Wednesday, February 13, 2008
Blog 4: Women and Children
In both novels we've read so far, women and children have played a key role in the expression of horror. Men, though present in the stories, have been less involved (and perhaps less susceptible) to the horror presented in the narratives. Furthermore, the trends of women and children as having clear connections to the supernatural/monsters/unexplained continues in both film and literature. Discuss the reasons you think that women and children are such a prevalent site for horror. How does gender and/or age influence the portrayal or presence in horror? What ideological (societal, theoretical, etc.) issues are raised when women and children are most intimately acquainted with the monstrous?
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From the start, there are a few keen characteristics associated with gender and age. In general, women and children are associated with frailty, innocence, purity, and weakness. These are salient in stereotypes like damsels perched on high towers or children that are defenseless. It is due to these stereotypes that most stories focus on saving women and or children. The characters in the novel that should be protected cannot be saved in the horror genre. This is how horror arises. I think that horror tends to focus on these sorts of characters because the weak minded female protagonist is characterized as vulnerable from threats and not even a manly man can save her. It is the contrasts of these two conflicting ideals that create the horrific effect. Also, ideologically, the women have been associated with magical arts. For instance, witches are females and women are generally thought more connected to nature more then men. Thus in these stories men, who are more rational, do not and cannot see the mystical side, while women are subjected to it. Finally, children are young, meaning they have not matured enough to gain rational insight and thusly believe in supernatural phenomena. This is the reason that horror novels tend to focus on these two categories of people, because they are more associated with it.
Women and children have played significant roles in both of the novels we have read so far. Although this may seem stereotypical, I believe that one of the underlying reasons women have been so prominent in these horror novels is that it is more socially acceptable for women to be frightened and scared as opposed to men. When authors create female characters in their stories, those characters can display their fear more dramatically to emphasize the supernatural or horror elements in the plot of the story. In society, men are supposed to be the more courageous of the two genders and not show his fears in public. In regards to children, they are often portrayed in society as innocent and angelic. When there is a hint of naughtiness or slyness in a child, it can be frightening. For example, in The Turn of the Screw, the governess sees these characteristics in both Miles and Flora, and it adds to the daunting plot. The children never outwardly expose their sneaky selves but the possibility that they are hiding something causes the governess to fear Miles and Flora. In The Haunting of Hill House, although there are no children characters in the book, the nursery room in Hill House is depicted as haunted when a suspicious cold spot is discovered in the entryway to the room. I believe that because children’s lives are supposed to be carefree, joyous, and playful, when a nursery room is abandoned and lifeless, it creates a chilling and unsatisfying feeling that creates the haunted aspect. Therefore I believe that because both women and children are often categorized as weak and helpless in society, their encounters with ghosts and the supernatural can be seen as more terrifying in that they can’t put up much of a fight.
Women have been portrayed since the beginning of time as succumbing to evil more easily than men. In the Bible, Eve was the one that accepted the fruit from the devil and then she used her influence to persuade the man to also partake in the evil. Because of the woman’s actions, paradise was lost and evil was brought into the world. From that time on, women have been perceived as weaker, a seducer, and more susceptible to manipulation due to their emotions. In addition, in present day horror women are often perceived as sex symbols and “brainless” which is evident in films today. In the horror genre, women and children are usually the helpless victims of the monstrous and supernatural. Often the men are usually portrayed as the hero or when they are victims they usually die in an effort to save another. The women and children are often the ones who are controlled by the monster and sometimes succumb to their influences. Women and children continue to be presented in this way because it is the mindset of how many viewers view gender and age roles. Sometimes a child’s persona is used by the monster because of their innocent appearance and their ability to sway emotions around them. Women and children are rarely seen as having the emotional and physical stamina as a male and are victimized instead of being represented as a person capable of surviving a monster or the supernatural on their own.
