D-D-D-DIVA!

What is it about the diva that makes us want to watch her? Interestingly, we all have a very distinct idea of what the word entails. According to my Encarta dictionary on Word a diva is: 1. Woman opera singer. A distinguished singer, especially one who sings in operas. 2. Successful woman. A successful woman performer. Now we KNOW this is NOT what “diva” means to us. The etymology of the word actually comes from the Latin feminine for god, “divus.” I would think that’s a little closer to what we have in mind.

A diva has confidence and attitude. She is strong and intelligent. No one dares tell her what to do. She encompasses all the qualities that are that we identify as being part of the masculine gender while maintaining her femininity. She is an object to be obtained, an obstacle to be overcome for men. At the same time, she stirs jealousy in the same women who wish they could be her.

It is all of these things that make her such an attractive character for the stage. She can practically carry a story completely on her own. We briefly touched upon La Bohème in class and how Mimi would be completely uninteresting if not for her music. Yes the story revolves around her and Rodllfo’s relationship, but she herself would not be strong enough to carry the opera by herself. However, put someone like Musetta next to her, and now we have a show! Not only are we attracted to her, but everyone else in the opera is as well! Her entrance alone is enough to make us all want to know more about her. Never mind the fact that she has one of the best known arias known to mankind (whether they realize it or not!). On the other hand, we have characters like Tosca or Violetta (La Traviata) who immediately capture the stage (and our attention) with their beauty and strength of will.

As I mentioned in class, this is a trend that has spread across all types of media. Where once we played video games or read stories where the guy saves the girl, we now have the girl saving the guy! – and sometimes even the world! The funny thing is that these heroines, while being amazingly strong in character and capable of amazing feats, are still clothed in their sexuality and femininity. After all, Lara Croft runs around with her gunbelt slung around Daisy Dukes and a cutoff T-shirt.

It seems that where once mental instability made the idea of the diva more acceptable, now the idea of the unattainable has done the same.