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{{short description|Fictional Japanese manga character created by Riyoko Ikeda}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2020}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2020}}
{{Infobox character
{{Infobox character
| colour =
| name = Oscar François de Jarjayes
| name = Oscar François de Jarjayes
| image = Oscar Français de Jarjayes.jpg
| image = Oscar Français de Jarjayes.jpg
Line 8: Line 8:
| first = ''The Rose of Versailles'' vol. 1, "In the Waves of New Destiny" (1972)
| first = ''The Rose of Versailles'' vol. 1, "In the Waves of New Destiny" (1972)
| creator = [[Riyoko Ikeda]]
| creator = [[Riyoko Ikeda]]
| voice = {{ill|Reiko Tajima|ja|田島令子}}
| voice = {{ill|Reiko Tajima|ja|田島令子}} <br /> [[Miyuki Sawashiro]] (2025 film)
| lbl1 = Portrayed by
| lbl1 = Portrayed by
| data1 = [[Catriona MacColl]] and [[Patsy Kensit]] in ''[[Lady Oscar (film)|Lady Oscar]]''; various actresses in live musicals [[#Actresses|(see below)]]
| data1 = [[Catriona MacColl]] and [[Patsy Kensit]] in ''[[Lady Oscar (film)|Lady Oscar]]''; various actresses in live musicals [[#Actresses|(see below)]]
| alias = Lady Oscar
| alias = Lady Oscar
| gender = Female
| gender = Female
| occupation = Commander of the Royal Guard
| occupation = Commander of the Royal Guard, Commander of the Military Company B
⚫
| title = Brigadier General; formerly Colonel, Commander
Commander of the Military Regiment B
⚫
| title = Brigadier; formerly Colonel, Commander
| spouse = André Grandier
| spouse = André Grandier
| relatives = [[:fr:François Augustin Regnier de Jarjayes|François Augustin Regnier de Jarjayes]] (father), Hortense de la Lorancy (first older sister), Loulou de la Lorancy (niece)
| relatives = {{ill|François Augustin Regnier de Jarjayes|fr}}(father), Hortense de la Lorancy (first older sister), Loulou de la Lorancy (niece)
| nationality = [[Kingdom of France]]
}}
}}
{{nihongo|'''Oscar François de Jarjayes'''|オスカル・フランソワ・ド・ジャルジェ|Osukaru Furansowa do Jaruje}} is a [[fictional character]] created by Japanese [[manga artist]] [[Riyoko Ikeda]]. She is a major character in the 1972 [[manga]] series ''[[The Rose of Versailles]]'', and its various adaptations and spin-offs.
{{nihongo|'''Oscar François de Jarjayes'''|オスカル・フランソワ・ド・ジャルジェ|Osukaru Furansowa do Jaruje}} is a fictional character created by Japanese [[manga artist]] [[Riyoko Ikeda]]. She is the protagonist of the 1972 [[manga]] series ''[[The Rose of Versailles]]'', and its various adaptations and spin-offs.


== Character history ==
== Character history ==
Born the last of six daughters to the Commander of the Royal Guards, [[:fr:François Augustin Regnier de Jarjayes|General François Augustin Regnier de Jarjayes]] (a real historical personage<ref>da Silva, Valéria Fernandes (2007) [http://www.historiaimagem.com.br/edicao5setembro2007/04-manga-valeria.pdf Mangá feminino, Revolução Francesa e feminismo: um olhar sobre a Rosa de Versalhes] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081006153737/http://www.historiaimagem.com.br/edicao5setembro2007/04-manga-valeria.pdf |date= 6 October 2008}} (in Portuguese)</ref>), she is raised by her father as if she were a boy in order to succeed him as the commander of the Royal Guard at the [[Palace of Versailles]].
Born December 25, 1755, the last of six daughters to the Commander of the Royal Guards, General {{ill|François Augustin Regnier de Jarjayes|fr}} (a real historical personage<ref>{{Citation|author=da Silva, Valéria Fernandes|year=2007|url=http://www.historiaimagem.com.br/edicao5setembro2007/04-manga-valeria.pdf|title=Mangá feminino, Revolução Francesa e feminismo: um olhar sobre a Rosa de Versalhes|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081006153737/http://www.historiaimagem.com.br/edicao5setembro2007/04-manga-valeria.pdf |archive-date= 6 October 2008|language=pt}}</ref>), she is raised by her father as if she were a boy in order to succeed him as the commander of the Royal Guard at the [[Palace of Versailles]].
Upon the completion of her military training at the age of fourteen, Oscar is tasked with protecting the [[Dauphine of France|Dauphine]] [[Marie Antoinette]] when she arrives at Versailles.
Upon the completion of her military training at the age of fourteen, Oscar is tasked with protecting the [[Dauphine of France|Dauphine]] [[Marie Antoinette]] when she arrives at Versailles.


Despite being raised as if she were a boy and dressing in males' clothes, Oscar is open about being female.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.afterellen.com/people/2007/5/friedman?page=0%2C1 |title=Yuricon Celebrates Lesbian Anime and Manga |publisher=[[AfterEllen.com]] |last=Corson |first=Susanne |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080225055501/http://www.afterellen.com/people/2007/5/friedman?page=0%2C1 |archive-date=25 February 2008}}</ref> Even as she embraces her womanhood, she uses her male position to gain freedoms that she could never have as a lady of the court.<ref name="ex">{{cite web|url=http://www.ex.org/4.3/36-manga_versailles.html |title=Rose of Versailles |last=Iwasa |first=Eri |work=ex.org |access-date=2008-02-16 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080511211646/http://www.ex.org/4.3/36-manga_versailles.html |archive-date=11 May 2008}}</ref>
Despite being raised as if she were a boy and dressing in males' clothes, Oscar is open about being female.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.afterellen.com/people/2007/5/friedman?page=0%2C1 |title=Yuricon Celebrates Lesbian Anime and Manga |publisher=[[AfterEllen.com]] |last=Corson |first=Susanne |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080225055501/http://www.afterellen.com/people/2007/5/friedman?page=0%2C1 |archive-date=25 February 2008}}</ref> Even as she embraces her womanhood, she uses her male position to gain freedoms that she could never have as a lady of the court.<ref name="ex">{{cite web|url=http://www.ex.org/4.3/36-manga_versailles.html |title=Rose of Versailles |last=Iwasa |first=Eri |work=ex.org |access-date=2008-02-16 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080511211646/http://www.ex.org/4.3/36-manga_versailles.html |archive-date=11 May 2008}}</ref>


