A Cultural Studies Analysis of Helen of Troy Does Countertop Dancing

Atwood’s “Helen of Troy does Countertop Dancing” can be viewed as a commentary of a 20th century society that has its roots firmly entrenched in capitalism. This essay will discuss the aspects that constitute the society in question. Various approaches including Marxist, Jungian and Feminist literary criticism will be used to decipher the culture and society of the text.

One of the approaches in unlocking the society in “Helen of Troy Does Countertop Dancing” includes examining the apparent societal structure and power relations in the poem. A Marxist analysis of the text is appropriate in accomplishing this. Marxist criticism states that whichever entity that has economical control over a society has a direct influence on the culture of that particular society. “Helen of Troy Does Countertop Dancing” presents a capitalistic society where in men seemingly have a dominant position economically. “I sell men back their worst suspicions: that everything is for sale and piecemeal” confirms the capitalistic nature of this society in which men have the buying power. Moreover, women are described as only having minimum- paying jobs in the poem. This is another way of understanding that economic power lies with men and not women in the poem.

However, if men represent the economical control of this society, one would still have to show what their direct influence on the culture of this society is. Culture, in its broadest sense, is what is ordinary (Williams, 1958). The definition of culture is, however, limited to the society in question. What is ordinary in one society may not be ordinary in another.  In the poem, strip teasing (what the speaker does to earn a living) is common in that society, even though looked down upon by many: “The world is full of women who’d tell me I should be ashamed of myself…”. This would then imply that strip clubs are part of the culture in this society. Strip clubs are a form of entertainment that rely on the existence of an audience (men). Therefore, the influence men have in the existence of strip clubs can be established. Hence, given the assumption that men have economic power in this society, it can be shown that their influence determines some of the culture of the society in the poem.

Since societies are made up of individuals, an analysis of relations between the individual and society may reveal more about the nature of the society. The speaker in the poem is presumably from a free and democratic society. However, how the individual and society interact may reveal more on the power relations in that society. A vital question to ask, then, would be: are the speaker’s choices and actions determined by the society she lives in or by her?  One may argue that the speaker’s actions reflect her freewill and drive to make more money, “I’ve a choice how of how and I’ll take the money”. She does this job despite the disapproval and judgments of some people in her society. On the other hand, the speaker can be said to be the victim of a male-dominated society which lives little or no choice in how women can earn a better living. This argument would imply that the choices made by individuals are bound to what the controllers of a society have deemed available and possible. This is despite the “freedom of choice” the speaker exercises in the text.

By focusing further on the individual and the motivation that leads to their choices, other characteristics and problems of the in the poem society can be revealed. The speaker of the poem seemingly defies the expectations women have of her and she aims to establish power over her male clients, “Such hatred leaps in them, my beery worshippers”. With this knowledge, one may declare that the speaker’s actions are in line with feminist criticism. Feminist criticism deals with the patriarchy that women have to live under. Feminist literature exposes the atrocities perpetrated by a male-dominant society and it seeks ways of reestablishing power relations between men and women.  This poem achieves this by depicting a woman who is not confined by the stereotypes attributed to women, but instead expresses her freedom of choice. The speaker also has a job that earns her more money than usual-giving her more economic power. Using her beauty as well, the speaker is able to exert control over men who normally have a dominant position in society. In other words, the poem can be viewed as empowering women through their sexuality.

Finally, by examining the psychoanalysis of the poem, a well-rounded understanding of the culture and society of “Helen of Troy Does Countertop Dancing” can be reached. The mythological references and archetypes found in the text allow for a Jungian analysis of the text. A part of Jungian literary criticism concerns itself with how myths and archetypes in literature reflect collective unconscious. According to Jung, the collective unconscious represents the layer of psyche in humans that has images of archetypes. These images can be found in myths and illustrate the innate inclinations that govern normal human behavior.

The use of the Helen of Troy myth in this poem can have various interpretations. The myth itself proclaims Helen to be the most beautiful women the world. Hence, the use of this myth could be alluding to the fixation of beauty as part of the collective unconscious. This fixation of physical beauty is found in the poem as the men who watch the speaker dance are only concerned with the gratification of seeing her body, “Seeing the rows of heads and upturned eyes, imploring but ready to snap at my ankles”. The original myth also states that Helen was the cause of the Trojan War, indicating the power and control she had over men. This archetype of how beauty brings power can be identified with the speaker who shows similar control over her audience, as her “beery worshippers” watch her dance, regardless if they are married or not.

“Helen of Troy Does Countertop Dancing” has various facets which when analyzed reveal the essence of the society and culture in the poem. The type of the society depicted in the text is resembles a modern one, which is driven by capitalism and still is largely male-dominated. The poem is also a rebellion against the stereotypes and limitations that women have been faced with. However, the allusion and archetypal figures that are portrayed with the myth of Helen of Troy indicate the central theme of the poem – physical beauty is a priority in our current society and culture, and physical beauty can give power and control to the one who possesses it.



B.Pascal Zwane






Works Cited

• Abrams, M.H. A Glossary of Literary Terms. 7th ed. Fort Worth: Earl McPeek Publishers, 1999. Print.
• Gurana, Jacopo. Paris and Helen of Troy. nd. Art Renewal Centre. Web. 24 April 2014.
• Raymond Williams, Moving from High Culture to Ordinary Culture. Originally published in N. McKenzie (ed.), Convictions, 1958. Print.

