What's In a Name?

We opened class yesterday with a discussion about Chapter Four's digression from the pattern of starting out with "my name is Andrea. It means manhood or courage…". Although she would later in the section discuss how her name was the only thing left to her, the absence of the line in the opening of the chapter really jarred me. I had not been giving a single, in-depth thought  what she was saying about her name- the origin, the meaning, and why her mother had picked it.  And that got me to really thinking about Andrea's name and not only what it means in the literal sense, but also what it means in a figurative sense.

 

As she mentions in Chapter Three, the name Andrea has an Ancient Greek origin which refers to the male, masculine, and, at times, virility.  The same stem is present in such divergent terms as androgynous, polyandry, and mysandry. In Europe, it is a mostly male name (Andrea Bocelli, anyone?) and has its own male equivalency  in America- Andrew. I find it extremely ironic that the main character of the book (and the author herself) should have such a masculine name.  Here they are, telling the story of a girl (and eventually woman) struggling with rape, domination by males and others, who herself has an extremely masculine name. Odd.  I cannot believe that the choice of name is meaningless. It is either meant to highlight this juxtaposition of masculinity and femininity in the main character, or meant to really be Andrea Dworkin herself. Or perhaps its both.

 

I also wonder, when our parents name us, do they inadvertently set a trajectory for us to follow for the rest of our lives? Does naming a child Ashley instead of Andrea change her life? In other words, does the name make the person, or does the person make the name? Did having such a masculine name burden Andrea and make her more susceptible to sexual exploitation? Or was it just a coincidence? Had see been named Kelly or Jessica, would she have had the same experiences? The same reactions? The same struggles?

 

I am inclined to think, while we are not completely bound by the name our parents give us at birth, it will nonetheless greatly impact our path through life. (The political science major part of my brain is tossing about terms like path dependents and trajectories.)  Children with unusual names (Apple- REALLY!?!) , alternate spellings of common names (Brytnee),  or extremely ethnic names (the Shaniqua's, Alejandro's, and Hussain's of the world- or at least America) , will forever have a burden. Whether they have to work against racial discrimination, or will just merely have to deal with the unending frustration of telling people how to spell and pronounce their names, are simply at a disadvantage to those with "normal" names. These kids are bullied throughout school because of their names. (I had a friend named Dorna and some of the kids at school called her Doorknob.) This can result in psychological torment, and have a hugely negative impact on the child's self-esteem. The troubles do not end in childhood either, when applying for a job, there are some employers who will see certain names on resumes and immediately dismiss them from consideration.

 

I guess the most dangerous part of naming a child is the expectations that the name creates. Alexander comes with expectations of greatness. Lily is supposed to be cute and girly.  A child has to battle with those expectations for their entire life-- and either fulfill them, or attempt to create their own identity separate from their own name.

 

Andrea mentions several times that her mom "picked Andrea because she thought it sounded pretty." I'm not sure how I feel about that. On one hand, I understand why a mother would pick a name that sounded good to her. You don't want to pick a name for your child that you don't like the sound of.  On the other hand, I want to scream "WHAT WERE YOU THINKING!??!" and shake her violently. How could she pick such an important thing just because it sounds good? How could you not give any thought to the MEANING of the name and what it would mean if your daughter was named that? How could you not consider the impact it would have on her life? But, after my rage subsides, I wonder, if Andrea has the complete reasoning behind how she got her name.  It's not exactly easy to explain to a child the nuances of naming them, the subtleties, the hours of contemplating, poring over baby names. Perhaps telling her it was a pretty name was just the easiest way to explain it.