Gender and Surrealism - Essay Example

Gender and Surrealism The need to understand the core meaning of both gender and surrealism, and how they interlink and relate cannot be ignored. This paper will focus on defining exactly what the two terminologies mean, after which there will be a broader perspective and detail on how gender has greatly influenced surrealism, and how surrealists have viewed gender in the present and past. The paper will also address extensively, the story of two characters, Caspar and Caroline, whose story is well narrated in the novel; “Exquisite Corpse”, originally written by Robert Irwin. The novel has been viewed by other scholars and authors, to be a surrealist painting denoted through words, as it depicts how men perceive women’s actions, approve and disapprove of them, and how Caspar the narrator defines a story about a woman he had fallen for named Caroline, who later in the story, vanishes unexpectedly. It would equally be necessary to indicate that surrealism had emanated as a movement, which encompassed both literature and art, and had flourished in Europe in between the first and Second World War. It should clearly be noted that surrealism, as many believe, is not a negation theory, but a positive expression through different literature and art, that support certain positive attributes in the society. It depicted directly the scenario as it was in the post world war Europe, where politics and culture had enjoyed great dominance. In the early 1900, surrealists had a dear tendency to shape constructions to relay and depict sexuality and gender, and to be more specific, masculinity. Many feminist personalities by then had forged criticism on the surrealist approaches of gender, where the woman’s body had been deemed to be of symptomatic of the man misogyny. The man, during that time, was seen to have great influence on how the woman thought about him, considering the man had been integrated fully in the vision to bring peace during and after the World War I (Lyford 27). The feminists continue to criticize surrealism, insisting that it was meant to be a male movement and fellowship. This is amidst the celebration of women surrealists such as Dorothea Tunning and Leonora Carrington, who liven between 1971 and 2011. The critics have been on the basis that the movement has continuously pioneered negative attributes relating to women, where the surrealists believed that the woman was to worship the man. The feminists have been dismissing such claims as depictions of sexist norms and stereotypes. The Freudian perspective Freud’s critic was not based on gender, but concentrated on the psychoanalytical aspects of surrealism. He insisted that the movement was fully a conscious one, contrary to the opinion that it was unconscious. He insisted that it was very wrong to assume that surrealism was an automation mistake, yet all the works (literature and art) done by them had been propagated and shaped by their egos. Therefore, the surrealists could not claim that they were acting on the subconscious, as their conscious mind guided them into surrealistic natures (Lyford 29). The Caspar and Caroline scenario Robert Irwin, who is the author of “Exquisite Corpse”, is considered as one of the finest writers because of his fine touch integrated with irony. The writer was very interested in the surrealist period, but was strong enough not to be bestowed in it. In the novel, Irwin brings to life the two characters, Caspar and Caroline. The proceeding paragraphs will critically analyze the two characters, in line with their different genders and the entire effect that surrealism had on them. Caspar’s view on women Caspar is seen all over the scenes of the novel to be male surrealist, whose intentions and actions were tethered towards the masculine objectivity of desire. This is noticed when Caspar far away from his Bohemian circle, and is later in the Serapion Brotherhood and through different cities. As he moves, there is a total metamorphosis ignited by his curiosity, which is natural, to experiment on certain aspects of the woman. All through the change and movement, Caspar was lucky to be in a continuous state of experience that came his way. The fact that he indulged fully in sexual activities, mesmerism, mass observation and imaginary thoughts was an indication that indeed, he viewed women to be objects for satisfaction of the ego. This is however before ne comes to meet Caroline. The author, in this scenario, depicts the masculine gender to have a perception that women are puppets that are to be used and disposed off, as they become worthless, say maybe after sexual satisfaction of the male gender (Irwin, 1995). There are different scenarios that depict Caspar’s honest view of the woman. His world was ever lit with surreal images that tormented his mind, through nightmare and abnormal shapes. He is seen to be having intentions to use Caroline just for sexual satisfaction. In the novel, these words are captured to have been said by Caspar: “However, if being nice qualified me to kiss Caroline, then I was prepared to go along with the imposture. But the truth was that I had only been standing there, holding her umbrella and handbag, as part of a long-term strategy to fuck her senseless. “ The quote is a clear demonstration of what Caspar’s intentions are, and what exactly he had wanted from Caroline. Later in the novel, another character named Clive is seen to be advising Caspar and insisting to him that surrealism is just a mere joke. Caspar, who is a supporter of surrealism nodes his head in denial but deep inside, knows that there is some truth in what Clive says. In a meeting with Orwell, he shouts at Caspar, who is seen to be fantasizing about women in his surrealism. Orwell says; “….what the fuck do you paint like that for? It’s diseased, disgusting, and phosphorescent in its putridity.” In the quote, Caspar is being asked to stop being surrealistically controlled when painting depictions of the opposite gender. Women, according to him, are meaningless in society, and are barely available for exploitation. Caroline leads Caspar to obsession and