Gender Roles In The World Of Magic
Gender stereotypes play an important role in literally every social and political sphere. The world of magic too is not exempt from such constraints. Women are even further pushed to the background in this context that they still remain the secondary gender. Peter M. Nardi claims in his essay, “The Social World of Magicians: Gender and Conjuring” that the number of women magicians are less compared to that of men. In most cases, women either assist the male magicians or perform such psychic and occult acts like séances, fortune-telling, and mind-reading. He asks the readers to visualize the sawing of a woman in half. Nardi claims that the powerful male uses the saw and mutilates the female. Undoubtedly, Nardi’s claim resonates with the conventionality of gender norms as men always assume the role of violators of women’s bodies. Nathaniel Hawthorne depicts the essence of gender dynamics juxtaposed with an occult setting in his acclaimed short story, “The Birth-Mark. ” The story centers on the unhealthy obsession of a husband with the birthmark upon his wife’s cheek. Although the husband’s obsession is classified as a desire to perfect his wife’s beauty it manages to dissect the patriarchal gender dynamics prevalent in the society where male hegemony remains in the forefront whereas femininity is pushed to the background.
There existed a popular belief that women were always immanently capable of performing dark and mysterious deeds. Ages ago, they assumed the significance of conjurers and enchantresses, and these attributes were primarily associated with their physical beauty. Russell states that women were susceptible to demonic temptations, associating them with carnality and dishonesty. Nardi asserts that women possessed considerably less power during the 15th, 16th and 17th centuries. They suffered from social isolation and were rendered financially destitute. They were seen as subservient, and the society made them powerless when it came to unjustified charges of committing evil deeds. Consequently, Hawthorne’s story explores the dark and mysterious nature of women. Georgina, the wife, intimidates her husband, Aylmer, by the unusual appearance of her birthmark, a presence signifying the mysterious and magical nature of women. Her birthmark assumes the role of an insidious literary element, with its descriptions spanning almost a full-page, relaying the character’s obsession with it. Georgina’s ex-lovers used to claim that some fairy had placed her hand on her cheek when she was an infant and left the birthmark to signify the magic about her that seemed to attract men. On the other hand, some women argued that the birthmark ruined Georgina’s beauty whereas some men asserted how she would have been an ideal beauty if not for this minor flaw. Her physical beauty seemed to accentuate the appearance of the birthmark making her husband uncomfortable with it. In essence, it represented the dark and mysterious nature of women that seemed to associate itself with the alluring beauty of Georgina.
Magic is perceived as a form of practice that wields control over another. Nardi asserts that magic is forceful and intrusive, involving significant challenges. Finally, it is won at the expense of others. By creating an illusion, the magician holds control over another and fools the audience. For doing that, magical performances often employ instruments such as wands, swords, and boxes. In these cases, men play significant roles in magic, by controlling, and following logical sequences for creating a magical effect. Canter states that a magical performance retains its humor only when a woman is disparaged by a man. The occult setting that Hawthorne emulates, accentuated by the ominous presence of Georgina’s birthmark, can be connoted to the world of magicians. Aylmer is not explicitly forceful in prompting Georgina to remove the birthmark. Nevertheless, he is adamant about erasing it, as evident by his passive persuasion made toward Georgina. The birthmark could have been a vital element that destabilized Aylmer’s masculinity. He is demoted to the secondary role due to its presence. Thereby, erasing it forever would gain him control over Georgina. It could be a symbol of his castration, upsetting him and haunting his dreams. Once, he dreamt about operating the birthmark with his servant, Aminadab. The deeper the knife cut, the deeper the hand sank and it finally grasped Georgina’s heart. Aylmer’s operation on Georgina has an association with such a magical performance where a woman participant or assistant was being sawed in half or placed in a box for swords to be pierced. Aylmer fantasizes about disparaging Georgina by erasing the dominating influence of her birthmark. He achieves it by wielding control over her and fooling her to presume that her birthmark is hideous.
