Lois & Clark Forums Forums Fan Fiction Lois & Clark Fanfic FDK - Awaken My Heart (26/?)

Feedback goes here.

Thanks.

Corrina.

Doesn’t sound like the Lanes. Or Earth.

Well, I've been voicing a lot of concern over the bigamy thing, and now for the first time Lois is beginning to understand what it will mean to have to share Kal with another woman.

We can say that Lois is being unreasonable, and we would be correct. We can say that Kal isn't in love with Za any more now than he was before he talked to her, and we would be correct. We can say that Kal only showed Za the kind of respect that Za should be entitled to from her husband when he is marrying another woman for love, and we would be correct. We can say that it is Lois who is at fault here, and we would be correct.

On the other hand. It is Lois who is expected to share her husband with another woman, not Kal who is expected to share his wife with another man. Would Kal accept the kind of bigamy where he was one of two husbands? Where Lois said she loved him, but she had certain duties to her other husband as well?

Maybe Kal would put up with sharing Lois like that, but I doubt it. The very idea of such a marriage would simply be too foreign to him. To Kal, the idea of a man having many wives is as ordinary and unsurprising as the water shortage of New Krypton, because it has been there for all of his conscious life. The opposite arrangement, a woman having two husbands, is just unthinkable - to Kal, and, I believe, to most of us.

I think that when Lois agreed to become Kal's second wife, Za was a theoretical concept rather than a real woman of flesh and blood. Lois believed that she would be Kal's second wife in name only, because in reality she would become her husband's only wife. But now she realizes that Za is real and Kal is not only allowed to visit her, but he has indeed availed himself of his matrimonial privilege of doing so. He has visited Za because he has a right to do it (and a duty as well, but that's beside the point here), and he did not inform Lois of his visit because he was not obliged to tell her. Za really is Kal's wife, and he has responsibilities to her that have nothing to do with Lois. Za is a part of Kal's life, but that part of him will remain inaccessible to Lois. Kal has a "matrimonial right" to know everything about Lois's life, but Lois does not have the same right to know everything about Kal. Lois ought to share herself fully with her only husband, but Kal can't be asked to fully share himself with Lois, because she is not his only wife. Therefore Lois and Kal are not equals. They are not, and if they are joined in a marriage of three, they can never be.

Kal is the ruler of an extremely sexist world. He himself is wonderfully kind and caring, but he has not been able to remain completely untouched by the sexism of his world. The fact that he didn't want Ard to identify the man who had killed her father was discouraging, and even more the fact that the mere prospect of it seemed so unthinkable to him. I can easily understand that there are good reasons why Ard shouldn't testify - testifying would put her life in danger, and nobody would listen to her anyway, so she might get herself killed for nothing. But Kal didn't even seem to consider talking to Ard, and that was disappointing.

I think that Kal hasn't fully understood the implications of asking Lois to marry him while he remains married to Za. And Lois is just beginning to understand what it would mean to be Kal's second wife.

Things were going a bit too smoothly, I think. Of course Lois and Kal will get married, but hopefully they will get a number of important things straightened out first.

Ann

Ann said: I don't think that was the only reason that Kal didn't mention his visit with Za. I think that it really didn't occur to him to do it. First of all, he is the Supreme Ruler. For the past 10 years (and every moment of his known life) he's been the Supreme Ruler, taught that he is in a station above all others. Luckily, Kal is not conceited. He has an innate sense of right and wrong that helps to guide him morally. If you remember in part 23, Kal thought that having Tek arrange a meeting in his household would have been the Kryptonian way (or not at all), but he *felt* that it would be better to visit Za. He didn't even know why that seemed right to him, but he's trusted his instincts for the past 10 years. A few days of knowing Lois has changed a lot, but hasn't changed that.

The second reason it probably didn't occur to Kal to tell Lois about his visit before now is that like Michael said, it is his first relationship. Not just a romantic relationship, but *any* relationship of equals. If most of us think back to our early romantic relationships, we can probably remember some major mistakes that were made as we adjusted to a worldview that took someone else into consideration. Especially for those of us without a good adult role models.

