Recently I went to the opera house in Toronto to watch two one act plays presented by the opera company Opera Atelier. The plays were presented with the common theme of Metamorphosis and Transformation. I would propose a different theme that is more in the line with the message and the story line:
Chauvinism: The subjugation of women to the male gaze
I further support my change in theme not only by the works themselves but also by the talk given before the plays written and presented by Leonard Rosmarin. The opera company very thoughtfully provided a scholar to give a talk an hour before the production. Given these are historical pieces, I looked forward to the talk as a way of attaining a greater appreciation. The talk certainly did provide that in depth view just not into the plays but rather into the rampant chauvinism of this world still raging strong
The professor giving the speech is in his seventies or eighties, an old man. Let’s not mince words here, he certainly did not. His generation is one from when the patriarchy in all its splendor was reigning supreme and the male gaze was the norm. To ensure we are all understating the same thing in the same way, what I mean by the patriarchy is “a system of society or government in which men hold the power and women are largely excluded from it” and the male gaze is “the act of depicting women and the world, in the visual arts and literature, from a masculine, heterosexual perspective that presents and represents women as sexual objects for the pleasure of the male viewer” Hannah Gadsby describes this as men painting women like they’re flesh vases for their dick flowers.
The first play was about a man who is turned into a stag and is eaten by his own hunting dogs after viewing the goddess Dianna and her nymphs naked in the bath. The rest of the hunting party is then told that the transformation was an act of revenge by a jealous goddess. Keep up with me here: Jupiter had an affair with a mortal woman. Jupiter’s wife could not touch that woman, so she has her friend Dianna change this hunter into a stag because he is related to this other woman. The hunting party is never told that the hunter was changed because he spied on Dianna in the bath.
The second play was a man who carves a statue of woman and falls in lust with it. He turns aside a real life woman who is either his girlfriend or wife, to pine over the statue. The statue then comes to life and the only thought in her pretty little head is that she loves the artists. She says in the play that she has no thought other than his wants, needs, and desires. The rest of the play is dancing to celebrate their ‘love’.
I stayed for the first half of the pre-show talk, where the play about the hunter being turned into a stag is discussed. The scholar says that the hunter suffers an unjust punishment because the man was captivated by the goddess’s beauty and that Diana was cruel in how she refused to listen to his excuses. This old man then goes on to compare this play to modern times, to the #MeToo movement. That like the hunter in the play the men of the Me Too movement are unjustly being punished. He then goes on to compare the Me Too movement to the Salem Witch Trials.
This is the part where I became physically sick. This old man scholar is not making a bad joke, he believes what he is saying. And presumably, the opera company that brought him in to speak, and given the plays they presented, agrees with his view point.
So lets go through and present a feminist counter point of view to his patriarchal, male gaze one. To spy on women as they are naked is an actual crime. There are actual punishments to go along with this crime. The reason it is a crime and punishable is because it is a violation of the rights and privacy of the person being spied upon. Whether it is a man or woman who is naked and there is another person hiding – it is not tolerable. To be punished in the play for committing this crime is not an unjust act.
The scholar ignores the hunter’s choice to spy on naked women. The scholar says that the hunter was captivated by the goddess’s beauty and could not turn away. Actually, in the play the hunter makes the choice to hide behind a bush to spy on the women. Clearly this scholar likes to change things in his mind to fit his own viewpoint.
The old man scholar then comments on the bizarre plot twist, which had no fore-shadowing at all and was just plopped into the play. A speech is made by Jupiter’s wife that it was all her idea and was an act of jealous revenge on her husband. This is a bizarre plot twist because Jupiter, his wife, his mistress, and the mistress’s connection to the hunter are not represented anywhere else in the play. Instead of commenting that this looks like the play was adjusted to then vilify the goddess for turning the hunter into a stag, which presents the message that women are not allowed to protect themselves when they are violated, the old man plays along and uses it as further proof that the hunter was a poor victim of evil women.
As for the comparison to Me Too– let’s begin with what it is. Women are sharing their stories about assault, rape, and violation. What happens after a woman shares her story is that sometimes, the man who did the assault, rape, or violation has to then accept the consequences of his actions. In a patriarchal world, here is the truth of what happens. A man assaults a woman. She says nothing for decades because of the backlash she would suffer. Backlash’s can include losing your family, your job, your standing in society, and an increase in the number of future assaults. As the patriarchy is destroyed, the gag on women is being removed and women are talking. They go to social media, type in #MeToo, and then tell their story. Afterward, anyone who desires to can search for all the posts with that hashtag. And the truth comes out. If a man has his reputation destroyed because the truth of his actions has come to light, then that is the consequences of his own actions. Like the hunter is justly punished for committing a crime the men of today are finally being held accountable for their crimes.
Me Too and the Salem Witch trials is another terrible comparison from this old man scholar that has no basis in truth or reality – unless your reality is rooted in the patriarchy fueled by the male gaze. In Salem, Massachusetts there was a small community of Puritans. There was belief in something intangible with out evidence for its existence, witchcraft and the ability to curse. To curse someone or something is to make a cow go dry, or foul a well, or something else that would have devastating consequences on a small colony. Women were accused of witchcraft and cursing their neighbors. They were then brutally killed through torture. This old man of the patriarchy seems to think that women sharing the stories of assault, which actually occurred, is the same as false accusations of a pretend evil, witchcraft. And a man who must accept the consequences of actions he took against another person which harmed that person, consequences that includes a destroyed reputation, is the same as death by torture. By hanging. By drowning. By exposure in a jail cell. To me, this old man scholar has left reality behind decades ago.
The old man scholar, after saying the hunter was unjustly punished and then makes his insulting and fantastical comparisons to Me Too and the Salem Witch trials goes on the justify spying on women as they are naked. He tries to say during the time period of the piece this would not be a big deal. Except the prior centuries are known for their extreme modesty. Not to mention, in the piece the women spends about ten minutes singing about how they wanted privacy during their bath. Again, this scholar’s ability to view the play and then make an accurate recall of it is very faulty. He is clearly changing what he sees to fit a predefined male gaze and patriarchy view point. He flatly ignores the women saying, clearly and repeatedly, that they wanted privacy.
The old man scholar then tries to say in modern times, in a nudist colony, a man can gaze on a naked woman all he wanted, and no one would say otherwise. Except, I do say otherwise. I vacation at nudist resorts – not colony – and I can tell you the rules of behavior are such that if I was made to feel uncomfortable by the behavior of another person, including them staring at me like a lecher, then that other person would be asked to leave. Man or woman, just because you want to be natural and nude, does not mean you give up your right to privacy. Lechers are not welcome in life whether it is in the past or today.
This is about where I became so overcome with disgust that I left his talk.
Given the complete lack of connection to the world as it is and the changes taking place, it seems it is time for the dear old professor to step back. And given their distasteful selection in plays, the owners of the opera group should also go away. They can reminisce together the days gone by when smacking a woman on her ass is all in play, shows her she is valued as a sex object. When women only work low level tasks to pass time until a man comes along to marry them, to fulfill their dreams of motherhood and wifely bliss. When a woman’s place was below her infant son in terms of rights, wealth, and prestige. In short, they can go home and mourn the death of the patriarchy.
November 1 Update: I heard back from the Opera company and they apologized for the comments made by the speaker. They have also passed my essay into the co-artistic directors. And they assured me that the views expressed are not that of the company and that they take the matter very seriously.
Which is great. However, the pieces themselves are also apart of the problem. If I had known of the subjugation of women to the male gaze theme of the two works then I would not have attended. Regardless of the speaker.