I believe that the 2012 film Brave is an almost perfect example of Maureen Murdock's Heroine's Journey. Brave tells the story of Merida, a princess in Scotland who refuses betrothal, turns her mother into a bear through witchcraft, and then resolves to bear the curse and bring her family back together.
Merida's separation from the feminine isn't one left up to interpretation. She is shown as a character who hates her mother for everything feminine about her. Merida constantly argues with her mother and sees her as someone who brings her down. She doesn't want to be like her mother and tries to do everything she can to take her mother's power over her away. Merida doesn't want to be masculine, she just wants to be independent. In a contest among young princes in neighboring kingdoms to determine who will receive her hand in marriage, Merida demands that she join the contest so that she can stay single. Her rejection of a husband is really a rejection of the feminine. She doesn't want to live the rest of her life serving her husband, so she refuses to marry anyone. In her road of trials, Merida ventures out into the forest where a magical entity leads her to a witch's house. The witch gives her a cursed cake that Merida feeds to her mother, turning her into a bear.
When she realizes that her mom is stuck as a bear, Merida attempts to find the witch again, but when she arrives at her house it's abandoned. Merida realizes that in order to turn her mom back into a person she must settle her differences with her and accept the feminine things that her mom represents to her. With only a few days to break the curse before it becomes permanent, she desperately tries to get her mom back. Even though Merida tells herself that she feels the same resentment towards her mother that she did before the curse, she slowly starts remembering lessons her mom taught her and missing her mom in her human form. Her mother, meanwhile, starts to appreciate Merida's masculine talents, like archery and hunting, and sees the virtues in being in the masculine form of a bear. She is able to protect her daughter from danger and seems to realize (although she can't talk) why Merida doesn't want to give up her adventurous life to be a wife.
By the day the curse is set to solidify, Merida and her mom have formed a new bond. In Maureen Murdock's model of the heroine's journey, one of the last steps is healing a split between mother and daughter. Thinking that they've failed and that the curse can't be broken, Merida and her mother embrace, which not only brings them together but shows Merida that she can be independent and still be a good woman, effectively healing her feminine and masculine sides. In the epilogue of the movie, Merida is shown with her family, accepted by her mother, and able to be herself. With a satisfying conclusion, Brave is a fun movie that tells the lesson of staying true to oneself while still honoring family.
Great post! I think that Merida is one of few movies that sticks pretty closely to Murdock's Heroine's Journey. The main conflict is explicitly between what society wants her to be as a woman and what she wants to be (which is more 'masculine' traits), while in other stories the split is less divided along gender lines. I also like how you point out that although she embodies more 'masculine' traits by the end of the movie, Merida is still able to be recognized as a "good woman".
ReplyDeleteYou are absolutely right! Brave follow's Murdock's example very well. Your summarization of the movie while comparing it to the Heroine's Journey was also well done. I don't think that Merida necessarily hates being a woman, I think that she hates what society expects of women, and her character arc of rejecting marriage, cursing her mother, and finally reconciling with her mother works to achieve Merida's goal of living the life she wants to live as a woman. Also we should totally watch Brave in class!
ReplyDeleteI totally agree. Brave is such a good movie, and it definitely exemplifies the Heroine's Journey's rejection of the feminine. The movie spends a lot of time focusing on Merida's discomfort with the femininity that her mother wants her to exhibit, like wearing dresses and doing embroidery instead of archery.
ReplyDeleteI agree with your observation that Brave follows the Heroine’s Journey, but this brings up an interesting question. Our class had a general consensus that the Heroine’s Journey was pretty sexist, yet Brave is widely regarded as being a feminist film, or at least being far more progressive than most princess movies. My best explanation for this is that the Heroine’s Journey isn’t inherently sexist, but perhaps seems more problematic in comparison to the Hero’s Journey. One can make an empowering story about personal identity following the Heroine’s Journey, it’s just that when this is portrayed as the archetype for films about women, it is limiting (in comparison to the male journey about mastering two worlds).
ReplyDeleteOMG I also wrote about Brave! While writing my blog post I noticed that many people considered Brave to be representative of feminist ideals because she reaches her goal without the help from a male protagonist/love interest. However, after further investigation I disagree, I think that just because she achieves her goal on her own, the emphasis that her problems were caused by her rejection of the feminine could be harmful toward young viewers. It could teach young female viewers that being "too masculine" is a bad thing and that they can only successfully have masculine traits if they also show feminine traits.
ReplyDeleteI am impressed that you found such a good example of Murdock's Heroine's Journey. I honestly do not really like this trope and have issues with the idea of a heroine's journey as a whole, but I did enjoy the movie Brave as a kid and I think you have found a rare example that fits this version of the Heroine's Journey.
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