A topic was brought up in a conversation on another blog about the relationship between women and their ability to sense ghosts. There are countless stories where a female character is more sensitive to the supernatural than the males present. Why is this?
My theory is that it is because women are the 'life givers' in nature. In most supernatural stories, there are usually details relating to reproduction. That is, water, confined spaces, ways of manifesting, etc. all relate to the womb. Women are tied more closely to the spiritual aspect of things, as it is from them that new life grows.
For example, when Beloved comes to physical existence, she appears out of water. Once she's made it to the shore, she leans against a tree, trying to gain control of her senses. She is, for all intents and purposes, just like a newborn child. One could also draw a parallel between the narrator at the end of The Yellow Wallpaper, who is in a reduced mental state and crawling around the room with a rope tied around her waist, to a newborn child who is unable to walk, and the rope could be compared to an umbilical cord.
Because of these ties, women are left more susceptible to the presence of ghosts. Men, who don't have the ability to labor through childbirth, are thus at a disadvantage.
Women being more prone to the supernatural is apparent in Water Ghosts. It is Corlissa who is visited by the spirits of the two deceased women. It is also apparent in The Giant Wisteria, where all of the woman, albeit a little less seriously, are witness to ghosts while their husbands are not. In Beloved, the people who interact with Beloved most closely are Sethe and Denver, and even Paul D has been stripped of most of his masculinity by the time he comes in contact with/through his contact with Beloved.
We talked about this at the beginning of the semester… Specifically, we talked in depth about why women seem to be more intuitive. I think the answer the answer lies directly within a little bit of science, and a little bit of superstition.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you completely! As women I think our intuition stems from our motherly nature. We are not only emotionally, but physically connected to our kin… In contrast, men are not. Which of course, strengths your point about the correlation between women and children, and the representation of the womb/umbilical cord.
I think this idea is especially pertinent to Beloved and Sethe in the novel. In this case, I think Sethe is especially aware of Beloved because she is her mother… Likewise, I think the argument could be made that Denver is so attached to Beloved because she was the first to be created, and born from Sethe's womb. I agree the closeness of the women is sharply contrasted to Paul D's relationships with Beloved.
I think there is also a little of a superstition here, too. I think women tend to be more empethatic, and therefore more open to supernatural experience. You make a lot of good references to different pieces of literature… but I think each one could be flushed out a little differently.
I'm surprised you don't mention No Name Woman, because it also falls into the category of ghostly and familial.
Carter,
ReplyDeleteI agree with you that the generative nature of women cause them to be more likely subjected to hauntings. I believe there is something to be said about being born in a womb (an enclosed space) and buried in an enclosed space (a coffin). However, playing devil's advocate, many men are subjected to hauntings. Think of Steven King novels, The Changeling, and Poe! Why do you believe this is?
Please note, I know not the answer to the question I posed to you. In fact, I have been struggling with it myself. But I believe that by acknowledging this argument, you will make your post that much stronger.
Carter- Interesting points you bring up. I noticed that although men are at a "disadvantage" when it comes to ghosts, more of the victims of ghosts tend to be women (Sethe, the woman in the Yellow Wall-paper, unnamed woman in the Giant Wistaria, and more). Also the ghosts in Water Ghosts were women who were killed at sea so they were victims too. Addressing why women are easily victims would definitely be important in your argument that women are susceptible to ghosts.
ReplyDeleteLori- Relating to what Carter said about women being more susceptible to ghosts, could this be further zoomed out and could you say that having a womanly role make you more susceptible to hauntings? That would be very interesting to investigate.