"Yet, if she was asleep, she was dreaming of passion and afterwards I slept without dreaming for I had experienced a dream in actuality" (Carter 56).
This line was a central theme in the Infernal Desire Machines of Doctor Hoffman. Desiderio was experiencing this "actuality" due to Doctor Hoffman's "desire machines." I liked the comparison between Mary Anne's dream and Desiderio's dream because it appeared that Carter was making a distinction between the complexity of men and women. The passgae said that Mary Anne was dreaming of "passion" and I feel that that word is heavily stressed towards how women think. I think Carter is saying that dreaming is a good thing whether you are doing it while you are asleep or you're fully awake. Carter then makes a reference to Desiderio and says that he slept "without dremaing" and I feel that she is showing that men's minds are not as complex. She may be saying that the "actuality" of things is more present in men. I do agree with the author's statement because women tend to be more emotional and passionate about the "self." Whereas men take things more literally and do not think/dream about things with such passion. The book itself is quite in depth and complicated and I feel that a man would not have wrote a story like this. I feel that the author is exploring not only the complexities of the "desire" of men, but how we percieve the "self" and how we are completely driven by desire. This is why the "desire" can occur in either a "dream" or in the "actuality." Basically "desire" is always present.
This entire scene was really interesting. Carter seems to subvert a lot of traditional standards with Mary Anne and Desiderio's relationship. If you think about it, because Mary Anne was asleep, it could be argued that this is a rape scene. But your quote about her 'passion' does something really dangerous, it makes it seem as though rape is a potential desire. This point comes back in the scene with the centaurs.
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