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Lisa Houseman has been socially conservative. She expects to prosper and to enjoy her life by complying with her society's guidance and conventions. She will create beauty and also will do her fair share to support society's disadvantaged people.
When the Dirty Dancing story begins in August 1963, nineteen-year-old Lisa has attended a women's college for two years. She has been majoring in Art History (or some similar field), but she does not intend to begin a professional career after she finishes her four-year study. Rather, she intends to marry a professional man, a couple years older, soon after she graduates. She will stay at home and raise their children through at least their high-school years. Then maybe she will begin a career in the arts.
Lisa intends to marry someone like Robbie Gould, who already has graduated from college and is beginning to attend medical school. After she marries him, she soon will become pregnant. Their first years of marriage will be difficult, as he completes his internship and then begins his medical practice, while she becomes a helpmate, housewife and mother.
Lisa's husband will prosper as a doctor, thanks significantly to her support. He will not have to spend much time helping to take care of the household and children. She will socialize with his colleagues' families. She will host parties in their home, which she will make beautiful. His career will rise above his basic medical practice -- into medical administration, teaching and leadership.
When Lisa eventually does begin her career in the arts, she will not do so because of the earnings. Rather, she will do so in order to contribute to the community's appreciation of the arts. She might manage a gallery or serve on an arts council.
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This is how nineteen-year-old Lisa, in 1963, sees her future. She is following her mother's example, which she has observed and absorbed. Lisa knows how a doctor's wife behaves, socializes and supports. She knows that a doctor's wife too eventually will reap various rewards -- happiness, love, security, status, wealth.
Lisa's political thinking fits within her acceptance of the social order. She wants to the government to keep society stable. Society should change and improve, but should do so carefully and deliberately.
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When Lisa meets Robbie at Kellerman's in August 1963, she thinks immediately that he might be "The One". She wants to advance their relationship romantically. Lisa is willing and eager to become gradually more sexual with Robbie, in accordance with the going-steady rules. She foresees that during her three-week vacation at Kellerman's, she and Robbie will advance through sexual "second base".
First base = kissing, including open-mouth (or French) kissingThey might, in the vacation's last few days, even reach "third base". They would pet each other's clothed crotches, and he would ultimately "dry-hump" her and would orgasm in his pants. Lisa gladly would allow Robbie to do so during the last days of her three-week vacation.
Second base = petting above the waist, including touching, feeling, and fondling the chest, breasts, and nipples
Third base = petting or orally stimulating below the waist, including touching, feeling, and fondling the vagina, clitoris, penis, or testicles
Home base = sexual intercourse
If their relationship continued after the vacation, then Lisa and Robbie would meet occasionally and enjoy "third base" regularly. Soon she would begin to please his naked penis orally.
As their sexual relationship progressed, Lisa and Robbie would become publicly engaged. They would set a wedding date. They would begin to enjoy sexual intercourse with condoms.
Lisa looks forward to becoming orgasmic. She never has masturbated or experienced orgasm. She foresees that during their time on "third base", he would enjoy many orgasms with her. Lisa would experience a different sexual pleasure -- tingling and arousal -- that would linger hours and even days after her sexual encounters with Robbie.
Lisa would be sincerely satisfied with this sexual progress that she foresees. Sexually, Robbie would be the man, and Lisa would be the woman. They would complement each other. During their life-time marriage, she would experience plenty of sexual pleasure and would feel satisfied, happy and fulfilled.
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Lisa imagines that Robbie too would comply with and enjoy the going-steady rules, which are considered to be fair and effective.
Lisa is dismayed and shocked when Robbie, already on their sixth day together, tries to advance to "third base" when they meet at the golf course at night. Furthermore, Robbie is aggressive, rude and insulting while doing so. Lisa bursts into tears, becomes hysterical, and rushes away from the golf course.
Lisa is far away from her girlfriends and cannot consult with any of them about the situation. Lisa certainly cannot tell her mother explicitly about Robbie's actions, because Lisa feares that her mother would advise her to terminate her relationship with Robbie.
When Lisa calms down during the following day, she decides that she would try to salvage her relationship with Robbie. She recognizes that he was a couple years older and more experienced. She recognizes that she herself should act more mature by discussing the golf-course incident with him frankly.
She assures him she was not a prude. She looks forward to becoming much more sexual with him soon. However, she still is a virgin and so wants to advance more slowly than he apparently wants to advance. She is not a slut. He should treat her respectfully.
Lisa does have such a conversation with Robbie, and it succeeds. Robbie apologizes and promises to be more patient with her. He explains that her beauty caused him to lose control of himself. He asks her to "go steady" with him.
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After they have discussed their sexual relationship, Lisa changes the subject. She asks him about his non-medical interests. Did he play any musical instruments? Did he play any sports? Did he like to visit art museums? Did he read much?
Robbie tells Lisa about the best book he ever had read -- Ayn Rand's novel The Fountainhead. Immediately, Lisa genuinely feels intrigued, because Robbie tells her the novel is about a talented architect's struggle to design buildings that featured Modern Architecture. Lisa never has imagined that there was a novel about a struggling architect. Lisa tells Robbie about her own passionate interest in Modern Art and Modern Architecture. Robbie tells Lisa that the novel also explains a lot of philosophy.
Lisa tells Robbie that she would love to read that novel. Robbie said that he happens to have the novel in his room and that he will lend it to her. The only problem is that he had annotated the novel heavily -- underlining words, marking paragraphs and writing notes in the margins. Lisa is delighted; she wants to look at Robbie's annotations!
Soon after that conversation, Robbie brings the book to Lisa. She is dismayed by the book's size. She never has read such a long book. However, she is eager to read all of it and to discuss it with Robbie.
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Continued in Part 9
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