analysis Eragon

The Ironi of the Female Character as the Dragon

In Eragon by Christopher Paolini

Eragon (2006) is a movie which is developed from the trilogy novel by Christopher Paolini, American novelist who has developed the high fantasy genre. This novel was published for the first time in 2002. I’m very interesting to this story; even just know it from the movie. It tells about a young boy about 15 years old, Eragon who must against the tyranny in his island, Alagaesia. Getting the power form the dragon’s egg which given by Arya, a dragon’s egg kidnapper, Eragon tries to build up his strengthens. Then, behind his development, the egg becomes an amazing dragon, a female, which named Shafira. Furthermore, Eragon and Shafira do struggle together to against King Galbatorix. In the end of this story, they win the battle.

The film actually raises a unique issue in this era about the woman symbolize as a dragon. As recently appears, it has many literary works that issues of woman as objects include a movie. In Eragon, the female character is symbolized by Eragon’s dragon, Shafira and another character, Arya, who is bravely to steal the dragon’s egg as the source of power to against tyranny. Here we can see the male author tries to build up existence of woman in his movie. He characterizes Shafira as the source of power to Eragon, as the main character or the hero. Without Shafira, Eragon can not do anything. As Brom (ex-dragon rider) stated in the movie about Eragon’s: ”That's the spirit - one part brave, three parts fool.” Shafira is Eragon’s motivator to make he becomes confident against the enemy. We can see in a conversation when Eragon loose his vision in the battle,

Eragon: [to Saphira] My vision is failing!
Saphira: [to Eragon] It's not you... but me. (Quoted from Eragon)

The quotation proves that the source of Eragon’s power is come from Shafira’s. When Shafira is hurt, Eragon fails in his vision and become weak.  Another reason, Arya is the founder of Eragon’s power. Without care of the danger, she steals the dragon’s egg from Galbatorix, a devil one.

However, I see this entire movie not totally pro-feminism. As it is stated in A Handbook of Critical Approaches to Literature, Millet wrote that “the essence of politics is power” and that the most fundamental and pervasive concept power in our society is male dominance. (199). The author characterizes female character as the scary one and just as the complementary to the man, a Dragon. Shafira here just be the helper to a male’s character, Eragon.

Eragon: You can hear my thoughts!
Saphira: I've waited 1000 years to hear your thoughts. And now you can hear mine. I am Saphira. And you are my Rider.

Eragon: [arguing with Saphira] I'm the rider, and I say we go!

Based on quotation above, although Shafira is Eragon’s spirit but we can see that Eragon has a power to handle Shafira. In the end of the story we also see the contrast happened in characterization, a hero is Eragon, not Shafira.

As the conclusion, though this film seems on the surface to raises the issue about woman in the battle; it fails drastically to exit out of the male-oriented vision of judgment. The film previously shows us the existence of women. However, the character of women be defeated by the charming of male’s character as the hero. So we can conclude, relevance to what has stated in A Handbook of Critical Approach to Literature,

Many feminist believe that no man can possibly read or write or teach as feminist; some even feel that men should be barred from teaching as feminist. As Maggie Humm argued that no man can read as feminist because at any time he can escape into partriarchy (214).

REFERENCESS

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0449010/quotes

Isminarti, Rosita. 2010. Citra Perempuan Dalam Novel Kesempatan Kesempatan Kedua Karya Jusra Chandra. Thesis S1, Universitas Muhammadiyah Surakarta.

1.       Media Potrayals of Girls and Women: Introduction. 2010, http://www.media-awareness.ca/english/issues/stereotyping/women_and_girls/