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The Aspect of the Feminine in Voyager
by Rowan Sterling
Once again, it is interesting to see how Star Trek takes the fundamental beliefs of Paganism and molds them to become part of the personalities of the characters and the essence of the show itself. Of all the Star Trek series and movies, no other has touched upon the strength, intelligence, and femininity that Star Trek: Voyager. In the episode Death Wish, one of the Q continuum members removes all the men from the ship. The original Q (John de Lancie) comes aboard to see all women. In his typical humor, he notices all the women on Voyager and asks if he's come aboard a ship run by "Valkyries". In essence, he did.
I'll begin by examining the lead character: Captain Kathyrn Janeway. For the first time in Star Trek history (25 years to be exact) the captain of a series vessel or space station is a female.
If you watch Star Trek, you have seen many sides of the masculine through the captains. There is James T. Kirk of the Starship Enterprise NCC-1701 and NCC-1701A. James Kirk is the typical "manly" man. He was suave, debonair, a ladies man, handsome, and adventure seeking. He amended rules to fit his personal agenda (he was demoted from Admiral to Captain for disobeying a direct order that he felt was incorrect) and saught excitement through his job.
In Star Trek: The Next Generation a new type of captain emerged through Jean-Luc Picard (captain of NCC-1701D and NCC-1701E). He was directly opposite to Kirk, relying heavily on dipolmacy, culture, and rules. Jean-Luc was well read, intelligent, and saught to expand his knowledge and personal self through exploration. Although he loved the adventure, it was not for the "adreniline" rush, but for the experiences that normal life could not provide.
A new type of masculine captain emerged in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. Benjamin Sisko was the first family man. He had a wife, Jennifer (who died in the Borg attack at Wolf 359) and a young son Jake. With the death of his wife, Benjamin was thrust into single parenting and chose (what he thought to be) the quiet atmosphere of a deep space station to raise his son. The love and bond between Jake and Benjamin is very apparent and for the first time you see a captain who, although a mixture of Kirk and Picard, not afraid to settle down and show obvious affection to a child (both Kirk and Picard never liked children very much).
Enter Captain Kate. Kathyrn Janeway is indeed one of the most interesting captains of all. She is tough, intelligent, and fun loving, yet feminine. She is a mixture of all three male captains with a touch of spice of her own. She shows that a woman can be adventure seeking, well read and intelligent (before becoming a captain, Janeway was a science officer), and openly affectionate to crew members without compromising her authority.
If you try to label the women on Voyager, you can find at least two aspects of the Goddess and many representations of the feminine. Kathryn Janeway represents the mother. She is mother to all her crew and decidely "motherly" to a few crew members specifically. In the first three seasons of Voyager, Janeway took on a motherly role to Kes (who we will examine later). Kes, although full grown, was a child and only one year old (Kes is an Ocompa and their life span is only 9 years). A particular example of this mother-daughter relationship is in the episode Elogium wherein Kes is prematurely send into Ocampa "puberty" and unable to cope with these changes in her body. We see Kes react only to Kathryn and a touching moment is experienced by both as we see Janeway become the mother that Kes does not have.
We also see this mother aspect in Janeway with the new crew member Seven of Nine. Although human, Seven of Nine (human name Anika) was assimilated at age six and raised by the Borg. Her link to the collective was severed by Janeway forcing Seven of Nine to become "human" again. In essence, Seven of Nine is still a six year old child, as she has now begun growing up where she left off, twenty some years ago.
The only person Seven of Nine truly reacts to is Kathyrn. Again, Janeway has taken on the role of "mother" and the tough job of raising a 28 year old child. She must teach Seven of Nine about humanity, love, compassion, and life...just as any good mother does.
The maiden aspect of the Goddess is apparent in both Kes and Seven of Nine. Let us now examine Kes. As stated before, Kes's life span is only nine years. She boarded Voyager at one year old. Although she appears to be physically mature, she is a child. She has the energy of a child and saught to learn anything she could. In the early seasons, it was not uncommon to see Kes delving into and learning about anything she could get her hands on from ship skematics to medical information (Kes becomes the ship's "nurse"). You see the life through Kes's eyes and can almost see the wonder and curiosity that all children and maidens possess. You can see the excitement and energy and most specifically, you can see the innocence.
Kes is, among other things, a literary foil to Janeway. Whereas Janeway is hardened through life and has a great deal of responsibility being "mother" to everyone, Kes is innocence. Kes has the uncanny childlike ability to see life with simplicity (something that adults have trouble doing). To Kes, like many children, situations are not complicated. If something needs to be done, it's done. If someone will get hurt, it is not done, etc... It is Kes who puts Janeway in touch with her inner child and teachs the "mother" what it means to look at life through a child's eyes.
Seven of Nine is the second aspect of the Maiden examined on Voyager. Again, as stated above, Seven of Nine was a human child that was assimilated by the Borg at age six. All of her humanity was wiped away and she become a "drone" linked to a collective mind that allowed no indiviuality, freedoms, or personal growth. Although Seven (as she is refered to aboard Voyager) is a fully grown woman, she is emotionally still a six year old child.
B'Elanna Torres shows a very special aspect of femininity in Voyager. B'Elanna is a half Klingon half human hybrid. She doesn't necessarily fit perfectly into any one of the three aspects of the Goddess, but her representation is very important to all women. To those on Voyager she is asexual, unfeeling, no nonsense, and hard as nails. To the few that really know her, they see a strong willed woman who chooses to dwell more on her intelligence than on her sexuality. In today's society, woman such as this are often mislabeled. If a woman shows strength of character, toughness, and attitude she is often called many names including "bitch", "dyke", and a whole host of other negative terms. It is perfectly fine for a man to be ruthless, but if a woman shows anything other than a demure, soft, and weak outer appearance, she is condemned. Showing equal portions of femininity and strength is important to today's woman. This is something that B'Elanna struggles with. It is a struggle that many women today face. It is a struggle to show that woman are so much more than the typical stereotypes.
While B'Elanna attempts to assimilate the feminine with the strength, we see her open her emotions to a select few crew members on Voyager. There are lessons to be learned from Torres. We see that it is alright to be feeling and emotional, yet have courage, intelligence, and fervor.
Once again, I find that Star Trek is more than meets the eye. Take some time and watch an episode or two. Look beyond the technobabble and the plots. Look into the souls of the characters. It is here that you will see archetypes for all forms of personalities that exist today. And on Voyager, you will see the intensity that is woman.
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