Of Vampires and Horcruxes: Quest for Immortality

Now here's one tough (and maybe even, crazy) question for the Twilight and Harry Potter series junkies: What do Bella Swan and Lord Voldemort (Tom Marvolo Riddle) have in common?


You might ask, "What would Meyer's clumsy, compassionate 18-year-old girl-next-door living in an obscure town called Forks share in common with Rowling's scheming, evil, criminally-insane dark wizard of the wizarding world?"

I have just started reading "Breaking Dawn," the final book of Stephanie Meyer's Twilight saga, and saw the final installment of J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter Book series onscreen, "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows," which concluded a decade of epic young adult literature of the 21st century. Incidentally, we took up Archetypal Criticism Approach in our Literary Criticism class. This critical approach "gets its impetus from psychologist Carl Jung, who postulated that humankind has a 'collective unconscious,' a kind of universal psyche, which is manifested in dreams and myths and which harbors themes and images that we all inherit. Literature, therefore, imitates not the world but rather the 'total dream of humankind."' (Walker, p. 17)

"Archetypes are the unknowable basic forms personified or concretized in recurring images, symbols, or patterns which may include motifs such as the quest or the heavenly ascent, recognizable character types such as the trickster or the hero, symbols such as the apple or snake, or images such as crucifixion (as in King Kong, or Bride of Frankenstein)--all laden with meaning already when employed in a particular work. " (Walker, 2002)

Archetypal critics search for archetypal patterns in literary works (e.g.,character types, story lines, settings, symbols). According to Jung, these patterns are embedded deep in the "collective unconscious" and involve "racial memories" of situations, events, relationships from time immemorial. (Murfin and Ray, p.23)

If this is starting to sound interesting to you, then you have chosen the right career path-- that of a future literature teacher. Knowledge and understanding of the critical approaches will also improve you as a reader. You will become a "critical" reader, not the passive swallow-everything-hook-line-and-sinker kind. Now, back to the question I posed earlier:

In the light of the Jungian or Archetypal Criticism, what's the common denominator between Bella Swan and Voldemort?

What archetypal patterns (in character types, story line, setting, etc.) can you spot and point out?

To those who have not experienced these phenomenal works of pop literature, you may cite at least two works of short fiction or two novels, at least, and share your analysis. But I strongly encourage you, soon-to-be teachers of literature, to expand your horizon and include in your reading repertoire books that define the generation that you'll be shaping.

Carpe diem!

The Passionate Shepherd to his Love, the Freudian way

This poem of Marlowe was introduced to us as an example of a Pastoral Poetry , but little did we know that the poem contains repressed desires, sexual innuendos and imageries when viewed upon the lens that of a Freudian’s.

The title itself is already intriguing. The word “passionate” is such a strong word that suggests extreme emotions describing the man who pleads with a woman. It was seconded by the first line of the poem that imbues a pleasure-seeking behavior of the man. He is not asking for the woman to marry him but only to live with him as to “Come live with me and be my love”. Marlowe being an Elizabethan (a period that exhibits romantic luxuriance) writer is sending a connotation that the woman is being invited to come and make love. Clearly, there is no declaration of love implied in the first line. The man only has this ardent desire to possess the woman sexually that is why she was invited.

The next line mentions, “That valleys, groves, hills, and fields, Woods, or steepy mountain yields“. In this line, the man promises the woman to experience pleasure in those locations. For the Shepherd, it appears to him that his expectation is that the pleasures of the world are principally sexual. There’s also a resemblance of those locations mentioned to that of a woman’s body. When the man speaks of pleasure, he actually thinks of the woman’s body that he will yield for. 

“And we will sit upon rocks,
Seeing the shepherds feed their flocks,
By shallow rivers to whose falls
Melodious birds sing madrigals.”