lust Regardless of his surrealism, Caspar is obsessed with Caroline, and wants her badly. Caspar is seen to worry almost every time about Caroline, together with his other friends. He is defeated by his moments where he cannot detect and differentiate between fantasy and reality. He personally admits to be in a situation same as that of an insane person, and goes ahead to relate those moments with those he had with the Serapion Brotherhood. Caspar is seen to be mesmerized and pleased with Caroline, ever since they meet. Due to his nature and the people he interacts with, he can barely understand Caroline. He had been living and operating with like-minded fellows, which could not reason with the same abilities as her. He is totally unaccustomed when it comes to dealing with such women. She is a secretary and not a prostitute or painter as men women had been perceived then (Irwin, 1995). Caspar’s obsession begins when he learns that Caroline lives in a fairly good neighborhood, goes for the amateur theatricals and uses certain pleasing words. When he realized that she was a secretary, Caspar says; “Office work! Regular hours! Office intrigues! Office jokes! To me it is a fantasy world in miniature, a modern Lilliput, endearing in the pettiness of its concerns.” Lust comes to Caspar, as he begins to leave and venture directly out of the air and turmoil at bohemia, after Caroline gives him new insights that lead him to a dazed situation of wondering gaze. Caroline, on the other hand, is not comfortable around the brotherhood. The other people in the group view her to be Caspar’s “femme trouvee”. They viewed her as someone that had been picked up by Caspar, just like any other surrealist interested in art picks up old material to aid his works. Caspar id captivated by not only her adaptability, but her exceptional high levels of intelligence. She was also seen to be in possession of common sense, a tool that the entire group had just fantasized about, but had never attained. His obsession, is however revealed better when he starts realizing that Caroline is slowly withdrawing from her. Caroline admits to him that she had been seeing someone else, after which she disappears from Caspar’s life (Irwin, 1995). Caspar is seen to feel embarrassed by Caroline’s move to withdraw from him, and feels that his repute and ego have been hurt immeasurably. Caspar, in one instance, compares with Herr Hitler, who was a mesmerist like him was being saluted and cheered on, as Caspar was confined and humiliated in a straightjacket. He thought himself as to have great talent but knew that his talent was being wasted, and he was not worthy a life considering Caroline had without doubt, left him. In London, Caspar undergoes a stream of psychoanalysis that is disastrous to him, when he is later on jailed for a certain period of time. He learns of new happenings, concerning Caroline, and his hope rekindles because of the continued desire he had for her. The above quotes and revelations are an indication on how Caspar, despite his surrealism vices, was lusting to have Caroline. He was threatening to do literally anything to get her, because of her unprecedented abilities that Caspar and his group lacked. The scenes show a scenario where the masculine nature was revealed, because a person such as Caspar was not expected to lust for a lady and want her so badly, due to his unalienated beliefs. How gender is viewed in surrealism An illustration published in 1929 (la revolution surrealiste) showcased certain photographs, some of which showed surrealists surrounding a woman that was naked. The painting of the naked women has been criticized to be telling a lot about surrealism and gender. Just like many other movements, the surrealism has been categorized as a man’s club. The movement comprised of persons that lived in their own world, as far as their masculinity was involved. All they did was to fantasize about the feminine gender. Surrealists viewed woman as an object of their dreams regarding them. This gives a clearer understanding of the male gender, including their desires and malicious interests (Caws & Rudolf 17). The object woman Usually, surrealist artistic productions, poetry and other literatures are expected to be addressing the man. The women, in most circumstances, are the only means that can assist in coming up with the works. Most men that are surrealists have been using women and have always seen them as the gender that could assist them in doing something beneficial. The woman therefore, becomes the medium through which the dreams and aspirations of the surrealists could easily be realized. The men will always use them as material to write down on paper (equated to a recording machine). As per the surrealists, the woman cannot have dreams of her own, but instead relies on the man, and her duty is just to encode the dreams of the man. They are, to the surrealists, a series of helpers and servants, in the form of angels, erotic objects and models (also dolls). The woman, as per the views of the surrealist man, is a subject that is not fully real, and is not as symbolic as the man is (Caws & Rudolf 18) Erotic Artwork Erotic works were triggered by the second surrealist manifesto of the year 1929. The erotic desires of the male surrealists were used as the only means of transformation to human consciousness. Such desires were reached where self-induced delirium was portrayed indicating that the male ego is what leads to images and certain realities that satisfied the needs and desires of the male surrealists. In the works of Gala Dali, dubbed: “The Great Masturbator” (also done in 1929), depicted is woman as being the savior in a certain psychodrama episode between loved ones, that leads to frustration and fear amidst confusion and desire. Gala, the woman in the portrait, is seen to caress the genitals of a male person. According to Chadwick Whitney, Gala depicts the role of an erotic stimulator, who has desire that causes delusionary processes, which directly link the exterior and interior realities. Many other images and art works have shown similar messages of erotic natures linked