Oscar François de Jarjayes
Encyclopedia
is one of the main characters in the manga
/anime
series The Rose of Versailles
, created by Riyoko Ikeda
.
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. 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.
She is the love interest of both André Grandier, her servant at the Jarjayes mansion and afterwards a soldier in her regiment, and Marie Antoinette, who she acts as a bodyguard to. She also earns the admiration and love of Rosalie Lamorlière, and in turn calls Rosalie her "spring breeze". Other women are infatuated with Oscar, even after she tells them she is female. She dislikes the court intrigues, but remains there out of loyalty to her father and her friend, Marie Antoinette. At one point, Oscar falls in love with Fersen, who has a forbidden love for Marie Antoinette.
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.
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.
and Princess Sapphire
, and she was named for Oscar Wilde
, as Ikeda is a fan of his.
, Oscar has been played by several male-role actresses from 1974 to the present day. In the 1974 Moon Troupe performance, Yuri Haruna played Oscar. Mayo Suzukaze
has played Oscar. Kei Aran
and Hikaru Asami
played Oscar in 2006.
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 when a child by Patsy Kensit
, and when adult by Catriona MacColl
. MacColl's feminine and weak portrayal of Oscar was criticised, and it was felt that she was not androgynous enough to play Oscar. In the forthcoming film La Rose de Versailles, Oscar is expected to be voiced by Sanae Kobayashi
.
. Ian Buruma and Deborah Shamoon consider that Oscar's politics are less important to the audience than her romances. Shamoon sees the Oscar-Andre relationship as very different from the Cinderella-Prince Charming stories which "dominated" shōjo manga in the 1960s, where the female protagonist would lose her identity to her boyfriend. Shamoon considers that the Oscar-Andre relationship follows the pattern of pre-war douseiai
shōjo novels, which featured same-sex love between girls.
Kazuko Suzuki says that after RoV, "several works" were created with "nonsexual" female protagonists like Oscar, who realise their "womanness" upon falling in love. Suzuki sees her as being a transitional figure between the heterosexual romances of 1960s shōjo manga and those of shōnen-ai. Oscar's "gorgeous androgyny" has led to her being interpreted as belonging to the bishōnen
- beautiful young men.
Oscar's relationship with Andre has been interpreted as being male-male
, and Andre vows to die for Oscar if he needs to, like the Kabuki samurai. Oscar's conflict between her principles and her loyalty to Marie-Aintoinette has also been compared with a "samurai
who must be faithful to an unworthy master". Oscar has appeared in the Animage
top 50 character list as recently as 1992.
In 2007, a manga series called Haken no Oscar ~"Shōjo Manga" ni Ai o Komete was serialised in Chorus and was compiled into one volume. It told the story of an office lady who is inspired by the character of Oscar to defy her managers. Haken no Oscar ~"Shōjo Manga" ni Ai o Komete will be turned into a six episode TV series which will air starting from 28 August 2009. In the 1990s and 2000s, Oscar inspired Revolutionary Girl Utena
and Le Chevalier D'Eon
.
Manga
Manga is the Japanese word for "comics" and consists of comics and print cartoons . In the West, the term "manga" has been appropriated to refer specifically to comics created in Japan, or by Japanese authors, in the Japanese language and conforming to the style developed in Japan in the late 19th...
/anime
Anime
is the Japanese abbreviated pronunciation of "animation". The definition sometimes changes depending on the context. In English-speaking countries, the term most commonly refers to Japanese animated cartoons....
series The Rose of Versailles
The Rose of Versailles
, also known as Lady Oscar or La Rose de Versailles, is one of the best-known titles in shōjo manga and a media franchise created by Riyoko Ikeda. It has been adapted into several Takarazuka Revue musicals, as well an anime television series, produced by Tokyo Movie Shinsha and broadcast by the...
, created by Riyoko Ikeda
Riyoko Ikeda
is a Japanese manga artist and singer. She is included in the Year 24 Group. She was one of the most popular Japanese comic artists in the 1970s, being best known for The Rose of Versailles.- Biography :...
.
Character history
Born the last of five daughters to the Commander of the Royal Guards, General François Augustin Regnier de Jarjayes (a real historical personage) 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. 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.