And the man continues wooing the woman. We can paint from the lines quoted above the lovers’ sexual activities promised if only the woman accepts the man’s invitation. The “rock” describes the man’s horniness, of him getting hard, and when we say “rock”, it can also entail the moving back and forth of the couples in a sexual intercourse.
When the “shepherd feeds his flock”, it’s the woman –deepthroating- him moving his’ all the way to her mouth. The “river” is the fluids in motion during the intercourse. The“melodious birds singing madrigals” is the noise of passion or pleasure spoken or shouted by someone during sex. 

There was also a mention of the word “flowers” which in the freudian’s lense associates it to the woman’s vagina. The bed, whom for all we know provides comfort to us can become evenly romantic when described as a bed filled with roses, or “the bed of roses”. It arrays pleasant different sexual positions giving not only comfort but satisfaction as well.

There was also this dramatic scene in a sexual act when a man slowly undresses a woman piece by piece until only the skin is left to be seen that glitters like “purest gold”.

Lastly, the last stanza of the poem shows how the man lives out his fantasies through a woman that he’d do anything to the extent of promising the improbable and impossible just to get the woman’s affirmation of coming with him. "Come live with me and be my love" was mentioned in the poem for 2 times but the woman’s response was never heard in the poem. Could this be that the woman charges the highest possible price for sex?


JESSICA SERRANO
JOHN HENRY DELIG
BEEN3

Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (Feminism)

We believe that the portrayal of the protagonist in this fairytale is unjust. It teaches children that men should be strong, brave and intelligent whereas women should simply be beautiful and submissive. It is also ingrained to the children’s mind that women are helpless and in need of a man. The fairytale suggests that without the mercy of the hunter, Snow White would certainly have died. This gives the message that women cannot fend for themselves and would have to rely on a big strong man to save them, as they have neither the courage nor the strength to do so themselves.  

The dwarves took Snow White in and asked her to stay. If they had not offered her food and shelter, there is no way for her to find it on her own. Each time Snow White falls for her stepmother’s evil plan, the dwarves were there to revive her.

Beauty is important to the female antagonist in fairytales. Beauty is how Cinderella, Snow White and Sleeping Beauty each find their prince. If they were not beautiful, the prince would never notice them. Snow White is beautiful but this is what gets her into trouble:

Firstly, her stepmother cannot bear someone to be more beautiful than she is, so the queen condemned Snow White to be hacked to death. The queen feels she has to be the most beautiful and this is the only way she can do because she has no other reasons to flaunt. However, not all women are solely concerned about their look, and they should not be judged by their appearance, but what is actually inside.

Secondly, if it is her beauty that gets her into trouble, it is also her beauty that gets her out of trouble. The hunter let her go because she looked so beautiful and innocent. If she did not look so beautiful, the prince would never have looked twice at her and she would remain dead because she is beautiful that the dwarves couldn’t bear to bury her in the ground. It shows that she is only valued because of her beauty and no mention is made to any qualities she may possess.

Thirdly, it is also her beauty that would lead her into her fall down. Snow White will soon become queen and because of this, she will become vain, the mirror would always tell her she is beautiful than the rest then pride will pumped her like a poison, this is why the queen tries to kill her. That is why the “happily ever after” is not realistic because of this cycle. I say this because the gifts from the queen showed that Snow White is subjected to become a vain.

Snow White is beautiful but intelligence is a quality she does not possess. Eventhough the dwarves have warned her of opening the door to stranger, still she opened the door to the evil queen. It shows that women are shallow and thoughtless, not to mention extremely unintelligent, as if they cannot learn from the past mistakes and that quality of Snow White gives all the rest of the women a bad name.

JESSICA SERRANO

JOHN HENRY DELIG

BEEN3

The Passionate Shepherd to His Love by Christopher Marlowe

“COME be WITH ME and be MY LOVE” – the line is repeated twice in the poem.

