Although cinema is constantly evolving, the Madonna-Mistress archetype has stayed present for decades. From the 1939 film “Gone With the Wind” to the recent 2020 film “Rebecca” almost a century later, this trope has stayed relevant within storytelling.
The Madonna-Mistress complex was originally established by psychoanalyst Sigmund Freud to describe men who could not become sexually aroused in their relationships. It contrasts innocent women, or “Madonnas,” with debauched women, or “mistresses.” The Madonna is who they love but are not attracted to, while the mistress is who they are attracted to but do not love.
The Madonna finds its origins in Christianity as another name for Virgin Mary, symbolizing mother and child, and thus purity, innocence, self-sacrifice and beauty. The mistress is considered the seductress — a woman who is desired, but not respected — the mature, cunning, cold-blooded and often ambitious antagonist.
One example of this archetype is in the 1976 movie “Taxi Driver.” The protagonist, Travis, sees Betsy as pure and innocent amidst the griminess of New York, labelling her as a Madonna. On the other hand, he sees Iris, who is a streetwalker, as a mistress who he is tempted by but cannot be with. His inability to see these women as anything other than the two ends of the spectrum suggests how common it is for the film industry to categorize women into two labels.
Back when the first films were being produced in the early 20th century, most directors were male, which allowed them to define the standards of cinema. The female characters always fell into one role or the other, as a result of Freud’s psychoanalytic theories and the hegemonic patriarchy, which is the structure that allows men to shape societal norms. By spreading their ideas to the mass media, they ensured the survival of this archetype in cinema by using it to appeal to audiences.
On the other hand, filmmakers who focused on bringing attention to women’s struggles — mostly women themselves — often did not get the same recognition as their male counterparts who exploited this trope. Sadly, to this day, female directors, producers and writers are still largely outnumbered by men in the film industry, generally earning less as well.
The Madonna-Mistress complex also affects people at a personal level: consuming media with this harmful stereotype can mislead people into embracing the behaviors portrayed on screen in real life, such as infidelity and objectifying women. Viewing such tropes on air can create inaccurate generalizations of groups of people.
Due to the detrimental social and financial impacts of this archetype’s usage, it is essential to recognize its limitations and when it is harmful so it is not used negatively. This will create progressive change and more accurate portrayals of women in the media.
An initial step would be to acknowledge the problematicness of the use of this complex in current films and prevent gender-based discrimination against women in the film industry. The next would be for writers to create characters free of these labels in order to be more diverse. Many movies in the 21st century have moved on from this trope to portray diverse personalities of women.
Said film writer Russell Sharman in the textbook “Moving Pictures: An Introduction to Cinema,” “The Male Gaze is alive and well in contemporary cinema. As is its corollary, the Madonna-[Mistress] Complex. Women continue to be objectified and marginalized in mass media entertainment, and cinema, whether in the multiplex or streaming across the internet, continues to be a powerful tool in perpetuating hegemonic patriarchy.”
