Hananeel T.

Rapanan Assessment 2
2022106937 MEDIA109 | Gender and Society
1. Who is the main character in the film? Describe him/her. Make sure that you will

include the following details:

1.1 Name:

 Einer Wegener/Lili Elbe, was a Danish painter who was wedded to Gerda

Wegener. Both of them were painters, and at the year 1904, the pair married, not

having any kids, but continuing their lives together as slaves to the arts, painting

and enjoying a life where both were recognized, although unequal, for their

talents to draw breath from their art.

1.2 Age:

 Lili Elbe lived for 48 years before she died due to cardiac arrest because of her

transplant surgery.

1.3. Gender (Cite if there are more than one)

 Male

 Female

 Transgender Woman

2. What happened to the main character? What do you think is the main reason? What

are the triggering factors that led to his changes?

 His desire to change who he was became buried when his father saw him and

Hans kissing because Hans thought he looked cute in his grandmother’s apron.

Years after, he would then proceed to have a beautiful wife named Gerda

Wegener. After playing dress-up as his cousin “Lili” and being exposed to a new

world due to Henrik’s attempt to kiss him, it made him more confident and

reassured that he believed he, as he stated during the film, “God made me a
Hananeel T. Rapanan Assessment 2
2022106937 MEDIA109 | Gender and Society
woman. The doctor is curing me of the sickness that was my disguise.” As time

passed, dressing up as a woman gave him the meaning he always needed,

despite being confused of who he truly is when he visited the doctor who said he

could cure him. I would think that mainly there is one factor that triggered him to

feel as someone who is transgender is the fact that he and Hans, his childhood

friend, already had a history, yet was forced to bury his true feelings because of

the father’s scoldings.

3. Do you think that the main character has a psychological issue? How did you say so?

 I could say that he did have a psychological issue at one point in the film. Just

because someone feels different does not mean it already proves true. As for

Einar, we can already see during the time where he and Sandahl kissed during

the Artists’ Ball as well as in Sandahl’s home, Einar felt disgusted and confused,

and I would think that it was because of the conflict of necessity (which is to stay

as a man for the sake of his wife) and his desire (to become a woman). These

two conflicting ideals of himself prompted him to make rash decisions and seared

conflict with his wife, dealing confusion and having the need to discuss things in

order to set boundaries and to respect the wishes of each other, both Gerda and

Einar.

4. Using some theories that we discussed in the class, explain what happened to the

main character.

 Feminism was a theory that I could think of as I watched the film, due to the

inequality Gerda had to face because she was a woman, whereas her husband,

Einar, was widely accepted and popular due to his beautiful works of paintings.
Hananeel T. Rapanan Assessment 2
2022106937 MEDIA109 | Gender and Society
Although Gerda herself also had talent, what happened was that she was at a

disadvantage just because of her gender. Then, at one point in the film, as Einar

slowly becomes engrossed in embodying Lili, she too was surprised that her

works of art were now accepted because she found the “right subject matter”.

From that point on, it became a marriage of convenience, and Einar desired to be

integrated in the world of women, although she herself would experience less of

a disadvantage from other women because she was once considered male, it

would be hard to ignore the fact that Lili would also face judgement and criticism

among her peers because of the choice she had made.

5. Are you in favor of gender reassignment? Why or why not?

 Dealing with gender affirmation surgeries is a topic I have never touched, and

this is a first. From what I have gathered, it would seem that the surgery itself is

not majorly life threatening but if done wrong, it can deal several long-term

negative effects like depression, anxiety disorder, and the like. Although it would

help the patient to be affirmed with what they think their gender should be, I

believe that having to go the extra mile just to change one’s gender in order to

feel reassured is unnecessary, as it involves a large amount of money and deals

with changing the very nature of the human body. It affects the reproductive

system, and it requires a procedure that has to deal with dietary and lifestyle

precautions for at least 4 to 6 weeks according to Kamol Cosmetic Hospital. I

believe that reassurance from friends and family can be enough, without having

to intervene and correct a “mistake” from nature and what has been designed

thoroughly.
Hananeel T. Rapanan Assessment 2
2022106937 MEDIA109 | Gender and Society
6. What are your learning insights after watching the film? Give at least three.

 A period film unlike any other, it was a brilliant way to show that even during the

old times, there were already those who were brave enough to be confident

about what they truly feel and do whatever it takes in order to have that

assurance be given to them. Lili Elbe, who was one of the first people to undergo

sex reassignment surgery. Though it costed her life, Elbe never stopped to live a

life from that point forward that is true to herself and not pretending as if acting a

performance any longer.

 Consideration has to be given especially to the people closest to you. While I

understand Einar’s desire to chase his own dreams and become confident and

know who he really is, I found it disagreeable that Gerda, who was his wife for

around 27 years, had to just accept that her husband Einar died along with his

desire to paint, and while Gerda profited off of her painting portraits of Lili, it was

not fair for her to just accept things the way they were just because of a buried

feeling being dug up for such a long time.

 Contrast to what I have written in the 2 nd point, there is also a matter of

importance in realizing who you truly are and having that emotional and mental

strength to leave everything behind in order to start over. That’s what I

understood and felt as I watched Lili braving the frustration her wife had with her

as she continues to ignore what was already inevitable. In realistic terms,

Gerda’s situation was understandable because it meant having lost that 27 years

of being together with her husband as if she never recognized him anymore. At

the same time, I empathize with Lili’s determination, and despite of the
Hananeel T. Rapanan Assessment 2
2022106937 MEDIA109 | Gender and Society
conveniency they had with each other, she finally decided to fully manifest the

ache in her heart that she felt wronged by nature, that she underwent sex

reassignment, and thus felt more confident and truer to herself more than ever.