[CRussel]

Originally Posted by Catlady

Let's talk about the racism. Is the concern the depiction of the indigenous people, or the depiction of Esmeralda? About the former, I don't know what I think. About the latter, heck, she was funny, and I don't recall that the humor was intrinsically racist.

The overall depiction of the indigenous people, I would say. But it's important to put it in the context of his depiction of the white people which was not exactly positive.

Or is it overall backdrop of white imperialism/white supremacy against which the story is told? But that's a reflection of the times.

Agreed.

I might not be sensitive enough to racism, but I am generally sensitive to misogyny, and I didn't have a major problem with the depiction of women, either, considering that the novel is more than a hundred years old.

Now here we disagree. I find it rather more than absolutely characteristic of the times. The women are helpless and essentially useless, and need to be protected. And while there were certainly plenty of books of the era that portrayed women as weaker, hysterical, and helpless, that was hardly universal. And, it's to be noted, the same attitude is shown in his Barsoom books.