BAM. From the opening line itself, one cannot help not seeing anything Freudian. COME be WITH ME and be MY LOVE.( Just omit ‘be’,'and', & ‘by’) Using the Freudian approach, we can see that the persona of the poem seems to have delusions of grandeur, and believes that he can win the affection of his lady love by offering her all the material wealth he mentions in the said poem.  Realistically speaking, how can a shepherd afford “fair lined slippers with buckles of purest gold” and other such material things that are quite extravagant? Or is he talking about something else here entirely? ;) 

From the very first line, one can already surmise that the shepherd’s subconscious mind is asking his lady love not only to live with him, but also for something much, much more intimate. The line is followed by “And we will all the pleasures prove That valleys, groves, hills, and fields, woods, or steepy mountain yields,” which for us, seems very explicit. The valleys, groves, hills here represent a woman’s curves, her bosom and derriere if you will, and the field, the area between her legs.  Wood can be substituted for a man’s genitalia, which in this case, belongs to the shepherd. Basically, to us, the introductory line is an outright invitation of the shepherd to his lady love – an invitation to become intimate with him, to become one with him, to consummate their love. Be it on beds of roses that the shepherd claims he will make for the lady, or by shallow rivers where other shepherds are seen tending their flock. “And we will sit upon rocks…” here can also mean that the shepherd is saying that he is already rock-hard, so to speak. And the abundance of “flowers” mentioned in the poem, one was even a BED of ROSES – flowers represent a woman’s nether region, her vagina – which obviously denotes something very erotic. Shallow rivers and falls may quite possibly mean the exchange of bodily fluids during the act of lovemaking, and the singing of the melodious birds, the climax; perhaps the even the sounds they will make during the act of lovemaking. The mere presence of birds and flowers in the poem is quite the sexual innuendo. =) The various places mentioned where they will “all their pleasures prove” could well mean different sexual positions. He also offers her garments of the finest quality, because the only thing sexier other than looking at a woman’s naked body is seeing it clothed by wonderful garments, and then removing them piece by piece – he is implying here that he wants to give her all these wonderful things so that he may take them off himself, one at a time, to savor the moment of each and every part of his lady love’s body that is being revealed. His ultimate goal is to satisfy the woman’s desire - both material and sexual. One other thing, the fact that he offers her material wealth - wealth the likes that only nobles or royalty of that period could afford -  that is far above his station as a shepherd suggests that the shepherd has a repressed desire to be of noble status as well.

Yaw Mang

AJ Parel

Peter Pan --- Wendy Darling (feminism)

Wendy is the eldest, the only daughter and the heroine of the novel. She loves the idea of home making and storytelling and wants to become a mother; her dreams consist of adventures in a little woodland house with her pet wolf. She bears a bit of (mutual) animosity toward Tiger Lily because of their similar affections toward Peter. She does not seem to feel the same way about Tinker Bell, but the fairy is constantly bad-mouthing her and even has attempted to have her killed. She grows up at the end of the novel, with a daughter (Jane) and a granddaughter (Margaret). She is portrayed with blonde, brown, or black hair in different stories. While it is not clear on whether or not she is in love with Peter, it is safe to assume that she does have feelings toward him, at least as a child. Perhaps consequently, Wendy is often referred to as the "mother" of the Lost Boys and, while Peter also considers her to be his "mother", he takes on the "father" role, insinuating that they play a married couple at least in their games.

Wendy is a very strong character in the fairytale peter pan. she had an adventure with his little brothers to the land where nobody grows up. Peter Pan liked Wendy cause she's good at making chores, taking good care of her little brothers, and all the motherly stuffs she does. Peter Pan convinced her and her brothers to go w/ him to "neverland" which we guessed he just wanted to have someone like a mother-figure for the lost boys. On the other hand wendy quite handled the job very well. We find her very strong cause in the latter part of the story where peter pan would like to have her stayed in neverland, she refuses though as what the story is portraying there's this "love connection" between them. Wendy chose what should be and that is to return to the real world and have he dreams come true and that is to be a mother. 

from: olivyl balangue; genesis cabiles

The Passionate Shepherd to His Love; a look into a Freudian Lens

There are things that we thought it describes “innocence” and there are ways that we thought is seems to be “ordinary”. Yet, as we look upon to the “Freudian approach” it brings a deeper meaning. Men and women are the main point of this approach and the things that depicts pleasure. To men, this pleasure is when a man give everything that girls will find romantic. But little did we know it is the only way, men could get their delectation for women. They use fragrant words and promises of lavishness to seek satisfaction for women.

