Was Anya meant to represent women?

[Skanky Vamp]

I was reading Victoria Large's "Problem of Identity" and it says

As a female character whose existence has been defined by men, Anya is uniquely problematic within the world of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. It is clear that she did, as she says in “Selfless," cling to whatever came along, and in her life, what came along was an identity defined by males – first Olaf, then D’Hoffryn, and then Xander. Her sex is not what has limited her, but rather her failure to reject the harmful expectations that society puts forth for her sex.

Anya may be the product of a patriarchal society, but she is surrounded by women who prove that there is no reason to bend to that society’s expectations. After centuries of conforming to debilitating stereotypes, Anya at last realizes that she must reject these same stereotypes and discover who she really is, despite her fears.​

Which got me thinking. Was Anya meant to represent the modern or the 'stereotypical' woman in contrast to the more 'evolved' patriarchal-free women of Buffy, Willow, etc?

Could Willow's rejection of Oz also represent her rejection of the patriarchal norms?

 

[Athena]

I don't think you could describe Buffy as completely 'patriarchal-free'. Her watcher was a man, and whilst Giles was never there to rule over Buffy, he was there to guide her and she relied on him up to a point to do that. I do agree however that Buffy isn't defined by the men around her and this is one of the main reasons Buffy, as a show, works so well. The main character rejecting these stereotypes and carving her own path in the world.

Anya was a mixed bag of sorts though, as a 1000+ year old ex-human ex-vengeance demon. You would think years of vengeance towards men would make her more of the 'independent woman' sort, but as it turns out, her whole reason for existing on the show post The Wish is primarily her relationship with Xander. Once that's over, she becomes a bit of a spare part IMO. So I think the author hits the nail on the head when she says

Her sex is not what has limited her, but rather her failure to reject the harmful expectations that society puts forth for her sex.

Perhaps we needed Anya as that stereotype to truly appreciate Buffy for who she was?

My memory isn't serving me well at the moment though, when did Willow reject Oz?

 

[Blaze]

Any was so written so inconsistently, it's hard to make anything out of her. Just what we see from the Wish, to the person that comes back in s4, it's not the same character at all. And then there are times where Anya comes off as very naive, even a bit simple, yet other episodes she's the complete opposite.

 

[Ethan Reigns]

I was reading Victoria Large's "Problem of Identity" and it says

As a female character whose existence has been defined by men, Anya is uniquely problematic within the world of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. It is clear that she did, as she says in “Selfless," cling to whatever came along, and in her life, what came along was an identity defined by males – first Olaf, then D’Hoffryn, and then Xander. Her sex is not what has limited her, but rather her failure to reject the harmful expectations that society puts forth for her sex.

Anya may be the product of a patriarchal society, but she is surrounded by women who prove that there is no reason to bend to that society’s expectations. After centuries of conforming to debilitating stereotypes, Anya at last realizes that she must reject these same stereotypes and discover who she really is, despite her fears.​

Which got me thinking. Was Anya meant to represent the modern or the 'stereotypical' woman in contrast to the more 'evolved' patriarchal-free women of Buffy, Willow, etc?

Could Willow's rejection of Oz also represent her rejection of the patriarchal norms?

Problematic? I don't see it. And anyone who uses the word "problematic" is showing more laziness than understanding.

Anya's counterpart in this show would be Jenny and Jenny's uncle and Holtz in Angel. Vengeance defines her and it brings all of its problems along. There is an old Sicilian saying that "anyone who wishes vengeance must begin by digging two graves", meaning one for the target and one for the person seeking vengeance. No one in the Jossverse goes looking for vengeance without receiving death.

Anya exacted vengeance on Olaf before D'Hoffryn recruited her and turned Olaf into a troll using eelsbane, something D'Hoffryn considered to be an advance in the state of the art. She was happily involved in vengeance against men for over 1000 years and specialized in wronged women by her own choice, not as a role defined by males. Her BFF Halfreq chose vengeance for wronged children and Anya could have done the same but her choice was based on her own anger over infidelity, not any desire to be useful to society. She didn't "cling to what came along" , she actively sought this particular area of specialization. After Xander dumps her at the altar, she rejoins D'Hoffryn's group and tries to get vengeance on Xander but couldn't get anyone to make the decisive wish. None of this is about "failure to reject the harmful expectations that society puts forth for her sex". Women may be seen as catty sometimes but single-minded revenge is not a social expectation for a woman in this culture or any that we see her active in. She eventually gets out of the vengeance business but only after losing her taste for the damage the Sluggoth demon did to one client (it killed her dog) and the Grimslaw demons did at the frat house and her traumatized "clients" who will suffer more that they had already. Shortly after she is introduced and is dropped from the roster by D'Hoffryn, Anya is like Illyria or Glory, who had been ousted from a position of power and was gradually becoming humanized (as did Illyria and Glory), not because she wanted to, but because she lost her talisman and was forced to become human again and saw that there could be a life of romance that needed no vengeance. Anya never accepts or rejects any stereotypes. Her entire career has been based on fighting men and it is men who cause all the trouble according to her, although her first spell in "The Wish" did not involve men. After excessive humanization kept her from enjoying vengeance anymore, she joined the scoobies and fought in the final battle and got a hero's death.

Anya's position is neither modern nor stereotypical. The vengeance demons are a unique group operating outside of society except to take on assignments from people in society. And someone who has done the same thing for 1000 years can hardly be called "evolved".

 

[Skanky Vamp]

@Ethan Reigns I think you might be looking at the vengeance demon thing too much. She clung to Olaf and counted on him to give her life meaning, then when she was jilted D'Hoffyrn came and she clung to him, then to Xander. Her 'arc' and her entire being was relegated and reflected upon which man she was with at the time.
 

