feminist critique, gothic literature, and "Resident Evil 4"

Resident Evil 4 is one of my favorite games of all time. It is just so campy. It reeks of 2000's era cool-ness; complete with spin-kicks, and backflips, and suplexes. And most importantly, terrible, corny one-liners. But there is something inherently gothic in this setting. Strangely enough, the side-part-bangs of a game encapsulates something dark, disempowering, and patriarchal. Hallmarks of the gothic genre, but seemingly out of place here.

https://www.fanatical.com/en/game/resident-evil-4-ultimate-hd-edition, Ashley safely hiding behind Leon while he guns down cultists.

I say patriarchal purposefully. Feminist critique, to me, goes perfectly hand-in-hand with the gothic genre. And admittedly, Resident Evil 4 isn't a stand-out game in the gothic genre. It's pretty much defined by, again, just how ridiculous it can be--its an action-packed, survival horror game, first and foremost. But that's not to say there isn't anything deeper going on here. And I think that is mostly due to how Resident Evil 4 interacts with its female characters, namely Ashley and Ada.

In feminist critique, there is a common idea of the Angel of the House, and the juxtaposed madwoman in the attic. The concept of the Angel of the House is derived from a poem of the same name, written by Coventry Patmore. This idea, later coined by Sandra Gilbert and Susan Gubar in their book The Madwoman in the Attic, epitomizes the idea that women should be submissive, domestic, and pure. An idea that certainly finds its way into Resident Evil 4 through Ashley's character: rather than a complex, interesting character, Ashley is pretty much reduced to a game mechanic meant to make the game more stressful for Leon, the main character. In contrast, Leon gets to do all the backflips and the general ass-kicking. Ashley hardly gets any of this during the time the player takes control of her, instead opting to hide or run away over direct confrontation.

In this sense, Ashley is an object of purity, and submission--the exact definition of Gubar's and Gilbert's concept. The most fighting-back we see from her is verbal; she retorts frequently at her objectification by other male characters in the game, including Leon. But this is extremely prevalent at the introduction of Luis' character, who has a habit of being a "ladies man" and frequently makes passes at how hot Ashley is. Ashley is then, simultaneously, meant to be this disempowered helpless girl and an object for sex appeal.

Ada, however, is possibly viewed even more so for her sex appeal (a classic femme fatale). And yet, she does not suffer from being an "angel of the house." Quite the opposite, actually--she is characterized by her wit. She is constantly outsmarting Leon. She's always two, sometimes even three steps ahead of him, and his reaction is really just to sigh and say "women." But what is Ada doing that Leon isn't? Is she not also actively (and effectively) striving towards her goals? And is she also not a strong, capable, and independent character? So why is she considered so fickle, so enigmatic? I think this could contribute to the other side of this "Angel of the House" idea, known conversely as the "Madwoman in the Attic."

While I would definitely consider Ada to be a femme fatale, I don't think being characterized in such a way is necessary in embodying this madwoman idea. A femme fatale is more of a personality, or an archetype. The "Madwoman in the Attic" is a concept of how women in media are often viewed--whether that be literature, films, or even videogames. A madwoman is essentially characterized by how not a woman she is. This is because, if the angel is the absolute ideal for a woman, then the madwoman is the complete opposite. By that logic, the madwoman is considered independent, aggressive, and tainted to some degree. Ada is certainly aggressive and independent--which is ultimately where this patriarchal hypocrisy lies.

If we were to apply the same traits to male characters, like Leon, the inverse would be true. He is strong, capable, independent, and aggressive. But he is free of the negative connotation that comes with being a woman. This behavior is expected of him, because men should be the ones doing backflips. If a woman exhibits this behavior, she is a madwoman, she is crazy. And yet, it doesn't necessarily hold true that women naturally behave in the "angelic" manner that Ashley does.

Gubar and Gilbert's critique lies in this derivative portrayal of women throughout all media. They argue that perhaps intelligence doesn't make a woman mad or fickle, but maybe it just makes them intelligent.