“The honey of Iracema’s lips is like the honeycomb which the bee makes in the trunk of the Guabiroba: poisonous is its sweetness” (Jose de Alencar, Iracema, 26).



Iracema the Guardian

All throughout history we hear/read/watch things about a beautiful woman who has a dangerous secret within her that usually ends, inadvertently or not, in tragedy, grief, pain, etc. Iracema is a classic example of this. As also is Pandora. They are both seen as women “born” from nature in a way. Iracema is the essence of nature, and Pandora was created by the gods from the earth. They both innocently bring sadness into the world, Pandora with her box containing all the evils of the world and Iracema betraying the secret of the Jurema. Yet in spite of the sadness they bear children who become the principle people of new nations. Out of tragedy comes miracles; out of death comes life.


Pandora's box

 

This brings me to the question of why we see this pattern so often in history. As Octavio Paz put it, “woman is a living symbol of the strangeness of the universe…the supreme mystery” (The Labyrinth of Solitude, 66). Women are confusing; they are a mystery to the world. No one quite understands them which I think is what makes them such great characters to portray. There is this quest to find out if they really are perfect through and through as their beauty portrays or if there is something deadly within them just below the surface.

 

Being a woman, I think it is safe for me to say that there is more to a woman than meets the eye. I am positive that this topic will continue to be seen in different mediums as time ticks on. This shows just how influential women really are that authors, artists, and directors will still continue to try and solve this great unsolvable mystery known as the woman.