                Christopher Marlowe in his poem “Come live with me and be my love” confirms the subliminal desires of the guys and on how would they use tactics to get the heart of the women or let’s say the pleasure from a woman. The poem describes “courtship” and the “urge of a man”. Roses, myrtle, pretty lambs, finest wool; all of these are the wishes that men thought to be the points of weakness to give in.

The Passionate Shepherd to His Love

And we will all the pleasures prove
That valleys,groves,hills,and fields
Woods or steepy mountain yields.

What does this shepherd want to prove? Does he want to bear out what pleasure could bring “yields” if they do the intimate thing as they explore the wonder of the curves and the sleekness “valleys,groves,hills,and fields woods or steepy mountain” of each other’s body? The first three lines is already clear in confirming that that shepherd is really into the goal of making it with the nymph.
 

and we will sit upon rocks,
seeing the shepherds feed their flocks,
by shallow rivers to whose falls,
melodious birds sing madrigals.

Hmmm… He does not only want to prove the pleasures but he also somehow described the way they’ll do it. “We will sit upon rocks” this may suggest a position or it may refer to the man’s organ as it erects, “seeing the shepherds feed their flocks” – shepherds here may also refer to him or the both of them as they find the height of his or their making love, “by shallow rivers to whose falls”- (haiai…) and now here’s the ejaculation and moments really come that they have to release the height by making sounds or let’s say moaning.

And I will make the the beds of roses
And a thousand fragrant poises

a cap of flowers, and a kirtle
embroided all with leaves of myrtle;

Then, the shepherd’s erroneous principle in life comes in. He would have the pleasure first before giving the nymph the lifetime assurance of marriage by having a splendid wedding. “And I will make the the beds of roses” – this may imply a bed of comfort in their own home, “and a thousand fragrant poises” - bunch of flowers? Bouquets? Well, we can see them in the wedding day  as they are held by the bride and the maidens, “a cap of flowers” – this may be the wreath wherein the veil is attached, and finally the wedding gown that is beautifully laced and made-“kirtle embroided all with leaves of myrtle, a gown made of the finest wool”

A gown made of the finest wool
Which from our pretty lambs we pull;
Fair lined slippers for the cold,
With buckles of the purest gold;

A belt of straw and ivy buds,

With coral clasps and amber studs;

“Which from our pretty lambs we pull”, wait… does this suggests that they have savings for that day?  “Fair lined slippers for the cold, With buckles of the purest gold, A belt of straw and ivy buds, with coral clasps and amber studs;”, here is another set of elegant swears for a beautiful looking bride; from head to foot.

And if these pleasures may thee move,
Come live with me, and be my love.

The shepherds's swains shall dance and sing
For thy delight each May morning:
If these delights thy mind may move,
Then live with me and be my love.

And the last lines is the invitation that shows all the elegance that she may have, if and if only the nymph will take a move to be with him. Oh how a man can say all these promises but he would surely ground with selfish premises. 

Deon, Mharnelisa

Ponteras, Hanemar

The Passionate Shepherd in a Freudian Light

Though the poem may seem innocently lyrical and romantic at first glance, a Freudian approach to this would actually show the sensuality of the poem. Being asked to be the shepherd's "love" means being his lover. And what else could living with the shepherd mean aside from doing domestic duties? Of course it also meant domestic duties in bed. The title itself is very Freudian already; Marlowe describes the shepherd as passionate.

