Female representation in horror cinema: an analysis of womanhood in the movie ‘The VVitch’
LÍVIA REIM ALVES DIAS
Bachelor in Social Communication, Advertising and Marketing
FELIPE CAMPO DALL`ORTO
Prof.Ms
DISCLAIMER: This is merely an excerpt from the original article, therefore some of the context given by the background research might be lost. I left all the authors and documents I referenced at the end, jus in case you are interested in learning more about the subject :)
Alright, onto the geeking out over a horror film!
For Vanoye and Goliot-Lété (1994) film analysis is composed of two stages: deconstruction and reconstruction of the work. The first stage, deconstruction, allows the elements that make up the work to become more evident to the researcher, so that he can analyze it more closely. And the second stage corresponds to the reconstruction of the work, so that the narrative events gain a new layer of meaning, expressing the message of the film more clearly.
Thereby, it is understood the importance of knowing and contextualizing the environment and mentality that surrounded the production of the film here analyzed. For this, a presentation is made of the creator and director of the work. Robert Eggers, New Hampshire-born screenwriter, director and production designer, started his career in theater and later migrated to cinema, becoming known for his feature films The Witch (2015) and, most recently, The Lighthouse (2019).
In an interview with VICE’s YouTube channel, Eggers explains that his origins had a major influence on the creation of The Witch (2015). He explains that the fact that he grew up in the New England area — where Salem’s witch hunt took place in 1692 — his imagination was infected with stories about folklore, ghosts and, above all, witches. With that, Eggers clarifies that he intended to tell a story that represented the reality of the region.
“In order to effectively represent this world, in which ordinary people understood supernatural occurrences as an expected part of life, it is essential that all aspects of the film are executed with total realism. The characters must look like real farmers, not actors with dirt on their faces” (EGGERS, 2013, p.1).
In other words, despite the supernatural elements, the work shows a verisimilitude to the customs and manners of the people represented there, and some of the dialogues in the script are excerpts taken from newspapers, diaries and documents of the time. Thus, the film becomes a small projection of how that society lived. From this information, I present a brief analysis of the context experienced by the characters.
As aforementioned, the movie The Witch (2015) takes place in 1630 when, in a colony of immigrants from New England, one of the families is expelled due to a disagreement between the patriarch, William, and the city council. The family relocates to a small farm, on the edge of the forest and their lifes start over. Supernatural occurrences arise when Thomasin, the eldest daughter, responsible for caring for the newborn, Samuel, becomes distracted and the baby is captured by the Witch. From this point on, the conflict between the characters intensifies and carries the story towards the climax, when Thomasin joins the coven of witches who live in the forest.
The society here presented is known as the Puritan Calvinist. A society that valued work, profit and conservatism, and for these reasons, saw subversive attitudes with a gaze already shaped by superstition. Therefore, the film represents, as the director himself explains, a “Puritan nightmare”.
Thus, one can start character analysis, based on the methodology proposed by Truby (2007). It can be said that, in addition to the role of protagonist, Thomasin can also be classified by the archetypes of the Maiden and the Prostitute, already introducing duality to her personality. Meanwhile, her values are found in family union, which is constantly challenged by the film. Her position of power / status is low, playing the role of servant to the family. However, throughout the story, Thomasin faces these hierarchies, consequently facing her greatest weakness, the guilt of not fitting in with the demands of that society.
From the information presented in the previous paragraph, the needs of the character become clear. The psychological need is to free oneself from family dependence, while the moral need is for Thomasin to control her confrontational personality, which generates constant conflict in the family. Finally, the character’s wishes, a characteristic that helps to externalize the changes that happen inside. In this case, Thomasin starts the film wishing to return to the colony and be accepted. As the story progresses, the character changes, and her desire turns into a search for freedom.
With this, we have an overview of who the character is, however, as Campbell (1949) explains, every journey is full of obstacles, however they are not just any obstacles, they are deliberately set up to deal with the greatest traumas and desires of the hero, forcing them to face the past and move towards the future. And that is exactly what happens with Thomasin.
For these obstacles to actually generate conflict, Truby (2007) suggests that the characters be created by comparison. In other words, each character must serve as a direct opposite to a specific characteristic of the protagonist. That way, they will challenge the hero in every aspect of their personality.
