An Oedipal Relationship in Beneix's Diva

609 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: oedipus complex in novels

The relationship between Jules and Cynthia Hawkins in Jean-Jacques Beneix's Diva is uniquely complex and vaguely oedipal. For Jules, the diva represents musical perfection, and he is completely in love with her. However, her relationship to him is somewhat maternal. Jules's obsession with Cynthia Hawkins is rather unhealthy, and he violates her purity. However, her maternal attitude towards him allows for reconciliation despite his mistakes.

From the very beginning of the movie, the voice of Cynthia Hawkins pervades everything. In fact, the opening title sequence tricks the viewer into thinking her voice is non-diegetic sound, mere background music for the on-screen occurrences. However, when Jules turns off his tape deck, the audience is jolted and quickly realizes that it is, in fact, diegetic sound. Beneix uses this trick more than once, yet each time the melodious sounds of Cynthia Hawkins's voice lulls the audience into the trap. Jules is clearly fixated on the diva, carrying the sounds of her recorded voice everywhere with her. This intense fanaticism is realized more fully when the viewer realizes that Jules has made these recordings himself; Cynthia Hawkins refuses to record her voice. Jules knows precisely every song she has sung at every concert, as he demonstrates when the diva seems skeptic that he came to Munich on his scooter to see her perform. Jules correctly identifies the composers and the songs - also able to recall other details about the concert, such as the description of her dress and the little girl who brought Cynthia a basket of red roses. Throughout the movie, Jules very adamantly asserts his love for music, particularly opera.

"Are you in love, Jules?" Alba asks, watching his face as he gazes i...

... middle of paper ...

...hia's purity. He steals her dress; he steals her voice. Jules's obsession with the diva is unhealthy and fanatical. In the initial scene at the opera, there is a close up on Jules. The viewer can see that he is rapt; a tear glistens in his eye as he watches Cynthia intently. Jules clearly carries his passion for music too far. "If you didn't exist, Jules, you shouldn't be invented ... You know the score too well," Cynthia tells him.

Jules and Cynthia have a relationship which is rather unique in its contrasts. Cynthia's purity is tainted by Jules's crazed obsession. Their relationship is simultaneously maternal and romantic, creating some degree of an oedipal complex. Ultimately, it is music which holds their entire relationship together; Cynthia's voice and Jules's appreciation is the bond which ties these two characters who are otherwise drastically different.

Show More
Related

  • Relationships in The Other Side of the Bridge by Mary Lawson

    1201 Words  | 3 Pages

    The Other Side of the Bridge by Mary Lawson is a book that depicts two different people, that mainly focuses on jealousy, rivalry and the power of obsession over half a century. There are many characters in the novel and they build relationships with one another that eventually become intertwined. The relationships that are built end up having an effect on the character, and contributes something different to his understanding of himself and the decisions he makes. Ian in the novel is an example of that, where the relationships he builds with the others, helps him find who he is as a person and affects the decisions he makes. Specifically through the relationships with Pete, his father, and Jake, he gains something different from each character which proves to be vital to who he is. Without these characters, Ian would be very different, as each character contributed something to Ian’s ultimate understanding of himself.

    Read More

  • Ethan Frome by Edith Wharton

    729 Words  | 2 Pages

    In addition to appearance, the two women have extremely different relationships with Ethan. In order to portray each woman’s relationship with Ethan, the author uses the motif of silence.

    Read More

  • Claudio and Hero's Relationship vs. Beatrice and Benedick's

    363 Words  | 1 Pages

    Renaissance society. “O that I were a man for his sake! Or that I had

    Read More

  • Sarah's Key Literary Analysis

    1800 Words  | 4 Pages

    Starting as a journalist that does what she is told Julia breaks escapes the boundaries of her marriage: by no longer doing as Bertrand tells her to do, and no longer falls victim to his appearance by having sex after they fight. By doing this she feels free to to overcome society's rules, as many people are telling her to stop after she has written her article of the Vel d’Hiv, and starts to look for

    Read More

  • Non-Traditional Relationships in The Storm and A Doll´s House

    1731 Words  | 4 Pages

    Finally, even though, for a long time, the roles of woman in a relationship have been established to be what I already explained, we see that these two protagonists broke that conception and established new ways of behaving in them. One did it by having an affair with another man and expressing freely her sexuality and the other by breaking free from the prison her marriage represented and discovering her true self. The idea that unites the both is that, in their own way, they defied many beliefs and started a new way of thinking and a new perception of life, love and relationships.

