Week 10: The Four Archetypes in Evita

In high school psychology class, i’m not sure if this is accurate since it was a while ago... but I learned about the four archetypes that people place women and femininity into. And it kind of weirded me out that the public (including the elites and peasants) put Evita into the same four archetypes. Firstly, she was the power-hungry manipulative woman; there were rumors of Evita sleeping her way to the top and that she was only with Peron for his money and status, etc. Secondly, Evita was the the femme fatale — she “used” sex as a tool, her sexual presence enveloped rooms completely unrestrained and uncontrolled. Thirdly, Evita was the mother — she was incredibly self-sacrificing, devoted her life and love to the people of Argentina… like a mother. And finally, Evita was the Virgin Mary after she died — she was pure, true, devoted to the people, loyal to only one man in her life and virginal. She also encompassed a religious icon feature, Evita was heralded and worshipped just as much as the actual Virgin Mary was. Isn’t it so crazy to see these projections put on her so she could fit into all the realms of the public sphere? I’m not saying she wasn’t part of contributing to this persona, and it probably immensely influenced the way she connected to people by playing up these archetypes, but seeing these archetypes play themselves out on the ground was surreal.

Also when I read the documents with Evita's speech, I felt really sorrowful for her. It was clear that she was suffering from cancer and she was weak and just wanted to rest. She couldn’t fulfill her duties as a public servant and even then I don’t think she even wanted to do it anymore; she just wanted to die in peace but the public bullied it out of her. I mean the woman literally told them she had always done what they wanted, and still they continued to speak over her, demand things that she couldn’t give and refuse to accept her answers.

Side note, I feel like I'm being picky, but I couldn't help but notice Evita always used the word "Fatherland" referring to Argentina; and most people, contemporarily and in the past always equated their country with a female pronoun (the Motherland). So it was interesting to me to see her use a patriarchal term after learning in class she was a huge anti-feminist. I wonder if her anti-feminist stance had anything to do with using the term, what do you think?