The word pleasures is also mentioned several times. In the first stanza, the author paints a very beautiful scene. Very romantic enough that the woman would not be able to resist a tumble in the fields or right there on the rocks, after the shepherd feeds his flock, or maybe even in between.

And what more sensual image than a bed of roses, made by the shepherd himself? Showering the woman with flowers, and making her a kirtle adorned
With only flowers and leaves of myrtle? Hmm. There are so many references to garments. Is this because clothes are sensual in the sense that they are barriers that cover the skin and hide the body's beauty? Gowns made of the finest wool so it's gentle to the skin? Does the shepherd imagine himself to be these garments that caress the woman's body? There is also awe and pride whenever a man sees his woman wearing the finest, especially if these came from him. The only thing that will probably thrill him more is when the woman will be getting out of these garments, a prelude to their May morning delights.

Priscila Delgado
Tessa Yulo

"Come" LIVE with ME and be "MY" LOVE

We don't want to make fun of Christopher Marlowe through this stuff, but we just can't help it but be amazed at how we could SEE and PAINT his work with something psychoanalytical...

starting off with....

"Come live with me and be my love,
And we will all the pleasures prove

That valleys, groves, hills, and fields,
Woods, or steepy mountain yields"
From this lines, we could see the frail promises of the shepherd,
he could not offer his darling a legal security but only a SHORT-lived relationship...
yet what could he offer, PLEASURE... when we say pleasure, are we referring to the SEXUAL pleasure here?
coz if we are, then the shepherd will take you all the way,,,,
through" valleys, groves, hills and fields, woods, or steepy mountain yields"
very nature loving this shepherd is and for sure, he would want to explore these places with you
and explore also your wonderful valleys (*hint*), groves (*the deepness"), hills (What's with the woman that is bulgy?),woods (the greenery) and steepy mountain (*hint*). All of these points out to the various wonders a man could find on the majestic creation called woman....

"And we will sit upon rocks,
Seeing the shepherds feed their flocks,

By shallow rivers to whose falls
Melodious birds sing madrigals."

It implies what happens before the *ehemmm* ;the rock is described as something hard, so is he inviting the girl to sit upon his *rock*?
If we interpret this as something related to the act, we could say that the shepherd will feed his flock, the shepherd will feed his "desire" that is being with the woman that is the object of his desire....the shallow river refers to the treasure of the woman (the woman's genitals) flowing with the juice which being constantly being pursued by the "bird" of the shepherd through his "madrigals" (songs of love) ;we could also interpret the bird and the madrigal as the melodious harmony that will be produced when they start their love-making, "when the bird has reached the shallow rivers"

"And I will make thee beds of roses
And a thousand fragrant poises,"
In this lines, the shepherd announces that he can make the nymph feel like she's in a bed of roses, the bed is the material bed where which the shepherd wants the nymph to feel like she's in a bed of roses. Roses (flowers) usually implies something sexual in nature

"A cap of flowers, and a kirtle
Embroidered all with leaves of myrtle;

A gown made of the finest wool
Which from our pretty lambs we pull;

Fair lined slippers for the cold,
With buckles of the purest gold;

A belt of straw and ivy buds,
With coral clasps and amber studs;"

These statements call for intimacy... the shepherd mentioning about a woman's garments simply denotes that he wants to be intimate with her, this also implies the men's desire... "Let me dress you up so that i may have the right to unclothe you."

"And if these pleasures may thee move,
Come live with me, and be my love.

This statement is the reminder of the shepherd to the nymph that if she wants to experience what he has to offer then she should accept it..

"The shepherds's swains shall dance and sing
For thy delight each May morning:"

The swains, a.k.a. horses refers to the woman that she will be owned by the shepherd to dance and sing for him for his delight (be his private's private libido activator), May mornings are supposed to be a time when people are at their utmost high energy... so we could only imagine how high their mornings might be...