Women and children are often portrayed as weaker, more emotional, and less logical than men, especially in the two novels we have read. In The Turn of the Screw it is the rich uncle who sends the governess to care for the children and although he puts her in full control, he can control her. Also, in The Haunting of Hill House it is Dr. Montague who conducts the scientific experiment and invites Eleanor to the house. Men are usually the initiators and maintain control of the situation while the women are thrown into a new environment.
Women and children were not assumed to have rational thoughts, so this makes them much easier targets for ghosts or supernatural beings to affect them and communicate through them. Children certainly would be too innocent and imaginative to be able to realize that something was wrong if they encountered something supernatural. Women were portrayed as much more in touch with their emotions, and this could have opened a connection between them and the supernatural.
The fact that it is mostly women and children being affected by the supernatural denotes a certain hierarchy in society where men were at the top and deemed women and children less intelligent. Naturally children would not have the same level of intelligence as an adult because of their innocence and naiveté, but women could have risen to the same level as men (more emotional but able to think logically and rationally) with the same treatment and if they were not “protected” from too much information. These novels seem to suggest that men needed to be there to protect the women and children from the supernatural affecting them.
Both women and children are the paradoxical holders of both weakness and power. Women have the ability to seduce and succumb, yet the weakness to be controlled themselves; children behold adult knowledge yet innocence at the same time. A topos in many horror genres alike, the female becomes a target of destruction because of her ability to castrate. Usually through the maternal figure, the monstrous engages a conflict between the symbolic (often the male world), and that which threatens its stability. As Kelli mentioned in her post, women have been the subject of the supernatural and evil for a long while now. The supernatural affects representations of masculinity and femininity, with women in the phantasmal world and men in the reasoned, real world. I think that a long persistent fear of women and children has caused men to exhibit a force upon them, for male protection—especially from castration—placing both women and children in an unreal and irrational world.
If anyone’s seen the movie Caché, there is a good essay on the role of children. Here’s a link to the pdf:
http://web.ebscohost.com/ehost/
pdf?vid=4&hid=7&sid=495165cd-3fd6
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In this essay, some exemplary points are shown when the author speaks of “The child as the ultimate locus of knowledge and judgment, being just as unforgiving in his relentless functioning as a purely mechanical apparatus, “Children clamor to make themselves ‘visible’, and to make the adults in power aware that they are always ‘being watched’ by a powerful oppositional other,” and That kids are in fact more capable of seeing and hearing than anybody else.” The author of this essay says, “malicious children have the power to be noxious to their peers because they are supported by an adult system founded on underlying prejudice, violence and racism.” Although these negative terms are not necessarily prevalent in the books that we read, I think that it draws parallel’s to the “corruption” in The Turn of the Screw, or at least on how James comments on whether or not sex should be latent or hidden. I think that the “corruption” of the children in this novella comes from the children’s observance and participation in the adult world. This may give reason to why Miles was expelled because he was “noxious to his peers” because of his adult knowledge.
I think women and children are such a prevalent site for horror because both groups are supposed to be inferior in many ways to men. During the times, both Turn of the Screw and The Haunting of Hill House were written were times when gender itself was a much-defined class. Men held a much stronger and important role than women and children and were “needed” by the former to groups. I think the authors used the women and children in the ways they did because it would almost be unrealistic and unreasonable for a man to have those kinds of reactions to the supernatural and ghosts. When writing a horror novel, you don’t want to be to off the wall and building a connection with the much respected man of the error and a ghost is an unlikely comparison. Women were already thought to be a little off at time because they were “weak” and even considered crazy when they thought they could do what men did (work force). I recall reading several novels where children were either considered holy and Christian-like or just evil. Simple things would cause a child to be considered possessed. I think younger persons, especially younger women who are at the stage in their life between childhood and adulthood are most susceptible to be portrayed as crazy or delusional and therefore perfect characters in a horror story.