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.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.matt-thorn.com/shoujo_manga/sexual_ambiguity/index.html |title=Unlikely Explorers-Gender and Sexuality in Shoujo Manga |author=Thorn, Matt |author-link=Matt Thorn |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080212201602/http://www.matt-thorn.com/shoujo_manga/sexual_ambiguity/index.html |archive-date=12 February 2008}}</ref> She also earns the admiration and love of Rosalie Lamorlière,<ref name = "Mechademia 2 p. 10">{{cite book |last=Shamoon |first=Deborah |editor=Lunning, Frenchy |title=Networks of Desire |series=Mechademia |chapter-url=http://www.upress.umn.edu/Books/L/lunning_mechademia2.html |volume=2 |year=2007 |publisher=[[University of Minnesota Press]]|isbn=978-0-8166-5266-2 |chapter=Revolutionary Romance: ''The Rose of Versailles'' and the Transformation of Shōjo Manga |page=10}}</ref> and in turn calls Rosalie her "spring breeze".<ref name="ex"/> Other women are infatuated with Oscar, even after she tells them she is female.<ref>[http://www.yuricon.org/essays/women_loving_women.html Women-loving Women in Modern Japan, by Erin Subramian<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> 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 the Swedish aristocrat [[Hans Axel von Fersen (Lady Oscar)|Hans Axel von Fersen]], who has a forbidden love for Marie Antoinette.<ref>{{cite book|last=McCarthy|first=Helen|title=500 Manga Heroes and Villains|publisher=Barron's Educational Series|date=1 January 2006|pages=108–109|isbn= 978-0-7641-3201-8}}</ref>
She is the [[love interest]] of André Grandier, her servant at the Jarjayes mansion and afterwards a soldier in her regiment.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.matt-thorn.com/shoujo_manga/sexual_ambiguity/index.html |title=Unlikely Explorers-Gender and Sexuality in Shoujo Manga |last=Thorn |first=Rachel |author-link=Rachel Thorn |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080212201602/http://www.matt-thorn.com/shoujo_manga/sexual_ambiguity/index.html |archive-date=12 February 2008}}</ref> She also earns the admiration and love of Rosalie Lamorlière,<ref name = "Mechademia 2 p. 10">{{cite book |last=Shamoon |first=Deborah |editor=Lunning, Frenchy |title=Networks of Desire |series=Mechademia |chapter-url=http://www.upress.umn.edu/Books/L/lunning_mechademia2.html |volume=2 |year=2007 |publisher=[[University of Minnesota Press]] |isbn=978-0-8166-5266-2 |chapter=Revolutionary Romance: ''The Rose of Versailles'' and the Transformation of Shōjo Manga |page=10 |access-date=12 June 2008 |archive-date=15 December 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071215165131/http://www.upress.umn.edu/Books/L/lunning_mechademia2.html |url-status=dead }}</ref> and in turn calls Rosalie her "spring breeze".<ref name="ex"/> Other women are infatuated with Oscar, even after she tells them she is female.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.yuricon.com/|title=Yuricon|website=Yuricon|access-date=21 April 2023|archive-date=21 April 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230421192904/https://www.yuricon.com/|url-status=live}}</ref> She dislikes the court intrigues, but remains there out of loyalty to her father and her friend, Marie Antoinette. At one point, Oscar becomes infatuated with the Swedish aristocrat [[Hans Axel von Fersen (Lady Oscar)|Hans Axel von Fersen]], who has a forbidden love for Marie Antoinette.<ref>{{cite book|last=McCarthy|first=Helen|title=500 Manga Heroes and Villains|publisher=Barron's Educational Series|date=1 January 2006|pages=108–109|isbn= 978-0-7641-3201-8}}</ref>


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.
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 [[French Revolution]] and that the royalist regime is corrupt.<ref name = "Mechademia 2 p. 10"/> As violence erupts in [[Paris]], Oscar renounces her status and her regiment of [[French Guards]]<ref>In historical reality, the colonel in command of the regiment of the French Guards was the [[Louis Marie Florent du Châtelet|Duke du Châtelet]], who appears as a representative of the nobility at the States General in episode 34.</ref> joins forces with the [[Storming of the Bastille|people marching to the Bastille]]. While leading an artillery bombardment of the fortress, Oscar is shot by the royal soldiers inside; she dies right before the Bastille falls.
Later in the story, Oscar learns of the political ideals of the [[French Revolution]] and that the royalist regime is corrupt.<ref name = "Mechademia 2 p. 10"/> As violence erupts in [[Paris]], Oscar renounces her status and her [[French Guards Regiment]]<ref>In historical reality, the colonel in command of the regiment of the French Guards was the [[Louis Marie Florent du Châtelet|Duke du Châtelet]], who appears as a representative of the nobility at the States General in episode 34.</ref> joins forces with the [[Storming of the Bastille|people marching to the Bastille]]. While leading an artillery bombardment of the fortress, Oscar is shot by the royal soldiers inside; she dies right before the Bastille falls.