She is the love interest of both André Grandier, her servant at the Jarjayes mansion and afterwards a soldier in her regiment, and Marie Antoinette, who she acts as a bodyguard to. She also earns the admiration and love of Rosalie Lamorlière, and in turn calls Rosalie her "spring breeze". Other women are infatuated with Oscar, even after she tells them she is female. She dislikes the court intrigues, but remains there out of loyalty to her father and her friend, Marie Antoinette. At one point, Oscar falls in love with Fersen, who has a forbidden love for Marie Antoinette.
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.
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
Storming of the Bastille
The storming of the Bastille occurred in Paris on the morning of 14 July 1789. The medieval fortress and prison in Paris known as the Bastille represented royal authority in the centre of Paris. While the prison only contained seven inmates at the time of its storming, its fall was the flashpoint...
. Shot by soldiers inside the fortress, she dies right before the prison falls.
Development
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. Eri Izawa suggests that as Oscar is fictional, Ikeda could be freer in the portrayal of Oscar's life than Ikeda could be in the life of Marie-Antoinette, who had to die on the guillotine. Oscar's androgynous persona is based on the actresses who play male roles in the Takarazuka RevueTakarazuka Revue
The Takarazuka Revue is a Japanese all-female musical theater troupe based in Takarazuka, Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan. Women play all roles in lavish, Broadway-style productions of Western-style musicals, and sometimes stories adapted from shōjo manga and Japanese folktales. The troupe takes its name...
and Princess Sapphire
Princess Knight
is a Japanese manga that ran through four serializations from 1954 to 1968, as well as a 1967 Japanese children's animated series. It was dubbed into English and brought over to Western audiences in 1970, where it was called Choppy and the Princess. In 1973, this series was dubbed in Portuguese and...
, and she was named for Oscar Wilde
Oscar Wilde
Oscar Fingal O'Flahertie Wills Wilde was an Irish writer and poet. After writing in different forms throughout the 1880s, he became one of London's most popular playwrights in the early 1890s...
, as Ikeda is a fan of his.
Actresses
In the Takarazuka Revue performances of The Rose of VersaillesThe Rose of Versailles musicals
The Rose of Versailles has been dramatized for Takarazuka Revue by Shinji Ueda. The show's role in Takarazuka history is particularly notable as it established the "Top Star" system that remains in place to this day...
, Oscar has been played by several male-role actresses from 1974 to the present day. In the 1974 Moon Troupe performance, Yuri Haruna played Oscar. Mayo Suzukaze
Mayo Suzukaze
is a Japanese film and television actress from Ishinomaki. Suzukaze has also done some voice work as a voice actress, namely as the voice of Himura Kenshin in Rurouni Kenshin. She was previously a Takarazuka Revue stage actress and the Top Star of Moon Troupe...
has played Oscar. Kei Aran
Kei Aran
, , is a Japanese actress and former top star otokoyaku of the Japanese Takarazuka Revue's Star Troupe. She joined the revue in 1991 and became the top star in 2007, five years after her fellow classmates Sumire Haruno and Hikaru Asami became top stars...
and Hikaru Asami
Hikaru Asami
Hikaru Asami is a Japanese performing artist and a former member of the Takarazuka Revue, where she specialized in playing male characters . She joined the revue in 1991 and resigned in 2006...
played Oscar in 2006.
In the 1979 anime adaptation of The Rose of Versailles, Oscar was voiced by Reiko Tajima.
In the 1979 film Lady Oscar
Lady Oscar (film)
Lady Oscar is a 1979 film, based on the manga The Rose of Versailles by Riyoko Ikeda. The film was written and directed by Jacques Demy, with music composed by his regular collaborator Michel Legrand...
, Oscar was played when a child by Patsy Kensit
Patsy Kensit
Patricia Jude Francis "Patsy" Kensit is an English actress, singer, model and former child star, known for her television and film appearances. Her films include Lethal Weapon 2 and she has been married to rock stars Jim Kerr and Liam Gallagher, as well as herself fronting the band Eighth Wonder...
, and when adult by Catriona MacColl
Catriona MacColl
Catriona MacColl is an English actress who has worked extensively in both film and television across Europe.-Acting career:In 1979, MacColl made her debut in the title role of "Lady Oscar" directed by Jacques Demy in Japan...