Women and children are most often sites for horror because thru history they have been seen as the weaker group. Men are typically portrayed as strong and level-headed. Children on the other hand are young and susceptible to the dangers of the world, and therefore also to the “spirit” world. Women have been viewed for a long time in history, movies, and other media to be weak and needing protection. They are put into horror stories to reinforce their societal standings. Women are also used for the site of horror so that the “big, strong man” can save them and reassert himself as the necessary protector. Thru time children have been frequently said to have a connection to the spirit world and that their innocence allows spirits to communicate or express their reason for still being present in our world. Their minds are not yet closed to fantasy or chance events like those of their adult counterparts. Woman and children are associated most intimately with the monstrous since they are weaker and need protection, as society has shown its ideology to be. Society says that these groups need help and therefore the stories reflect that societal norm. As times have changed, women and children are still seen as weaker, but they have more power than they used to. They have started to come out of the old fashioned oppressive opinions, and have more power to assert themselves overall. In The Haunting of Hill House this slow change is present to a degree. Theodora is a wild, free person who experiences the manifestations of the house’s evil/ghosts. Yet she doesn’t succumb to the insanity that creeps over Eleanor. This is an example of how the times are changing and media is starting to reflect it.
As has been proven in both books we’ve read so far, women and children play a much more prevalent role in the supernatural, unexplainable, and monstrous part of literature than do men. I think this is, for the most part, a result of societal norms that dictate men to be strong and fearless and that dictate women to be more helpless and irrational.
The idea in our society is that the men are supposed to protect the women and keep them safe. Based on this expectation, much controversy would arise should any masculine figure be too closely associated with horror (when considering who is the one being terrified, not the one who is creating the terror). I think that women and children go hand in hand in the respect of their association with horror because they are generally looked at as the weaker and more vulnerable part of a group or pair and horror tends to go after the more vulnerable target because he/she is easier to get to, just as the ghosts in The Haunting of Hill House targeted Eleanor, the most vulnerable guest in the house. As women and children are more easily horrified, men are more typically the beings creating horror as they are more capable of being dominant and instilling fear.
I think that another reason for the fact that women and children play a more key role in the expression of horror is their lack of rationality and the fact that they may be more prone to fabricate exaggerations. Children, especially, are extremely imaginative which helps in the expression of horror because it lends to a more thrilling and exciting story. Should the narrator of or characters in a story allow their imaginations to run wild in their interpretations of the horrific happenings around them, they will draw the reader in and create a running wild of the reader’s imagination. In a similar fashion, the stereotype of women as irrational seems to lend well to their roles in portraying horror. Women tend to approach situations in which they are uncomfortable without a clear and rational perspective which seems to make for a more exciting and, as we have seen in Henry James’ The Turn of the Screw, ambiguous story.
In both novels we have read in this class thus far the target for the “horror” is either woman or child. This has become a very common aspect of horror perhaps because of societal views, gender stereotypes, and even sex appeal in movies. In today’s society women and children are often seen as more vulnerable, more susceptible to attack, and therefore easier to appeal to a horror setting. Majority of these views come from typical gender stereotypes that women and children are weaker, more emotional, and vulnerable. Although gender stereotypes are changing rapidly with women as personal trainers, CEO’s, and even as candidates for presidency, there is still a large majority who still see women as the more delicate sex if you will. With these stereotypes and typical characteristics associated with women it is easy to understand why there would be more entertainment from horror pertaining to women and children. It would be more comical then horrifying to see a huge man scared of ghosts, running from a killer, or going “crazy” similar to The Turn of The Screw. In addition to stereotypes, I think women are also subjected to horror for sex appeal in movies and books. If you look at horror in a sense of torture, rape, or even just being chased by a murder sex appeal can capture the audience. For example, in Scary Movie when the blonde girl with large breasts goes running through the sprinklers to escape the killer and has a certain sex appeal with her unsupported white tank top and breasts bouncing. Now if you imagine that as a huge guy running with a wet white tank top it would just be a funny situation r Finally there is the rape and torture aspect of horror in which a woman’s body plays am important role in addition to her emotional weaknesses. There are many reasons that women and children play a large role horror scenes including stereotypes, vulnerability, and even sex appeal, all of which heighten the horror we feel and see.