== Development ==
== Development ==
[[File:Portraitjarjayesqw6.jpg|thumb|A portrait of the real François Augustin Reynier de Jarjayes, who Ikeda portrayed as Oscar's father.]]
[[File:Portraitjarjayesqw6.jpg|thumb|A portrait of the real François Augustin Reynier de Jarjayes, whom Ikeda portrayed as Oscar's father]]
{{Expand section|date=June 2008}}
{{Expand section|date=June 2008}}
Modeled after the revolutionary [[Pierre-Augustin Hulin]], 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. However, Oscar eclipsed Marie Antoinette in popularity and due to reader feedback became the co-protagonist only until her death.<ref>{{cite book |last=Shamoon |first=Deborah |editor=Lunning, Frenchy |title=Networks of Desire |series=Mechademia |chapter-url=http://www.upress.umn.edu/Books/L/lunning_mechademia2.html |volume=2 |year=2007 |publisher=University of Minnesota Press |isbn=978-0-8166-5266-2 |chapter=Revolutionary Romance: ''The Rose of Versailles'' and the Transformation of Shōjo Manga |page= 8}}</ref> 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.<ref name="ex"/> Oscar's [[androgynous]] persona is based on the actresses who play male roles in the [[Takarazuka Revue]] and [[Princess Knight|Princess Sapphire]],<ref name="Welker 847"/><ref name="Robertson pp.74-76"/> and she was named for [[Oscar Wilde]], as Ikeda is a fan of his.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Graham|first=Miyako|year=1997|title=Lady Oscar & I|journal=[[Protoculture Addicts]]|issue=45|page=41}}</ref> The way Oscar is drawn has been regarded as a way of showing her androgyny: she is shorter than male characters, but taller than female characters, and her eyebrows are thicker than female characters but thinner than male characters - giving the effect of looking feminine when compared to male characters and masculine when compared to female characters.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Anan|first1=Nobuko|title=''The Rose of Versailles'': Women and Revolution in Girls' Manga and the Socialist Movement in Japan|journal=[[The Journal of Popular Culture]]|date=February 2014|volume=47|issue=1|pages=41–63|doi=10.1111/jpcu.12107|url=https://eprints.bbk.ac.uk/12324/7/12324.pdf}}</ref>
Modeled after the revolutionary [[Pierre-Augustin Hulin]], 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. However, Oscar eclipsed Marie Antoinette in popularity and due to reader feedback became the co-protagonist only until her death.<ref>{{cite book |last=Shamoon |first=Deborah |editor=Lunning, Frenchy |title=Networks of Desire |series=Mechademia |chapter-url=http://www.upress.umn.edu/Books/L/lunning_mechademia2.html |volume=2 |year=2007 |publisher=University of Minnesota Press |isbn=978-0-8166-5266-2 |chapter=Revolutionary Romance: ''The Rose of Versailles'' and the Transformation of Shōjo Manga |page=8 |access-date=12 June 2008 |archive-date=15 December 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071215165131/http://www.upress.umn.edu/Books/L/lunning_mechademia2.html |url-status=dead }}</ref> 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.<ref name="ex"/>
Oscar's [[androgynous]] persona is based on the actresses who play male roles in the [[Takarazuka Revue]] and [[Princess Knight|Princess Sapphire]],<ref name="Welker 847"/><ref name="Robertson pp.74-76"/> and she was named for [[Oscar Wilde]], as Ikeda is a fan of his.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Graham|first=Miyako|year=1997|title=Lady Oscar & I|journal=[[Protoculture Addicts]]|issue=45|page=41}}</ref> The way Oscar is drawn has been regarded as a way of showing her androgyny: she is shorter than male characters, but taller than female characters, and her eyebrows are thicker than female characters but thinner than male characters - giving the effect of looking feminine when compared to male characters and masculine when compared to female characters.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Anan|first1=Nobuko|title=''The Rose of Versailles'': Women and Revolution in Girls' Manga and the Socialist Movement in Japan|journal=[[The Journal of Popular Culture]]|date=February 2014|volume=47|issue=1|pages=41–63|doi=10.1111/jpcu.12107|url=https://eprints.bbk.ac.uk/12324/7/12324.pdf}}</ref>


== Actresses ==
== Actresses ==
[[File:LadyOscarCover.jpg|thumb|left|Oscar portrayed by Catriona MacColl.]]
[[File:LadyOscarCover.jpg|thumb|left|Oscar portrayed by Catriona MacColl]]
In the [[The Rose of Versailles musicals|Takarazuka Revue performances of ''The Rose of Versailles'']], Oscar has been played by several male-role actresses from 1974 to the present day.<ref name="Robertson pp.74-76"/><ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/dy/features/arts/20080606TDY14004.htm |title=Takarazuka mines 'Versailles' gold |access-date=12 June 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080609014517/http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/dy/features/arts/20080606TDY14004.htm |archive-date=9 June 2008 |url-status=dead}}</ref> In the 1974 Moon Troupe performance, [[Yuri Haruna]] played Oscar.<ref name="Robertson pp.74-76"/> [[Mayo Suzukaze]] has played Oscar. [[Kei Aran]] and [[Hikaru Asami]] played Oscar in 2006.<ref>[http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/feat/archives/2006/06/11/2003313013 The feminine `kabuki' alternative]</ref><ref>[http://www.katavila.com/asia/takarazukarevue2.htm Takarazuka Revue] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081120164823/http://www.katavila.com/asia/takarazukarevue2.htm |date=20 November 2008}}</ref>
In the [[The Rose of Versailles musicals|Takarazuka Revue performances of ''The Rose of Versailles'']], Oscar has been played by several male-role actresses from 1974 to the present day.<ref name="Robertson pp.74-76"/><ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/dy/features/arts/20080606TDY14004.htm |title=Takarazuka mines 'Versailles' gold |access-date=12 June 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080609014517/http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/dy/features/arts/20080606TDY14004.htm |archive-date=9 June 2008 |url-status=dead}}</ref> In the 1974 Moon Troupe performance, [[Yuri Haruna]] played Oscar.<ref name="Robertson pp.74-76"/> [[Mayo Suzukaze]] has played Oscar. [[Kei Aran]] and [[Hikaru Asami]] played Oscar in 2006.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.taipeitimes.com/News/feat/archives/2006/06/11/2003313013|title=The feminine 'kabuki\' alternative - Taipei Times|date=11 June 2006|website=www.taipeitimes.com|access-date=21 April 2023|archive-date=20 September 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240920002031/https://www.taipeitimes.com/News/feat/archives/2006/06/11/2003313013|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.katavila.com/asia/takarazukarevue2.htm|title=Takarazuka Revue|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081120164823/http://www.katavila.com/asia/takarazukarevue2.htm |archive-date=20 November 2008}}</ref>

