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Monday, November 5, 2007

Vanity in "Stardust"


I just watched "Stardust" Saturday night, an incredible film based on the story by Neil Gaiman, and couldn't help but notice vanity as the recurring theme of the tale. Each character possesses his/her own vanity complex, and as the story draws to a close, their misconceptions are exposed and the characters learn their true place in the sun.

Tristan
Tristan is the only character in the story worthy of vanity, yet he lacks it entirely. His humbleness guides him through his journey, and in the end, his meekness is exchanged for royalty.

Yvaine
Yvaine (as if the name doesn't say it well enough) possesses an unsuspecting sort of vanity. While she seems less vain than certain characters in the tale, she is still very full of herself. She's a star, therefore she thinks she should be worshiped like a member of the heavens. By the end of the story, she has absorbed Tristan's modesty, and has realized that she cannot shine without him.

Lamia
It is no surprise that Lamia's extreme vanity is reflected by the horridness she ends up as. My favorite Lamia moment is when she is first made young. She turns around, looks at her homefront, and immediately uses a vanity spell to create a palace. These vanity spells are used by Lamia and her sisters throughout the entire tale, and Lamia's appearance dwindles increasingly. She is finally humbled in the end when she realizes she has lost everything she wanted to "appear" to have.

Captain Shakespeare
Captain Shakespeare's vanity is that he is afraid to appear to be himself. He poses as a despicable dictator, when in fact, he's a flamboyant cross-dresser. It isn't until his comrades tell him they always knew he was a "whoopsie" that he beckons to his reality.

Lord of Stormhold's Sons
Vanity plays the sole role in the search for a new king. From pushing each other out windows to poisoning each other, these sons put up many a front to attempt to lead themselves to the throne. As they are picked off one by one, their vanity diminishes. And when Tristan turns the ruby red, all vanity is relinquished and the sons have no more unfinished business.

These are just a few instances of vanity in Stardust. Being enrolled in a Reading and Writing: Gender course is causing me to analyze every piece of fiction I see. I couldn't resist writing about this excellent film.

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