Several decades ago and sometimes even today, it is thought that men were stronger, both in mind and body and less susceptible to “hysteria.” It was thought that women were the weaker sex and more likely to have irrational thought. Children as well, are young and still developing and therefore will not have all the faculties necessary to make a judicious decision. In detecting horror or ghosts maybe, it is thought that women and children may be more prone to seeing things because they do not have as strong a mind to reject the unnatural. Why is it bad for children to watch a movie that maybe R-rated and contain several horrific images? Because such a sighting can cause mental imbalance and scar them for life in certain cases, thus showing that they cannot tolerate horror as well as a developed adult can. For example, Eleanor in the Haunting of Hill House comes across as very weak minded and childish and in the end it is she who goes crazy or is possessed by spirits. Also, women have always been associated with mysticism from witches to fortune tellers. These types of women have either been feared or looked to for help; but in either case women seem to be the ones more open to the “spirits” or to any sort of abnormalities. Men are more stoic and are supposed to be able to handle anything without involving feelings and emotions like women do.
Women and children are generally seen as the weaker part of the human species. It is said that the man is supposed to be the provider and protector of his family and that he is the head of the household. But I won't argue that point of view. We've been taught time after time that men are stronger than women both physically and mentally. So for a man to be the character in one of these stories that is encountering ghosts contradicts society's views that they are 'strong'. But it helps prove that women are weaker and more vulnerable. It shows that we are more susceptible to creating images that are not really there. Another reason is that women are thought to be smarter and more creative than men are. That extra creativity makes women think in depth about topics and become more open-minded about them. Children on the other hand are so young that they haven’t developed any fears, nor have they developed any preconceived notions of things that are horrific. So when ghosts appear to them, it could be because they know that children will accept them. Society dubs young children as innocent and free of judgment. So a soul looking to finish unfinished business would find comfort in a child.
Women and children are more susceptible to violence and danger than men. This goes back to the dawn of man. I like how someone mentioned Adam and Eve. Bring it back to cave man days, when a lion or a saber tooth tiger or whatever was trying to eat your tribe, who do you think was protecting who? The men did the hunting and the women and children stayed at the camp. I think the fundamental reason for this is because women have to carry the child inside of them, which certainly makes them more vulnerable. Fast forward to today and evolution has kept these same traits inside of us. Women and children never had to go out, hunt, and be brave so it is inherently easier for men to be courageous in the face of danger. This susceptibility exists to this day. If a monstrous spider or rat came into our class on Tuesday, I bet you I know who would be freaking out and who would be killing the spider. I’m not saying there aren’t exceptions. These inherent roles of men, women and children have simply leaked into our film and literature. Like someone else said, it would be more comical than scary and would not make a very good horror novel to show a man scared of a ghost, just like if the man was scared of the spider.
“Women and children first,” is a line I first thought of when I read the question posed on the blog. Women and children are singled out because of their perceived “inherent weakness.” We can see this clearly in all of the literary pieces we have read this semester. Both women and children have specific reasons for being singled out as “evil” or having a connection to the monstrous. Children, because of their young age, are more innocent and pure. That youth gives them a “mark” for the supernatural to be channeled through. Not only that but a child’s imagination is very vivid, allowing for their to always be a question of legitimacy to the claim of seeing a ghost or other supernatural event. This uncertainty adds even more to the creepy “haunting” feel. Women have always seemed to be a focus for the paranormal also. Women, generally in literature, are written into a paradigm of weakness, many times they have a singular flaw that makes their credibility questionable. I feel this has been the case for years, one could even trace it to the story of Adam and Eve. Women are easily seduced, yet also seductive. This power, along with the weakness, gives them a slightly tarnished image. Any type of flaws such as that give an opening for susceptibility to being “haunted” or more susceptible to the “monstrous.” As time moves on this paradigm for women appears to be broken down more and more often, but the novels we have read are set in a time of more strict societal rules.
