Gender Roles In The Da Vinci Code

A stereotype is a widely held but fixed and oversimplified image or idea of a particular type of person. Women have often been discriminated and said to be less strong, less intelligent and less capable than men. However, in the novel The Da Vinci Code written by Dan Brown it portrays women to have a very strong hold in detective work, history and life. This is evident through the character Sophie Neveu, history behind symbols and symbolism throughout art work. Women have not gotten the credit they deserve and have been underestimated however, the novel shows how women are just as capable as men.
Sophie Neveu is the grand daughter of the curator of The Louvre, Joseph Saunier. She is portrayed as a very strong and capable women through her …show more content…
Langdon explains that the pentacle is believed to be associated with devil worship and witchcraft due to its false past meanings. However, it is revealed that the pentacle actually "symbolizes Venus-the goddess of female sexual love and beauty" (36). Society tossed aside the importance women actually had in this symbol and started associating it with things that did not involve females but, represented evil. However, "early religion was based on the divine order of Nature. The goddess Venus and the planet Venus were one and the same. The goddess had a place in the nighttime sky and was known by many names...all of them powerful female concepts with ties to Nature and Mother Earth" (36). This shows how in the novel women have taken a large part in history and symbols are often associated with women being beautiful, strong and important. However, in todays society it is shown how sometimes women are seen as less than men. In addition to the pentacle being related to women such as goddesses, the divine proportion is also explained to represent beauty and perfection due to its perfect ratios of one point six one eight to one. An example Robert Langdon gives is "if you divide the number of female bees by the umber of male bees in any beehive in the world, you always get the same number' (94) which is one point six one …show more content…
Langdon reveals how many symbolic ties to women are hidden throughout these famous pieces of artwork. Throughout the novel it is discovered that the Mona Lisa is actually an anagram for the name Amon L'Isa, who is the Egyptian god and goddess of fertility. Just as Langdon said "not only does the face of the Mona Lisa look androgynous, but her name is an anagram of the divine union of male and female" (121). She is also said to have represented the sacred feminine and balance between sexes. Therefore this means the Mona Lisa does not have a gender and she represents that men and women are viewed as equals. Another painting showing the importance of women is the Last Supper. The Last Supper is a famous painting created by Leonardo Da Vinci that holds a great significance in the novel. Langdon and Sophie discover that Jesus' right hand man is in fact a woman. Sophie notices "the individual has flowing red hair, delicate folded hands and the hint of a bosom. It was without a doubt female" (243). The women in the painting is found out to be Mary Magdalen and the Holy Grail is not the bible or a chalice but, it is Mary's womb. This shows the importance of women by revealing that Jesus' right hand was actually female and that the most holy thing known to man as The Grail is actually a females womb. Woman are portrayed as powerful and significant in The Last