Intertextuality in Fowles' The Collector

            The Collector of John Fowles, who is generally attributed as a Post-Modernist writer, was published in 1963. While writing to book, Fowles was inspired from a real story of Bartok’s opera Bluebeard’s Castle with a contemporary newspaper report. He says in Woodcock (1984; 27) that: “ a boy who captured a girl and imprisoned her in an air-raid shelter at the end of his gar- den ... there were many peculiar features about this case that fascinated me.” In the novel some characteristics of Post-Modernist Literature is used such as intertextuality . Shakespeare's play The Tempest, The Old Man of The Sea in story of Sinbad the Sailor from One Thousand and One Nights, Jane Austen's novel Emma are some of the most significant literary works which are mentioned in The Collector.

             The first inter-text in The Collector is Shakespeare's play The Tempest, which is obvious through the Miranda' s and Fredrick Clegg' s names. Firstly, Miranda is the daughter of the Prospero in The Tempest. She is stucked in an island, because his father is exiled from Milan where he was a duke in the play. Similarly, Miranda inThe Collector is abducted by the anti-hero of the novel and stucked in a cellar. The lowering standards of being in an island is not so different than being kept in a cellar. They both are isolated from the civilization where they are supposed to belong because of their gender. While Miranda in The Tempest reaches to happiness and gets married to man she loves, Miranda in The Collector dies because of malaria without seeing the light which she looks forward to from these quotations: “ The thing I miss most is fresh light. I can’t live without light.” and “ I could see daylight through a keyhole.” Secondly, the name of anti-hero Fredrick Clegg is also an inter-text to the Shakespeare's play since the first name of Fredrick Clegg is Ferdinand, who gets married to Miranda in The Tempest ,and Clegg hopes to make Miranda falls in love with him. In the novel it is seen in this quotation:

“What’s your name?” she said. Clegg, I answered.“Your first name?” Ferdinand.However, unlike Ferdinand, Clegg never achieves his aim. Furthermore, after he reads Miranda's diary and learns what actually she thinks about him and hates her.

            In addition to his first name, Clegg is called Caliban in Miranda's diary, which creates another inter-text to The Tempest. Prospero tries to teach Caliban religion and language, but after Caliban tries to rape Miranda, he is treated like a monster. In The Collector, Clegg is tried to be educated by Miranda. She tries to increase his humanity and intellectuality.“You have money - as a matter of fact, you aren’t stupid, you could become whatever you liked. Only you’ve got to shake off the past. You’ve got to kill your aunt and the house you lived in and the people you lived with. You’ve got to be a new human being.” He is given a book which he stops reading. He also uses bad English which can be easily understood when his writing and Miranda's diary are compared. Clegg doesn't rape Miranda while Caliban in The Tempest tries it. However, he is still called as Caliban because of his narrow-mind, and psychological disorder by Miranda.

             Lastly, G.P whom Miranda loves in the novel can be linked with Prospero in The Tempest . They both are not young characters. Prospero has a daughter and lives in an island for years. G.P is earns his own money and he is elder than Miranda. Both of the characters are well-respected. Miranda praises G.P' s ideas about the collectors in the novel. “ G.P. saying that collectors were the worst animals of all. He meant art collectors, of course. But of course, he is right.” Prospero is the play's protagonist and he is a moral man. He admits to stop spell after he takes what he deserves and gives lesson to everyone. G.P 's name might also refer to Prospero as Great Prospero because sorcerers are generally called as great.

The second inter-text in The Collector is Jane Austen' s Emma. The heroin of Austen's novel is described as “handsome, clever, and rich, with a comfortable homeand happy disposition.” Miranda thinks herself like Emma and states her admiration that a few time in the novel. “I am Emma Woodhouse. I feel for her, of her and in her. I have a different sort of snobbism, but I understand her snobbism.” In this quotation, Miranda feels an instant connection between her and Emma because sometimes she looks down on Clegg who doesn't understand neither art nor literature like Emma's behaviors to lower class people. Miranda also tries to justify Emma's wrongs, which shows how she feels close herself to Emma.

“I know she does wrong things, she tries to organize other people’s live.Creative, determined to set the highest standards. A real human being. Her faults are my faults: her virtues I must make my virtues.” After finishing to book, Miranda matches the people in her life to the characters in the novel Emma. “Emma. The busi- ness of beingbetween inexperienced girl and experienced woman and the awful problem of the man. Caliban is Mr Elton. Piers is Frank Churchill. But is G.P. Mr Knightley?”

               Finally, the third inter-text in the novel is to the story of Sinbad the Sailor andOne Thousand and One Nights. In one of Sinbad's quest he is captured by Old Man of the Sea and makes him drunk to kill him. Miranda thinks Clegg is like Old Man of the Sea because he doesn't let her go. “I know what you are. You’re the Old Man of the Sea. The horrid old man Sinbad had to carry on his back. That’s what you are. You get on the back of everything vital, everything trying to be honest and free, and you bear it down.”

               To sum up, Fowles uses interxtuality in The Collector thanks to The Tempest, Sinbad the Sailor and Emma, which can be seen in the examples that I mentioned. 

Cengiz Güler