    Read More

  • Compare And Contrast Anthony Doerr And All The Light We Cannot See

    1903 Words  | 4 Pages

    They both are thought to be a freak or crazy, as they do not fit the normality. As Marie-Laure is blind, and Etienne has agoraphobia and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, or PTSD. They both lost someone that was important to them in a world war. Etienne lost his brother during World War I, and Marie-Laure lost her father during World War II. They fell broken because of the one person that understood them and that was there for them was gone and they did not know how to handle it because they when though everything together. As the story goes on you get to see Etienne’s and Marie-Laure’s relationship get strong and they began to mend the damage, and become support systems for each

    Read More

  • The Stranger by Albert Camus

    1166 Words  | 3 Pages

    Meursault’s Maman, when introduced to the reader, has already passed away; however, her past relationships that disclose themselves when Meursault attends the funeral directly contrast her son’s emotional receptivity, or lack thereof. During Maman’s funeral, a woman “in the second row...emitted a little choking sob” (8). The keeper subsequently relieves Meursault of his frustration by explaining to him that “she was devoted to [his] mother” and that they were close friends (8). Along with friendship, Maman also embraces romance during her last few days with her relationship with Thomas Perez at the home, where “[he] and [maman] [are] almost inseparable” and “people [would] tease Perez about having a fiance” (10). Maman’s attempt to form de...

    Read More

  • Family Crucible Reflection

    1074 Words  | 3 Pages

    Progress is seen on the front of Claudia and Carolyn’s relationship. David attempts to reorganizes his relationship with Claudia in an effort to remove the pressure placed on her. However, the battle between Carolyn and Claudia continues to ebb and rise as the family narrows in on the dynamics of David and Carolyn’s relationship. Napier states to Claudia that, “...the family unconsciously agreed to go back to your and Carolyn’s war to rescue your mom and dad from the hot seat” (p. 137). When the family finally breaks free from this structure the exploration of David and Carolyn’s own relationship becomes the most critical aspect in therapy.

    Read More

  • The Presentation of the Relationship Between Beatrice and Benedick in Shakespeare’s Much Ado about Nothing

    1937 Words  | 4 Pages

    The Presentation of the Relationship Between Beatrice and Benedick in Shakespeare’s Much Ado about Nothing

    Read More

  • Puppy by George Saunders

    1100 Words  | 3 Pages

    Marie, who is a product of an abusive family, is influenced by her past, as she perceives the relationship between Callie and her son, Bo. Saunders writes, describing Marie’s childhood experiences, “At least she’d [Marie] never locked on of them [her children] in a closet while entertaining a literal gravedigger in the parlor” (174). Marie’s mother did not embody the traditional traits of a maternal fig...

    Read More

  • The Cranes

    889 Words  | 2 Pages

    Although their love has endured through many years, it has come to an end in the story. All throughout the story the couple is reminiscing about their life and while they are there are some odd details that are strewn throughout.

    Read More

  • Beloved - Toni Morrison

    563 Words  | 2 Pages

    But as soon as Sethe understands who Beloved is, Beloved's claim on her is total. Sethe no longer goes to work; she attends to Beloved's wishes. Denver - who once was the most important person in Sethe’s life - tries to make claims on both Beloved as a sister and Sethe as a mother, but she is gradually shut out of the relationship. Sethe doesn’t want to tell much about her past to Denver, but to Beloved she tells nearly everything. “It became…incomplete reveries.” (p. 58)

    Read More

  • The Relationship Dynamics Of A Midsummer Night's Dream

    1353 Words  | 3 Pages

    William Shakespeare’s writings are famous for containing timeless, universal themes. A particular theme that is explored frequently in his writings is the relationship between men and women. A Midsummer Night’s Dream contains a multitude of couplings, which are often attributed to the fairies in the play. Each of these pairings has positive and negative aspects, however, some relationships are more ideal than others. From A Midsummer Night’s Dream the optimal pairings are Lysander and Hermia, Demetrius and Helena, and Oberon and Titania; while the less desirable pairings are Theseus and Hippolyta, Hermia and Demetrius, Lysander and Helena, and Titania and Bottom. Throughout A Midsummer

    Read More

  • An Analysis of To Have without Holding by Marge Piercy

    1382 Words  | 3 Pages

    She defines her idea of what is right in a relationship by describing how hard and painful it is for her to stray from that ideal in this instance. As the poem evolves, one can begin to see the author having a conflict with values, while simultaneously expressing which values are hers and which are unnatural to her. She accomplishes this accounting of values by personalizing her position in a somewhat unsettling way throughout the poem.

    Read More

  • Analysis Of Jules Ostin

    1673 Words  | 4 Pages

    As has been mentioned, Nancy Meyer’s places degrading and stereotypical roles on women, and tries to pass it off as a strong leading female character. Jules Ostin, as previously stated is a hard working and independent business women. But as the film goes on, we see Jules take on a new role. We start to see Jules reliance on a male figures in her life, to keep her safe or to help her battle her own insecurities and doubts. At times it is hard to believe that Jules even made it to where she is; because in the film, all we see of Jules is a woman who is late to meetings and feels like she is drowning in work, and is constantly saved by… you guessed it, an older male figure. Furthermore Jules relies heavily on her husband throughout the film, and once we start to see their relationship have trouble, she starts to lean heavily on Ben because she needs someone to take care of her. Which contradicts the

    Read More

More about An Oedipal Relationship in Beneix's Diva

Open Document