Argh! can't leave us there, Bailey! I wanna scream at Ennis "go after him" the minute Jack slammed the door...
Tackled a real good Brokeback issue in this chapter. I never understand why some people consider Jack unfaithful for sleeping with other men, while they cut some much slack to Ennis for sleeping with Cassie/other women. Ennis doesn't sleep with other men have more to do with his own homophobia than Jack's sexual appetite.
“More like I took the boat and left ya t’ sink. Reckon ya are a good swimmer though.”
If Ennis can acknowledge this, he surely can find a way to get past the other men in Jack's life.
What are we gonna do without the shirts giving Ennis the ultimate wake-up call?
Thank you, Eve. Though I knew what I wanted to say, this was the most difficult chapter to write so far. I thanked Maggie in the header because she unraveled a knot for me. I didn't want to rely too much on scenes from the film (though IBSY is movie canon as far as it goes), but Mags mentioned the "trailhead argument" scene, and I realized it would be better for me to bend a little, open up my options, and voila! I was able to get the guys to the point where the story needed them to be. Whew!
This is the very first story I've read where Ennis adequately explains his views and behavior -- the way I see it -- regarding being with other men. It is why OS Ennis behaves the way he does in the movie, and provides a reason for his anger/jealousy at Jack for being with other men.
Ennis knew he was gay, but once he'd fallen in love with Jack, he reserved that "gay" part of himself only for Jack and viewed women as inferior physical substitutes. Jack filled up his time with male substitutes, though they were still substitutes. It is this critical difference in their thinking that caused many of the problems.
“I never done it with another man. I know I’m Gay, even if I still ain’t completely happy ‘bout it. But I never slept with no man but you. When I couldn’t have you, I made do with Alma, and the nurse at Jenny’s school, Cassie somethin’. How come,” Ennis paused. “How come it was so easy for you t’ fall in t’ bed with other guys
( ... )
Coming from you, Vic, this is high praise indeed. It's no secret that I think you have one of the clearest views of Annie's boys of any BBM writer working now. I reckon that really means that your view and mine coincide often ;D Seriously though, I'm seriously flattered.
Thank you so much for reading and taking time to comment. Especially when so many (hint hint) are awaiting Redemption.
he reserved that "gay" part of himself only for Jack.
This is where I have to respectfully disagree. Whenever Ennis had anal intercourse with anyone besides Jack, he was not reserving anything for only Jack. There were more conventional and acceptable ways for him to have sex with women, but he chose to do it that way. Just because women are physically able to provide inferior substitute openings for Ennis, doesn't change the fact that women do no reciprocating inferior substitute appendages for Jack. I'm sure Ennis would have a whole different outlook if he was the one who preferred being penetrated as opposed to doing the penetrating. :-(
You can certainly disagree, but my comment had nothing to do with body parts or acceptable/vs. non acceptable. It had everything to do with "being" with another man. And Ennis was never with another man.
And I maintain that he kept the "gay" part separate in his life -- it was something sacred he reserved only for Jack because he couldn't let himself believe he was truly gay. It was a "one shot thing," an anomaly.
Jack was more comfortable with the idea that he was gay. So therefore he explored options with other men.
That was awesome. I liked the sex, liked the talking, liked the echoes of the trailhead scene. I haven't commented much, but I really like this story. Barbara
Ennis had taken Jack’s cock a few times, and knew what the other man was feeling, but he didn’t glory in it the way Jack did. And that is the nutshell of why 'they were guys' doesn't explain anything. Jack is a preferred bottom, so until women grow dicks they will never be any kind of make-do substitute for Jack like they were for Ennis. Until Ennis accepts that his women were no different than Jack's men, then there will always be this issue between them, and it should be
( ... )
I agree with you Vicky, that Ennis having sex with ANYONE male or female is still cheating on Jack. I was also glad that Connie put those shirts into this scene. It woke Ennis up to exactly how Jack viewed their relationship (that was the revelation in the OS/Movie, I don't think Ennis understood the depth of Jack's feelings of their relationship until he spotted those shirts. That Jack wanted to take a piece of Ennis with him when they left BBM, not knowing if they'd ever see each other again and he wanted to remember the one time he was with the one person he truly felt happy with and loved
( ... )
Ennis can't accept Jack until he accepts what he is himself. If you don't love yourself with your flaws, your own identity, etc you can't love anyone else.
