The Role of the Princess in Jean Cocteau’s Film Orpheus
“As he lay in his bed, Orpheus’ Death would watch him sleep.” This is one of the most notable reoccurring behaviors of the princess of death in Jean Cocteau’s Orpheus. As made apparent, one of the many differences between Cocteau’s version of Orpheus and the Greek version is that death is personified through a female princess, rather than that of a male god. How does Cocteau embody death through the princess, is she all powerful, does she escape mortal tendencies, and finally, what does all this suggest about death?
Throughout history death has been a fascination to many authors, often personified as cruel, rigid, and ugly. In Cocteau’s Orpheus, however, death (or perhaps merely a face of death), is personified through a beautiful and strong, young woman. While this façade fools Cocteau’s characters, he uses many clues to indicate the princess’s role such as appearance, dialogue, and actions.
In the first scene we are introduced to the princess when she appears at the social cafe with Cegeste, a distinguished and unruly young poet. While her role at this point remains unclear, her powerful stature is clear. She steps out of her car with grace yet confidence, making eye contact with no one, yet holding her head high. Immediately she is noticed by Orpheus, by both her beauty and authority. Her clothing is dark; black long skirt and black jacket, and her hair is worn sleeked back in a pony tail. All this indicates authority, but the color choice further indicates a cool, dark presence. Throughout the film, as the princess’s mood changes, her wardrobe also changes, from business like to more romantic and seductive. Despite these changes, one thing remains constant, the co...
... middle of paper ...
...ponding to her abuse of power. While she did possess powers, she did not possess the authority of when to exercise those powers.
In Jean Cocteau’s Orpheus, he has personified death through a beautiful princess. Throughout the film, many common beliefs of death were challenged, from those more trivial such as how death may appear, to whether it be an all-powerful occurrence, or managed under some higher power. By using the princess as death’s personification, he weakened the idea of death; suggesting that while it is beyond the hands of mere mortals a higher power is in control. As the princess took life through personal motive, perhaps there, too, is motive behind whatever power controls death. I believe Cocteau is suggesting that we live in a world where death comes to not only those deserving, but to bystanders who happen to be in the way of a personal goal.
"Glencoe, Massacre of (13 February 1692)." The Companion to British History, Routledge. London: Routledge, 2001. Credo Reference. Web. 03 December 2013. Print
Sophocles' Oedipus Tyrannus can be argued that it is related loosely to Rita Dove's The Darker Face of the Earth. This comparative and contrasting characteristics that can be seen within both plays make the reader/audience more aware of imagery, the major characters, plot, attitudes towards women, and themes that are presented from two very different standpoints. The authors Sophocles and Dove both have a specific goal in mind when writing the two plays. In this paper I will take a closer look of the two, comparing and contrasting the plays with the various elements mentioned previously.
Kilpatrick, Marcus, Edward Hebert, and John Bartholomew. "College Students' Motivation for Physical Activity: Differentiating Men's and Women's Motives for Sport Participation and Exercise ." Journal of American College Health 54 (2005): 92. Mintel . Web. 4 Dec. 2013.
One way in which Medieval women were undermined and subjugated to men was by being painted as untrustworthy temptresses, and the lady in Laustic, the unnamed lover in Lanval, and the Queen in Lanval are all portrayed as temptresses. For instance, the lady in Laustic spends all night looking over at her lover. She cannot go to the castle next door to see her lover, so instead, all night “The lady, at her window, higher,/Speaks, and looks, only desire.” From this passage we can see the sexual undertones of the story, with lady looking with desire at her lover. Elsewhere it explains that “They had all they wanted, at their leisure,/Except coming together alone, you know,/And going as far as they'd like to go,” clearly indicating the overt sexual nature of the woman’s desire for her lover and his for her. Lanval’s unnamed lover is even more overtly sexual, appearing scantily clad. The first time we meet her, the story tells, “In just ...
The Chicago Cubs are an interesting part of Illinois history, even if they are not always successful. The history of Wrigley Field, the famous players, and the stories behind every game are why Chicago loves the Cubs. It is the atmosphere of the friendly confines when you walk in through those gates. It is jumping out of your seat when the ball is being hit out of the park. It is things as little as singing the 7th inning stretch with all the other Cub fans around you. Rooting for the underdog is special, and that is why Cub fans are so loyal. The history, players, and stories of Chicago Cubs Baseball are the reasons why it is an important part of Illinois history.