"If these delights thy mind may move,
Then live with me and be my love. "

This statement calls for the nymph to decide for herself if she would accept the shepherd's woes.
the shepherd is hinting on the usage of the mind in which the pleasure center is located....
so if this is so... he wants the nymph to listen to the desires of her mind...
for her to live with him and be his LOVE...

and by the way... adding an "O" to the word "NYMPH" would give us the word "NYMPHO" which refers to someone who is addicted to the sexual act...

The Robber Bridegroom Ungroomed: A Feminist Approach to The Robber Bridegroom(Brothers Grimm)

The authors described the miller's daughter as beautiful, and the miller was described as anxious that his daughter  be well married and provided for.  These support the idea that that the female sex is neither inferior nor is it a gender without importance and beauty.  Women are beautiful, inside and out.  Women have the X Factor that draws people, especially the opposite sex.  This is also why men depict women as as beguiling temptresses who cause men's downfall. They won't admit it, but deep down, they are just afraid they're not worthy of a woman's affection or attention.

When the daughter was bethrothed to a very wealthy man whom the father couldn't find fault in, the daughter didn't like the suitor.  She didn't trust him, and couldn't suppress a shudder when she looks or thinks of him.  This part of the story stresses out that women are wise beings who possess common sense, and who do not get easily swayed by face value.  The father, on the other hand, represents the men who would usually just take everything; hook, line, and sinker (Does this prove the theory that men's sense does not lie in the head, but between his legs?).  Women are gifted with intuition, which is why we don't easily trust predatory males with bulging pockets and leering, crocodile grins.  And if the men think it would only take riches and a pompous ego to woe the women, they should really devise their game plan.  Women have more sense of self preservation and dignity than that.

  The bird warning the fair maiden to turn back because the place where's she's going is a murderer's lair imply that men can be (and are usually) brutish and barbaric in their ways, especially when dealing with women.  The man wanted her to come visit so he can cut her into pieces, cook, and eat her.  What does this tell us of the male sex?  They do not hold women in great regard.  They do not give us respect.  Yet they constantly need to "prove" their dominance.  This is also very relevant today.  Doesn't the boyfriend always ask the girl to come over his place?  To play a bit of Parcheesi?  We don't think so.  Women with genuine love and affection.  Men with ulterior motives and cruel intentions.  Even the cases of date and gang rapes are escalating.  Hence the title, Robber Bridegroom.
   The part where a girl was killed by the men show the injustices and oppressions done to women.  The cutting off of her finger which wore the ring was a symbol showing how men have no sense of commitment and honor, always breaking their word, and hurting women in the end.

Chivalry, as they say, is soo dead.

It's a good thing that the maiden was wise enough to throw lentils down the path she took.  The women in the story  who made the girl hide and helped her escape  symbolized the wisdom, bravery, and loyalty of women.  We always rise up to thr challenge.  Yes, we may be afraid, but we are brave enough to conquer whatever kind of foe.

We women are survivors in this discriminating, chauvinistic world full of machismo.  In the end, the maiden traps her romantic bridegroom and his men.  And so these pigs are condemned to death as punishment, something they totally deserve.  

Did we see any hysterical, fainting female in the story?  Nope.  Did the maiden have to weep and wait for Prince Charming to come rescue her?  Nope.  So sorry to put a dent in the men's oh-so-fragile sense of pride, but we women don't need
men to come rushing to our rescues.  We don't have fainting spells or whatever ridiculously fictitious thing we have been wrongly stereotyped with.  We are headstrong, independent, courageous, and wise beings with big hearts.  Who ooze with sexiness and charm.  How's that for girl power? ;)

Priscila Delgado
Tessa Yulo

My Fishy Tale ( A Feminist View on "The LIttle Mermaid")

