Butiuel’s Version of Tristana and the Inversion of Power Relations By Zoila Clark “Man makes of woman the Other.” ~Simone de Beauvoir, The Second Sex Through analysis of a 1970's Spanish fi, this article portrays men's fear of strong, dominant women. TTristana, the female lead, loses a lag and evolves into a black widow, in essence, a monster. Once a weak ‘woman abused by her tutor, she matures, and finds a place for herself within the patriarchal order. As Audre Lorde would say, Tristana utilized “the masters tools" fo maintain her life, but did not change society. Through the character of Tristana, an image of wicked womanhood is portrayed within the final period of the Franco dictatorship in Spain, In 1892. Benito Pérez Galdés published his novel Tristana, In 1970. Luis Bufuel produced a fim by the same name—however, it difered completely from the original work. Whereas Galdés fictionalized the process by which a woman became the ideal housewife ofthe new bourgeoisie ofthe 19th century, Bufuel portrays the worst_male_fear cory woman who fs Tistana is the product of yo puedo mantener dos casas, ni tu puedes vivir sola. En su lecho de muerte te me encomendé tu madre. zDénde vas 2 estar mejor que a mi cuidado? 2Quién se atreverd a ofenderte sablendo que vives conmigo” Translation: “| cannot pay for two houses, nor can you live by yourself. On her death bed, your mother entrusted you to me. Franeds fascist dictatorship in Spain (1939-1975). Where could you be better off than being im, however was_set ‘and 1935, Ie. Woked after by me? Who would dare to offend you knowing that you live with me?" / ne fion was Toledo, instead of Galdos's Madrid. Her fale was decided by her mother and Don Lope 2/0 wet Ase, 102995 was ane c'votatandvonens. | a 2 of actos mua the social ink (4 ats Sareea Eacaee frameworks for his work; as symbolism is important. 4Jo Labanyi has noted the use of fetishism and sexual difference in this film: ‘whether we interpret Tristana's increasing domination the counter productive + fesul.Lfatishization of her, we have the story of a. “rans fantasies of a Woman” (pg, 90), Tus, the image of Don Lope’s head being hung conveys that Don Lope fears losing power to Tistana. Relations of power in Don Lope's household are examined, as the house later becomes Dofia Tistana's property. The transaction raises questions: was ita simple process? Who else benefits? Is this a feminist movie? TTristana is a teenage orphan who moves in with Don Lope as her ward, in accordance with her mothers last wish. She had wanted to live alone, but Don Lope says: Lope as the triumph of 31 ftesan fam Trough this fat oka riends, Tistana sees a father in Don Lope and ones te protection as he However, Don Lope tums Trstana into his Sexual slavéiand says he can choose {oact as her father or her lover. Don Lope is portrayed as the master of the ‘house and he addresses Tristana as “hit” / “tle daughier," demanding obedience in exch his afecton’ Satuma, Be ned, Belves he is good man and keeps him informed of Trstana’s actions. Don Lope's power in the house depends on his knowing about every action ofthe people living init He even knows about Saturna’s son's life, Satumo. This character is a deaf mute, but mimes very well everything he observes when questioned by Don Lope. He keeps Don Lope updated with the revolts of workers in the streets and the bith of a consumer sociely. Saturno, ironically, works a5 2 newspaper 4bboy. Don Lope's house can be seen as a local center ‘of power, according to Foucault's definition “Local centers of power: knowledge: for example, the relations that obtain between penitents and confessors, or the faithful and their directors of conscience. Here guided by the theme of the flesh that must be ‘mastered, diferent forms of discourse - self examination, — questonings, admissions, interpretations, interviews- were the vehicle of a kind of incessant back-and-forth movement of forms of ‘subjugation and schemas of knowledge" (pg. 98). Don Lope's power and knowledge over Tristana is manageable when she is kept indoors. He uses the Spanish saying: “la mujer honrada, pierna quebrada y en casa” / “The honest woman, broken leg and at home.” Luis Bufiuel is exposing the double standard of patriarchal societies where men_are_ allowed to control women socially by trading them as > sits, al the