⚫
In the 1979 anime adaptation of ''The Rose of Versailles'', Oscar was voiced by [[Reiko Tajima]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www9.nhk.or.jp/anime/versailles/|title=Nhkアニメワールド ベルサイユのばら|access-date=23 April 2017|archive-date=8 November 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161108073458/http://www.nhk.or.jp/anime/versailles/|url-status=dead}}</ref>


⚫
In the 1979 film ''[[Lady Oscar (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 criticized, and it was felt that she was not androgynous enough to play Oscar.<ref>{{cite book |last=Shamoon |first=Deborah |editor=Lunning, Frenchy |title=Networks of Desire |series=Mechademia |chapter-url=http://www.upress.umn.edu/Books/L/lunning_mechademia2.html |volume=2 |year=2007 |publisher=University of Minnesota Press |isbn=978-0-8166-5266-2 |chapter=Revolutionary Romance: ''The Rose of Versailles'' and the Transformation of Shōjo Manga |page=13 |access-date=12 June 2008 |archive-date=15 December 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071215165131/http://www.upress.umn.edu/Books/L/lunning_mechademia2.html |url-status=dead }}</ref>
⚫
In the 1979 anime adaptation of ''The Rose of Versailles'', Oscar was voiced by [[Reiko Tajima]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www9.nhk.or.jp/anime/versailles/|title=Nhkアニメワールド ベルサイユのばら}}</ref>


In the [[The Rose of Versailles musicals#Korean musical adaptation|South Korean musical of ''La Rose de Versailles'']], Oscar played by [[Ock Joo-hyun]], [[Kim Ji-woo]] and Jung Yoo-ji (U.Ji)<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/news/2024-07-25/entertainment/musicPerformance/The-Rose-of-Versailles-ditches-romance-for-focus-on-struggle-for-justice/2098826|title='The Rose of Versailles' ditches romance for focus on struggle for justice|date=2024-07-25|publisher=Korea JoongAng Daily|access-date=20 August 2024|archive-date=20 August 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240820072728/https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/news/2024-07-25/entertainment/musicPerformance/The-Rose-of-Versailles-ditches-romance-for-focus-on-struggle-for-justice/2098826|url-status=live}}</ref> because most, if not all, large scale South Korean Musicals are generally double or triple cast for a role, the actresses share the role equally and alternate throughout the eight show week.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.newdaily.co.kr/site/data/html/2023/11/10/2023111000092.html|title=옥주현·김지우…뮤지컬 '베르사유의 장미' 콘서트로 미리 만난다|trans-title=Ock Joo-hyun, Kim Ji-woo... Meet in advance at the musical 'La Rose de Versailles' concert|date=2023-11-10|publisher=New Daily|language=ko|access-date=10 November 2023|archive-date=10 November 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231110073852/https://www.newdaily.co.kr/site/data/html/2023/11/10/2023111000092.html|url-status=live}}</ref>
⚫
In the 1979 film ''[[Lady Oscar (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 criticized, and it was felt that she was not androgynous enough to play Oscar.<ref>{{cite book |last=Shamoon |first=Deborah |editor=Lunning, Frenchy |title=Networks of Desire |series=Mechademia |chapter-url=http://www.upress.umn.edu/Books/L/lunning_mechademia2.html |volume=2 |year=2007 |publisher=University of Minnesota Press |isbn=978-0-8166-5266-2 |chapter=Revolutionary Romance: ''The Rose of Versailles'' and the Transformation of Shōjo Manga |page=13}}</ref>


== Reception ==
== Reception ==
Oscar has been described as "iconic",<ref name="Welker 847">{{cite journal|last=Welker |first=James |year=2006 |journal=Signs: Journal of Women in Culture and Society |volume=31 |issue=3 |doi= 10.1086/498987|title=Beautiful, Borrowed, and Bent: "Boys' Love" as Girls' Love in Shōjo Manga|page=847|s2cid=144888475 }}</ref> as an archetype,<ref name=ThompsonANN>{{cite web|url=http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/jason-thompson-house-of-1000-manga/the-rose-of-versailles/2010-05-06 |title=The Rose of Versailles - Jason Thompson's House of 1000 Manga |publisher=Anime News Network |date=2010-05-06 |access-date=2012-08-13}}</ref> "thrilling", and credited with the success of ''Rose of Versailles'',<ref>[http://www.aasianst.org/absts/2005abst/Japan/j-32.htm Japan Sessions]</ref> as she illustrates the [[Gender performativity|performative nature of gender]].<ref name="Robertson pp.74-76">{{cite book | last = Robertson | first = Jennifer Ellen | title = Takarazuka: Sexual Politics and Popular Culture in Modern Japan | location = Berkeley and Los Angeles, California | publisher = University of California Press | year = 1998 | isbn = 0-520-21150-2 | pages= 74–76}}</ref> Ian Buruma and Deborah Shamoon consider that Oscar's politics are less important to the audience than her romances.<ref name = "Mechademia 2 p. 10"/><ref name=Buruma/> 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 [[Class S (genre)|douseiai]] shōjo novels, which featured same-sex love between girls.<ref>{{cite book |last=Shamoon |first=Deborah |editor=Lunning, Frenchy |title=Networks of Desire |series=[[Mechademia]] |chapter-url=http://www.upress.umn.edu/Books/L/lunning_mechademia2.html |volume=2 |year=2007 |publisher=University of Minnesota Press |isbn=978-0-8166-5266-2 |chapter=Revolutionary Romance: ''The Rose of Versailles'' and the Transformation of Shōjo Manga}}</ref>
Oscar has been described as "iconic",<ref name="Welker 847">{{cite journal|last=Welker |first=James |year=2006 |journal=Signs: Journal of Women in Culture and Society |volume=31 |issue=3 |doi= 10.1086/498987|title=Beautiful, Borrowed, and Bent: "Boys' Love" as Girls' Love in Shōjo Manga|page=847|s2cid=144888475 }}</ref> as an archetype,<ref name=ThompsonANN>{{cite web |url=http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/jason-thompson-house-of-1000-manga/the-rose-of-versailles/2010-05-06 |title=The Rose of Versailles - Jason Thompson's House of 1000 Manga |publisher=Anime News Network |date=2010-05-06 |access-date=2012-08-13 |archive-date=14 January 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120114045010/http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/jason-thompson-house-of-1000-manga/the-rose-of-versailles/2010-05-06 |url-status=live }}</ref> "thrilling", and credited with the success of ''Rose of Versailles'',<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.aasianst.org/absts/2005abst/Japan/j-32.htm|title=Japan Sessions|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050310073004/http://aasianst.org/absts/2005abst/Japan/j-32.htm|archive-date=2005-03-10}}</ref> as she illustrates the [[Gender performativity|performative nature of gender]].<ref name="Robertson pp.74-76">{{cite book | last = Robertson | first = Jennifer Ellen | title = Takarazuka: Sexual Politics and Popular Culture in Modern Japan | location = Berkeley and Los Angeles, California | publisher = University of California Press | year = 1998 | isbn = 0-520-21150-2 | pages= 74–76}}</ref> Ian Buruma and Deborah Shamoon consider that Oscar's politics are less important to the audience than her romances.<ref name = "Mechademia 2 p. 10"/><ref name=Buruma/> 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 [[Class S (genre)|douseiai]] shōjo novels, which featured same-sex love between girls.<ref>{{cite book |last=Shamoon |first=Deborah |editor=Lunning, Frenchy |title=Networks of Desire |series=[[Mechademia]] |chapter-url=http://www.upress.umn.edu/Books/L/lunning_mechademia2.html |volume=2 |year=2007 |publisher=University of Minnesota Press |isbn=978-0-8166-5266-2 |chapter=Revolutionary Romance: ''The Rose of Versailles'' and the Transformation of Shōjo Manga |access-date=12 June 2008 |archive-date=15 December 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071215165131/http://www.upress.umn.edu/Books/L/lunning_mechademia2.html |url-status=dead }}</ref>


