Analysis of protagonists in the film Thelma＆Louise with the Greek Victory Goddess Nike as the archetype

Key words：Thelma&Louise，Nike，female liberation

Introduction

Thelma&Louise，a road film released in 1991，depicts two best friends adventure and escape from being hunted by the police for the crime they committed. The movie ends with them driving off the cliff as a sign of flying and freedom. Two heroines in the movie，Thelma and Louise，can be traced to the Greek Goddess of Victory，Nike，who waged the war against violence and was worshiped alongside Athena. The essay discusses the connection between these two female images in the modern movie and the Greek Goddess，so as to show the power of women and their spirit of rebellion against sexism.

Analysis

Nike，whose name is now a trademark for a famous brand of sportswear，is known as a winged Goddess carrying a palm branch，wreath and Hermes's caduceus. Her father was the Titan，Pallas and her mother was an Oceanid. Despite her ancestry she fought on the side of the Olympians in the war against the Titans. The mythology does not cover much myths dedicated specifically to this Goddess，but her sculpture now serves as an embodiment of victory.

The movie，Thelma&Louise，sets on a desert landscape with towering mountains，resembling a war scenery. It barely gives detailed information about the two protagonists backgrounds，but rather focuses on the storyline of their adventure and persistent war against the male-dominated world. Louise is a waitress with a trauma in her past，while Thelma married early to her controlling，boorish husband. One day they manage to jump in the car and hit the road in an attempt to escape their restricted lives for a weekend. Their journey，however，takes a violent turn when Louise kills a man who threatens to rape Thelma. We later learn that Louise has been raped before and has never recovered mentally. The law will not recognize her response as the effect of unhealed trauma rather than murderous intentions. Instead of surrendering to the overwhelming world of patriarchy，they decide to go on the run. They take even more desperate actions to elude capture along the driving way to Mexico，culminating in their suicidal yet triumphant dive into the Grand Canyon.

Nike，unlike the war God Ares，was not known for her brutality and bullying behaviour. Like Nike，the two protagonists in the movie，after shooting the would-be rapist to death，keep sane and calm along the escaping road. In this way they express their unwillingness to submission and disagreement to patriarchy. They feel unprecedented alive and free from barriers and obstacles during the adventure. According to the film director Lipsitz，Thelma and Louise do not “settle”;they literally “fly”，presumably to their deaths. There are countless interpretations about the ending of the movie—two heroines flying through the air. This essay regards their car as “Nikes wings”，which helps them drive in high speed and embark on an exciting adventure. Their dashing to the cliff can be seen as the final act of fly，to death this time.

The gun used for self-defense serves as a crucial symbol in Thelma&Louise. Weapons are considered to be exclusive to men，having little links to women. Yet Louise pulls the trigger to protect Thelma from sexual violence and bullying.?At that moment，She knows it would be too late to turn to police for justice and she herself has never gained support and justice from her prior trauma. This time，she decides to fight with violence against violence. Law seems to be invisible throughout the story，only appearing in the end as a tool to capture Thelma and Louise，who are indeed victims. It remains an open question what would happen if the police subject these two females to law—would they be sentenced to death without compassion or would they win support and empathy from those who have suffered from sexual assault and civil society at large？

The theme of Thelma&Louise—womens liberation echos the core value of the myth of Nike，who ventured on the front line and strove for victory. The film of feminist nature reiterates womens revolt against the oppression of the patriarchal society. Greek heroines，Nike and Athena included，inspire women in modern times to fight for equality and liberation. Two protagonists in the film fight for self-esteem until death instead of resorting to the protection from men. The movie ends with these two heroines driving into the cliff without hesitation in the desolate desert which is similar to battleground.

Conclusion

The movie Thelma&Louise shows two representative female roles fighting for liberation from gender bias in the 1990s. They have much in common with the Greek Goddess of Victory，Nike，who wins acclamation for her strength. The evaluation and comparison of the archetype and evolving characters based on the archetype can help to present a clearer view of the theme hidden behind these stories.

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作者簡(jiǎn)介：張茜（1999–），張茜，女，漢族，甘肅武威人，本科學(xué)歷，天津外國(guó)語(yǔ)大學(xué)，英語(yǔ)學(xué)院翻譯專業(yè)。

（作者單位：天津外國(guó)語(yǔ)大學(xué)）