Six months before Anna discovered the truth about the infamous Lady Pussycat, she'd read the positive sign in the nursing home bathroom. Her search for Lady Pussycat, a renowned burlesque dancer from the 1950's, had brought Anna to the Sweetwater Nursing home in New York City. Lady Pussycat was responsible for the resurgence of the burlesque community, which had died out after Mayor LaGuardia's campaign against strip principals in the 1940's. Anna saw the two figures as mortal enemies: the transgressive dancer and the conservative politician. To Anna, Lady Pussycat was something of a professional goddess. Anna watched old recordings of her performaces, memorizing the measured movements of her body. She'd even tried to replicate the movements in her own dances, reveling in the control and precision.
Following up on a rumor, Anna expected to find a decrepit version of the soft, milky woman that filled her dreams. As soon as she arrived she checked the roster for Lady Pussycat's real name, Angela Harris. They had no record of an Angela Harris, ever. So instead of finding her idol, Anna was now crotched on the seat of a toilet, looking down at an eerily pink plus sign. If you turned the stick a certain way, she realized, the sign looked more like an X. She snapped the stick in half and placed it in the bottom of the trash. Her quest to find Lady Pussycat had to be postponed, because now she had a new mission: find her baby's daddy.
I really like Lady Pussycat's character here, because I think it offers a lot of room to play with. One thing that I think we need to clarify is the time period of this story. Present? Past? Obviously it is post-1950's, but how much so? Perhaps before we leave LP completely to search for Anna's "baby daddy," we should specify exactly what Anna finds intriguing about Lady Pussycat. Maybe Anna is very conservative on the outside, but on the inside (as exemplified by the unknown pregnancy), she has a heightened sexual curiosity. She investigates LP's character because the burlesque star encapsulates Anna's secret desire to express herself sexually. Anyway, I think it's going great! I can't wait to read more!
ReplyDeleteLikewise, I think there should be a little bit more on LP's character. I do love, however, that Anna feels a deep connection to this woman, and perhaps that connection could be developed further. I also enjoy the idea that she has to break from one mystery to solve another. The snapping of the pregnancy test was a great touch of the tension, Alyssa.
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed the idea of LP and the historical context that she was placed in. I'd like a little more information as to why Anna is taking the pregnancy at that exact moment--is there a reason?
ReplyDeleteI thought you did a great job with LP. Her character is interesting, and I think you have made the search for her more intriguing. Along with Jillian, I am also now wondering why the pregnancy test in this bathroom?
ReplyDeleteI think you gave us some really interesting things to unwrap. We have lady pussycat. We have angry pregnant Anna. The next person I think has to dig into this baby daddy thing though? It's a search, which I think insists on some sort of back story. We can't dive back into L
ReplyDeleteLots of fun details have been introduced here! Great job Alyssa! I love the set up of the quest for LP - I definitely would like to see this part of the story develop as the chapter continues. I already want to know who Angela Harris really is and what happened to her and how and by whom Anna got prego. I'm also interested in seeing the tension between the Mayor and LP - did the Mayor make her disappear? Did they run away together? Can't wait to keep reading!
ReplyDeleteMy phone cut me off... sorry. We have to draw it out. We can't dive right back into LP, can we? I feel like that baby daddy thing has to be explored somehow. How many possibilities are out there and such?
ReplyDeleteEntertaining. I felt as though there was some implied sexual subtext in Anna's hunt for LP, almost as though she (Anna) sexually desires the woman LP used to be (or the woman she still may be). Also, we're going to need more from the next poster about why Anna was taking a pregnancy test specifically in the nursing home bathroom.
ReplyDeleteHaha. Awesome. . .And I was opposed to the name "PussyKat" in our original group. What was I thinking, it's brilliant. . . Great jump start, Alyssa. There are already many questions posed in this first section which is great. I agree with Michelle, I think she needs to start searching for said baby daddy (I can't read that without getting that ridiculous song from the late nineties stuck in my head, "Who dat is? My baby daddy, T-Bird dats just my baby daddy.") . . .But as she is searching for him, maybe she finds clues to PK, as well. I am sort of thinking the theme that plays out could be something along the lines of independent woman, or something of the sort. Maybe PK really made a mark for herself and as Anna tries to reach out to her baby daddy, she gets rejected but realizes she doesn't need him just as PK didn't need anyone either. Has anyone seen that movie, Waitress? Sort of along those lines. . .
ReplyDeleteIntriguing. I agree that the tensions that have to be worked out are why the narrator is so interested in LP (the specific interest in the movements of her body make me inclined to agree with Courtney's idea of sexual tension).
ReplyDeleteI'm interested to see why she made the decision to check for pregnancy at this time and place. What kind of person does that?
In response to Chloe's question about time, if LP was dancing in the 50's, probably between the age of 25-35, and she's supposed to be in a nursing home home (at age>80) then it puts the story in early 2000's, which should be familiar for all of us.
I love what you've done, Alyssa, with the character--as everyone's said. Lady Pussycat is fascinating. However, I would like Anna to be fascinating. I see LP as being the road by which Anna "finds" herself...the mysterious woman who Anna tries to emulate. I want to know why, exactly, she's so rapt and captivated by the performances. What, in her life, draws her to this particular woman?
ReplyDeleteAlso, I like that you've created a villain--Mayor LaGuardia. I realize that you can't really expand on this in two paragraphs, but I want to know more about why they're so opposed and why this means something to Anna.
Finally, there was such an abrupt shift from the great imagery of LP and Anna--of their connection toward the pregnancy test...I dunno if that works. But I agree with Jillian--you have a way with words, e.g. breaking the preg. test in two. Your setting is great and I love how you were able to put all the disparate elements together so cohesively. Starting us out is hard and you did a swell job. :D
Nice work. I have enjoyed reading and have been taking all these suggestions in. Alyssa, I think you have given us some things to untangle, and perhaps I can insert another knot and perhaps reveal something too.
ReplyDeleteI am in agreement with Eric on the time period. And if it's cool, I'm just going to go ahead and dive in with that.
Nice move on having parallel characters in order to reveal something deeper about the main character. Brilliant.
-Allie
Just a test.....
ReplyDeleteSorry to come in a day late. I don't check my Auburn email regularly.
ReplyDeletePicking up with the next post.....