body. Amélie doesn’t shave and paints it with hair and armpit hair, her breasts hanging without artificial fullness. Art is demanding when needed, but still has an attractive line cleanliness that enhances the story.
In Amélie, Eva, Yolente (another servant) and Sahara Angry cloud Explore what it means to be powerless and to be a woman. As the book progresses, Hans’ true nature becomes clearer and clearer, and eventually, it becomes a story about how women find their way from a world that seems desperate to tie themselves up.
