The changing face of the sacrificial Romanian woman in cinematographic discourses

Abstract

Taking as a starting point one of the most relevant Romanian/Eastern European myths, Craftsman Manole, the article examines the female ideal set forth by Romanian filmography before and after 1989. During communism the female ideal had two variants: heroine worker and heroine mother. In the films produced after 1989, we identify a topic that, though not having changed its position within the structure of fantasy, has lost its grip on female desire and consent. The sacrifice performed by women now lacks its moral foundation and is portrayed as an action performed at the behest of a selfish, obscene patriarchal interest. The female sacrifice, performed without a moral justification, becomes a traumatic event. The female ideal after the revolution has two versions: the traditional role of the wife or daughter and the disaffiliated role of a prostitute.