Any was so written so inconsistently, it's hard to make anything out of her. Just what we see from the Wish, to the person that comes back in s4, it's not the same character at all. And then there are times where Anya comes off as very naive, even a bit simple, yet other episodes she's the complete opposite.

That is because she had no identity. She was just a fancy set piece or prop. So she could be whatever they wanted her to be for one episode and then different the next.

 

[Ethan Reigns]

@Mr. Pole She was married to Olaf but her idea of how to live (raising bunnies and giving them away in order to get goodwill) and her social awkwardness (being told to take her opinions to the other side of the river) indicate that she was quite happy to think for herself and enjoy the meaning of her own life. She did not cling to D'Hoffryn; D'Hoffryn was simply someone who agreed with her and offered her an opportunity to do what she wanted to do with the added benefit of immortality. We see her acting autonomously here - she does not have D'Hoffryn looking over her shoulder or micromanaging how she works. Xander was someone she hooked up with because she wanted to. She was a sexual being, he was someone of the opposite sex and she started hanging around with him and in that sense, we do see her as clinging to him. We see Xander showing her how to get along with people, so in that sense she reflected the influence of the man she was with, but I don't see her as needing a man to give her life meaning.

 

[Skanky Vamp]

@Mr. Pole She was married to Olaf but her idea of how to live (raising bunnies and giving them away in order to get goodwill) and her social awkwardness (being told to take her opinions to the other side of the river) indicate that she was quite happy to think for herself and enjoy the meaning of her own life.

I just took it as she was happy to be his wife, that that was all she wanted, which was later echoed with Xander. D'Hoffyrn wasn't micromanaging but she clung to the identity that he showed interest in, so she did not grow beyond that which he wanted her to be. The other ones diversified more, with different 'specialties' but she remain how she was when she met D'Hoffyrn.

It wasn't until Selfless (after Buffy killed/freed her) that she actually went out on her own and became herself without any preconceived expectations from males.

 

[white avenger]

Was Anya meant to represent the modern or the 'stereotypical' woman

Oh, Lord, I hope not!!!!!

 

[thetopher]

It wasn't until Selfless (after Buffy killed/freed her) that she actually went out on her own and became herself without any preconceived expectations from males.

And even then the writers were content to just have Anya hit on Spike during 'First Date', get jealous of Xander during 'First Date', hang around with Andrew a lot and finally reconcile with Xander so they could boink some.
She was still all about the men.

 

[ChaseRules]

@Mr. Pole Xander was someone she hooked up with because she wanted to. She was a sexual being, he was someone of the opposite sex and she started hanging around with him and in that sense, we do see her as clinging to him. We see Xander showing her how to get along with people, so in that sense she reflected the influence of the man she was with, but I don't see her as needing a man to give her life meaning.

I think part of the reason was Xander was the only person who would put up with her . Don't forgot Anya was his first girlfriend so having her cling to him was just what he wanted .Plus having sex with Anya was a big plus for Xander .

As proof in Choices Anya tells Xander why she hates mem.
Xander : Then why are you talking to me ?.
Anya : I don't have a date for the prom.
Xander :And ,gosh " I wonder why not .
Can't possibility have anything to do with sales pitch ......".
Anya : Men are evil .......Will you go with me ?".
Xander : One of us is very confused and I honesty don't know which .

Enough said.

 

[Buffy Summers]

I think Anya might be that "stereotypical crazy girlfriend" in the same way Joss used Xander to be the "there's more to him than a geek" character. You can really see both sides of it.

 

[ChaseRules]

I can see that in Anya as well as the fact that something was wrong with Xander for wanting to marry Anya knowing her history .

 

[AnthonyCordova]

It's difficult to really know what to say about Anya. She's the outline of a commentary on feminism, but then again she's played off so much as (bad) comic relief that it undermines in some ways their efforts to say something meaningful through her. I don't know what her value in terms of social critique is precisely. Nearly every other female character on both shows and even male ones have had more to contribute to the topic than her I feel.

She's like a creative miscarriage or dead end. Failed to amount to anything really.

 

[Wildfly]

Maybe vengeance demon anya intended 2 b a satire on radical feminism?

 

[AnthonyCordova]

Maybe vengeance demon anya intended 2 b a satire on radical feminism?

Do you think Joss would want to satire such a thing at that time? Do you think Joss felt the times already required a satire of feminism on the margins already, when feminism hadn't even yet achieved full mainstream respectability as a position for critique? I ask the questions honestly and naively, because I don't personally know. Joss used to fly a fairly uncompromising feminism himself in those days, if I am not mistaken. I'm not sure. It's never been my focus of the show.

 

[Wildfly]

Havent thought about the historical context much. Also Joss brought many new topics that later became heated mainstream discussion, plus he has a spectacular sense of humour and he is pretty much capable of anything. Maybe it was his commentary on the third wave. If vegenance demons symbolise feminism, then his message is, to say the least, ambiguous.
Remember what Halfrek told to Anyanka:
"Y'know how it is. Half the time i have no idea if I'm maiming the right guy."
Buffy the slayer is a much better poster girl for feminism than Anyanka or anya the monopoly player.

 

[ChaseRules]

If Anya a feminist then why did she go after Zander & like having sec with him so much. Makes you wonder why she didn't get knocked up.

 

[Buffy Summers]

Because from a feminist POV Anya should be able to have and like sex without being ashamed by it.

 

[ChaseRules]

Good point . But she seemed to only care about Xander & what she could get from him .