Therefore, to better understand Thomasin, the characters that surround her will also be presented. Starting the analysis with William, father and main opponent. Like Thomasin, William has conflicting archetypes, being classified as the Tyrant and the Coward. His status is that of a dictator, the complete opposite of Thomasin, placing him in a position of power. His weakness is that he has no authority with his family, since he takes cowardly actions that end up damaging his morale with his children and wife. From these observations, the needs of the character can be pointed out, with the psychological being to overcome his cowardice and the moral failing to act proudly. Thus, it is understood that William’s pride, in fact, is a mask of his cowardice.
Therewith, one can analyze the character’s desires, which, in this case, is a reflection of his weakness, that is, William wants to be idolized and feared by his family, just as he is God-fearing.
The next character under review is Katherine, Thomasin’s mother. The archetypes associated with the character are the Great Mother and the Terrible Mother. As discussed by Randazzo (1997), these are the most influential archetypes in Western society, with the Great Mother representing protection, and the Terrible Mother, a shadow of the first, synonymous with possessiveness and destruction. Her status, despite having no direct power, is higher than that of Thomasin, due to her position as a mother, the only task in which Katherine finds meaning in her life. Being the same excessive appreciation of motherhood, also, its greatest weakness. Her needs are divided into psychological and moral, with the former being to relieve the pain of the past and the latter having to do with the grudge she has towards the people in her family.
Finally, we talk about her desires. Initially Katherine dreams of taking the role of the perfect mother and wife, however, little by little her wills are transformed, and she begins to crave revenge.
The next analysis focuses on Thomasin’s brother Caleb, who is an ally. His archetypal classification is that of the Divine Child, a symbol of purity and redemption, Puer aternus, an archetype that represents those who never mature. With that, it is possible to understand that what Caleb most values is to be respected. Despite his social status being of influence, due to the fact that he is still very young, he is treated like a child, challenging what he most values. From this, we find Caleb’s weakness, which is not feeling validated as a man. The needs, on the other hand, are the result of his weakness, being the psychological need to accept that he is not yet an adult, while morality externalizes the former, causing the character to take arrogant and childish attitudes, ironically, proving his lack of maturity.
Finally, we arrive at the topic of desires. For this character, the desire remains the same throughout the film, to become the “man of the house”. It is interesting to point out, how the characters of Thomasin and Caleb are, in a way, similar, since both have similar desires: to be accepted by society. This type of dynamic is explained by Truby (2007), when he says that the allies are extensions of the hero, allowing him to explore the central theme and the protagonist himself in a deeper way.
The last characters to be analyzed, before starting the second stage of the analysis, are Mercy and Jonas. Despite being two characters, both appear mostly together in the film, with their plot lines united. Another point to be raised is that, due to its limited role in the narrative, the classification will be carried out with some categories removed, as suggested by Truby (2007). Mercy and Jonas are classified based on their function / archetype, weakness, desire and position of power / status / ability.
It begins with the classification of function which, in this case, is that of Minor Opponents and the archetype would be the Cheater. For Truby (2007), the minor opponents are the characters that, directly or indirectly, help in advancing the Opponent. The classification of Cheater is due to the fact that, throughout history, the characters Mercy and Jonas are in charge of disobeying orders, spreading lies and generating conflict. It is also interesting that this archetype is applied to a female character, Mercy. While it is common to find male characters with this classification — since their troubles are inconvenient, but, at no time, threatening the status quo — when a girl takes this position her attitudes become affront, challenging expectations of what the behaviors are feminine, or gender expectations, as Butler (2003) explains.
With that, we move on to the topic Weakness, which for these characters is clearly their lack of independence. And as was shown in the other reviews, weakness motivates the character’s desires. For Mercy and Jonas, their initial desire is to break free from the obligations they exercise within the family, but little by little, both begin to nurture the desire to end Thomasin’s reputation. Finally, it can be said that the twins occupy a low position in the hierarchies of power, due to their young age.
With the characters and their characteristics clarified, it is possible to begin the analysis of the relationship between them.
Therefore, to better understand the protagonist’s progress, an analysis of a specific moment of the relationship between Thomasin and the other characters will be carried out. Thus, it will be possible to identify how the director and actress worked to give dimension and complexity to the character.
The first scene takes place between Thomasin and William, her father and main opponent. Initially, Thomasin is in a position of submission to her father, and at first she believes that this is her place. However, at the end of the film, she begins to question and actively combat this position.