while falsely pretending fo be conceme ‘about their honor and purity. Don Lope is a parody of a gentleman—he loses all traditional values by ‘becoming incestuous and not fighting his duels. Don Lope forges a strong connection with Tristana; a link that she tries to break when she ‘meets a young painter, Horacio. Trstana fli in ove with Horacio. When Don Lope finds out about Tristana’s affair, he demands fidelity from her as father and lover. Nonetheless, she refuses to answers questions and tells him angrily: ‘puedes matarme 4. cuando quieras’! “you can kill me whenever you. sik want” My ~~ In the 19° century, Pardo Bazan found Tistena: “embrionaria y confusa, a través de una niebla, como si el novelsta no se diese ‘cuenta clara de la gran fuerza dramética que puede encerrar [el tema dela independencia de la mujer TTranstation: “embryonic and confusing, through a mist, ike when a novelist does not realize the dramatic force ofthe theme ofthe independence of women (Anderson 61).” Bufuel shows Tristana living with Horacio for over two years. Thus, Tristana breaks free from Don Lope to depend on Horacio, her new protector. When tumor is diagnosed on one leg, however, she returns to Don Lope's house because “sigue considerando [a Don Lope] como un padre. Quiere morirse en su casa! “she stil considers (Don Lope] to be her father. She wants odie in is house.” TTristana begins to mimic) Don Lope, even Horacio tals her, haba fama fT you We him. She shows admiration for Don _Lope’s ideas. She argues against Don Lope utlzing his own arguments. Trstana has learned haw hierarchy wocks in the family and having already started to dominate Satuma, the lady of Tie fouse, she ow ree to dominate Horacio and Don Lope. Both men. are in love with her, soe. tent Condition to be pitied. She loses a leg, but she ends up walking ike’ old powerful Don Lope, with a cane. His long cane, a symbol of phallic power, cannot compete with Tristana’s new false leg. Trstana’s footsteps echo noisily around the house signal an exchange of power. She inverts her role of slave because ‘Telations of power-knowledge are not static forms of distribution, they are matrices of transformations [..] one of the more spectacular results ...] was a strange reversal’ (Foucault 29). ‘Throughout the fm Trstana has a recuring nightmare. In this nightmare, she sees the huge bell with Don Lope’s head instead of a clapper; a repressed, Freudian dream. Yo Labanyi associates “the images of Tristana's castration with Don Lope's red head” and ‘the sequence where Tristana on the balcony exposes her ‘castrated’ body to a terrorstruck Satumo {lke the litte boy looking up at his mother's genitals from below’ (77). This fetishism based on the horror of the sexual difference is explained in Freud's essay “The Medusa's Head.” The clapper resembles a penis, the bell 2 womb; when Tristana smiles from the ‘mouth can be viewed as a biting or even Castrating vag This connection of the chu power iS symbolized by the use of bells, it alludes to the Franooist period and took place during the Republic, Liberal governments precipitate this change, oreating with it the threat of empowered \women. Even before Tristana is on a high balcony at the end of the fim, she tells the belman the folowing: “Aqui arriba se debe sentir usted muy importante. ES como si dominase al mundo” /"Up here you must fee! very important. I is ke, ing the world This is the location of Tristana when she shocks Saturmo with her castrating smile, and she is also on a second floor when she is stamping her crutches like a clock Waiting to strike the time that Don Lope dies. se wes gee de\S Tistan's alliance with the poice and the church is shown by her giving money to these institutions. Her power at home is just part ofa bigger network of power relaionships. For this reason, we notice that she is always aware of the language others use towards her. Her tone of voice becomes ecivening, wo sere aa Don Lope, 3 cals Fim “Lopit (diminutive).” ‘She is successful in taking the power from ‘Don Lope. We see her leaving the church, guiding the way wth her cne, Suna sting et wel ha satura, the other woman in the house remains as. e e servant she was when Don Lope was the master ‘of the house. As Audre Lorde Same "itis only Th re , the palrfarchal model of nurturance that women ‘who attempt to emancipate