The Returned: Representations of Gender

In The Returned, theorist bell hooks would believe that patriarchal oppression and the ideology of domination is reinforced through the shows contrasting representations of men vs women. For example, characters such as Julie and Lucy (and nearly Lena) all face male violence, being attacked in an underpass. This attack leaves Julie with physical and emotional scars, including panic attacks and hallucinations even 7 years after. This holds her back reinforcing the patriarchal ideology that the male attackers' actions hold domination and control over Julie's life forever and creating a vulnerable representation of women and a dominating representation of men. In addition to this, characters such as Adele also portray a vulnerable representation of women in contrast to her partner(s) Thomas and Simon who both are represented as controlling and dominating as bell hooks. This is depicted through Adeles' emotional conflict dealing with the loss of Simon and how her emotions are brough back up when he returns from the dead. For example, when Adele sees Simon for the first time she believes she is hallucinating, causing her to act almost ‘hysterical’ screaming for him to leave her alone, ending with Adele seeking comfort from Thomas, proving her emotional state is dependent on the men in her life.  As well as this, Adele is unknowingly manipulated and controlled by Thomas’s dominating actions as he watches her with spy-like CCTV around her home without her knowledge. Despite Adeles' initial agency calling him out once she finds out about the cameras, inevitably she ends up forgiving him and allowing him to continue dominating her life emotionally and physically. Adele is a victim of this control and domination yet again when Simon forces himself on her, not listening when she tells him to stop, leading her to have to slap him in order for him to stop. However, she still forgives him after the fact, providing audiences with two situations in which she is represented as too forgiving and submissive towards the men in her life despite the physical and emotional abuse they cause her. This therefore represents the men in The Returned as leading a patriarchal society in which they believe they can act however they want towards the women in their community with little or no consequence, whilst the women suffer the repocussions yet forgiving the men and allowing them to do so again.