Elaune is a fictional character who is known as the love witch. She possesses special powers and abilities that allow her to control love and relationships. Elaune is often depicted as a beautiful and enchanting woman with long flowing hair, piercing eyes, and a captivating smile. Elaune uses her powers to manipulate the emotions and desires of others. She can make people fall in love with her or with someone else, depending on her intentions. Her magic is strong and potent, and she knows how to use it to get what she wants.
She, like many little girls all around the world, grew up being fed the fantasy of the strong and capable Prince who would smite all the Princess’s demons and love her fiercely. In today’s society, this story is largely recognized as one produced by a patriarchal system which, through the use of the male gaze, limits women to damsels in distress worthy of pity and in dire need of a hyper-masculine male savior whose heroism would be rewarded with the damsel’s body and beauty. Anna Biller turns this concept on its head to affirm that in the same way men have fantasies of obtaining a beautiful, female prize, so do women themselves possess sensual fantasies and perceptions of love and romance.
Rather, what ultimately makes Elaine s version of love so deadly is that she does not realize that what she is addicted to is a misogynistic lie cultivated by men for men with no regard for women s autonomy or desires the kind of love that exists within the pages of fairy tales and is better off left there because it resembles a horror story when brought to life. During this same conversation Elaine says this line, that basically summarizes the whole movie and it s corresponding theme You men make us work so hard for your love.
Her magic is strong and potent, and she knows how to use it to get what she wants. However, Elaune's powers come with a price. She is not capable of experiencing true love herself.
A Theme Analysis of “The Love Witch”
After finishing the movie The Love Witch I was scratching my head trying to understand the various themes included in the film. I knew they were really interesting and nuanced feminist ideas, but it was difficult to explain them in words. After a lot of thinking about it, I finally came to this conclusion:
The movie explores the idea that Elaine has two selves: the “dark exterior” and the “rainbow interior.” The first self is sort of like a character that Elaine plays when she dates the first two men. She changes herself into everything that they want. She basically becomes a personification of each man’s desires and fantasies. She does this because she thinks it is the only way that a man could ever truly love her.
To understand why Elaine behaves/thinks in the way that she does, it is important to analyze the ideology of the witches in the movie. Barbara says that the witches believe that the repression of women’s sexuality in society is a tactic to take away a woman’s power, (which is something I actually believe, lol.) However, the witches also reduce a woman’s power to just her sexuality/body and emphasize how women should use their sexuality to please men (rather than themselves.)
When Elaine has a conversation with Trish, her friend says, “But what about what we want?” and “the whole world doesn’t revolve around men’s needs,” to which Elaine responds, “You have to give a man his fantasy.” Elaine/The witches believe that only when women use their sexuality to serve men’s desires will men love women and see women as full human beings. However, the movie proves this idea wrong because while the first two men become totally obsessed with Elaine, they were not really in love with her or her true self.
After failing with her first two tries at love, Elaine dates a cop named Jack. At first everything is perfect. He and Elaine fall in love and this time she doesn’t give him the love potion (aka she is just herself with him rather then his fantasy). However, Jack soon becomes embarrassed by the fact that he has fallen in love. He says, “Love is soft. You need guts in this business and I’ve seen guys get shot to death because they fell in love and got soft inside… men can get destroyed by things like that. It’s like he’s not even a man anymore.” Ultimately, he is prevented by toxic masculinity/his own insecurity from accepting that he is in love.
There are two contrasting quotes from Elaine and Jack that exemplify their relationship. Elaine says, “The more you know him the more you love him,” and this shows how Elaine loves Jack’s true self. However, Jack says, “The more you get to know a woman the less you can feel about her.” And this shows how he wants her to be a fantasy for him. But, when he sees Elaine’s true self he is disappointed and soon falls out of love with her. Elaine and Jack have a conversation where Elaine says Jack is a narcissist. Jack can’t truly let himself love another human being, other than himself. A women, to him, can only ever reflect his own desires back at him. During this same conversation Elaine says this line, that basically summarizes the whole movie and it’s corresponding theme: “You men make us work so hard for your love. If you would just love us for ourselves… but you wont.”
In conclusion, the movie communicates the idea that when a woman dates a man she can either become the embodiment of his fantasies and use her sexuality to serve him or be her real self and serve her own needs. Many men expect women to embody their fantasies and women are pressured, by society at large, into changing themselves so they can be everything their boyfriend/husband wants. But ultimately, because these women are not really themselves, the love their partner has for them is not real and is more akin to obsession.
The real tragedy of this movie is the fact that Elaine never found genuine love. Neither becoming a man’s fantasy nor showing him her true self was ever enough.
The most intriguing element of this sequence is Elaine’s meticulous and methodical preparation of a witch bottle, an item of witchcraft constructed for protection that dates back centuries and is known by scholars as a “magical talismans used … to ward off spells or cure disease” (Collinson). Nevertheless, her intended use for it had nothing to do with wanting Wayne’s burial place to be defended from negative energies. The truth is she pitied him; his death had disallowed him from ever being able to appreciate and witness her presence ever again and so she would ensure that some remnant of her bodily essence stayed with him, always.
She can create the illusion of love and happiness, but it is only temporary and shallow. This aspect of her character adds a sense of tragedy to her story, as she is forever trapped in a cycle of manipulation and deceit. Despite her flaws, Elaune is a complex character who often struggles with her own desires and the consequences of her actions. She is not inherently evil, but rather a product of her circumstances and abilities. Her story challenges the notions of love and power, and raises questions about the ethical implications of using magic to control emotions. Overall, Elaune the love witch is a captivating and intriguing character. She represents the dark side of love and portrays the dangers of manipulating emotions. Her story serves as a cautionary tale and sparks discussions about the nature of love, free will, and the consequences of our actions..
Reviews for "The Seductive Art of Enchantment: Elaune's Guide to Love Spells"
1. Mark - 2/5 - Elaune the love witch was a disappointing read for me. The storyline seemed promising at first, but it quickly fell flat. The character development was lacking, and I found it difficult to empathize with or connect to any of the characters. Additionally, the writing style felt disjointed and lacked cohesion, making it difficult to follow along with the plot. Overall, I was left feeling unsatisfied and underwhelmed by this book.
2. Sarah - 1/5 - I cannot express how much I did not enjoy reading Elaune the love witch. The characters were shallow and uninteresting, and the plot was predictable and clichéd. It felt like I had read this story a hundred times before, but with worse writing. The dialogue was stilted, and the romance felt forced and unrealistic. I couldn't wait for it to be over and I definitely won't be recommending it to anyone.
3. John - 3/5 - Elaune the love witch had some potential, but it ultimately fell short for me. The concept was intriguing, but the execution left a lot to be desired. The pacing was inconsistent, and the story dragged on in some parts while rushing through others. The characters were somewhat interesting, but their development felt forced and unrealistic. Overall, it was an average read, but not something I would actively seek out again.
4. Emily - 2/5 - I found Elaune the love witch to be a disappointing and tedious read. The writing style was overly descriptive, making it difficult to stay engaged with the story. The plot was slow and lacked any real excitement or suspense. The romance was underwhelming and lacked chemistry between the characters. Overall, the book failed to capture my interest and I wouldn't recommend it to others.