Kazuko Suzuki says that after RoV, "several works" were created with "nonsexual" female protagonists like Oscar, who realise their "womanness" upon falling in love.<ref>Suzuki, Kazuko. 1999. "Pornography or Therapy? Japanese Girls Creating the Yaoi Phenomenon". In Sherrie Inness, ed., ''Millennium Girls: Today's Girls Around the World''. London: [[Rowman & Littlefield]], p.250 {{ISBN|0-8476-9136-5}}, {{ISBN|0-8476-9137-3}}.</ref> Suzuki sees her as being a transitional figure between the heterosexual romances of 1960s [[shōjo manga]] and those of [[shōnen-ai]].<ref>Suzuki, Kazuko. 1999. "Pornography or Therapy? Japanese Girls Creating the Yaoi Phenomenon". In Sherrie Inness, ed., ''Millennium Girls: Today's Girls Around the World''. London: Rowman & Littlefield, p.249 {{ISBN|0-8476-9136-5}}, {{ISBN|0-8476-9137-3}}.</ref> Oscar's "gorgeous androgyny" has led to her being interpreted as belonging to the ''[[bishōnen]]'' - beautiful young men.<ref name=Orbaugh>{{cite book | last = Orbaugh | first =Sharalyn | editor = Sandra Buckley | title = Encyclopedia of Contemporary Japanese Culture | publisher = Taylor & Francis | year = 2002 | pages = 45–56 | isbn = 0-415-14344-6}}</ref>
Kazuko Suzuki says that after RoV, "several works" were created with "nonsexual" female protagonists like Oscar, who realise their "womanness" upon falling in love.<ref>Suzuki, Kazuko. 1999. "Pornography or Therapy? Japanese Girls Creating the Yaoi Phenomenon". In Sherrie Inness, ed., ''Millennium Girls: Today's Girls Around the World''. London: [[Rowman & Littlefield]], p.250 {{ISBN|0-8476-9136-5}}, {{ISBN|0-8476-9137-3}}.</ref> Suzuki sees her as being a transitional figure between the heterosexual romances of 1960s [[shōjo manga]] and those of [[shōnen-ai]].<ref>Suzuki, Kazuko. 1999. "Pornography or Therapy? Japanese Girls Creating the Yaoi Phenomenon". In Sherrie Inness, ed., ''Millennium Girls: Today's Girls Around the World''. London: Rowman & Littlefield, p.249 {{ISBN|0-8476-9136-5}}, {{ISBN|0-8476-9137-3}}.</ref> Oscar's "gorgeous androgyny" has led to her being interpreted as belonging to the ''[[bishōnen]]'' - beautiful young men.<ref name=Orbaugh>{{cite book | last = Orbaugh | first =Sharalyn | editor = Sandra Buckley | title = Encyclopedia of Contemporary Japanese Culture | publisher = Taylor & Francis | year = 2002 | pages = 45–56 | isbn = 0-415-14344-6}}</ref>
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Oscar's relationship with Andre has been interpreted as being [[yaoi|male-male]],<ref>Mizoguchi, Akiko (2003) [https://web.archive.org/web/20030509131032/http://natmi.coco.co.jp/AM/berubara.htm Akogare no Yoroppa] (now at [[Archive.org]]) as cited in {{cite journal|last=Welker |first=James |year=2006 |journal=Signs: Journal of Women in Culture and Society |volume=31 |issue=3 |title=Beautiful, Borrowed, and Bent: "Boys' Love" as Girls' Love in Shōjo Manga|doi=10.1086/498987|page=848|s2cid=144888475 }}</ref> and Andre vows to die for Oscar if he needs to, like the Kabuki samurai.<ref name=Buruma>{{cite book|last=Buruma|first=Ian|author-link=Ian Buruma|title=A Japanese Mirror: Heroes and Villains of Japanese Culture|publisher=Penguin Books|location=Great Britain|year=1985|orig-year=1984|isbn=978-0-14-007498-7|chapter=The Third Sex|pages=118–121}}</ref> Oscar's conflict between her principles and her loyalty to Marie-Antoinette has also been compared with a "[[samurai]] who must be faithful to an unworthy master".<ref name=ThompsonANN/> Oscar has appeared in the [[Animage]] top 50 character list as recently as 1992.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.protoculture.ca/PA/RoV.htm |title=The Rose of Versailles Overview |publisher=Protoculture.ca |access-date=2012-08-13 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120207181243/http://www.protoculture.ca/PA/RoV.htm |archive-date= 7 February 2012}}</ref>
Oscar's relationship with Andre has been interpreted as being [[yaoi|male-male]],<ref>Mizoguchi, Akiko (2003) [https://web.archive.org/web/20030509131032/http://natmi.coco.co.jp/AM/berubara.htm Akogare no Yoroppa] (now at [[Archive.org]]) as cited in {{cite journal|last=Welker |first=James |year=2006 |journal=Signs: Journal of Women in Culture and Society |volume=31 |issue=3 |title=Beautiful, Borrowed, and Bent: "Boys' Love" as Girls' Love in Shōjo Manga|doi=10.1086/498987|page=848|s2cid=144888475 }}</ref> and Andre vows to die for Oscar if he needs to, like the Kabuki samurai.<ref name=Buruma>{{cite book|last=Buruma|first=Ian|author-link=Ian Buruma|title=A Japanese Mirror: Heroes and Villains of Japanese Culture|publisher=Penguin Books|location=Great Britain|year=1985|orig-year=1984|isbn=978-0-14-007498-7|chapter=The Third Sex|pages=118–121}}</ref> Oscar's conflict between her principles and her loyalty to Marie-Antoinette has also been compared with a "[[samurai]] who must be faithful to an unworthy master".<ref name=ThompsonANN/> Oscar has appeared in the [[Animage]] top 50 character list as recently as 1992.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.protoculture.ca/PA/RoV.htm |title=The Rose of Versailles Overview |publisher=Protoculture.ca |access-date=2012-08-13 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120207181243/http://www.protoculture.ca/PA/RoV.htm |archive-date= 7 February 2012}}</ref>