Magic is defined as a sort of activity that the audience expects to find a rational explanation. Nardi claims that society perceives women’s magic as real and not entertainment, and hence their magical power exists beyond the spheres of rationality. Some people believe that women engage in real magic such as séances, palm readings, and witchcraft and there exists no kind of rational explanation behind them. In these instances, their experience is real magic rather than entertainment. Nardi also asserts that women can make things appear as made evident by the magic of childbirth, and use their feminine intuition to conjecture what the other is thinking. In Hawthorne’s “Birthmark,” Aylmer could be a performing magician who becomes increasingly uncomfortable with the real and tangible magical presence of the birthmark. Aylmer’s discomfort with being downgraded by its presence leads Georgina to assent to its removal. But Aylmer’s obsession or rather intimidation could be attributed to his insecurity regarding her sexuality, which is further enhanced by her physical flaw. This physical flaw is nothing but a mysterious, looming presence that reminds Aylmer of the real and unexplainable occult nature of women and displaces his stance as a magician who just uses explainable facts to manifest his abilities. His curiosity to know the mysteries of the world is impeded by the birthmark. Therefore, Georgina is the representation of real magic in contrast with the rational nature presented by Aylmer.
Magic is conceived as a male activity rather than a female one. Nardi explains that performing magic is more male because of its structured nature, which involves the real-world interaction of a competitive nature and requires a dominant leader. Stebbins discovered that men are more likely to cheat or deceive women by putting them on. This trend is perpetuated by the cultural propriety where women are expected to refrain from activities that involve belittling or deceiving others. The secrets of magic cannot be shared and gender equality is not at all involved in these interactions. Aylmer is extremely curious regarding the workings of Mother Nature. But he finds out that Mother Nature keeps her secrets to herself and shows the world nothing but the results similar to a magician. Aylmer’s attempt to erase the birthmark is also an attempt at dominating Mother Nature, given the gender attribute of the latter. He attempts to transform Nature through his attempts to erase Georgina’s birthmark and considers his abilities superior to that of Nature itself. Furthermore, in his attempts, he establishes he reinforces magic as a male activity.
Nardi notes that 19th-century magicians took on the roles of professors because of their employment of scientific methods. The illusions they conjured were based on new scientific principles, and they stay one step ahead of the public’s knowledge of these principles. Thereby, the professors and scientists of the 19th century had a predominantly male image. The magic-shows became more elaborate productions. In Aylmer’s laboratory, Georgina wakes up to find herself in a scene that resembled an enchantment. He was confident of his science and assumed that no evil might intrude on the “magic circle” that he had drawn around her. He intends to impress Georgina through his various inventions but they turn out to be utter failures. The so-called scientific principles are devalued in the presence of a powerful and magical female sexuality. He tells her of his aspirations to conquer the very essence of nature itself: the processes of life and death.
Even the audience of magic events is gender-typed. Generally, fortune-tellers and psychics are women and they meet with their customers in private. Furthermore, the audience turns out to be largely women too. On the other hand, magic performers, mainly comprised of men, hold public performances. This aspect connotes the precepts of women being private and men being public. Aylmer’s obsession with Georgina’s birthmark could be associated with his vocation as an alchemist. It seemed to show the limitations of mankind and consequently, his own limitations as an alchemist. Georgina is his private, personal insult and removing the birthmark would gain him recognition in the public sphere. Anyhow, it should be noted that it is done by endangering the life of the woman. The private and public sphere of the world of magicians correlates with that of the social structure.
Nardi concludes that no single explanation can be given for the relative invisibility of women in magic. The social organization of gender in magic reveals the need to look beyond this arena toward the real-life structures that make up everyday life. The male personality is attributed to power and control and the female assistants assume a form of insignificance as resonated by the multiple levels of indifference in everyday interactions. The power and control that male magicians possess over their female assistants are manifested in the case of Aylmer who had overpowered Georgina, prompting her to willingly consume the draught even though it poses considerable risk to her health. The birthmark disappears and she dies, revealing that there is no such thing as perfect. This instance evokes the words of Mauss, which resonates with the concept that women are the main sources of mysterious activities and even though men perform magic women are accused of it. It is Georgina who had to bear the brunt of Aylmer’s unhealthy obsession. The power and control that the male exerts oppress the female and such a traditional model of gender dynamics always existed in the social spheres, regardless of its variations.
In essence, this discourse delineates the structural gender dynamics prevalent not only in the world of magicians but also in the general social context, encompassing all forms of activities. The conventional image that women possess regarding their magical nature is disapproved whereas the magic that men perform is praised. The study of gender roles is inevitable in the current world for deconstructing the myths and gradually eradicating patriarchy through their acknowledgment. Without them, the world would seep into regressive conventionality, curtailing women’s freedom and ratifying men’s role as the dominant gender.