The Turn of the Screw opens up letting us know that one of the main male characters is rich. The uncle is a character who portrays a lot of power by being above the rest. The remaining characters are either woman or children who are more submissive. It has been believed that woman and children are more fragile and weaker than men, making them more vulnerable to danger and pain. By being “weaker” and more “dependent” women and children become more vulnerable to ghosts and supernatural events for they are believed to be defenseless. Women are also believed to be more emotional making them open to spiritual connections between humans and the supernatural. Children are also seen as innocent and too young to know what is recall or fantasy. By having ghosts appear to children it opens up the possibility that the ghosts that are seen may be a part of their imagination. Society has always depicted woman and children as weaker people therefore by making them more connected to the supernatural it creates more fear not only because they are scared of what they are seeing but because there is also the image that they need to be saved. Part of the suspense in the novel is seeing whether or not the woman and children will be saved. However, most of the time men are not much help when it comes to dealing with the supernatural, yet they are still portrayed to be stronger than woman and children. For this reason most of the novels including the Haunting of Hill House makes men more rational and woman more innocent, placing men on top of women in society standards. Both of the novels show what is depicted in society which is that women and children need to be protected and the one that protects them is always a man.
Karen Esquives
I think there has been some talk in this thread connoting that women inherently subjected to certain fears or weaknesses. This may be a matter of opinion, and definitely pertains to the topic of women's role in our society. But I think that both readings were completely conscious of their character's gender; it wasn't a subconscious writing to place a women as the weaker and unstable character. I feel that both Jackson and James were commenting on the social constructions of gender, which are to in fact inherent, but are greatly embedded into each sex, creating out two genders. They both seem to say something negative about the way that our society conforms and molds these stereotypes. What I know of James is that he was part of Wilde's literary circle, so I suspect that he was homosexual. And Jackson was a feminist. So I think that both did not conform to societies norms and were able to comment on them from an outside perspective. Thus, I don't think that they they say such roles as genetic or inherent, but rather created, and something that they wished to destroy.
I think that the main reason why both women and children tend to be the main characters in horror books and movies is because a wide variety of societal stereotypes. First, women have so many stereotypes associated with their personalities, emotion, and emotional strength, that it makes them easy ‘prey’ for ghosts and other evil creatures. Women have typically been perceived as both physically and emotionally weak, with a great need to be protected. As this stereotype has begun to disappear, we have seen more movies with larger or more dangerous villains that pose a visible threat to both men and women. Another key social stereotype that both women and children share is that they have more vivid imaginations and are more susceptible to deception and trickery. While the stereotype is largely unfounded with respect to women, it is known that children do have more active imaginations and are less connected from reality. As we discussed previously in class, children also have a ‘less corrupted’ and more ‘innocent’ nature about them, often a stereotype. This makes children an excellent choice for a protagonist in a horror film and opens the door to more creative and far out storylines, while allowing the author to be frustratingly ambiguous.
It seems that women, especially young women, are more prone to some sort of mental/emotional breakdown. In all three stories we've read in class thus far, the main character, a woman, falls down a slippery slope of sorts when dealing with the supernatural. While starting out sane and rational, the women tend to be the most vulnerable of all the other characters. In comparison to the men in the given stories we've read, sanity seems to be completely absent in the main character. Gender roles, however, point to a very absolute divide between male and female characters. While the males are rational and static, the females are irrational, eccentric, emotional, and most of all dynamic. The role of age is less clear. Children tend to represent how the story might continue to unfold; they represent the future in many ways. Although not playing a specific and definite role, children can be used to contrast the real from the unreal, as seen in The Turn of the Screw where it wasn't clear whether the children had actually seen the ghosts or not. Finally, women and children seem to represent a source of weakness in the population. The ideology that supports leans toward the frailty of the psychological states of women and children.
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