Maybe it is something Jack needs to teach him. Danny taught him some things, now that he is gone maybe Jack needs to show him.
You know how stubborn Ennis is and how slow he can be for that light bulb to come on. Maybe he needs a kick in the ass for him to wake up again
They had to face this, sooner or laterjennydcfMarch 22 2007, 16:22:04 UTC
I'm glad it was sooner. You really described Ennis' stumbling block perfectly: “All right then,” Ennis shoved his legs into his Wranglers. “I never done it with another man. I know I’m Gay, even if I still ain’t completely happy ‘bout it. But I never slept with no man but you. When I couldn’t have you, I made do with Alma, and the nurse at Jenny’s school, Cassie somethin’. How come,” Ennis paused. “How come it was so easy for you t’ fall in t’ bed with other guys
( ... )
Comments 69
Tackled a real good Brokeback issue in this chapter. I never understand why some people consider Jack unfaithful for sleeping with other men, while they cut some much slack to Ennis for sleeping with Cassie/other women. Ennis doesn't sleep with other men have more to do with his own homophobia than Jack's sexual appetite.
“More like I took the boat and left ya t’ sink. Reckon ya are a good swimmer though.”
If Ennis can acknowledge this, he surely can find a way to get past the other men in Jack's life.
What are we gonna do without the shirts giving Ennis the ultimate wake-up call?
Great chapter. I realy enjoyed it.
Eve
Reply
Reply
Ennis knew he was gay, but once he'd fallen in love with Jack, he reserved that "gay" part of himself only for Jack and viewed women as inferior physical substitutes. Jack filled up his time with male substitutes, though they were still substitutes. It is this critical difference in their thinking that caused many of the problems.
“I never done it with another man. I know I’m Gay, even if I still ain’t completely happy ‘bout it. But I never slept with no man but you. When I couldn’t have you, I made do with Alma, and the nurse at Jenny’s school, Cassie somethin’. How come,” Ennis paused. “How come it was so easy for you t’ fall in t’ bed with other guys ( ... )
Reply
Thank you so much for reading and taking time to comment. Especially when so many (hint hint) are awaiting Redemption.
Reply
This is where I have to respectfully disagree.
Whenever Ennis had anal intercourse with anyone besides Jack, he was not reserving anything for only Jack. There were more conventional and acceptable ways for him to have sex with women, but he chose to do it that way.
Just because women are physically able to provide inferior substitute openings for Ennis, doesn't change the fact that women do no reciprocating inferior substitute appendages for Jack.
I'm sure Ennis would have a whole different outlook if he was the one who preferred being penetrated as opposed to doing the penetrating. :-(
Reply
It had everything to do with "being" with another man. And Ennis was never with another man.
And I maintain that he kept the "gay" part separate in his life -- it was something sacred he reserved only for Jack because he couldn't let himself believe he was truly gay. It was a "one shot thing," an anomaly.
Jack was more comfortable with the idea that he was gay. So therefore he explored options with other men.
Reply
Reply
And that is the nutshell of why 'they were guys' doesn't explain anything. Jack is a preferred bottom, so until women grow dicks they will never be any kind of make-do substitute for Jack like they were for Ennis. Until Ennis accepts that his women were no different than Jack's men, then there will always be this issue between them, and it should be ( ... )
Reply
Reply
And that is the other side of the equation ( ... )
Reply
Maybe it is something Jack needs to teach him. Danny taught him some things, now that he is gone maybe Jack needs to show him.
You know how stubborn Ennis is and how slow he can be for that light bulb to come on. Maybe he needs a kick in the ass for him to wake up again
Reply
Reply
Leave a comment