Makenzie Smith
White
Graphic Novels
October 18, 2015
The Portrayal of Women in Watchmen
In Alan Moore’s epic graphic novel, Watchmen, we are presented with only a few female characters. A disproportionate number of characters in the novel are men; even in the background, men dominate the story. Though they are few and far between, the female characters in the novel are varied, complex individuals, with their own personalities, who play pivotal roles in the plot of the story. However, Moore’s portrayal of women is far from flawless, as these women are consistently defined by their relationships with the men in the novel, subjected to sexual violence and physical brutality for the sake of the plot, and lacked much positive interaction with …show more content…
The most prime example of this being that the female characters in this novel are constantly being defined by their relationships with the men in their lives. Furthermore, the relationships defining these women are often romantic, or at the very least, sexual and nature, and beyond these relationships, the women do not have solid plotlines of their own. The first time we are introduced to Laurie, she’s in the government facility with her boyfriend, Dr. Manhattan, and later she tells Dan she is only being kept there to “keep Jon relaxed and happy.” (33). Even in her mind, the government sees no use for her skill set, she is only there to placate Manhattan and keep him from becoming dangerous. Instead of coming into her own after her breakup with Jon, she immediately seeks comfort in Dan Dreiberg, or Nite Owl, and jumps right into a relationship with him, unable to be without a man even after breaking up with someone she spent the majority of her life with. Not long after being introduced to Laurie, we meet her mother, Sally Jupiter, who gives us a glimpse into the life of The Comedian, her would-be rapist, turned former lover. Her relationship with Eddie Blake is complicated, to say the least, and it defines basically her whole character. She is assaulted by him, later somehow finds herself having a consensual affair with him, and ends up pregnant with his child. By the end of story, she picks up a framed picture of the original Watchmen, and kisses the Comedian’s face. She lives her whole life, sixty-five years of crime-fighting and defeating villains in her own rite, and Sally Jupiter will live on in the hearts of fans with her Tijuana Bibles and kissing the Comedian’s picture. Janey Slater is arguably the most tragic of our three prominent female characters, and everything she has to contribute to the story
White
Graphic Novels
October 18, 2015
The Portrayal of Women in Watchmen
In Alan Moore’s epic graphic novel, Watchmen, we are presented with only a few female characters. A disproportionate number of characters in the novel are men; even in the background, men dominate the story. Though they are few and far between, the female characters in the novel are varied, complex individuals, with their own personalities, who play pivotal roles in the plot of the story. However, Moore’s portrayal of women is far from flawless, as these women are consistently defined by their relationships with the men in the novel, subjected to sexual violence and physical brutality for the sake of the plot, and lacked much positive interaction with …show more content…
The most prime example of this being that the female characters in this novel are constantly being defined by their relationships with the men in their lives. Furthermore, the relationships defining these women are often romantic, or at the very least, sexual and nature, and beyond these relationships, the women do not have solid plotlines of their own. The first time we are introduced to Laurie, she’s in the government facility with her boyfriend, Dr. Manhattan, and later she tells Dan she is only being kept there to “keep Jon relaxed and happy.” (33). Even in her mind, the government sees no use for her skill set, she is only there to placate Manhattan and keep him from becoming dangerous. Instead of coming into her own after her breakup with Jon, she immediately seeks comfort in Dan Dreiberg, or Nite Owl, and jumps right into a relationship with him, unable to be without a man even after breaking up with someone she spent the majority of her life with. Not long after being introduced to Laurie, we meet her mother, Sally Jupiter, who gives us a glimpse into the life of The Comedian, her would-be rapist, turned former lover. Her relationship with Eddie Blake is complicated, to say the least, and it defines basically her whole character. She is assaulted by him, later somehow finds herself having a consensual affair with him, and ends up pregnant with his child. By the end of story, she picks up a framed picture of the original Watchmen, and kisses the Comedian’s face. She lives her whole life, sixty-five years of crime-fighting and defeating villains in her own rite, and Sally Jupiter will live on in the hearts of fans with her Tijuana Bibles and kissing the Comedian’s picture. Janey Slater is arguably the most tragic of our three prominent female characters, and everything she has to contribute to the story