to women, examples including a woman sucking the toes of a male image, among others (Caws & Rudolf 19). The disfigured woman Surrealists with masculine nature have also been criticized by many feminists for their role in showing woman to be disfigured images that are not appealing to the human eye. Most of the pictures that are published in magazines and other outlets show women to be in the form of dolls and puppets. An instance is the works of Andre Kertesz’s popularly known as Deformations. In the artwork, the body of a female is literally detached from parts such as the arms, legs and even heads. Some images went to the level of showing castrated female figures, depicting disfigurement of body parts. It shows a total violation of the female body figure. Dissolution of the male ego The male surrealists have produced different female figures to send information to the public. Traditionally, and even in the present times, male surrealists have feared castration and dissolution of their egos. The images they create and mold, therefore, are those that show how powerful they are, in terms of decision making, and freedom. In the merge of sustaining his high ego, the male surrealist will always want to protect himself through manipulating the bodies of the woman, disfiguring it, causing intentional deformations, and continuously manhandling her body for his own good and satisfaction. One aspect that cannot be forgotten is that of photographic methods of body distortion. There are various ways that photographs could be manipulated. The female bodies are made in a grip of a perspective showing distortion, the bodies are decapitated due to shadow projections, or in other circumstances, bodies made to look like they are eaten up by light and heat (Caws & Rudolf 24). The photos, in most instances, will be dispossessed of their intended use. The surrealists will ensure they no longer have any humanism in them. They are designed to reflect the woman as a different species other than human through the corruption of visual logistics. More often or not, it would be noted that this images are molded to show how gazed the female is made to be by the male. In some instances, the images have shown a female body that is in the shape of male body organs. By doing so, the surrealists are refusing to appreciate that the woman is a different gender that has unique features to those of the man. It is a matter of who has and retains power, which has the final say, who is the dominant gender, who is disfigured and what is the reaction among other factors. There is clearly a power struggle when one critically analyzes the end product images of the surrealist man (Caws, Rudolf 26). The revival of the females Feminists have sprung up to resist the perception of male surrealists towards them. They have dismissed the claims that a woman is not destined to be, that she does not have power and identity. The picture painted to the woman, that she cannot belong to certain order, has been cast out the window too. Considering that most male surrealists were of opinion that feminist practices must always be those of negation, the critics have been upfront to state that that is not the case. In the woman, the feminists see something that can be represented, that beyond the ordinary nomenclatures and ideologies. The mastery of laws of equality and other transgressions are now fighting for the woman rights, that she should be treated with dignity and respect. They also have an element of romanticism and other capabilities, which are unique only to the female gender. Different texts of literature and image have now shown how the woman is taking control of her body, reconstructing it from the pieces left by the male surrealists. Films have also emanated, showing women that have a masculine voice, one that depicts her inner voice, which is commanding and authoritative. In the same film, there is a man with an equally feminine voice that shows weakness and trauma. This is amidst the ever surrealistic society, dominated by the male gender. Surrealism today The surrealism movement has heard a great impact in the world of literature, culture, art and most importantly, politics. Different people interested in artistic works have made an effort towards the liberation of imagination. Its dynamism has been influential to society, and it is no secret that surrealism has evolved and is still present at the present times. Many artists around the world are greatly influenced and mentored by surrealist ideas, techniques and styles. The good news remains, that things have changed for the better, women are no longer depicted to be the weaker one of gender. With the current law reforms demanding that women be treated fairly and with respect, there is no chance for the male surrealists who at one time dominated in such works. However, just like in the past, surrealism has offered artists and literature drafters a new chance to exploit their creativity and thoughts (Mical 53). Conclusion In conclusion of this writings, it is necessary to indicate that certain characteristics are defined under surrealism, and are important for a modern day artist. It is necessary to ensure that explorations and dreams of any unconscious mind can be brought to reality. The inspirations resulted from Freud’s writings. Persons with interest should be able to depict images that represent certain decays in society, such as violence and perverse sexuality. There is a chance to revolutionize surrealism, not on the basis of gender, but of ability and exploration. Works Cited Allen, B. Surrealer than Real: A Novel Whose Hero Learnt There’s a Downside to Deep Human Instincts. 1997 Retrieved from: http://www.nytimes.com/books/97/05/25/reviews/970525.25allent.html Caws, A. & Rudolf, E. Surrealism and Women. Massachusetts: Massachusetts Institute of Technology Publishers, 1991. Irwin, R. Exquisite Corpse. Overlook Publishers, 1995. Lyford, A. Surrealists Masculinities: Gender Anxiety and the Aesthetics of Post World War I: Reconstruction of France. ISBN: 9780520246409, 2007. Mical, T. Surrealism and Architecture. Psychology Press Publishers, 2005. Read More