One of my two favorite fairytales is “The Little Mermaid” (the other is “Beauty and the Beast”).  Why? I just love the sea and how I would just love to plunge myself into her world and become a mermaid just like her. Well, since I can’t be a mermaid (but who knows?) I just have to immerse myself into her world using my “IMAGINATION” (quoted from SpongeBob Squarepants). So while I was imagining myself swimming towards Atlantica, flipping my fins from reef to reef I came upon a magical oyster pearl whispering on my ear to try to look at my favorite Disney movie at a different light. That is with the eyes of a feminist.  (Bubbles forming) I decided to investigate the whole story which of course starting off with my red-headed heroine, Ariel. She is characterized as someone who is headstrong (blame the red hair), adventurous (obviously) and independent (uhuh!). Evidence you say? Well, at the start of the movie, we could see Ariel raiding sunken ships for treasures (land dweller’s common objects) and battling with fin-hungry sharks instead of going to the “welcome to the society” concert her father, King Triton prepared for her (just like what he did with her other sisters). So how’s that for being headstrong, adventurous and independent? Another aspect is the “golden” voice that Ariel possesses. Who else could sing better than her other sisters? This voice served as the epitome of her feminism. Her outspoken ways when she tried to defend her treasure trove (of land dweller stuffs) against her father caused the underwater volcanoes to erupt. Ariel sought then the help of the sea witch, Ursula. This red-head was so upset since nobody could understand her desires (not even her patriarchal and tyrannical father) that she consulted the sea witch. Okay, so let’s move to the Sea witch, Ursula. Ursula through her songs and demands managed to describe how the women are treated by men (people from land). “The men up there don’t like a lot blabber. They think a woman who gossips is a bore. But they get drawn to a lady who’s withdrawn.” This explains while Ursula asked for Ariel’s voice in exchange for legs. Men up in the surface won’t like a headstrong, independent woman who can speak for herself. The song basically describes that up in the surface, a woman who is docile, quiet and naïve is a good woman and is suited for marriage. (Are women really meant to be just that?) So Ariel now goes to the surface, voiceless and being unable to write as well. So how does she get the attention of Prince Eric? Well through body language. (Are we really just mere sex objects?) Sebastian the crab even sings of it in Kiss the Girl. “She won’t say a word not a single word so go on and kiss the girl.” And what really served as a period in the story is the fact that Prince Eric saved Ariel by killing Ursula. (Freudian add-on, Eric killed Ursula with a thrust from a broken mast of the ship which means *toot*). Getting back on the story, Ariel appeared to be a weak and dependent woman when Prince Eric saved her thus cancelling out the headstrong, adventurous and independent woman character I built up for her. (Aaawwwssss, bubbles burst!!!!)  And what’s with this whole “Prince Eric” thing? Why is his royalty the only thing that’s recognized? Ariel is the daughter of King Triton, the sea king but why isn’t she addressed as Princess Ariel but instead addressed as the “sea king’s daughter”?
                So as I swim from reef to reef, I reflected on the fact that “The Little Mermaid” was this close to being a Feminist fairytale. Too bad.. but I still like the story. Hehe. I guess I just have to swim freely in this wide ocean of life and try my best to not give up my voice for the sake of something that would destroy my freedom….


