Friday Fictioneers – Manifesto

Every week, Rochelle Wisoff-Fields (thank you, Rochelle!) hosts a flash fiction challenge, to write a complete story, based on a photoprompt, with a beginning, middle and end, in 100 words or less. Post it on your blog, and include the Photoprompt and Inlinkz on your page. Link your story URL. Then the fun starts as you read other peoples’ stories and comment on them!

PHOTO PROMPT (C) ROCHELLE WISOFF-FIELDS

Manifesto

Sister, you know there’s something wrong with the world.

Men continue to rape the environment despite global warming. They build nuclear weapons which will poison the biosphere for ever. They slaughter civilians in vicious, local wars. And all for status!

It’s time for women to save the world from this madness.

We take our name from the ancient Greek; we are Maenads. We foresee the future, but unlike our predecessors we do so through sobriety and careful planning. Together, our strength is irresistible.

If you want to join us, sister, look for the mask of Dionysos.

You will be welcome.

Inlinkz – click here to join the fun!

51 thoughts on “Friday Fictioneers – Manifesto”

    • Thank you for your kind comment, Neil. The Maenads were said to have supernatural strength when they worked together – ripping trees up by the roots, and tearing bulls limb from limb.. I’m glad you like the idea of the mask as our symbol!

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    • Thank you for your appreciative comment, Tannille. I hoped this story would appeal to you! Do you think men and women could work together for the greater good? I think there are many hurdles to be cleared before we reach that desirable Utopia.

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    • Thank you for your generous comment, Dora. As with most fiction there is a kernel of truth to the story, and your identification of this as ‘the sisterhood of the fiercely determined’ is exactly right. I enjoy using mythic elements occasionally; they’ve resonated down the millennia and carry great power.
      Pax,
      Penny

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  13. I thought of the Amazonian women, strong and powerful, easily controlling the men. The only way such a thing would be an improvement, though is if the hearts and souls of all women were joined in unison for the improvement of the human race. I wonder how long it would last.

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    • Thank you for your thoughtful comment, Linda. You put your finger on the weak point of the manifesto; it would be difficult to maintain the purity of purpose of the first ‘revolutionaries’. I would pin my hopes on the different ways men and women work together. It’s a wild generalisation, of course, but a group of women is more likely to work collaboratively than a group of men. It’s this preference for co-operation that gives me hope that we might do things better.
      With best wishes
      Penny
      xx

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  14. I love your manifesto, Penny! I like to think things would be very different with women in charge. Of course, we are still far from achieving this… Hopefully as we climb the echelons, we don’t fall into corruption as the men have …

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    • Dear Dale
      Thank you for your kind comment, and for the enthusiasm you have for the manifesto. I really think we would do things better, by our preference for working together rather than always competing. One word of caution; although we’re climbing the corporate ladder, we’re doing so in a world where the rules are set by men. That means that we risk having exactly the same flaws in society as with men in charge. As you say, we must beware of falling into corruption.
      With best wishes
      Penny
      xx

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    • Thank you for your very interesting comment, Eugenia. You’re right that the Maenads worshipped Dionysos, and had a reputation for drinking to excess. Drunk, they would dance themselves into a frenzy after which they could prophesy. Working together they could achieve feats of strength that were savage in their intensity, for example, uprooting trees and tearing bulls limb from limb. It was the strength of working together that I was hoping to harness to propel my story, so the excessive drinking was a bit of a distraction!

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  21. Thank you for your supportive comment, Na;ama
    Yes, working together is so important, especially with climate change threatening irreversible and catastrophic damage to the biosphere. Legendary strength will be essential!

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  23. I’m leaving my political commentary out of this, Penny. 🙂 Intriguing tale. I agree that the old-boys-network-white-blokes-patriarchy must be stopped in order for us all, and especially the children, to survive in the future.

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