Kiss of the
Spider Woman: Motif Tracking – The Footnotes
Brainstorm:
Quotations & Explanations:
Page No |
Quotation |
Explanation |
59 |
“tries
to establish the fact that abnormal sexual behavior stems from an imbalance,
proportionally speaking, in male and female hormones” |
D.J.
West’s 1st theory. This researcher obviously views homosexuality
as ‘abnormal’ and wrong, like the majority of society at the time, and so
tries to find a scientific reason to prove why homosexuals are the way they
are, rather just accepting them as ‘normal’ people. |
59 |
“it
could be cured by means of injections to restore the hormonal balance” |
Again,
the same researcher is seeking a cure for homosexuality, suggesting it’s
strangeness and unacceptability in society at the time |
61 |
“possible
physical origin of homosexuality is…one referring to intersexuality…or
hermaphrodites, are those individuals who pertain physically to neither one
of the sexes completely, although they still present certain features of
both” |
D.J.
West’s 2nd theory. Still he searches for a ‘rational’ scientific
explanation of homosexuality. Since he, and other scientists included in the
footnotes, are not homosexuals themselves, we can’t trust their theories
because they themselves don’t know what it feels like to prefer someone with
the same sex as you. They are on the outside looking in, just as readers are
looking in on Molina and Valentin’s lives. |
82 |
“the
unexpected arrival of the foreign vedette had not
been announced with the usual fanfare; on the contrary, it was decided for Leni Lamaison to arrive
incognito at the capital city of the Reich…Leni had
already been identified with the latest rages in Parisian fashion, her beauty
having so often served to embody the same” |
This
excerpt from the Tobis-Berlin Studios press-book
for ‘Her Real Glory’ contrasts with Molina’s narrative as the press-book uses
concise, informative language whilst Molina uses a more descriptive style of
storytelling with long sentences often present. Also, the press-book
describes how Leni looks from a general
perspective, Molina chooses to go into great detail and describe everything
she’s wearing from his own views. |
84 |
“
‘can and will be halted by means of concerted nationalism on the part of the
populace itself, synthesis of State and People’ ” |
Molina’s
account of ‘Her Real Glory’ doesn’t include any quotations from the Leader
whilst the press-book does, and this portrays how he’s not interested in
politics and the more serious historical context of the film. Instead he
focuses on the romance [please see box below]. |
93 |
“Leni asks Werner to shelter her with his embrace…Leni has asked Werner to spend this last weekend with
her…so that they might dedicate some little time to visit the bewitching
valleys of the Bavarian Alps” |
The
difference between the press-book’s brief mention of romance emphasizes
Molina’s feminine side and his obsession with romance (which Molina
extensively narrates). The press-book instead focuses on making Germany seem
like an amazing country as the film is propaganda, whilst Molina chooses to
ignore all that since he’s unconcerned by it |
97 |
“West
again stresses the absence of perspective on the part of those theoreticians
who would consider homosexual tendencies as unnatural, alleging – without
proof of the fact – glandular or heredity causes” |
It
seems this researcher has contradicted himself, as above he stated
homosexuality is ‘abnormal sexual behaviour’. He now realises
it’s not unnatural and there’s no proof of what it’s caused by. This change
in opinions may be included by Puig here in order
to create parallels with his novel’s plot. In the beginning he expects
readers to think like everyone else – that homosexuality is ‘abnormal’ – and
the scientific research we’re presented with tries to explain it for us. As
the story progresses, the characters developed and the readers’ feelings for
the characters deepen though, this new opinion shows up to aid our
understanding of homosexuality. Puig is gradually
trying to persuade us that homosexuality is not ‘wrong’ by using both
scientific research and characters. |
137 |
“the
probability of a homosexual orientation increases the more the male child
identifies with his mother” |
This
reflects and possibly explains Molina’s attachment to his mother and the way
he never mentions his father. Puig is giving us a
little more information so we can develop Molina’s character by ourselves if
we choose to believe this scientific theory. |
139 |
“the
principal objection being that homosexuals whose identification is deeply
feminine seem to feel attracted to very masculine types” |
Freud’s
theory here could explain Molina’s desire for Valentin, a character who seems
very masculine. Again, Puig is letting us fill in
the gaps here for Molina’s character by presenting us with scientific
research whilst readers can choose whether we want to believe it or not. |
141 |
“certain
abnormal types of personality, whose predominant traits are avarice and an
obsession with orderliness, may be influenced by repressed anal desires…arise
from the unconscious nostalgia for the pleasure they felt when younger in
retaining…their feces” |
Another
feature of Molina could possibly be explained here by Freud’s views. He was
the one who volunteered to clean up Valentin when he had ‘accidents’ when he
was sick, and Puig is suggesting this may be why
Molina doesn’t mind doing it – firstly he’s obsessed with cleanliness,
