Feminism Of Helen Of Troy In Margaret Atwood’s Poem
In the poem “Helen of Troy Does Counter Dancing”, Margaret Atwood expresses ideas that are unique and unusual in terms of feminism. The work in the style of a monologue, and the narrator herself is the personification of female beauty, Helen of Troy. Helen is one of the most famous feminine characters of Greek mythology. Helen was born from Leda and Zeus – the king of the gods, who appeared to Leda as a swan, and she became the most beautiful woman in the world. In Homer’s Iliad, and many other works, she appears as a speechless and gutless character, who has no right to make a personal choice – her father chose a husband to her (Menelaus), and then she was kidnapped by Paris, thus, she became a reason of Troy War. But in this poem “the face that launched a thousand ships” acts as a modern exotic dancer who makes money with her beauty. Usually, such a character would arouse a feeling of pity or superiority, as she is allowing herself to be exploited, although here it is Helen who looks down at other women who, in the struggle for their rights, accept the rules created and invented by men, while she is willingly choosing her own method of exploitation rather than being inevitable manipulated by men. She is in charge of her body and she is deciding how to use it. Naked, she becomes even more unattainable and powerful.
She also towers above men who believe that they own her, her naked beauty, not realizing that she owns their minds and will, she accuses them of their weakness, hidden behind their animal attitude toward a beautiful woman. In her version, Helen owns a natural force that everyone who does not possess, are trying to destroy and humiliate. The title of the poem is an allusion - protagonist refers to a Helen of Troy, most beautiful woman, according to Greek mythology. The poem is written in free verse manner without rhyme scheme and consists of three non-equal stanzas. In the first stanza the author is describing how other women depreciate the concept of beauty, trying to occupy a 'worthy' place in society on the conditions dictated by men – working on a par with men, getting lower salaries, in worse conditions – and, as a result, lose their strength and superiority: “And minimum wage, and varicose veins, just standing in one place for eight hours behind a glass counter bundled up to the neck”. This imagery shows contemporary woman model – tired, unhappy woman without any individuality, whose “success” and “dignity” are just an illusion. She revises the concept of self-esteem, as it is she who decides what to sell, and for how much. The short line for this stanza is “but I've a choice of how”. The choice of words is very unusual, but very picturesque, harsh, aimed to make imageries more intense: “varicose veins, meat sandwich, nebulous”.
In the second stanza, the speaker presents how men perceive women physical beauty and Helen’s attitude towards them. This part of the poem is full of allusions, imageries, similes and metaphors. The strip bar itself is a metaphor of the world where men are gazing at pretty women, evaluating them, feeling constant fear that the rule “everything is for sale” they established will be returned to them. They are hating and humiliating women, though it is nothing but the reflection self-contempt. Men are portrayed as cavemen – “beery worshippers”, 'warty gutturals'. The imagery is showing men as predators who are unable to tear up their victim immediately, therefore looking at her, their eyes are asking not to stop the dance: “the rows of heads, and upturned eyes, imploring, but ready to snap at my ankles'. Similes are emphasizing the atmosphere during the dance – “The music smells like foxes, crisp as heated metal, searing the nostrils or humid as August, hazy and languorous’, and right after it: “a looted city the day after, when all the rape's been done already, and the killing, and the survivors wander around looking for garbage to eat, and there's only a bleak exhaustion”. This is also an allusion to the Trojan war. Helen is tired of men’s attitude, of smiling and pretending that she can’t hear what they are talking about: “The speech here is all warty gutturals obvious as a slab of ham” – choice of words emphasizes Helen’s contempt.
Although she doesn’t feel humiliated: the strip bar is precisely chosen place, because no one can touch the dancer – and, ultimately, she does not sell herself, but only an illusion, a promise: “Like preachers, I sell vision, like perfume ads, desire or its facsimile”. This simile shows her power over men: price of illusion is their obedience to her strength. She distances herself from them, alluding to her divine origin: “but I come from the province of the gods”, “My mother was raped by a holy swan”. The short line: “I give the value”, demonstrates that beauty and attractiveness are tools that women should use to be estimable regardless of profession: “I keep the beat, and dance for them because they can't”.
The third stanza expresses Helen’s defiance. Men don’t treat her as a human. “The rest of them would like to watch me and feel nothing. Reduce me to components as in a clock factory or abattoir” – this metaphor expresses that men objectify her, hey don’t want to feel anything but sexual desire and pleasure. They can’t bear Helen’s mystery and try to resolve her, but “nothing is more opaque than absolute transparency” – this paradox once again illustrates that she is above men, undamaged by their attitude. The imagery shows a strip dancer’s real nature: “Look – my feet don't hit the marble! Like breath or a balloon, I'm rising”. “I hover six inches in the air in my blazing swan-egg of light” – allusion of Helen’s divine birth, and at the same time the portrait of a woman on a high heels, dancing in a spotlight, which reveals her beauty and helps her inner world to remain untouched. The short line is Helen’s challenge: “Try me.” She is a strip dancer, but no one can force her, humiliate or rein her: “Touch me and you'll burn”.
The protagonist, Helen of Troy, whose ancient prototype was weak and humble, is a strong and independent woman, fighter and bold individuality. Her message is that beauty and sexuality should not be suppressed, but used for women benefit. She calls other women not to obey men’s rules, and not to follow stereotypes formed in the society built by men, but to take the rightful place. Otherwise, they will always remain oppressed, impersonalized and weak. Helen doesn’t conceal that she is the one who manipulates men, and she doesn’t feel guilty for that, because if men don’t focus only on external beauty, they will not be so easily manipulated. “You think I’m not a goddess?” – men think they are higher than Helen, but don’t realize that, actually, they are paying homage to her, and since men see Helen (and all attractive women) as a face without brain and soul, they will be the weak and dependent ones.
