UC Berkeley

In this study, I analyze the containment of the artificial woman. In Western literature and cinema, artificial women appear as: mythical women, monstrous women, genetically engineered women, living dolls, living statues, female automatons, female androids, female robots and female cyborgs. Artificial women may also appear as human women, constructed to reflect patriarchal ideals of perfection. The artificial woman embodies the sociocultural ideals of female perfection relative to the male creator in the historical moment. Historically, Western literature and cinema have portrayed the male creator as: an alchemist, magician, engineer, scientist, sculptor, and god. Both the male creator and the artificial female have been variously figured. However, each of their characterizations appears to remain rather consistent over the centuries. Indeed, the ideal, artificial woman’s characterization has remained rather consistent, and, in turn, developed into a trope. The ideal artificial woman appears domestic, innocent, submissive and beautiful. If the artificial woman engenders these traits, she is often contained in marriage and in the home. If the artificial woman is wild and unruly, she must be contained, tamed, or destroyed (often by the male creator). The male creator symbolizes the patriarchy and seeks to establish control over the artificial woman. Whether a domestic wife or a wild woman, the artificial woman appears to be created and contained by the patriarchy. Therefore, the artificial woman seems to be kept metaphorically in a box. In the following, I analyze the containment of the artificial woman in Western works, particularly emphasizing German cinema. I argue that the woman’s portrayal as artificial in cinema confines and reduces her to a projection of male ideals. I examine the various forms in which women are displayed as artificial beings and consequently contained by patriarchal ideals. In my close reading of contained, artificial women in cinema, I draw upon archival texts and literature. In constellation, these works illuminate an age-old project–the patriarchy seeks to contain and control the real woman, who lives in the real world by rendering her artificial in films. Through this project, I show how characterizing a woman as artificial serves as a patriarchal mechanism of containment by conceptualizing and modeling a woman’s role in society. Furthermore, I find the containment of the artificial woman in literature and cinema is often emphasized by the inclusion of a box. The box-whether a magic box, toy box, glass box, convent, laboratory, or house-contains and domesticates the artificial woman physically and metaphorically. In the following chapters, I explore a trope, which I term “the artificial woman in the box.”