The Black Swan

"We all carry within us places of exile, our crimes, our ravages. Our task is not to unleash them on the world; it is to transform them in ourselves and others." –Albert Camus

"We all know the story: virgin girl, pure and sweet, trapped in a body of a swan; she desires freedom, but only true love can break the curse. Her wish is nearly granted in the form of a prince, but before he can declare his love, her lustful twin, the black swan, tricks and seduces him. Devastated, the white swan kills herself and in death finds freedom." –Thomas in the Black Swan

There have been different interpretations of the movie, the Black Swan, ranging from misogyny to dopplegangers. What I want to concentrate on, however, is a psychological point of view separate from gender or cultural aspects and folklores.

The white Swan, as Thomas well described, is a symbol of purity, sweetness and perfection. Nina, the girl who is assigned to play the roles of both the white swan and the black swan, is just like that. A twenty-eight year old girl, she is a shy and sweet ballerina who strives to be perfect: She's dutiful, obeys her mother and strives more than anything to perfect and adored by everybody. Perfection to her is synonymous with control. If you have control over everything, if you do whatever that is right, then you will be perfect.

It should come as no surprise that playing the black swan becomes a great challenge for her. To the black swan, perfection is not about control; it is about letting go and submitting to your darkest desires.

This is when the metamorphosis begins. Nina's eyes are opened to a whole new world she was not thus far aware of. She disobeys her mothers, begins an affair with her teacher, does drugs and basically loses control. Due to the strain the role has on her, she starts having hallucinations and in the end of the movie accidently kills herself, and in that, just like the black swan, finds her own freedom.

The black Swan is a symbol of a worldview many people have: In order to find happiness, you must be perfect; the perfect child, the perfect parent, the perfect student. You must stay away from sins. There is one religion, one God, one universal rule that will bring them delight, and if you do not obey, you'll be damned.

The black swan, on the other hand, is the worldview of an alluring, imperfect world that has recently become mainstream: Life is flawed, we are flawed and the only thing we can do in this chaotic world is to admit to the absurdity of life, our imperfections and let go of this ideal thinking there will be an answer to everything.

Nina's metamorphosis then, is not much unlike the disillusionment Goodman Brown went through in Hawthorne's Young Goodman Brown: Life is not what she used to see. By this disillusionment, you shall not lose your faith, rather find a new one. You cannot be perfect and in that truth you shall find freedom.

In a way we are all auditioning for the Swan Lake. Some will be white swans; some will be the black ones. Which one's the right answer, however, is a choice I leave to the reader.