Sherry, thanks for joining the discussion!
But please, don't
ever think I want Lois's role to be marginalized. In fact, that's the last thing I want! Indeed, the stories where we don't get to see a lot of Lois are precisely the kind of stories that don't hold my interest very well. (Please forgive me, those of you FoLCs who write beautiful L&C stories with a very small L content in them.)
And I'm into WaFFy endings as much as anybody else around these boards! I want the happy endings where Lois and Clark get one another and live happily efter after, believe me. And just like you said, I want Clark to be redeemed thanks to Lois's love. The fact that I want to see this Lois-mediated redemption of Clark is pretty much why I'm a Lois and Clark fan at all, and why I keep reading these stories!
But here's the rub. Yes, I so much want to see Lois save Clark, redeem him. But if Clark's redemption means that he is going to have to change in some fundamental ways - and it does mean that, I think - then he will ultimately have to bring about that change
himself. Of course I think it will be absolutely necessary for Lois to be there for him, to support him, encourage him, comfort him and love him, as he undertakes the monumental and daunting task of trying to become a better man. But it is going to be hard work, and nobody can make it happen but himself.
And what if Clark doesn't realize that he should change much at all? What if he is happy just soaking up Lois's love, while staying the same old Clark in the process?
Specifically, what if Clark decides he's quite happy being smug about his lies, feeling sorry for himself and blaming Lois? If this kind of self-satisfied and condescending Clark informs Lois that she may start loving him now, should we be happy if she complies? Is this a WaFFy ending?
Not to me, it isn't. And that's why I don't want Lois to meekly give in to Clark any moment he asks her for her love. Not if he doesn't ask her because he loves her for herself, but because he realises that her love for him can do himself a lot of good.
I said earlier that I want Clark to be redeemed by Lois, by her love. But I also want Lois to be redeemed by Clark's love. And there have been times where I haven't been so sure how much love he really has to give her.
Clark is, of course, a fundamentally good guy, so there are definite limits to how badly he could ever treat Lois. But during the years he lied to her, he developed a couple of bad habits, where he refused to trust Lois and held her responsible for things that went wrong in their relationship. Personally, I believe bad habits are extremely dangerous, if we let them fester for too long. Indeed, I think we lose our decent selves that way and start thinking the way our habits decree.
That's why I want Lois to challenge Clark, when he is being condescending and smug. That's why I want her to turn him down, when he asks her for her love without being willing to give her his
unselfish love in return. I want her to shake him out of his complacency and force him to take a long, hard look at himself. Specifically, I want him to ask himself if he is ready to truly trust and respect Lois.
And because Clark is the fundamentally good guy that he is, I'm sure he will come to his senses. He
will regret the way he has lied to Lois, and he
will learn to respect her the way she deserves. Then he will come back to her and ask her for her love again, and this time she will so happily give it to him!
And then, let the WaFF begin!!!!
Ann
