Layers of Womanhood in Almodovar’s Volver: The Representation of Raimunda

Layers of Womanhood in Almodovar’s Volver: The Representation of Raimunda as a Wife, Mother, and Daughter in Volver.
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“Layers of Womanhood in Almodovar’s Volver: The Representation of Raimunda as a Wife, Mother, and Daughter in Volver”
Introduction
Since its inception, Spanish cinema has survived and thrived on patriarchal themes. The traditions revolved around portraying women more as ‘objects’ in a way that pleases and reinforces the dominance of men than ‘subjects’ who may have their voice and potential to rise with the occasion (Martín-Márquez 1999). However, a Spanish film director, Pedro Almodovar, pulls himself apart from time-honoured cinematic norms and strives to change the ways in which viewers make sense of the beauty, pleasure, justice, and particularly, the role of women in society. His differentiated resolve manifests itself in its entirety in his masterpiece “Volver,” a film released in 2006.
The story of Volver revolves around four female characters, including Irene, Raimunda, Paula, and Sole. Irene is Raimunda’s mother, while Paula and Sole (two sisters) are Raimunda’s daughters. Irene is suspected of having died in a fire outbreak, which proves to be a misconception as the plot advances. Raimunda is not much grieved at the alleged death of her mother since there has been severe acrimony between Irene and Raimunda. Raimunda was raped by her father and, as a result, conceived Paula, who is both her daughter and sister. Paula’s non-biological father attempts to rape her, but Paula resists and kills him. Raimunda helps Paula hide the crime by concealing her husband’s dead body. Later on, as Sole visits Alcanfor de las Infantas (an old village) to participate in the death ritual of her aunt, she discovers that her grandmother, Irene is alive and is hiding in her car. She shares the discovery with Paula, but they keep the secret from Raimunda since she harbours intense hatred against her mother. As the story progresses, Irene succeeds in convincing Raimunda of being unmindful of her molestation by her husband and reconciling with her by recounting how she killed her husband. Hence, all characters mend their old rifts, and the ending features their triumphant rise from the pressing circumstances to a stable and balanced life. The story at its best challenges the patriarchal affiliations of Spanish cinema as well as the feminist theories are suggesting that cinema is meant to portray women as objects of pleasure; even though in subtle ways and at specific points, the director fails to distance from the male gaze and traditionally coded objectification.
This paper aims to analyze the central character of the movie Raimunda concerning its diverse functioning, focusing on its role as a wife, mother, and daughter. The analysis is conducted using a range of psychoanalytic lenses and theories dealing with traditions of Spanish cinema.
Raimunda as a Wife
Raimunda marries a drunk man, Paco, who is portrayed as a good-for-nothing fellow for whom his personal indulgences take precedence over people’s desires in his ci...