Laura Menzel Blog #10: Savage Women

Sex.  Finally.  This class is about sex AND race, but the majority of this semester has been spent discussing race.  Race is of course still a very relevant issue to our society, but as Prof. Aguas mentioned, sex is still much more taboo.  This brings me to Savage Nights.

In class, much of our debate was spent trying to understand how Laura could go for such a crappy, disrespectful guy.  I could go into rationalizations to play devil's advocate, but instead I'm going to say that it doesn't matter.  Laura is a fictional character.  We can't save her.  So, what does this film say about sex and womanhood?

One woman.  Competing with a man.  For the affections of another man.  How often do we see that represented in media?  Perhaps the reason this situation seems so foreign is because we still have rigid ideas of gender and relationships.  Young, in her essay, "Lived Body vs. Gender", suggests "we throw over the concept of gender altogether and renew a concept of the lived body derived from existential phenomenology, as a means of theorizing sexual subjectivity without danger of either biological reductionism or gender essentialism" (12).  The times they are a-changing.  And maybe it's time our gender roles changed as well.

This brings me to another time period when the role of women changed - Tudor era England, specifically the reign of Henry VIII.  Prof. Aguas mentioned an HBO show called The Tudors that follows Henry VIII's reign.  Coincidentally, I have been re-watching the entire series with my roommates for the past month or so.  I love it.  Because I love this time period.  And because Anne Boleyn is one of the most interesting female characters in history.

Here's a little backstory.  Henry VIII is married to Catherine of Aragon (Spain).  At the time, everyone is Catholic.  Martin Luther was on the rise in Germany, but he had been declared a rebel and heretic by the Church, so the Protestant Reformation was still struggling to take hold.  The problem with Queen Catherine is she is considerably older than Henry VIII, and can no longer have children.  Henry VIII, after growing up with his father's struggle to unite a warring England, does not want to die without a male heir.  In comes Anne Boleyn.  Of course, Henry VIII has many mistresses, including Anne's sister, and even children with them, but they are all bastards, and putting them on the throne would surely cause a riot.

Anne is smart.  And she is also a Protestant.  She convinces the king that he must remarry to produce a legitimate male heir.  When the Pope refuses an annulment, Anne tells him that if he renounces Catholicism, he can be the head of a Church of England and grant himself a divorce.  He does so, and marries Anne.

What is the point of this (regrettably long) backstory?  That Anne got what she wanted.  She became queen of England and furthered the success of her religion.  I like to think of Anne Boleyn as a feminist of sorts for controlling her own destiny, but there were also some unfortunate consequences to her actions.  With the creation of divorce, men could overthrow their wives - and leave them without financial support.  A widow can remarry, but a divorcee is shameful.  Today, men and women are on much more equal playing ground, but relationships are still governed by gender roles.  As we watch Savage Nights, I see an ambitions woman competing for the affections of a man in power, just as Anne Boleyn competed for the favor of Henry VIII.