King, T., 2011, “Protection of Pipelines from Ice Gouging”, The Journal of Pipeline Engineering”, 2nd Quarter.
As such, Odysseus’ journey to Hades sheds light upon the differing views of life from those who were subjected to the savagery of war and those not. When speaking with a variety of deceased individuals, Odysseus is told numerous stories of regret, accounts of death which could only be understood by one on the battlefield. Odysseus does not initially wish to speak with his mother, though he eventually recalls, “I stayed where I was until my mother / came up and drank the dark blood” (11.150-151). The interpreted symbolism behind this act is almost paradoxical, while representing the underlying theme of a different perception of mortality. Perhaps honor in a distinguished, fighting death is merely a cover for the unbearable consequences of
The Princess Bride is a fiction within a fiction, toying with the levels of reality. To accomplish the ingenious insanity that is The Princess Bride, author, William Goldman, brought together a variety of variables. The book is literally layers of information to analyze. Everything is questionable and made to leave you in controversy. Though the book had many things that make it an outstanding piece, from Goldman's interruptions to its unique beginning, the thing that plays the biggest part is Goldman's use of symbolism. Every aspect of the book seems to stem from somewhere or have some deeper meaning. This could just be our own imaginations or Goldman's intent, but one thing is for sure- Goldman wrote the book to force our imaginations to take over and think for themselves in this fictional fairytale where everything you read is false.
...ou.” This is the same exact wording Orpheus used in his letter to Eurydice. It appears that Eurydice will finally move on and accept the child, the king of the underworld, as her new husband. However, Orpheus will not give up so easily; this is strange because in the opening scene of the play it appears that Eurydice loves him more than he loves her. As Orpheus realizes Eurydice will never be able to return to the real world, he decides to kill himself in order to be with her. This is not directly stated but implied; the stage directions read, “Orpheus appears in the elevator. He sees Eurydice.” Orpheus is happy at this point, but not for long. “The elevator starts raining on Orpheus,” and he forgets everything. The irony of this ending leaves the audience feeling almost heartbroken and sympathetic for the couple, for they will never live happily ever after.
Evolution is the theory that all living forms came from ancient ancestors and is the natural process to improve a species chance of survival. Through a series of mutations, genetic drift, migration, and natural selection today’s descendants show an amazing amount of similarities and diversity. Evolution on a small scale is called microevolution, an example being the
Pipeline is used to transfer fluids liquid or gas from one location to another location. Designing pipeline refers to Pipe Engineering. It is an application of petroleum, mechanical and chemical engineering basics, that deals with designing, testing, analysis, inspection and maintenance of pipeline. Industrially, all pipeline activities are achieved with the acquiescence and guidelines of international besides to industrial codes and standards as well as the laws, rules and assize eligible of local authority.
There is a long line of history surrounding evolution. Theories really stated with creationism. According to Donald R. Prothero, leading paleontologist, creationism is the belief that living organisms in the unive...
The technique she uses to steal Death’s power lies within her ability to ascribe weakness of Death’s personality. We see in first stanza how Death cannot do the things that living beings are capable of doing. Death does not exist in a tangible form and does not actually have a consciousness that can understand a joke, does not possess eyes to find a star, does not have hands to make a bridge, nor does it have the ability to create (1-4). The vivid imagery of Death Szymborska describes seems to take on the life of an insufficient or unintelligent serial killer (8-16). At the end of the poem, it is important that the author strips Death of the fear it places on other. When she says “Whoever claims that its omnipotent is himself living proof that it’s not”, she has taken the anxiety that Death is lurking around every corner, just as a murder, ready to take you as its
The characters in the movie, Black Orpheus, are significantly altered from the Greek myth. In the myth, Orpheus and Eurydice are together from the beginning and are completely in love. Everyone is happy for their love and the only thing that stands in their way is death. In the movie, however, this is notably changed. Orpheus begins as a streetcar conductor that was engaged to Mira, giving the idea that Orpheus was in love with another woman. We quickly see that this is not the case as Orpheus is always very curt and rude with his fiancée. They are slated to get married, but there is an eerie feeling in the air that something is about to go wrong.
The Editors of Encyclopædia Britannica. "Orpheus (Greek Mythology)." Encyclopedia Britannica Online. Encyclopedia Britannica, n.d. Web. 30 Mar. 2014.