[[Susan J. Napier]] described Oscar as a "truly complex and three-dimensional figure who offered young Japanese women a different kind of role model", citing her influence in [[Utena Tenjo]] of ''[[Revolutionary Girl Utena]]''.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Davidson|first1=Danica|title=Making History: The Rose of Versailles|url=https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/feature/2012-10-30|website=[[Anime News Network]]|access-date=25 April 2017|language=en|date=30 October 2012}}</ref>
[[Susan J. Napier]] described Oscar as a "truly complex and three-dimensional figure who offered young Japanese women a different kind of role model", citing her influence in [[Utena Tenjo]] of ''[[Revolutionary Girl Utena]]''.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Davidson|first1=Danica|title=Making History: The Rose of Versailles|url=https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/feature/2012-10-30|website=[[Anime News Network]]|access-date=25 April 2017|language=en|date=30 October 2012|archive-date=8 March 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200308161017/https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/feature/2012-10-30|url-status=live}}</ref>


In 2007, a manga series called ''{{ill|Shōjo Manga (series)|ja|少女漫画 (漫画)|}}'' was serialised in ''[[Cocohana|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. It was adapted into a six episode TV series and renamed ''Haken no Oscar ~"Shōjo Manga" ni Ai o Komete'', which aired starting from 28 August 2009.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2009-05-28/kochikame-shojo-manga-get-live-action-tv-dramas |title=Kochikame, Shōjo Manga Get Live-Action TV Dramas - News |publisher=Anime News Network |date=2009-05-28 |access-date=2012-08-13}}</ref> In the 1990s and 2000s, Oscar inspired ''[[Revolutionary Girl Utena]]'' and ''[[Le Chevalier D'Eon]]''.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://intersections.anu.edu.au/issue5/charlton_review.html |title=Intersections: Review: Utena: Adolescence Mokushiroku |publisher=Intersections.anu.edu.au |access-date=2012-08-13}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.mania.com/10-iconic-anime-heroines_article_120015.html |title=10 Iconic Anime Heroines |publisher=Mania.com |access-date=2012-08-13 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100122050251/http://www.mania.com/10-iconic-anime-heroines_article_120015.html |archive-date=22 January 2010}}</ref>
In 2007, a manga series called ''{{ill|Shōjo Manga (series)|ja|少女漫画 (漫画)|}}'' was serialised in ''[[Cocohana|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. It was adapted into a six episode TV series and renamed ''Haken no Oscar ~"Shōjo Manga" ni Ai o Komete'', which aired starting from 28 August 2009.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2009-05-28/kochikame-shojo-manga-get-live-action-tv-dramas |title=Kochikame, Shōjo Manga Get Live-Action TV Dramas - News |publisher=Anime News Network |date=2009-05-28 |access-date=2012-08-13 |archive-date=5 April 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140405081334/http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2009-05-28/kochikame-shojo-manga-get-live-action-tv-dramas |url-status=live }}</ref> In the 1990s and 2000s, Oscar inspired ''[[Revolutionary Girl Utena]]'' and ''[[Le Chevalier D'Eon]]''.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://intersections.anu.edu.au/issue5/charlton_review.html |title=Intersections: Review: Utena: Adolescence Mokushiroku |publisher=Intersections.anu.edu.au |access-date=2012-08-13 |archive-date=29 September 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190929220312/http://intersections.anu.edu.au/issue5/charlton_review.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.mania.com/10-iconic-anime-heroines_article_120015.html |title=10 Iconic Anime Heroines |publisher=Mania.com |access-date=2012-08-13 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100122050251/http://www.mania.com/10-iconic-anime-heroines_article_120015.html |archive-date=22 January 2010}}</ref>


