Female Villains LLCE

« FEMALE VILLAINS Famous Quotes: “If I lose my temper, you lose your head”. - Queen of Hearts, Alice in Wonderland “Above all: self-control.” - Lady Tremaine, Cinderella “We lose more women to marriage than war, famine and disease.” - Cruella de Vil, 101 Dalmatians “It’s called a ‘cruel irony’, like my dependence on you.” - Yzma, The Emperor’s New Groove “You want me to be the bad guy? Fine.

Now I’m the bad guy.” - Mother Gothel, Rapunzel “I’m not a queen or a monster.

I’m the Goddess of Death.” - Hela, Thor: Ragnarok “One is not born, but rather becomes, a woman.” - Simone De Beauvoir Introduction Female villains: Also called a villainess, is a villain who happens to be a woman ! But what is a villain ? A villain is a cruelly malicious person who is involved in or devoted to wickedness or crime; scoundrel; or a character in a play, novel, or the like, who constitutes an important evil agency in the plot. Today, female villains are more popular than ever.

Some see them as icons for feminism, or “girl power”. Speaking of feminism, how do female villains challenge traditional gender roles ? We will answer this question according to six different villainesses, each from a different story. First, the famous Lady Macbeth.

Then Mother Gothel.

Her name mustn’t ring any bells but trust me, it will ! Next we will see the one and only, Harley Quinn, followed by Bellatrix Lestrange. Then Ursula, the witch under the sea ! And last, but not least, Mrs.

Danvers. Summary How do female villains challenge traditional gender roles ? 1)Lady Macbeth 2)Mother Gothel 3)Harley Quinn 4)Bellatrix Lestrange 5)Ursula 6)Mrs.

Danvers Conclusion 1)Lady Macbeth Lady Macbeth is one of the leading characters written by William Shakespeare for his play, Macbeth. Portrayed as a strong and strict woman, she convinces her husband to murder the king so he could rule over the kingdom of Scotland. As the play continues, her mental health degrades itself, letting us witness how vulnerable she is but also question her true purpose in the story. It is true that,if you have read the play, you notice quite instantly that Lady Macbeth is not like the other queens we could encounter in different plays of the 17th century. Her character truly challenges the stereotypical role of the woman as a mother: her fantasy of infanticide is explicitly depicted by her statement as she was cowardice-shaming her husband into committing the murder of the king Duncan. In this scene, the violence of her fantasy is well seen. This lack of love for her own child puts her in the position of an anti-mother. An anti-mother is a mother whose behaviour goes against social expectations.

In this case, a mother who wishes to kill her child. Moreover, historians and critics find that Lady Macbeth embodies a very specific type of anti-mother: the witch.

As you may know, there are originally three witches in the Scottish play; but maybe there is a fourth one ? Two visions of what is a witch encounter: on one hand, a feminist definition, where the witch is a woman who rejects the patriarchal system, is defiant and nonconformist with a sense of empowerment, on the other hand, a demonized vision of the witch who’s a woman that let’s herself go to satanist behaviours and summons evil spirits to gain power. Both visions could be applied to Lady Macbeth; a woman refusing patriarchy, prone to be the victim of evil spirits and yet capable to instaure fear and respect in her subjects and the people who are near her in general. These two main characteristics of Lady Macbeth make her one of the first explicitly represented female villains in English literature.

Challenging both of the socially instituted roles of a mother and a woman. 2)Mother Gothel Mother Gothel is the main antagonist of the famous Disney movie Tangled.

Throughout the entire movie, Mother Gothel embodies the role of a narcissistic manipulator, ready to do all to get what she wants. In her quest to stay eternally young, she kidnaps Rapunzel, the protagonist, when she was just a baby and locks her up in a tower, not letting her see the outside world. She doesn’t quite fit the description of a traditional good mother and yet excels in faking that she is one. Her relationship with her “daughter” can be considered passive-aggressive.

Mother Gothel talks down about Rapunzel whenever she dares to give an opinion that is not to her liking, such as leaving the tower.

The song “Mother knows best”, and its reprise later in the movie, depicts the toxicity of this entire relationship and how Mother Gothel proceeds to gaslight Rapunzel into staying under her control. Gaslighting consists in manipulating a person into making them question their own reality, the veracity of their thoughts and their perception of the world. A good example of Mother Gothel’s gaslighting would be how she tries to convince Rapunzel that Flynn could never like a girl like her (Mother knows best, reprise). Mother Gothel not only manipulates but she also uses of her charms to get away with everything, especially with men, portraying her in the typical genre of the “femme fatale”. This genre is usually expected to be found with villains similar to Mother Gothel, beautiful and attractive women, but she has more than one trick up her sleeve. Since she doesn’t have the strength of a man, she has to compensate for it with her brain.

Her looks offer her an advantage, as she can seduce men without them thinking such an attractive lady could be as smart as her, therefore allowing her to use them as she pleases to get where she wants. 3)Harley Quinn Harley Quinn is the most famous female villain from DC.

It is mainly after her break up with Joker that we discover her “true” self. Usually represented as this “hot and crazy” girl, she was always outshined by her ex-boyfriend.

But, as she learnt to be on her own, her villainy has grown “crazier”. As said earlier, Harley Quinn has always been outshined by Joker. Whether it was because of his reputation or his acts, Joker has always been the main focus for the superheroes and even for the public eye, leaving Harley Quinn in the shadow of a man who didn’t care about her. After staying for a long time in an abusive relationship with Joker, Harley Quinn challenges herself to become a terrorizing criminal without him. This event has led her to grow more independent and stronger, making her more of a threat than she already was. She challenges gender roles by showing that she doesn’t need anyone and certainly not a man to be a terrorizing villain and to make herself a name in the domain, breaking the stereotypical image of the “fragile” woman who needs to be protected at all costs. 4)Bellatrix Lestrange Bellatrix Lestrange is one of the main antagonists found in the famous Harry Potter series.

She makes her first true appearance in its fifth novel; Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. According to Delaney Bullinger’s thesis “Witches, Bitches, and the Patriarchy: Gender and Power in the Harry Potter series” from Linfield University, the Death Eaters represent black magic by supporting Voldemort but also by reinforcing a rigid and patriarchal representation of gender. Voldemort being at the head of Death Eaters, he is at the very top of the hierarchical pyramid. But where does Bellatrix Lestrange stand in this pyramid ? The answer is unclear; it seems as if, no matter how loyal she is to Voldemort or how hard she tries to impress him, there is always something keeping her from reaching a higher rank in the hierarchy of this man-dominated association. She illustrates the failings of Voldemort’s dictatorship, differing in her adherence to the Death Eaters’ patriarchal hierarchy. It.... »