themselves pay perhaps too high @ price for the results’ (pg. 10)” Tristana becomes bitter as a way to suoceed in a society that is made for men. Don Lope's sister declares to her friend that this is a man’s world because they make the laws, so what else could be expected of Tristana if she was nurtured by Don Lope? Power is associated with masculinity and weakness ‘with Smee paaeiea bomen more mn Lope, he becomes submissive in talking to her, he is mote concemed with his appearance, stays at home, ends ups attending church, and geting married, This exchange of roles proves the “performativty’ of gender Judith Butler describes (pg. 175). Fetish symbolism emphasizes the feet and Trstana’s leg, which are all phallic symbols. The fac that rstana loses one leg seems to be both a fear of castration and a desire for a ‘woman's masculinity. In this movie, performance is not used to ridicule how the system of gender works, ‘as Butler suggests, but itis shown as the only way to obtain power. For Lorde, ‘without community there Is no liberation, only the most vulnerable and temporary armistice between and individual and her oppression’ (09. 11). This means that Trstana, in trying to be Don Lope, has ended up in matriarchal disguise, and that living alone in that house with Satuma as her servant ‘cannot give her any long term sel-fufilment. From a multicuturalmansst feminist perspective, Tristana is =pot_a feminist_flm e ining The ~mmasiers house or hierarchical system as a source of ‘support, Keeping other women as their servants in the Hegelian dialectic of master and slave, Heid Hartman's materialist feminist standpoint would also 33 ‘suggest that feminism should focus on collaboration rather than individualism and identity poltics, but in Tristene, class factors are not developed in terms of callaboration ‘among women. Psychoanalytic feminism_can_only _be_used pe mis tive ofthe fimmaker, as Labanyi did in identifying the reinforcement of fetishism and ‘gender difference. However, Freud's theory has not been used in this film to develop female subjectivity and the arbitrariness of gender. Feminists that take a radical stand and look for a complete revolution in ferms of gendered oppression and resistance on all fronts, public and private, will inst this represening the hierarchy of paar as fe on model to obtain power in society. All these positions can be summarized in Lorde’s words: “The, master's tools will never dismantle the master’s house: ~~ Nevertheless, from a liberal standpoint Tristana can be considered a feminist the protagonist's nightmare could also be hers, and this symbolized her attempt to obtain independence from Don Lope, the enslaving patriarch. Allowing Don Lope to die could be the first step to improve women's conditions in society. Women are not victims, but have the right to fight like men. Camille Paglia stales, “women Thave) their equal responsibilty in dispute and confrontation. Any woman who stays with her abuser beyond the fist incident is compliitous with him” (pg. 43) so Tristana is right to fight back in the end. We cannot talk of one feminism, but feminigs, in this post-modem era. However, tis film ‘was produced during the repressive Francoist regime, and | have interpreted this fm 2s a man's nightmare of castration, and added that it is based upon the Terror of the modern woman of the 20 century TTristana is the stereotyped woman who first finds a provider and then cast i femme fatale. = lieve it is time to deconstruct cultural manifestations that have been used_to define women fom # patel vm | wou lao de allematives to the social problems reflected in art and ‘the media. Films such as these provide opportunities ‘to identify the porayal ‘of gender, race and class Ben, We re_of the existence of oe fonstig mages iin soe reed 0 a to ive together fim andthe lager cultural context 2 y sReferances: ‘Anderson, Fats. Elipsis and Space in Tistana." Anas Galosianos 20.2 (1985) 61-76 Fveault, Miche. The History of Sexually: An Ineducton. Vol 1. Trad. Robert Hute. New York: Vintage Book, 1978. Labanyi Jo. "Fetsism and the Problem of Sexual Diference in ufvlsTristana (1970)." Spanish Cname: The Autos Tredton (1999):73- 2. Lorde, Aude “The Masters Tools Wil Never Dismal the Mastr's Howse." Sésor Outsider: Essays and Speeches New York: Crossing Press Feminist Series, 1984 34