Goldman's portrayal of women in The Princess Bride is very interesting. His portrayal of women suggests a feeling of dislike. For example Buttercup is beautiful, yet very naive and unintelligent. Buttercup constantly needs to be rescued, and in that sense she is the typical fairytale princess. The other women in the novel are also depicted in a negative tone for example, Prince Humperdink's stepmother, Queen Bella. Queen Bella's character is nice but she is also manipulative. When Prince Humperdink's father is dying Queen Bella translates for him. The reader is told that the king is mumbling, therefore it isn't really known what he wants from his son, but Queen Bella speaks for him telling Humperdink it is his fathers wish for him to marry. She manipulates him by saying he must marry a specific princess, she is puppeteering Humperdink. Another woman who is shown in a negative light is Fezzik's mother. She is portrayed as a horrible mother who is trying to make her son a famous fighter. She is very mean to Fezzik and un-motherly. Fezzik tells her he wants to stop fighting and she tells him he better continue or she and her father will leave him alone. Which is Fezziks greatest fear.
Goldman portrays most of the women in this novel in a negative aspect. Some of the woman are shown as beautiful yet stupid, manipulative and mean. It seems as though Goldman thinks very little of women to depict all his female characters in such a way. However in Goldman's defense, his relationship with his own wife Helen, may be the reason why he portrays women in such a way. She is portrayed as domineering, a good psychologist but a cold wife.
3 comments:
I definitely did notice that Goldman portrayed the characters using very gender typical stereotypes. The women were either beautiful and unintelligent or manipulative, which are two stereotypes that are generally applied to females within novels and the media within our culture. I also felt that Goldman made the men within this novel very hyper-masculine. The Count was very interested in pain, and Humperdinck was very interested in hunting, both of which can be more applied to males than to females.
This is a very good point because it shows how much attention you took the to the character development in the book. I didn't even think about how male and female roles were defined in this novel, and they are definitely confined to very limited, stereotypical models. The women are beautiful, but dumb or manipulative and cunning, but perhaps not as beautiful. I like the comment that men are also put in stereotypes- obsessed with pain, hunting, adventure, rescuing damsels in distress, fighting- all very hyper masculine traits.
In the last few sentences you add how this might be due to his relationship with his wife Helen who is a psychiatrist. However that is all fiction. Goldman does not have a wife named Helen or a fat son. Karloff Shog is complete fiction. Even S. Morgenstern is absolute fiction as well. I advize you do a little more research and analyzation.
Post a Comment