Anne Duggan describes Oscar as a "maiden warrior", a young woman who disguises herself as a man to take up arms and protect king and country, as in ''[[The Ballad of Mulan]]'', [[Madame d'Aulnoy]]'s ''[[Belle-Belle ou Le Chevalier Fortuné]]'', or [[Marie-Jeanne L'Héritier]]'s ''Marmoisan ou La Fille en garçon''. At the close of the tale, the typical maiden warrior hangs up her sword. Duggan describes Oscar as a case where the maiden refuses to put away her sword, and fights against the order that she was supposed to defend. Oscar's masculinity is central to her character, unlike in the earlier maiden warrior tales, and Oscar also helps usher in a permanent change to French society by supporting the French Revolution.<ref>{{Citation | author1=Duggan, Anne E | title=The revolutionary undoing of the maiden warrior in Riyoko Ikeda's Rose of Versailles and Jacques Demy's Lady Oscar.(Critical essay) | journal=Marvels & Tales | date=2013-04-01 | publisher=[[Wayne State University Press]] | volume=27 | issue=1 | pages=34–51 | issn=1521-4281 | doi=10.13110/marvelstales.27.1.0034| s2cid=67823345 }}</ref>
Anne Duggan describes Oscar as a "maiden warrior", a young woman who disguises herself as a man to take up arms and protect king and country, as in ''[[The Ballad of Mulan]]'', [[Madame d'Aulnoy]]'s ''[[Belle-Belle ou Le Chevalier Fortuné]]'', or [[Marie-Jeanne L'Héritier]]'s ''Marmoisan ou La Fille en garçon''. At the close of the tale, the typical maiden warrior hangs up her sword. Duggan describes Oscar as a case where the maiden refuses to put away her sword, and fights against the order that she was supposed to defend. Oscar's masculinity is central to her character, unlike in the earlier maiden warrior tales, and Oscar also helps usher in a permanent change to French society by supporting the French Revolution.<ref>{{Citation | author1=Duggan, Anne E | title=The revolutionary undoing of the maiden warrior in Riyoko Ikeda's Rose of Versailles and Jacques Demy's Lady Oscar.(Critical essay) | journal=Marvels & Tales | date=2013-04-01 | publisher=[[Wayne State University Press]] | volume=27 | issue=1 | pages=34–51 | issn=1521-4281 | doi=10.13110/marvelstales.27.1.0034| s2cid=67823345 }}</ref>
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[[fi:Lady Oscar (hahmo)]]

Latest revision as of 21:21, 9 December 2024

Oscar François de Jarjayes
Oscar in the anime adaptation of The Rose of Versailles
First appearanceThe Rose of Versailles vol. 1, "In the Waves of New Destiny" (1972)
Created byRiyoko Ikeda
Voiced byReiko Tajima [ja]
Miyuki Sawashiro (2025 film)
Portrayed byCatriona MacColl and Patsy Kensit in Lady Oscar; various actresses in live musicals (see below)
In-universe information
AliasLady Oscar
GenderFemale
TitleBrigadier General; formerly Colonel, Commander
OccupationCommander of the Royal Guard, Commander of the Military Company B
SpouseAndré Grandier
RelativesFrançois Augustin Regnier de Jarjayes [fr](father), Hortense de la Lorancy (first older sister), Loulou de la Lorancy (niece)
NationalityKingdom of France

Oscar François de Jarjayes (オスカル・フランソワ・ド・ジャルジェ, Osukaru Furansowa do Jaruje) is a fictional character created by Japanese manga artist Riyoko Ikeda. She is the protagonist of the 1972 manga series The Rose of Versailles, and its various adaptations and spin-offs.

Character history

[edit]

Born December 25, 1755, the last of six daughters to the Commander of the Royal Guards, General François Augustin Regnier de Jarjayes [fr] (a real historical personage[1]), she is raised by her father as if she were a boy in order to succeed him as the commander of the Royal Guard at the Palace of Versailles. Upon the completion of her military training at the age of fourteen, Oscar is tasked with protecting the Dauphine Marie Antoinette when she arrives at Versailles.

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 womanhood, she uses her male position to gain freedoms that she could never have as a lady of the court.[3]

She is the love interest of André Grandier, her servant at the Jarjayes mansion and afterwards a soldier in her regiment.[4] She also earns the admiration and love of Rosalie Lamorlière,[5] and in turn calls Rosalie her "spring breeze".[3] Other women are infatuated with Oscar, even after she tells them she is female.[6] She dislikes the court intrigues, but remains there out of loyalty to her father and her friend, Marie Antoinette. At one point, Oscar becomes infatuated with the Swedish aristocrat Hans Axel von Fersen, who has a forbidden love for Marie Antoinette.[7]

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 French Revolution and that the royalist regime is corrupt.[5] As violence erupts in Paris, Oscar renounces her status and her French Guards Regiment[8] joins forces with the people marching to the Bastille. While leading an artillery bombardment of the fortress, Oscar is shot by the royal soldiers inside; she dies right before the Bastille falls.

Development

[edit]
A portrait of the real François Augustin Reynier de Jarjayes, whom Ikeda portrayed as Oscar's father

Modeled after the revolutionary Pierre-Augustin Hulin, 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. However, Oscar eclipsed Marie Antoinette in popularity and due to reader feedback became the co-protagonist only until her death.[9] 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.[3]

Oscar's androgynous persona is based on the actresses who play male roles in the Takarazuka Revue and Princess Sapphire,[10][11] and she was named for Oscar Wilde, as Ikeda is a fan of his.[12] The way Oscar is drawn has been regarded as a way of showing her androgyny: she is shorter than male characters, but taller than female characters, and her eyebrows are thicker than female characters but thinner than male characters - giving the effect of looking feminine when compared to male characters and masculine when compared to female characters.[13]

Actresses

[edit]
Oscar portrayed by Catriona MacColl

In the Takarazuka Revue performances of The Rose of Versailles, Oscar has been played by several male-role actresses from 1974 to the present day.[11][14] In the 1974 Moon Troupe performance, Yuri Haruna played Oscar.[11] Mayo Suzukaze has played Oscar. Kei Aran and Hikaru Asami played Oscar in 2006.[15][16]

In the 1979 anime adaptation of The Rose of Versailles, Oscar was voiced by Reiko Tajima.[17]

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 criticized, and it was felt that she was not androgynous enough to play Oscar.[18]

In the South Korean musical of La Rose de Versailles, Oscar played by Ock Joo-hyun, Kim Ji-woo and Jung Yoo-ji (U.Ji)[19] because most, if not all, large scale South Korean Musicals are generally double or triple cast for a role, the actresses share the role equally and alternate throughout the eight show week.[20]

