Madwoman Plays God in the Attic II

reference: Madwoman Plays God in the Attic

The trope of the “madwoman in the attic” is a traditional literary device used to portray the suppressed, rebellious, and anguished side of women. The madwoman I’ve woven embodies internalized misogyny—her femininity, shaped by patriarchal norms, becomes a source of claustrophobia. She envies men and desires to become one, wishing to think, feel, and hunt like a man.

Her envy births unadulterated rage against male dominance. In response, she commits the act of killing god, man, and authority. She asserts her power, threatening them to fear and revere her, all while being confined in the attic.

No longer content with portraying herself as a ritualistic victim and them as aggressors, the madwoman yearns to strip away everything with profound intensity, a deadly impulse. Shedding the femininity that once threatened to undermine her, she now hungers to assume the role of the victimizer. She realizes that to escape the fate of being a victim, she must become the one who inflicts violence—the rapist—and within her revenge fantasy, she discovers newfound strength through embracing masculinity.

She realizes that to become a man, she has to kill like a man, dismantling the divine masculinity she has internalized, which has been limiting her. She fears she will be destroyed unless she totally annihilates her antagonist, which is god. So, she kills like Hector (the Trojan warrior), metaphorically killing the conventional concept of god, hence becoming a figure more rebellious than Pilate (Pontius Pilate, the fifth governor of Judaea who played a role in the crucifixion of Jesus Christ), Lucifer (the angel who rebelled against God and was cast out of heaven), and Adam (who lost innocence and was expelled from Eden).

The madwoman delves deeper into the nature of God’s justice, contemplating the paradox of his creations. After all, he formed Eden and, by extension, wouldn’t Hell also be a product of his design? Even Lucifer, prior to his fall, was one of his own. Just as Adam, in his pre-fallen state, mirrored his maker’s gentleness and humility, as he was crafted in God’s likeness. Thus, a post-fallen Adam also resembles God, implying a fallen state within him, as a creator inherently possesses elements present in the creation.

Could it be that the very design of the fall was authored by God himself, and he descended alongside mankind? Isn’t he, too, a rebel? Yet, without fairness, he couldn’t be divine; without reverence or compliance, he wouldn’t command might. If God were genuinely just, people might not dread him. He, too, exhibits the traits of a man asserting dominance. It is through him that man gained a sense of control. God is the madwoman’s greatest torment.

Thus, having slain God, she ascends her throne above, much like a man. Her conquest is a resounding triumph, its victorious tones echoing her dominion over destiny. Throughout history, conquest has symbolized mankind’s pursuit of autonomy. This pursuit found expression in avatars of oppressors, Nazis, aqrabuamelu (mythical scorpion men), devils, and even lovers—men, in their quest, have ardently marked their territories, both public and private.

In her quest for power, the madwoman succumbs to penis envy (a Freudian phrase metaphorically linking the penis to power and agency). It angers her more when she realizes she is merely a creation of God, Eve, designed to aid the man-child.

The creation of Eve is vividly depicted in the second chapter of Genesis. Here, God takes a rib from the first man, Adam, to fashion a suitable helper for him. This narrative has led religious leaders to propagate the notion that women were brought into existence to serve men, allowing their testosterone-driven minds to lead while women follow closely.

Equality was never a consideration in God’s design. To Him, human beings embody a masculine gender, evolving from a boy in childhood to a man in adulthood. Women are fashioned as man’s companions, as Luce Irigaray states in her essay ‘When the Goods Get Together’. Man’s sexuality is physical, which means his spirit is pure. Women’s spirit is sexual, thus naturally evil.

The madwoman, gripped by unending roles, seeks to break free from the feminine burden. She chooses self-destructive violence that consumes her. She seeks liberation through nakedness; she disrobes in an endeavor to claim might. Asserting herself vehemently in her masculine realm, she obsessively conceals her femininity. However, within a world ordered by sexual imbalance, her body remains an embarrassing reminder of the self’s failure; vulnerability.

