Olivia Ingram

Metamorphosis – Beauty Standards: Within Franz Kafka’s Metamorphosis the main male protagonist transforms into a beetle because of the many societal pressures that he faces. The beetles within this illustration are representative of the societal pressures felt by women that are put in place by men, specifically female beauty standards.

The Lion and Witch and the Wardrobe – Male Superiority: In The Lion and Witch and the Wardrobe, the White Witch Jadis is said to be the daughter of Lilith. Lilith was created alongside Adam in the garden of Eden, however she refused to be subservient to him and was subsequently expelled from the garden. Aslan and Jadis are representative of Adam and Lilith. This illustration depicts their final fight. However, the original text describes Aslan physically overpowering Jadis, placing himself on top of her. The roles here have been reversed, placing Jadis on top to remove the themes of male superiority that diminished her power in the book.

The Secret Garden – Male Control: In The Secret Garden, the young protagonist, Mary, uses the garden as both a physical and emotional escape from the control and constant demands of her uncle. This piece focuses on how women, specifically young women face rage from men when they resist their control.

Lord of the Flies- Female Chaos: Young boys are seen as inherently chaotic, while young girls are represented and expected to act as level headed and collected. This illustration swaps the gender roles of Lord of the Flies, a book that originally contained an all-male cast of characters. Young girls are no less reckless and unpredictable.

Hamlet – Career, Grief, and Motherhood: Within the story of Hamlet, Queen Gertrude experiences the loss of her husband, shame for marrying a man too fast and not ruling the kingdom alone for longer, as well as her own son distancing himself from her. And yet through all of this she is seen as foolish and emotional. Even in today’s society women are expected to balance career, the difficulty of motherhood, and career decisions with little or no help.

Alice in Wonderland – Women’s Emotion and Hysteria: In the well known story of Alice in Wonderland all of the female supporting characters are portrayed as hysterical and irrational, driven only by emotion. This character concept art takes inspiration from the courtroom scene at the end of the tale, reimagining the Queen of Hearts as a lawyer, one of the most logical and rational of careers, in contrast to her traditional depiction. She is more than someone who is emotionally driven and “crazy”.

Dracula – Women’s Strength and Protection: In Bram Stoker’s Dracula the main female character, Mina Harker, is continuously protected by the men of the story. She is often told to stay out of their dangerous adventures and missions. This character concept reimagines Mina as a fierce vampire hunter, to match her ambitious personality that she never gets the chance to live up to in the novel.

Frankenstein – Women as Objects: In Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, the monster uses women as leverage against doctor Frankenstein to make him cooperate with the monster’s demands. The monster frames the young family maid for murder, and goes as far as murdering doctor Frankenstein’s bride to be. This illustration highlights the fact that the women of the novel were used as nothing more than plot devices for the men; objects to be broken and used for leverage.

MacBeth – Emotional Labour: In the story of MacBeth, Lady Macbeth kills for her husband after he struggles with the emotional labour of the task. However, when she requires reassurance after he murder he is not there to provide it. In this illustration Lady MacBeth finds consolation with the 3 witches when she cannot find it with her husband. This reimagined scene portrays how women often have to find comfort in other women when the men in their lives are emotionally unavailable.

1984 – Women’s Sexuality: In the novel 1984 the ever watchful government influences the thoughts and actions of the people. One of the ways this is done is through the formation of the “anti-sex league”, often represented by a red sash. The group was designed to promote celibacy and the suppression of sexuality. This illustration conveys the struggle between women and these ideals, represented by the red sash. Women have faced repercussions and judgment for normal sexual activity for centuries.

Woman Scorned