Notes

According to Karen Armstrong, what roles have myths traditionally played in human civilization? Your readings have identified several typical female archetypes: the Temptress (or femme fatale), the Angel in the House, who is a blend of the Ideal Mother and the Virgin (a.k.a., the Innocent), and one less typical female archetype, the Hero. Do you recognize these archetypes in popular culture (fiction, television, film, comics, etc.)? Do you believe these archetypes have a role to play in our current stories?
 

Archetypes, most simply, help to establish a theme that a piece of work is adhering to. For instance, if an author chooses to have a character that fills the hero archetype, the reader may expect to be in for some sort of epic adventure story. This idea of archetypes can help define women in literature as well. There are three archetypes for female characters that seem the most prevalent. These archetypes, while seeming dated, still appear in modern literature, even if it’s in a much less literal sense. The three are; the Temptress, often a seductive figure who encompasses the core ideal of “allure;” (Kelly, 2) the Angel in the House, encompassing the general pureness and motherly instinct associated with the perfect house wife; (Noddings, 59) and the much less common archetype for female characters, the self explanatory Hero.

The Temptress is often colloquially known as the “femme fatale.” They usually are described by the “borderline perverse ecstasy [from] the men they would eventually destroy.” (Kelly, 1) Simply, Temptresses are defined by men. They are attractive, sexy, and dangerous, all traits specifically tailored to their “enemy,” man. However, as time as progressed, the Temptress has become less of a sex symbol and more of a symbol of general allure, whether that allure stems from “wit, sensuality. intelligence, or something undefinable.” (Kelly, 2) In ancient Greek times, there are the Sirens, mermaid-like beings that lured sailors off their boats and into the ocean depths through their looks and enchanting songs. In more modern times, the idea of the Temptress is not nearly as feared as it was in ancient Greece, but we can still find evidence of these women in pop culture, such as Cersei Lannister from Game of Thrones, her main pull being her intelligence. She uses her role as a woman and as a queen to insert herself into her husband’s reign, and in later seasons of the show, becomes the one ruler of King’s Landing, something she’d been aiming for since she first found herself in the presence of kings. Cersei is also an example of what may be considered the “good” use of the Temptress archetype. She knows what men see in her, and uses their underestimation of her power for her own advantage. While this may seem to reduce women back to the idea that they are the undoings of man, it’s also important to show what power a woman has, especially when underestimated. While the Temptress may not be as much of an explicit archetype as it once was, there is definitely still characters in pop culture that fit that role.

The Angel in the House was a favorite archetype of older times, when women were reduced to prizes to be won and household staples. However, the Angel in the House has two key parts that completely contradict one another. The Angel must possess the qualities of a virgin, and also the qualities of a mother. (Noddings, 77) This is an impossible feat, but these are the standards that most Victorian women were held to by the men in their life. While pop culture has tried hard to deviate from these seemingly demeaning role, you can still find trace evidence of it in some works. However, many other works actively try to break apart this archetype, such as the Pixar movie Brave, which sees a young girl, Merida, initially confined to her role as a princess break from the societal constraints and become the hero of the story. (Disney) This theme is fairly common in the modern age, as more and more women break free from the often confining role of the Angel in the House. However, some women do prefer to fill that role in their household, being the caring mother and radiant wife. What matters though, is that the woman makes her own choice to be the Angel, and isn’t be forced into the role by society. For the woman who go to the extremes to break out of that role, though, they may begin to become the archetype of the female Hero.

Heroes are not uncommon in any era, but female heroes are uncommon across the board. Everyone knows Hercules, even if they just know that he was a generally strong guy in Grecian times. Most people know the full origin story of Captain America. If you ask anyone for their example of a hero, chances are they’ll say a male character. There are only a handful of female heroes from ancient times, such as Joan of Arc or Artemis. Nowadays, though, there has been an uptick in the amount of female heroes in pop culture, like Black Widow, Wonder Woman, even Merida. However, these characters seem only to exist as a “token female character.” You almost never see two female heroes in the same medium, because “there can only be one, right? One woman to prove the stereotype. There’s only one Smurfette.” (Hurley, 96) Too often, we find ourselves satisfied with the one token character. Life imitates art, so if we start creating works that feature many women in the hero role, reality may soon follow. The movie Wonder Woman does an excellent job of this, featuring a fully functioning society devoid of men, inhabited by literal Amazon warrior women. They have a functioning government system, and almost every woman in that society is ready and able to fight. They’re not only physically strong, but mentally. See, we get these singular female heroes in the media, one woman in a sea of men. But what we truly need is a fully flushed out universe, inhabited by multiple women in positions of power. Only once we have this in works of pop culture, may we then inspire young girls that anyone can be a hero, not just one of them.