. MacColl's feminine and weak portrayal of Oscar was criticised, and it was felt that she was not androgynous enough to play Oscar. In the forthcoming film La Rose de Versailles, Oscar is expected to be voiced by Sanae Kobayashi
Sanae Kobayashi
is a voice actress who was born in Shizuoka Prefecture. She is affiliated with Production Baobab.-Television Animation:*.hack//Liminality as Mai Minase*.hack//Roots as Ender*.hack//Roots as Pi...
.
Reception
She has been described as "iconic", as an archetype, "thrilling", and credited with the success of Rose of Versailles, as she illustrates the performative nature of genderGender performativity
Gender Performativity is a term created by post-structuralist feminist philosopher Judith Butler in her 1990 book Gender Trouble. In it, Butler characterizes gender as the effect of reiterated acting, one that produces the effect of a static or normal gender while obscuring the contradiction and...
. Ian Buruma and Deborah Shamoon consider that Oscar's politics are less important to the audience than her romances. Shamoon sees the Oscar-Andre relationship as very different from the Cinderella-Prince Charming stories which "dominated" shōjo manga in the 1960s, where the female protagonist would lose her identity to her boyfriend. Shamoon considers that the Oscar-Andre relationship follows the pattern of pre-war douseiai
Class S (genre)
, or "S kankei", abbreviated either as S or , is an early twentieth century Japanese wasei-eigo term specifically used to refer to strong emotional bonds between schoolgirls, and a genre of which tells stories about the same, particularly a mutual crush between an upperclassman and an underclassman...
shōjo novels, which featured same-sex love between girls.
Kazuko Suzuki says that after RoV, "several works" were created with "nonsexual" female protagonists like Oscar, who realise their "womanness" upon falling in love. Suzuki sees her as being a transitional figure between the heterosexual romances of 1960s shōjo manga and those of shōnen-ai. Oscar's "gorgeous androgyny" has led to her being interpreted as belonging to the bishōnen
Bishonen
is a Japanese term literally meaning "beautiful youth ". The equivalent English concept is a "pretty boy".The term describes an aesthetic that can be found in disparate areas in East Asia: a young man whose beauty transcends the boundary of gender or sexual orientation...
- beautiful young men.
Oscar's relationship with Andre has been interpreted as being male-male
Yaoi
In careful Japanese enunciation, all three vowels are pronounced separately, for a three-mora word, . The English equivalent is . also known as Boys' Love, is a Japanese popular term for female-oriented fictional media that focus on homoerotic or homoromantic male relationships, usually created by...
, and Andre vows to die for Oscar if he needs to, like the Kabuki samurai. Oscar's conflict between her principles and her loyalty to Marie-Aintoinette has also been compared with a "samurai
Samurai
is the term for the military nobility of pre-industrial Japan. According to translator William Scott Wilson: "In Chinese, the character 侍 was originally a verb meaning to wait upon or accompany a person in the upper ranks of society, and this is also true of the original term in Japanese, saburau...
who must be faithful to an unworthy master". Oscar has appeared in the Animage
Animage
is a Japanese anime and entertainment magazine which Tokuma Shoten began publishing in July 1978. Hayao Miyazaki's internationally renowned manga, Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind, was serialized in Animage from 1982 through 1994...
top 50 character list as recently as 1992.
In 2007, a manga series called Haken no Oscar ~"Shōjo Manga" ni Ai o Komete was serialised in Chorus and was compiled into one volume. It told the story of an office lady who is inspired by the character of Oscar to defy her managers. Haken no Oscar ~"Shōjo Manga" ni Ai o Komete will be turned into a six episode TV series which will air starting from 28 August 2009. In the 1990s and 2000s, Oscar inspired Revolutionary Girl Utena
Revolutionary Girl Utena
is a manga by Chiho Saito and anime directed by Kunihiko Ikuhara. The manga serial began in the June 1996 issue of Ciao and the anime was first broadcast in 1997. The anime and manga were created simultaneously, but, despite some similarities, they progressed in different directions. A movie, was...
and Le Chevalier D'Eon
Le Chevalier D'Eon
is a 24-episode anime TV series produced by Production I.G based on an original story by Tow Ubukata. The anime originally aired in Japan on WOWOW from August 19, 2006 to February 2, 2007. The story has also been adapted into a manga series written by Tow Ubukata and illustrated by Kiriko Yumeji,...
.