Not that I'm trying to excuse Kryptonian society. It absolutely is a sexist society with a very strange and diminished role for women. Any society that allows women to be treated like chattel is in need of an adjustment -- and I have a feeling that the age of enlightenment will be led by Lois Lane-El and it is just around the corner.

I have, in fact, spent some time trying to come up with a reason for concubines that isn't demeaning. I have a couple of ideas, but will keep them to myself in the hopes of eventually writing that NK story that's been rumbling around in my head.

Ann also said:
Maybe that is technically true, but personally, I think that Lois has done quite well at adjusting to a new culture that is so completely different from her own. I don't think I could ever accept being just one of my husband's wives, no matter what he looked like in the black suit <bg>.

I also feel sorry for Kal. Michael's right; it's Kal's first crush, love and fight. In his mind, it's also his first break-up. I completely understand Lois flying off the deep end, but I also hope that she can calm down soon so they can talk about it. There was so much about the conversation with Za that he didn't share with Lois that I think would make his agreement make sense.

I'm not holding my breath for that conversation to happen in the next chapter. I expect that the angst between them will continue until Nor makes his move and it's up to Lois to save the day.

I'm terrible at guessing where a story will go, so I'm sure even that prediction will prove wrong. I can say with certainty, however, that I love this story and can hardly wait for the next part.

More soon, please.
B

Ann and BJ have already talked about the implications of being a second wife, so I won't repeat that here. Let me bring up a second problem that Lois is also just coming to grips with:

Lois is about to be a political wife. She's the First Lady (or the Second First Lady, as the case may be). She doesn't have the right to demand that Kal put her before his people any more than Michelle Obama has the right to insist that her husband put her before his people or a surgeon's husband to insist that his wife not leave a dinner date to go perform emergency surgery. Her husband-to-be has obligations to people besides her. That's part of the package, and she hasn't really thought about that yet.

Kal would have been wise to discuss his meeting with Za beforehand with Lois. He's learned his lesson. He and Lois need to lay some ground rules about work/family balance and boundaries. But I don't think Lois has yet counted the cost of marriage to the Supreme Ruler. I'm sure that in the end she'll decide that it's worth the price, but the price is real. And, if she's to help Kal reform Kryptonian society, she also needs to come to grips with the idea that these are not just Kal's people any more. They are hers, as well.

And, because she wasn't privy to Za's reasons for not wanting the marriage annuled, she doesn't know what an impossible position she's put Kal in. She needs to back down from her ultimatum because he has no good option.

I don't fault Lois for not realizing all this. She truly is a stranger in a strange land, and she's lost a *lot* that she hasn't really grieved over as much as she probably needs to. But she needs to make a clear-headed decision. Can she handle being royalty or not? It's not all beverage and puddings.

P.S. Just for the record, my money is on Martha and Jonathan as the mother and father. And, if I'm right, it says something about the depth of their sorrow that they still self-identify as mother and father after years of childlessness.

I'm sorry I haven't had time for fdk lately - I just caught up with the last week or so of posts. Nor worries me, especially now with Lois and Kal out of sorts. But I think that the next skill Lois will develop is telepathy...

Amber

Michael Thanks for your FDK, Michael.

She figures that if she can occupy herself with his shoulders and upper chest she may be able to keep herself from falling (literally and figuratively!)

In previous FDK, you kept mentioning that you didn't think Lois would be happy with Kal meeting Za ... which meant I wasn't the only one who could see the possibility of trouble!

I've tried to think of a realistic way to get chocolate into this fic ... but chocolate making is such a convoluted process. It doesn't just grow on trees ... sad that.

Part 27 ... Part 30 is in tatters and I'd like to get that to Iolanthe before posting 27 ... but maybe I can eat into my already small buffer - not that you'll thank me for it, because 27 ends with a cliffhanger

Ann I love your summary of Lois's feelings. The argument was from Kal's POV, so all we've seen is Lois's reaction, not her reasoning.

However, you've nailed her thoughts and feelings incredibly accurately.

In 27 we get to Lois's POV.