The scene between Thomasin and her father takes place at the final act of the film. After Caleb’s death, Thomasin runs out of the house and William goes to meet her. At this point in history she has already been a victim of her father’s cowardice and lies, and she no longer trusts him blindly. So when he accuses her of being the Witch, and puts the blame for all the family’s problems on her hands, she initially tries to deny it, but after her father insists on her guilt, Thomasin confronts him.
Thomasin: You took Mother’s cup and let her blame me. Is that true?
William: Calm down.
Thomasin: I will not.
William: I am your father!
Thomasin: You are a hypocrite!
This moment can be interpreted as a turning point. As Campbell (1949) explains, each obstacle placed before the hero is a representation of their past traumas, and when these obstacles are confronted, the hero approaches their goal. In this case, Thomasin faces the greatest symbol of power and repression in her past, her father.
The next relationship to be analyzed is between Thomasin and her mother, Katherine. In this case, it is noticeable that initially there was affection between the two, however, little by little, these feelings of tenderness are transformed into jealousy.
The dispute between the two happens at the end of the film. After her confrontation with William, Thomasin is attacked by the Witch in the middle of the night, so she passes out and wakes up only witness the murder of her father by Black Phillip, the black goat of the family. After the incident, Katherine appears at the door of the house and, when she catches Thomasin watching over William’s body, starts to accuse her daughter of having triggered all the problems of the family.
The dispute escalates to a more intense level when Katherine attacks Thomasin, throwing her to the ground and choking her, leading Thomasin, in an act of defense, to grab a billhooke and blindly strike her mother to death. After this scene, Thomasin has her final transformation. After losing her entire family, she enters a catatonic state, in which she removes her bloody clothes and sleeps sitting at the table. So, after going through the entire movie with difficulty sleeping, due to constant feeling of guilt, she is finally free. She achieved her desire for freedom.
The next relationship to be analyzed is between Thomasin and her brother Caleb. Unlike the last two characters, the relationship between the siblings is one of complicity, which does not mean that there is no friction. In fact, the relationship between the two is used to show a more confident side to Thomasin.
The scene analyzed here takes place at mid point of the film. Thomasin washes her father’s clothes in the stream when Caleb, at his mother’s request, appears to fetch some water. As he fills the buckets he watches his sister, and according to the script, his eyes fall on her legs and breasts. However, Thomasin notices the looks and questions her brother.
Thomasin: Caleb?
Big splash of water.
Caleb looks at her, hurt and embarrassed.
Caleb: Stop!
Thomasin: I didn’t mean to hurt you.
Caleb gets up to go.
Thomasin: I didn’t mean to hurt you. What’s the matter with you? Come here. What’s the problem?
Caleb goes over to Thomasin and she takes him in her arms. (EGGERS, 2013, p. 33).
Caleb, in his premature desire to become a man, realizes that his sister no longer belongs to the same level as him, is no longer seen as an equal, but as an object of desire. However, instead of making Thomasin alienated from the situation, the script insinuates that she knows her influence, and tries to use it to her advantage. In this way, Thomasin takes control of her narrative, so that she removes herself from the role of object of desire, to one of control and agency over her body and sexuality.
The last relationship analyzed is between Thomasin and her younger brothers, Mercy and Jonas. The scene in question begins at minute 24:08, when Mercy says that Thomasin is guilty of the disappearance of baby Samuel, accusing her older sister of handing him over to the Witch. Caleb tries to contain the situation, but in a rage, Thomasin tells Mercy that there is indeed a witch in the forest, and that witch was her, Thomasin.
With this scene in mind, it is remarkable that despite all the guilt and fear she feels, Thomasin does not let herself be shaken by the accusations, always combating them, even if she will eventually suffer the consequences.
FINAL CONSIDERATIONS
From the scenes here analyzed, it is noticeable how the character created by Robert Eggers escapes the stereotypes commonly associated with female protagonists. In the work, the protagonist has a strong and, most importantly, a complex personality.
As presented by Campbell (1949) and Truby (2007), what makes a character truly complete is not its qualities or its flaws, but the way these characteristics interect . In the film The Witch (2015), the protagonist approaches her dilemmas from a human point of view, making decisions that often contradict her wishes, but arise from her weaknesses and needs. Thereby, Thomasin becomes a human being with dreams and fears, a person who goes beyond the damsel in distress or the treacherous prostitute.
The film presents the struggle of a young woman, who does not fit into her world of origin and goes on a journey to discover who she truly is. And it is only when she embraces all the things about her — who maybe are considered flawed or dangerous by society — that Thomasin finds a place where she is freed from shame and fear, a place in which she can be truly free.
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