Limbaga, Angeline Marie
Tompong, Geena
BEEN3

Beauty and the Beast

                  As a feminist critic, I don't see much good qualities of a woman  in this fairy tale. Though the female character had some major roles in the story which is unlikely to most fairy tales, she was not portrayed as someone who was strong, capable, wise or efficient. Rather so childish, innocent and simple. Just by looking at her speech , "picked a rose, specially for me when you return" in the early part of the story before her father left for the journey. Even the name "Beauty" implies nothing but a good looking girl with fair skin. NO wit, no wisdom. Plus less common sense. Later in the story, it became more obvious.
                  When the father came home with the problem that she has to go and stay with the Beast, she told her father not to worry. But she had no idea what to do. She didn't have any counter plan at all. She was so naive and could not think of a solution but just to go with the flow. She didn't fight for her life or right nor her father's but to go to the castle and live with the Beast. She didn't even try to reason for the excessive demand of the Beast. A life for a rose which wasn't even picked!
                  So she lived with the Beast and later began to like him as expected from a kind woman. She cares much to what looks nice and pleasant. She is a very typical woman as she is weak, 'beautiful, obedient, kind and emotional. She forgot her promise to return to the castle when she saw her father. She just simply forgot someone who gave her everything she ever needed. But she is so pathetic that she had to cry and beg at the Beast's feet to go out and see her father.
According to the story, beauty is what she had, crying is what she knew and begging is what she did. Well she had good qualities too. But just to please the man like, being kind, obedient, gentle and beautiful. She wouldn't stand up but she obeyed. She wouldn't fight but to cry and beg. They are the possessions of the family or the husband. They are what men need. They are Men's pleasure and supposed to make men happy or complete.

Yaw Mang & AJ Parel

Link to the story: http://ivyjoy.com/fables/beauty.html

The Passionate Freudian to His Love...

Here are two very interesting guys: Christopher Marlowe [1564 - 1593], English poet, dramatist, and translator of the Elizabethan era; and Sigmund Freud [1856 - 1939], Austrian psychotherapist and "Father of Psychoanalysis."

Here's one popular approach to literary criticism, called the Psychoanalytic or Freudian Approach:"

"Psychoanalytic criticism originated in the work of Austrian psychoanalyst Sigmund Freud, who pioneered the technique of psychoanalysis. Freud developed a language that described, a model that explained, and a theory that encompassed human psychology. His theories are directly and indirectly concerned with the nature of the unconscious mind.

The psychoanalytic approach to literature not only rests on the theories of Freud; it may even be said to have begun with Freud, who wrote literary criticism as well as psychoanalytic theory. Probably because of Freud’s characterization of the artist’s mind as “one urged on by instincts that are too clamorous,” psychoanalytic criticism written before 1950 tended to psychoanalyze the individual author.

Literary works were read—sometimes unconvincingly—as fantasies that allowed authors to indulge repressed wishes, to protect themselves from deep-seated anxieties, or both. After 1950, psychoanalytic critics began to emphasize the ways in which authors create works that appeal to readers’ repressed wishes and fantasies. Not only is the diction examined for sexual imagery, but the whole work is seen through Freudian concepts: struggles of the superego, the Oedipus complex, with the repressed contents of consciousness, etc. The aim is illumination of psychic conflicts, not aesthetic ranking." (Adapted from The Bedford Glossary of Critical and Literary Terms by Ross Murfin and Supriya M. Ray. Copyright 1998 by Bedford Books.)

Now, here's one very intriguing poem by Marlowe called “The Passionate Shepherd to His Love:”

Come live with me and be my love,

And we will all the pleasures prove
That valleys, groves, hills, and fields,
Woods, or steepy mountain yields.

And we will sit upon rocks,
Seeing the shepherds feed their flocks,
By shallow rivers to whose falls
Melodious birds sing madrigals.

And I will make thee beds of roses
And a thousand fragrant poises,
A cap of flowers, and a kirtle
Embroidered all with leaves of myrtle;

A gown made of the finest wool
Which from our pretty lambs we pull;
Fair lined slippers for the cold,
With buckles of the purest gold;

A belt of straw and ivy buds,

With coral clasps and amber studs;
And if these pleasures may thee move,
Come live with me, and be my love.

The shepherds's swains shall dance and sing
For thy delight each May morning:
If these delights thy mind may move,
Then live with me and be my love.

Is there anything “Freudian” about this Renaissance poem?  If yes, cite internal evidence of sexual innuendos, repressed desires and fantasies, and scan the poem for sexual imagery.

I'm pretty sure that if Mr. Freud were alive today, he'd have a really interesting "reading' of Marlowe's poem.

Let's hear your thoughts on this. Blog your analysis not later than July 18, 2011.