My thinking was different here.

The reason Kal didn't need Ard to identify the man was that he already believed it was Nor.

Lois had talked to her ... Kal has full confidence in Lois, so didn't feel the need to 'check' her statements by asking Ard himself.


More than a clash of people, this is a clash of cultures.

Kal has understood *some* of the implications, but he cannot see any other way around this and he so, so wants to marry Lois.

Me too!

But maybe not in the way you're thinking!

(I'm desperately hoping the resolution to this will be both surprising and believable!!)

Thanks, Ann.

Brenda

Wonderful explanation of Kal's motivation in going to Za.

He wanted to do the right thing by Za, but didn't realise that would upset Lois.

He's beginning to realise that if he's married to two women, that's how his life is going to be.

This makes me

Like many conflicts, neither are completely in the wrong. In fact, it could be argued that in this situation, both are just trying to deal with an impossible situation the best they can.

Thanks for your comments, Brenda.

HappyGirl

:p

You make a good point. Lois isn't just marrying a Kryptonian, she's marrying the most important person on the planet.

Firstly,

Secondly, I'm so glad you find Lois's actions/reactions believable. She landed on a strange planet and almost immediately fell madly in love. There wasn't a lot of time to take stock.

But now, she has.

Thanks!


Corrina.

EDIT Amber Thanks for your comments.

Telepathy ... uhm, that could be useful!

I say pre wedding jitters and that time of the month have just combined. Interesting chapter. It was unexpected. Looking forward to the next. I hope she lightens up for Kal's sake. Poor Kal. Laura

I disagree. Lois is too smart to plan her wedding for that time of the month.

[steals thread]

Brenda said:
Hmmmm. Is it really possible to have concubines in such a way that the system as such isn't demeaning? I've thought about it, and I don't think so. I realize that in patriarchical, hierachical and hugely sexist societies, some women would consider themselves lucky to have become concubines, in view of the alternatives. Consider the wives (not concubines) of Henry the Eighth. He beheaded two of his wives because he felt the need to have a son, and therefore he needed to have sex with as many women as possible, and he needed to have his son with a woman who officially belonged to him, so that the son would be his legal heir. Henry the Eighth was not allowed to have more than one wife at a time and he was not allowed to have official concubines, so when he needed to have a new official wife he had to get rid of his old one. And since divorces were at least as controversial as beheadings in his day, Henry compromised and beheaded two of his wives and divorced two of them. Surely it would have been easier and better for everyone involved if Henry could just have had official concubines, as many as he wanted? And if any of his concubines bore him a son, that son would have been Henry's legal heir. Anne Boleyn and that other poor beheaded queen might have kept their heads. Better, yes. But non-demeaning? I don't think so.

The way I see it, if a society allows a man to have concubines, it automatically grants men a higher status than women, and it automatically says that one man is worth more than one woman. It also says that men have a huge sexual need, and they need to have that need satisfied, whatever the cost will be to the women who have to put their bodies at the men's disposal.

(Also, in hugely sexist societies, sons are almost always valued higher than daughters. So you are going to have a society where most men want sons rather than daughters, but at the same time they want to have multiple wives and concubines. In other words, the men want wives and concubines for themselves, but they are not interested in fathering daughters who can become the wives and concubines of other men. The way I see it, there is going to be a shortage of women in such a society. So the men will have to attack other countries and steal their women to get all the women they need, or else they will have to found "girl factories" where girls are bred and raised and sold off like cattle. Demeaning, indeed.)

[gives back thread]

Ann

No, you didn't. I just didn't expect this much of a blow up. And not a day before the wedding. /takes a step back/ Which, in hindsight, was a really stupid assumption

Re chocolate: Wouldn't it be fun if 'treat' did grow on a tree on New Krypton?

Michael

Hi,

I am still reading and still enjoying this story very much, though I was a little saddened by this last chapter.

I completely understand Lois and Kal's disagreement, and can see both of their points of view. However, my sympathies lie very slightly more with Kal.

Firstly, I don't believe Kal intended to keep his visit with Za a secret from Lois, or he wouldn't have blurted it out on the eve of his wedding.