secondly he feels guilty for playing with feces as a child, and thirdly he
truly cares for Valentin |
163 |
“outlets
for sublimation would include any activity…that permits use of sexual energy
considered to be excessive by the cannons of our society…a fundamental
distinction between repression and sublimation by suggesting the latter may
be salutary, insofar as it is indispensable to the maintenance of a civilized
community” |
We
can deduce that Molina probably didn’t have or think he had appropriate
sublimation outlets where he could express his excess sexual impulses, and
this landed him in jail for ‘corruption of minors’. His homosexual energy was
considered ‘excessive by the cannons of our society’, which may be why he
felt repressed by society at the time and had his ‘sexual revolution’. From
this quote it appears that a ‘civilized community’ has strict rules as to how
much and what kind of sexual energy one can express, hence Molina being an
outcast in this society. |
195 |
“those
who in infancy somehow reject…such rules of parental conduct [paternal or
maternal figures of a particularly stern disposition] will favor radical
causes, repudiate distinctions of class and treat understandingly those who
exhibit any unconventional inclinations; homosexuals, for example” |
This
could explain a lot about Valentin’s family
background – both or one of his parents could’ve been very strict and by
choosing to go against this conservativeness he has made himself a rebel who favours radical causes. Valentin’s
radical cause is his political movement. The quotation may also explain why
he doesn’t seem to be disgusted by Molina and is instead thankful to have him
as a cellmate because of his caring personality. Puig
probably included these footnotes in order to, once again, let readers fill
in the blanks and develop the characters in their minds according to our own
views. |
207 |
“the
boy, at the moment when he decides not to adhere to the world proposed by
such a [oppressive] father…is actually exercising a free and even
revolutionary choice isasmuch as he is rejecting
the role of the stronger, the exploitative one…the world of the mother…will
turn out to be much more attractive to him, especially because of the absence
of aggressivity” |
Again,
this could allow readers to understand how and why Molina is homosexual, has
a very close relationship with his mother and never mentions his father. It
furthermore explains why he doesn’t favour Valentin’s aggressive political movement and instead
prefers to think about romantic fairy tale stories which are not violent. |
213 |
“this prejudice…concerning homosexuals placed them on the
periphery of movements for class liberation and political action in general.
The socialist countries’ mistrust of homosexuals is notorious” |
Once
more, this could give an explanation for Molina being against Valentin’s political movement and also why he felt like
an outsider because of his country’s mistrust of homosexuals. This was
probably why he felt repressed and felt the need to ‘revolutionize’ what is
considered to be ‘normal’ sexuality. |
213 |
“the emergence of the woman’s liberation movements, when
the resulting judgments tended to discredit…those unattainable but
tenaciously imitated roles of ‘strong male’ and ‘weak female’. The subsequent
formation of homosexual liberation fronts is one proof of that” |
The
historical context is revealed here when we see the stereotypical society in
which the characters and their parents lived through. The conventional roles
were ‘strong male’ and ‘weak female’, but in the 60’s societies started
changing and became more accepting of ‘deviants’ and roles which were not
considered ‘normal’ previously (e.g. feminine males and masculine females). |
Key moment:
Pages 139-140
In
these pages Freud discusses the scientific reasons and psychological reasons
for male homosexuality. This information has come from his work ‘On Narcissism:
an Introduction’. Freud basically says that ‘the male homosexual would begin
with a temporary maternal fixation, only to finally identify himself as a
woman’. This is important because this has striking links to the way Molina has
been described throughout the novel.
The
footnote goes on to say that ‘If the object of his desire should happen to be a
young boy, this is because his mother loved him, as a boy himself’ this again
has a striking resemblance to Molina, this is particularly true when he says ‘I
was tied around my mothers apron string’ which suggests that he was loved as a
child and we already know that Molina is in prison for ‘corruption of minors’.
The
final part of the paragraph which once again resembles Molina’s behavior, is
the fact that Freud states that ‘homosexuals whose identification is deeply
feminine seem to feel attracted to very masculine types’. The masculine type
can clearly be Valentin, and to strengthen this point, the inclusion of
Molina’s love for Gabriel, who is also described as a very masculine figure is
also an example of evidence of Freud’s statement.
Essentially,
the reason for this section being of importance is that these pages reflect
Molina. This helps readers understand the reasons and the science for Molina’s
actions as well as summarizing the overall relationships in the novel. This
particular paragraph almost acts as a clue for readers to understand what is
happening in the novel, before the conclusion at the end.