Many Native American cultures were completely destroyed in the Manifest Destiny process of systematic genocide, but many were documented, and many others survived to this day. Miss Grant had plenty of opportunity to verify her mental impressions -- the product of hypnotic regression -- but instead decided that they were completely real and in no need of confirmation.
As a result, Scarlet Feather is a romantic fantasy at best. It has less to do with actual Indian people than even Leatherstocking Tales or Dances With Wolves. If this book had not been promoted with the rubric of "past life memory", endearing it to the New Age market, it would be seen clearly for what it was -- a piece of nonsense written by an Englishwoman who knew little or nothing about actual Native American cultures or spirituality.
Take the idea that Indian people "lost their true heritage". This did not happen until the Europeans came in. The cultures of pre-Columbian America were living, growing entities, and tradition and custom are bound to evolve over thousands of years. It was the Europeans who saw Indian traditions as the product of ignorant superstition. Miss Grant completely overlooks the deep spirituality which is an intrinsic part of traditional Indian life. One would think that if she had lived a past life among such people, she would at least remember the basics.
The idea that a group of Indians is a "tribe" is a result of government misunderstanding; a particular nation might have hundreds of subgroups, including tribes. Village is more like it, or band, or maybe clan. Groups which practiced agriculture (e.g., the Omaha) tended to stay in one place, not to move around as frequently as she describes.
Grant describes men and women living in separate tipis and coming together only once a year for a sex ritual for new babies. If someone can verify that any Indian people lived this way, I'd appreciate hearing about it. And let's not even get into her use of terms like "braves" for young men. That way lies racist nonsense like "My Heart Is On The Ground", which should never have been published.
She depicts the tribe or village as ruled by a "chief". The idea that Indians have one chief -- like electing a President -- is ludicrous even outside of Plains cultures. Such a position would not usually be hereditary. Leadership positions were based on reputation and merit, generally not through a series of formal tests but day-to-day accomplishment.
Here is what you are much more likely to find among traditionals: several men of varying ages, with different types of leadership qualities and experience (who often disagree with one another), and the people listen to whoever made the most sense in a particular situation. No woman would ever be allowed in such a position, particularly if she were of an age to have children. Ladies who have gone through menopause sometimes (rarely) become holy people. Under these traditions, there are separate gender roles but women are not inferior; they can decide who to marry, initiate a divorce, go on strike a la Lysistrata if the men displease them. In some traditions, the women own all the property. There are women's councils, and in many cases the "elders" making the final decisions are the Grandmothers. I would have been much more interested in this book had she decided to write about the berdache or cross-gender concept which existed in many cultures for centuries and still exists today.
Sufficiently researched, this could have been a much better book, although still sheer fantasy, perhaps on the order of "Clan of the Cave Bear". If you want to read a fascinating, romantic, spiritual and thoroughly true-to-life book about Indians, start with Mari Sandoz' "Crazy Horse".
Cathy Scarlet and Tom Feather have dreamed of opening a catering business in Dublin since they attended cooking school together. Now they're on the brink of making their dream come true, but not without battling a host of personal issues and complications.
That's the premise behind Maeve Binchy's book, Scarlet Feather. Binchy is an Irish author with a breezy,casual writing style that makes you feel like you're having a conversation with a good friend. She doesn't dwell on lengthy descriptive or analytical narratives,letting her characters tell the story.
Those characters are the strength of Binchy's stories, and that's true of Scarlet Feather.
You find yourself caring about feisty,funny Cathy,who shocked everyone when she married the son of the rich couple her mother used to clean for. You hurt for her when her husband,an up-and-coming civil rights lawyer, seems to have time for everyone but her,and dismisses her catering business as a passing and unimportant hobby. His adamant desire not to have children also contributes to a major turning point for Cathy.
Tom Feather is also a very likable character,and Binchy makes you feel his pain when his incredibly beautiful girlfriend places a possible modeling career above their relationship.
Even peripheral characters, like Cathy's and Tom's parents and siblings, are endearing. And there's an absorbing subplot about two children,relatives of Cathy's husband, who she and her parents are forced to care for...at first grudgingly,but they ultimately win everyone's hearts.
Besides the personal crises faced by Cathy and Tom, there is a catastrophe that threatens to destroy their catering business just as it really begins to blossom.
If there's a weakness in this book,it's the ending. I won't spoil it for those who might want to read the book, but in my opinion,Binchey fails to really build a foundation for the way it turns out. Some readers my find it only fitting, but for me,it didn't quite ring true.
That's a minor beef,though. Maeve Binchy's books are warm and uplifting for the most part,and this book could be an enjoyable escape when the snowflakes are falling or you need to take a break from holiday craziness.
