By Katrina Liao In December 2023 the movie Poor Things amazed all moviegoers with its surreal Victorian aesthetics and carefully crafted plot settings, and it stirred up a wide discussion on feminism and philosophical questions. The plot revolves around a female protagonist Bella Baxter, whose dying body is transplanted with the brain of her fetus in the womb by a surgeon named Godwin. The movie then sees Bella embarking on several stages of a self-discovery journey, traveling across the European continent to explore both the world and herself. What’s interesting is the fact that she is created by a man, raised by men, and introduced to the real world by a man—while in the end she enlightens herself and seeks the meaning of life on her own. This article will mainly focus on the deeper meanings behind Bella’s stages of growth, as well as the patriarchal traits represented by the male characters around her. The cage of family Filmed in black and white, the first hour of the movie takes place mostly in Godwin’s spooky house where Bella is created. Bella’s primitive animality is well presented—she stumbles on steps like a toddler, struggles with dining and urinating, and accidentally discovers sexual pleasure on her own. Although she seems to acquire language and all the essential skills steadily, there are some unusual aspects of her education. As a surgeon, Godwin constantly conducts experiments on human bodies, and Bella is allowed to play with human organs. These experiences become part of her childhood memories, which would significantly influence her decisions later in life. Bella is the object of Godwin’s experiments, and she therefore has to be under his control. She can only stay in his world and a marriage is even arranged between her and his student, Max. Godwin’s paternal character is so strong that his relationship with Bella becomes close to that of God and human. However, when she opens up a book to learn about other continents or stands on the roof to get a full view of London, her instinct tells her to break free and discover the outer world. As a result, she sets out on a journey with the philandering lawyer Duncan Wedderburn—this is her first escape. The great journey The moment Bella steps out of the house the movie starts a new chapter, and the screen suddenly becomes colorful. They first visit Lisbon, where Bella devours delicacies, music, and non-stop sex. This is the part that the audience feels uneasy about; however, from another perspective, she is just following her desire and curiosity to discover pleasure, and that is exactly what the explicit footage aims to convey. Her bold behavior is then faced with restraints: people cast unusual gazes on her, and many times Duncan has to ask her to behave herself. This section shows how ingrained morals are and how we subconsciously conform to the rules of society. As Bella becomes more and more incomprehensible and uncontrollable for Duncan, he decides to bring her on a cruise to Athens so that there is nowhere for her to go. Nevertheless, Bella experiences another discovery of humanity—this time about knowledge. Through conversations with other passengers, she starts to learn about the popular philosophical ideas of her time. She reads Emerson and Goethe, whose works contain the concepts of improvements of humans and society. She is influenced by the idea that humans are capable of transforming the world into a better place.
Bella holds this ambition and arrives at Alexandria, where she witnesses the injustice and inequality of the world for the first time. The 19th century was the age of colonialism and imperialism, and third-world countries often fell victim to exploitation and harsh oppression from Western civilization. Outside the fancy cruise Bella sees laborers and their babies dying of poverty and hunger. She is devastated by the scene which goes against all her former knowledge, and there seems to be no way for her to help, which is indicated by the broken stairs in the scene. The plot can be interpreted as an implicit accusation of the expansion of political and economic power from industrializing countries like Great Britain. Valuable lessons in Paris Out of her naive sympathy, Bella gives out all of Duncan's money to the poor, which leads to the banishment of the two from the cruise to Paris. Duncan refuses to accept the reality; while Bella embarks on her second escape by working in a brothel. Under the awful working conditions, she gets the chance to experience the life of lower class people and finds out that sexual relations are also about unequal power and control just like family and social norms. Men control women in sex, and as pointed out by the brothel owner, they especially enjoy the state of women having no choice except to submit. The old woman says with wisdom: “We must experience everything, not just the good; but degradation, horror, sadness, this makes us whole, Bella. And when we know the world, the world is ours.” To this point, Bella has come to a deeper understanding of the world, which thus leads her onto the path of socialism. Going back to where she started Upon hearing the news of Godwin’s worsening health condition, Bella goes back to London. Her growth urges her to figure out her origins, and the shocking truth about her identity is finally revealed to her. Out of curiosity, she visits the house of her husband in her last life, where she bore the idea of committing suicide. It turns out that the husband has very conventional Victorian perspectives towards women; like the other men in her life, he is determined to control her and to cage her in the house. He is convinced that women’s craziness and rebellion are the result of their sexuality, therefore Bella’s sexual organs should be removed. This leads to her third escape, not only from oppressive men but also from her past covered with pain and scars. She comes to realize that Bella Baxter is a completely different person from the pregnant woman who jumped off the bridge. At the end of the story, Bella decides to pursue a career as a surgeon. She performs an operation to transplant the head of her former husband to the body of a goat. The final scene accords with the absurdity of the movie’s distinct style—Bella sits casually in the garden of Godwin’s estate with a book of surgery and a cocktail in her hands, which signifies her self-awareness, freedom, and a positive outlook for the future. Bella’s story brings forth questions about the patriarchal perspective on women’s sexuality and autonomy over their body and mind, which further demonstrates how precious human qualities are: to question the meaning of life, to long for freedom, and to strive for progress. Bella stands as a pioneering female character with pure curiosity and no sense of shame, who is capable of transcending limitations and arriving at a state of freedom. a
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
Authors
The Taida Student Journal has been active since 1995 with an ever-changing roster of student journalists at NTU. Click the above link to read about the authors Archives
May 2024
|