Motherly instincts

the last two things we have dealth with, aliens and graceling both have women as the main characters and both are dealing with their maternal instincts.  Ripley throughout the film is taking care of newt, from the moment she finds her she reaches out and si caring, makes sure she gets clean wipes the dirt off her face and makes it her duty to protect her from harm.  She also finds a way when all hope is lost in the medical center to alert somneone so that newt can be saved from the alien sapling.  Actually now thinking back on it one the first scenes in the film deals with ripley asking birk what happened to her daughter who we later find ouyt is dead.  I feel there is definitely some transference there where ripley tries to save newt and mother her to make up for the daughter whose life she missed, just like the dallas cowboys drafted dez bryant in a tranferent attempt to make up for promising to take randy moss another highly skilled but trooubled player that they missed out on.  i do beleive ripley has a genuine affection for newt but i also feel that transference played a large role in why she went back in the end of the film to svaer newt, i beleive she felt that she had alreayd lost one little girl and was determined to not lose another.  As for Katsa she takes on a maternal role in fighting the mountain lion to help bitterblue and leanrs of a maternal instinct she did not know sher had in her.

Katsa as a tool

Katsa for the most part of her life has been used as a tool as i am sure we can all agree but the effect this has on her is profound.  Not all, but most of the men in her life have attempted to either use her as a tool, hide things from her or lie to her.  This often affects her thinking and i believe this is why she will ultimately have a hard time trusting.  When she decides to trust Po she then stumbles across his true grace.  Someone she thought she knew and trusted flat out lied to her and broke her trust.  Ranada is constantly using her as a tool to perpetuate his own power making her an instrument of fear.  Oll is more sympathetic and a father figure but he still insists upon her doing randa's work.  so that leaves us with raffin and giddon.  raffin has always been there for her and does not impose any will upon her so he is a solid male figure to have in her life.  giddon as well i believe is solid he is always looking out for her, even though she doesn't need it and he does his best to make her feel normal at his castle, which she finally just realized, though he does try to get her to impose randa's will as well, stilll i believe he and oll to be good people for her to be around.  When you consider how her uncle treats her and how po has lied to her and those close to her still try to get her to do things that go against what she wants is it any wonder she does not want to get married?

Buffy and Ripley

Buffy and Ripley have alot of shared characteristics, for instance they both have male handlers who seem to think they know what is best the the two women, although buffy's handler/manager/teacher seems to have her best interests in mind is at least trying to help, ripley's does not inspire trust from the get go.  Paul resier or birk from the instant we meet him is all about bottom lines and dollar signs, he seems less than interested in explainign about her daughter and more interested in getting her to work.  He even tries to go so far as to sabotage her to try and bring back a live alien and find a way to exploit that for profit.  Buffy's handler however tries to at least endear himslef to her and offers to eat ice cream weith her after her and angel break up, while birk offers money as a way to let ripley bring the alien back.  The interesting part is even though both women are capable of taking care of themselves and often times others, there is still a male force trying to direct them.  While birk is clearly a bad guy out for material wealth and social standing giles is more of a father figure although i have questioned whether or not his whole father figure act is just a way of trying to relate to buffy so that he can more easily control her.  Bottom line both women are empowered and both male figures are trying to grasp at that and dictate their will to them.