Reception

[edit]

Oscar has been described as "iconic",[10] as an archetype,[21] "thrilling", and credited with the success of Rose of Versailles,[22] as she illustrates the performative nature of gender.[11] Ian Buruma and Deborah Shamoon consider that Oscar's politics are less important to the audience than her romances.[5][23] 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.[24]

Kazuko Suzuki says that after RoV, "several works" were created with "nonsexual" female protagonists like Oscar, who realise their "womanness" upon falling in love.[25] Suzuki sees her as being a transitional figure between the heterosexual romances of 1960s shōjo manga and those of shōnen-ai.[26] Oscar's "gorgeous androgyny" has led to her being interpreted as belonging to the bishōnen - beautiful young men.[27]

Oscar's relationship with Andre has been interpreted as being male-male,[28] and Andre vows to die for Oscar if he needs to, like the Kabuki samurai.[23] Oscar's conflict between her principles and her loyalty to Marie-Antoinette has also been compared with a "samurai who must be faithful to an unworthy master".[21] Oscar has appeared in the Animage top 50 character list as recently as 1992.[29]

Susan J. Napier described Oscar as a "truly complex and three-dimensional figure who offered young Japanese women a different kind of role model", citing her influence in Utena Tenjo of Revolutionary Girl Utena.[30]

In 2007, a manga series called Shōjo Manga (series) [ja] 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. It was adapted into a six episode TV series and renamed Haken no Oscar ~"Shōjo Manga" ni Ai o Komete, which aired starting from 28 August 2009.[31] In the 1990s and 2000s, Oscar inspired Revolutionary Girl Utena and Le Chevalier D'Eon.[32][33]

Anne Duggan describes Oscar as a "maiden warrior", a young woman who disguises herself as a man to take up arms and protect king and country, as in The Ballad of Mulan, Madame d'Aulnoy's Belle-Belle ou Le Chevalier Fortuné, or Marie-Jeanne L'Héritier's Marmoisan ou La Fille en garçon. At the close of the tale, the typical maiden warrior hangs up her sword. Duggan describes Oscar as a case where the maiden refuses to put away her sword, and fights against the order that she was supposed to defend. Oscar's masculinity is central to her character, unlike in the earlier maiden warrior tales, and Oscar also helps usher in a permanent change to French society by supporting the French Revolution.[34]

Crossover

[edit]

Oscar makes a crossover appearance in the Lupin the Third Part II episode "Versailles Burned with Love", in which Oscar recruits Lupin in helping her steal the crown of Marie Antoinette. The series is mentioned as a frame of reference for the Rose Knights in the light novel series Gate: Jieitai Kano Chi nite, Kaku Tatakaeri.

References

[edit]
  1. ^ da Silva, Valéria Fernandes (2007), Mangá feminino, Revolução Francesa e feminismo: um olhar sobre a Rosa de Versalhes (PDF) (in Portuguese), archived from the original (PDF) on 6 October 2008
  2. ^ Corson, Susanne. "Yuricon Celebrates Lesbian Anime and Manga". AfterEllen.com. Archived from the original on 25 February 2008.
  3. ^ a b c Iwasa, Eri. "Rose of Versailles". ex.org. Archived from the original on 11 May 2008. Retrieved 16 February 2008.
  4. ^ Thorn, Rachel. "Unlikely Explorers-Gender and Sexuality in Shoujo Manga". Archived from the original on 12 February 2008.
  5. ^ a b c Shamoon, Deborah (2007). "Revolutionary Romance: The Rose of Versailles and the Transformation of Shōjo Manga". In Lunning, Frenchy (ed.). Networks of Desire. Mechademia. Vol. 2. University of Minnesota Press. p. 10. ISBN 978-0-8166-5266-2. Archived from the original on 15 December 2007. Retrieved 12 June 2008.
  6. ^ "Yuricon". Yuricon. Archived from the original on 21 April 2023. Retrieved 21 April 2023.
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  8. ^ In historical reality, the colonel in command of the regiment of the French Guards was the Duke du Châtelet, who appears as a representative of the nobility at the States General in episode 34.
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  13. ^ Anan, Nobuko (February 2014). "The Rose of Versailles: Women and Revolution in Girls' Manga and the Socialist Movement in Japan" (PDF). The Journal of Popular Culture. 47 (1): 41–63. doi:10.1111/jpcu.12107.
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  19. ^ "'The Rose of Versailles' ditches romance for focus on struggle for justice". Korea JoongAng Daily. 25 July 2024. Archived from the original on 20 August 2024. Retrieved 20 August 2024.
  20. ^ "옥주현·김지우…뮤지컬 '베르사유의 장미' 콘서트로 미리 만난다" [Ock Joo-hyun, Kim Ji-woo... Meet in advance at the musical 'La Rose de Versailles' concert] (in Korean). New Daily. 10 November 2023. Archived from the original on 10 November 2023. Retrieved 10 November 2023.
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  26. ^ Suzuki, Kazuko. 1999. "Pornography or Therapy? Japanese Girls Creating the Yaoi Phenomenon". In Sherrie Inness, ed., Millennium Girls: Today's Girls Around the World. London: Rowman & Littlefield, p.249 ISBN 0-8476-9136-5, ISBN 0-8476-9137-3.
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  28. ^ Mizoguchi, Akiko (2003) Akogare no Yoroppa (now at Archive.org) as cited in Welker, James (2006). "Beautiful, Borrowed, and Bent: "Boys' Love" as Girls' Love in Shōjo Manga". Signs: Journal of Women in Culture and Society. 31 (3): 848. doi:10.1086/498987. S2CID 144888475.
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  34. ^ Duggan, Anne E (1 April 2013), "The revolutionary undoing of the maiden warrior in Riyoko Ikeda's Rose of Versailles and Jacques Demy's Lady Oscar.(Critical essay)", Marvels & Tales, 27 (1), Wayne State University Press: 34–51, doi:10.13110/marvelstales.27.1.0034, ISSN 1521-4281, S2CID 67823345
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