I think the novel Black Maria didn’t just reflect females empowerment. Essentially the story also reflects a clash between ideas of how power should be handle through the perspective of senior and younger generation and certainly genders. As seen from the story, the society where power are limited to several dictators with limited perspective and to those few who benefits directly from them are not a productive society. The world and people gravitated around Aunt Maria’s control reflect not much sense of progression but repetitive almost meaningless ritual like tea party that satisfy only few.
Cranbury-on-Sea project an image of a failing community that resulted from limiting only one conservative ideology to exists. Mig and Christ on the other hands, prove that progression can be successfully achieve by balance of power between active members. By allowing different specialties to co-operate, not even supernatural power can stand a chance. To some degrees, aunt Maria could probably understand the threat of such conventional ideas that younger generation could bring, therefore she force children of Cranbury-on-Sea to be kept away. I found Black Maria quite political. What’s more fascinating is the fact that these fictional characters appears can be compare to political figures archetype in many dictatorship society, especially Aunt Maria who can be compare to senior elites in a strictly hierarchical society that will punish anyone who is against her or act offensively to her rule. I doubt it would be different if we swap the gender of ruling class or aunt Maria to male. Ultimately, awareness that all genders, members and lives (including other species) must coexist is the key to progressive society and natural world.
Mig and Christ are also a good representation of a cooperation between different gender with capability who are not in lover relationship with a chance of beneficial conflict(like their parents). Their bond are based on sense of being part of the family which is more unconditional. This means that as siblings they both must coexist and help each others no matter how bad things go. Especially when there single mother wasn’t being very helpful which also reflects that younger generation themselves also have a power to change the world dictated by powerful force.
I really like your note on the kind of irrelevance of Aunt Maria's gender in her iron rule even though the book and plot was so much about the gender wars. It def highlights the unimportance of the whole separation of sexes and more on each person's and group's own actions and how pointless any imbalance based on gender really is. For all the stereotypical and sexist assumptions both sides have, neither party is good or bad solely on their gender alone. Anthony Green is not good because he's a man, Aunt Maria is not bad because she is a woman. He's shown as good because he wants to fix a broken system and she's shown as bad because of her manipulation, selfishness and will to control other people, male or female. It's an interesting book on a meta level that I'm still trying to wrap my head around and find the right words for ahahah
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