Freedom

Throughout the text, and particularly within the introduction, Nelson explores the meanings, implications, and possibilities of freedom. Although each of Nelson's four songs of care and constraint confront notions and issues of freedom through a distinct lens, the introduction offers a window into Nelson's overarching thoughts on the matter. In the first subsection, "Stop Here If You Want to Talk About Freedom," Nelson opens the text describing her initial inclinations towards the topic: "I had wanted to write this book at least since the subject emerged as an unexpected subtext in a book of mine about art and cruelty" (3). The issue of freedom, she therefore suggests, is inextricable from issues of art and cruelty. Indeed, in the paragraph that follows, Nelson openly presents all of the arguments against writing the book, as its implications might be conflicting, and even dangerous. Despite these warnings, Nelson says that she "couldn't...