The Artificial Silk Girl Analysis

Also commonly desired by the new woman of this era is to become a “star.” Though most present in American culture at this time, this desire seems to be present worldwide. Portrayed mostly through movies, the new woman had many different images. The one that applies most directly to Doris is the one of a gold digger who uses her “sexuality for material gain” (Sharot 74). Analyzing the typical new woman movie plot of this decade, one comes to see it consists of a "girl who seeks out and experiences to some degree a freedom- loving lifestyle, and after escaping the sexual advances of an undesirable man she abandons the lifestyle to settle down in marriage with an appropriate partner" (Sharot 80). Doris’s story directly relates to this in which she, too, was ridiculed when she was younger and seeked out new adventures in this glorious city of Berlin where everything seemed to shine. Yet, she cannot seem to find a man who she can settle down with, and she finally meets the Green Moss who she thought was another undesirable …show more content…
She, in many different instances, cannot seem to force herself to trust men and she puts up, at first, a very convincing facade that she is part of high society and she will be a star. Being very good at maintaining this facade, Doris’s image only starts to crumble in the third section of the book. Doris introduces herself as a woman in control of every social situation she encounters with a man. Her ability is already prominent on page 7 with her interaction with Herr Grönland (Keun). She maps out every sentence she will say in order for Herr to buy her a watch, and it works. Not only did she manage to maneuver her way to a brand new watch like the bourgeoise, Doris had used her sexuality and herself as a way to survive. Yet, Doris places material goods above real money. This mentality stemmed from the culture of Germany itself and its