Hence she descends into madness, as the age-old, intricately woven patriarchal system uses its authority to label women ‘mad’ whenever a hint of deviation surfaces. If a woman grasps her sexuality and strides alongside men as an equal, she becomes the target of slut-shaming, and the system will force her to see a psychiatrist.

An unclothed woman is akin to a nude—akin to a prostitute—an erotic commodity feeding male fantasies, the panther erasing women’s desiring subjectivity. An unclothed man evokes notions of romantic liberation; contrastingly, an unclothed woman strikes a pose soliciting protection.

After all her frivolous attempts to become a man, she now embraces the instrument of love to allure and seduce men. The madwoman’s preference for men is something more than misogyny; it embodies admiration and desire, desire for subjecthood and agency. She recognizes male access to that power and desires it for herself; hence she admires and envies men.Emerging from the arch of becoming, she now yearns to embrace love for a man, thus securing a significant place within mankind, even as the concealed envy lingers within her being. She feeds him honey; he drinks, being ignorant, enticed by her enchantment.

Honey, as a symbol, carries the weight of wisdom and discernment. In the Bible, Solomon, the son of David, writes, “My son, eat honey, for it is good; yes, the honey from the comb is sweet to your taste; know that wisdom is the same for your soul” (Proverbs 24:13-14).

She invokes the light of God, driven by a desire to bestow upon man divine wisdom. Yet, with wisdom, came mankind’s fall. Amidst this, she remains untouched by a satanic spell. Whether her action stemmed from love or manipulation remains a conflicted question.

In the Genesis account, the fall of mankind was attributed to Eve, who offered Adam the fruit of knowledge. However, she acted out of naivety, ensnared by Satan’s spell. The discourse surrounding Eve’s role in humanity’s impending doom is closely intertwined with how subsequent Christians treated and continue to view women—subordinates held accountable for the damnation of all humanity.

Unlike Eve, the madwoman practices her vices well; she offers sweet honey, the forbidden fruit of knowledge intentionally; there’s no demonic spell at play this time. She plotted mankind’s downfall with no blood on her hands, only blame, aligning with the notion that a woman’s nature is inherently evil. Once more she enters the cycle, devoid of naivety, recognizing that a man who knows more transforms into a tyrant of the divine, thus inviting God’s condemnation upon man and expulsion due to envy, as the almighty claims sole omnipotence with no man’s intervention.

Devising the man’s downfall, the god orchestrates it through the agency of the madwoman, stripping the man—the very one she desired to become—of his dominion.

Thus, unwittingly, she transforms into an instrument for the man’s demise. The man who once victimized her now becomes her absent prey. Her revenge with his fall is somehow fulfilled, though unfairly.

Haunted by mankind’s accusation of killing, she’s tormented to such an extent that she assumes the role of the tormentor. Like a man, she transforms into the aggressor—becoming the rapist who terrifies, who imposes dominance, enacting the very role she secretly desired.

The madwoman proceeds to metaphorically annihilate god, overthrowing him to ascend as a god herself. Unlike man, a woman holds the essence of wisdom resonating within her. Just as God creates, she too possesses that divine ability to create. Thus, she evolves into both the attorney of heaven and hell, and in a cunning twist, she reverses metaphorical expectations, subverting mankind’s power and privilege. She masterminds her revenge, carefully crafted, eliminating god and his representative, and now she dons the mantle of godhood—a deity to be feared, revered, confined within her dominion (the attic).

Twice she takes lives—one of man, the other of the god within her head—both controlling figures. In their demise, she finds liberation. Revenge and retribution play crucial roles throughout her life. First, God’s desertion of his creation (the females), coupled with the subsequent cruelty inflicted by his superior creation, the males, leads the woman to vow vengeance against both of them. Her once blameless self now harbors emotions of murderous rage; she becomes the post-fallen Eve.

Driven by an insane craving for retribution from the creator, the madwoman turns her destructive force inward, confining herself in the attic she plays god, and the consuming flames of revenge devour her as she becomes the architect of her own downfall.

“he wronged me.

I killed him twice.

Do I now become the God of my own fall?”