The trouble is that Lois is judging Kal as an adult, when he has only really been living for 10 years or so. She is also, in this particular case, judging him as an adult who has been brought up on Earth.

I am not saying that Kryptonian culture is right, in fact, I'm totally in agreement with Lois's take on life on Krypton, but Kal has no other society to base his judgments on. He is beginning to learn from Lois and because he is, basically, a fair and decent man, he is open to all her suggestions. Yet he knows only too well that he has to balance change with what the people of power on Krypton will accept. Krypton's society is balanced on a knife edge and anything could tip it into a civil war.

Again, I agree totally with Lois' dismay and anger at the treatment of women on Krypton. But Lois is in a unique position here. She can alter the standing of women in this society, but she has enough intelligence to realize she can't rush the process.

I feel that Lois overacted when Kal mentioned his visit to Za, though I do understand why she did so. Lois might be a very independent and competent woman, but she is alone on an alien world, and as such she must have some insecurities. Her very important place in Kal's life and emotions has given her the security to approach her new life as something of an adventure, though perhaps that is not the right word to use. So, it was somewhat predictable for her to balk when she heard of Kal's visit to his first wife.

But I think she is wrong to believe that Kal's visit was a sign that Kal and Za's relationship had deepened. Hopefully, with some time to reflect, she will think to ask why Kal felt he had to come to some agreement with Za. I'm sure she'll be a little more sympathetic when she realizes that Kal is simply offering Za the continued protection of her position as his wife. Not to do so would have thrown Za into the cruel arms of Nor.

Lois did take a big step when she accepted that if she wanted to have a life with Kal, then marriage was the best option available. Kal might be marrying her second in time, but he in no way considers Lois as second best in his life.

As you have made it plain, Lois is the best thing to ever happen to Kal, and he has come a long way in learning to be more human since she has come into his life. Sadly, he was sort of sleep walking through a life of responsibility and duty before she dropped into his world. Lois opened up possibilities for Kal and his people when she arrived on Krypton.

I also agree with the other readers that Lois can't expect Kal to ignore the needs of his people, or his responsibilities as Supreme Ruler. Just as Lois on Earth never wanted to come between Superman and his need to help people, I hope Lois on Krypton will come to the same acceptance.

Besides, if what you've hinted at might happen to Lois on this world, she might have her own responsibilities soon.

I am so hoping that the next part will be posted soon and that Lois and Kal can make up before the wedding is postponed. They both need each other as I suspect they will have many dangers to face in the near future. I'm sure that together they will be stronger than each alone.

Perhaps I'm critiquing your story a little more closely because of my earlier attempt to create the world of Krypton in Universal Union. But I am enjoying your interpretation so much. This was another very intriguing part and I look forward to the next.

Yours Jenni

Which reminds me Jenni... We need Book 4 at some point .

I have been reading but am HORRID at leaving FDK these days. Sorry .

I think Kal and Za's relationship HAS deepened but I don't think it could have gotten any shallower so that's pretty natural.

I, like everyone else I think, can see both sides here and if Lois will let Kal explain I think she'll understand the reasoning behind his decisions. She has to accept, and I think she probably already thought she had, that his people will always come first. Like the Michelle Obama example above. For the Obamas, however, the situation is temporary, lasting 4 years or 8 at most. Kids going into that situation will have a hard time understanding that - particularly young kids - but kids raised with Dad as supreme ruler will have a bit of an easier time I think.

Okay back to the Nano salt mines...

Carol

Another nice part. I'm sorry for not giving you any feedback, recently. I liked every single installment, but I was quite busy taking my final exam.

I hope Lois and Kal will solve their problems soon and I'm really anxious to learn what Nor's plan is. Please come back soon!

Poor Kal. I can see it from both sides, which is testament to how well you've written the characters and explained their thoughts and motivations. I think I side a little more with Kal because he is confused. He's still adjusting and his error was quite genuine. I think Lois will realise that when she's calmed down a little, but yes the use of the word 'necessary' was very unfortunate!

