Oscar François de Jarjayes
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| Oscar François de Jarjayes | |
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| First appearance | Oscar, the destiny of a rose |
| Last appearance | Adieu, My Beloved Oscar |
| Cause/reason | Death |
| Created by | Riyoko Ikeda |
| Portrayed by | Reiko Tajima |
| Episode count | 40 |
| Information | |
| Aliases | Lady Oscar |
| Gender | Female |
| Date of death | July 14, 1789 |
| Occupation | Commander of the Imperial Guard - Commander of the Military Regiment B |
| Title | Commander |
| Family | Jarjayes |
| Spouse(s) | André Grandier |
| Relatives | Parents
Sisters
Other:
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Oscar François de Jarjayes (オスカル・フランソワ・ド・ジャルジェ Osukaru Furansowa do Jaruje?) is the main character in the manga/anime series The Rose of Versailles, created by Riyoko Ikeda.
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[edit] Character history
Born the last of five daughters to the Captain of the Royal Guards, General François Augustin Reynier de Jarjayes, (a real historical personage[1]) she is raised by her father as if she were a boy in order to take his place and command the Royal Guards serving at Court after he retires. At the age of fourteen, as soon as her training in the basic military skills is complete, Oscar is given the task to protect the Dauphine Marie Antoinette when she arrives at the French Court.
Despite being raised as if she were a boy and dressing in males' clothes, Oscar is open about being female.[2] Even as she embraces her femininity, she uses her male position to gain freedoms that she could never have as a lady of the court.[1]
She is the love interest of both André Grandier, a soldier who she commands, and Marie Antoinette, who she acts as a bodyguard to.[3] She also earns the admiration and love of Rosalie Lamorlière,[4] and in turn calls Rosalie her "spring breeze".[1] Other women are infatuated with Oscar, even after she tells them she is female.[5]
Soon gaining the Dauphine and Queen-to-be's affection and trust, Oscar experiences life at Versailles and the pain caused by the contradictions of her being a woman whom everybody, including herself, considers a man. Later in the story, Oscar learns of the political ideals of the Revolution and that the royalist regime is corrupt.[4] As the French Revolution is about to begin, Oscar refuses to sedate tumults occurring in Paris. She renounces her status and her regiment joins forces with the people marching to the Bastille. Shot by soldiers inside the fortress, she dies right before the prison falls.
[edit] Development
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Please help improve this section by expanding it. Further information might be found on the talk page or at requests for expansion. |
Oscar was originally a supporting character to Marie Antoinette, and was created as a female because Ikeda was unsure if she could accurately portray a male soldier. Oscar eclipsed Marie Antoinette in popularity and due to reader feedback became the main character.[6] Her androgynous persona is based on the actresses who play male roles in the Takarazuka Revue, and is one of the archetypes of yuri.[7]
[edit] Actresses
In the Takarazuka Revue performances of The Rose of Versailles, Oscar has been played by several actresses from 1974 to the present day.[8][clarify] Kei Aran and Hikaru Asami played Oscar in 2006.[9][10]
In the 1979 anime adaptation of The Rose of Versailles, Oscar was voiced by Reiko Tajima.
In the 1979 film Lady Oscar, Oscar was played by Catriona MacColl. McColl's feminine and weak portrayal of Oscar was criticised, and it was felt that she was not androgynous enough to play Oscar.[11] In the forthcoming film La Rose de Versailles, Oscar is expected to be voiced by Sanae Kobayashi.
[edit] Reception
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Please help improve this section by expanding it. Further information might be found on the talk page or at requests for expansion. |
She has been described as "thrilling", and credited with the success of Rose of Versailles.[12]
[edit] References
- ^ a b c Iwasa, Eri. Rose of Versailles. Ex.org. Retrieved on 2008-02-16.
- ^ Yuricon Celebrates Lesbian Anime and Manga.
- ^ Unlikely Explorers-Gender and Sexuality in Shoujo Manga.
- ^ a b Shamoon, Deborah (2007). "Revolutionary Romance: The Rose of Versailles and the Transformation of Shōjo Manga", in Lunning, Frenchy: Networks of Desire, Mechademia 2. University of Minnesota Press, p.10. ISBN 978-0-8166-5266-2.
- ^ Women-loving Women in Modern Japan, by Erin Subramian.
- ^ Shamoon, Deborah (2007). "Revolutionary Romance: The Rose of Versailles and the Transformation of Shōjo Manga", in Lunning, Frenchy: Networks of Desire, Mechademia 2. University of Minnesota Press, p.8. ISBN 978-0-8166-5266-2.
- ^ Welker, James (2006). "Beautiful, Borrowed, and Bent: "Boys' Love" as Girls' Love in Shōjo Manga" (abstract page). Signs: Journal of Women in Culture and Society 31 (3): 841. doi:.
- ^ Takarazuka mines 'Versailles' gold
- ^ The feminine `kabuki' alternative
- ^ Takarazuka Revue
- ^ Shamoon, Deborah (2007). "Revolutionary Romance: The Rose of Versailles and the Transformation of Shōjo Manga", in Lunning, Frenchy: Networks of Desire, Mechademia 2. University of Minnesota Press, p.13. ISBN 978-0-8166-5266-2.
- ^ Japan Sessions
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