Saturday, October 18, 2014

What attitude towards women is reflected in "The Kugelmass Episode"?

In “The Kugelmass Episode,” Woody Allen does not portray women in a very positive light. The main character, Kugelmass, speaks very disrespectfully of his wife. Within the story he says she has “let herself go and swell up like a beach ball” and calls her a troglodyte (a prehistoric cave dweller). He also speaks of staying married only to avoid a large divorce settlement and states that he stays with her because she “has a...

In “The Kugelmass Episode,” Woody Allen does not portray women in a very positive light. The main character, Kugelmass, speaks very disrespectfully of his wife. Within the story he says she has “let herself go and swell up like a beach ball” and calls her a troglodyte (a prehistoric cave dweller). He also speaks of staying married only to avoid a large divorce settlement and states that he stays with her because she “has a few bucks.” He never considers her feelings when contemplating his affair and only worries about getting caught because of the trouble it will bring him. Once he meets Emma Bovary, he is intrigued and respectful, but as soon as she becomes real and is removed from the fantasy world of her book, he reverts back to his boorish response to women. All of the female characters within this story are written as one-dimensional. Their only purpose within the story is to serve Kugelmass’s needs.

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