I think where Lois lost my sympathy a little was when she accused Kal of other things, like only wanting her to produce an heir. She knows that is just not true.

We knew it was going to be a bumpy ride for the next few parts, and while I can't wait for the wedding, I suppose there had to be some angst eventually.

I haven't a clue about who the mother and father could be. That will keep us guessing for a while longer I think!

In quite a serious part, I loved this bit:-

Come back Corrina, fix it now!! I know you will, they had to fight sometime, it wouldn't be natural not to, and Kal quite understandably still has a lot to learn.

Oh, and this is intriguing me:-

Oooh, can't wait. I'm sure it will be believable.

Em

p.s. sorry I got a bit carried away again!

Everyone has left much better fdk than mine above, but I decided to post anyway.

Lois's reaction struck me as logical but unreasonable. It's an issue of trust. In spite of the official relationship between Kal and Za, Kal has never indicated any interest in Za as a woman, so Lois's actions have to be coming from her own insecurities. Now, she's in a situation where anyone would have lots of insecurities--a completely foreign society. But if she can't trust Kal, then she shouldn't be marrying him. And in spite of the sexism of Kryptonian society, to me at this point she is the one not treating him as an equal, because she is focusing solely on her own feelings, not those of the man she supposedly loves. I am hoping that she will find the means to calm down and look at things reasonably. Looking forward to the next chapter!

I just read parts 20 through 26 last night after coming back from my long trip. Wow, that was enjoyable! Anyway, my humble opinion is that Lois blew up because of wedding night jitters. After all, they planned the wedding in all of 2 days! That's fast. She was so compliant at the beginning, a blow up was natural.
I remember being a frantic little thing before my wedding and that was 47 years ago and totally unlike me.
Keep it coming. We've got to find out who these other people are!

Artemis

Corrina,

Believe it or not, my first reaction when I read this chapter was, "Yes!"

Of course, it helps that I have confidence in an eventual happy ending. Even the word "eventual" isn't quite right, because you have given us every reason to believe this story will not needlessly prolong angst for angst's sake. That knowledge makes scenes like this easier to take!

I am also enjoying very much reading the comments treads. Although part of me always wants to just wait until a story is finished, so that I can read it uninterrupted, that would mean missing out on a lot of the fun. I really enjoy all the insights of my fellow readers' comments! I really have to say that I will hate when this story finally ends.

Laura Thanks for your comments, Laura.

Lois's emotional state has been dipping for awhile. In Part 25, she strongly stated her objections to some of the rules on New Krypton. In 24, when thinking about what she would wear for her wedding, she grieved that her parents wouldn't be there.

It was inevitable that she would 'blow' and hearing about Kal's meeting with Za was more than enough provocation.

'Lightens up' ... maybe not!

Thanks, Laura.

HappyGirl You're right, I think!

Ann In my fic, Riz said that when so many men died in the regular wars between North and South, the concubine system allowed women the chance to have children.

I'm not saying this makes it acceptable though.

Michael

:p

Jenni

I really like your explanation of Lois's situation and I'm glad you can see why she reacted as she did.

True - the biting difference of course, is that Superman was never married to any of the people he helped.

Thanks, Jenni.

Carol Thanks for taking time out from the mines to leave FDK, Carol.

bakasi Next part is posted - Nor's plan is finally revealed.

Thanks!

Emma

Remember you said that!!

Don't be sorry. I'm so grateful you take the time to give such in depth FDK.

Thanks, Emma.

cookiesmom

Thank you. Yes, she was unreasonable - but Lois Lane has been unreasonable with much less provocation than this. If you could understand why she did it (even if you don't agree) that makes me

Thanks for your comments.

Artemis Thanks for your FDK.

Pre-wedding jitters, the speed of the engagement, the feelings of isolation ... Lois has it pretty tough.

Vicki Thanks for leaving FDK, Vicki.

I'm glad you found Lois's reaction in character. What is being asked of her is huge ... and completely contrary to her understanding of marriage.

Thanks everyone,

Corrina.

/mind immediately into gutter at thought of Kal in the black suit and having the ability to x-ray him/