Swan’s Heavy Wings: Black or White? ...and both...

Centuries are spent by dilemmas which were presented to society behind a Dualism mask. Yet this dilemmas’ burden was mostly carried around by women, since even the body suffered against the mind for its autonomy. In order to be acceptable, we were forced to fit our faces into masks in a way that even rebellious choice was cut out from a rooted tradition. We were neither hunters nor virgins, as our writer points out in a brilliant way. We were just forced to carry both in our poignant act. So, I do wonder, how women were long away from the theatre stage considering that all are great actresses that carry separate edges of the spectrum called humanity?

Darren Aronofsky’s Black Swan contains many symbols and concepts of femininity. Even the Black and White Swans that Nina Sayers attempts to internalize represent two aspects of femininity, highlighting the difference between her innocent and obsessive personalities. In a broader sense, the Black and White Swans can be regarded as the symbolization of the roles of the ingénue and the femme fatale. This dichotomy, frequently reflected in archetypes like the Madonna and the Mistress, emphasizes the societal oppressions placed on women to embody opposing standards: the innocent, naïve young woman versus the seductive, powerful, and independent mature woman.

From the very beginning of the film, Nina is framed as the ideal White Swan. Thomas, the artistic director, accepts that she embodies innocence, fragility, and purity — traits long idealized by society as the essence of feminine virtue. Yet he is also seeking someone capable of inhabiting both roles at once: the White Swan and the Black. The tension is clear. Even though Nina secures the Swan Queen role, she painfully struggles to internalize these extremes and often fails to satisfy the expectations imposed on her.

Here, the film a nerve beyond the world of ballet. “Nina’s effort to internalize these two extremes of femininity in the form of the Black and White Swans displays the burden of striving for perfection in a society that demands the impossible combination of these opposing roles from women.” (Mutumesci et al. 345) Aronofsky’s narrative makes visible a demand many women recognize: to be both soft and strong, submissive and independent, childlike and mature. To achieve such a balance is presented as perfection — yet it is also unattainable.

The feelings of inadequacy and unbearable stress caused by these opposing ideals manifest in Nina's paranoid and obsessive behaviours. For the audience, particularly female viewers, her spiralling anxiety resonates deeply. While stress and social expectations can weigh heavily on both men and women, women are disproportionately scrutinized when it comes to fulfilling feminine ideals. This is why Nina’s breakdown feels so intimate, so painfully familiar.

A study conducted in the United States reinforces this point. “In both studies, women demonstrated more maladaptive (social-oriented) trait perfectionism than did the men. The higher level of maladaptive perfectionism suggests that women tend to have higher standards than men and are more likely to feel as though they have not successfully met those standards.” (Musumeci et al. 345) In other words, perfectionism itself is gendered — and women’s pursuit of it is often driven by external critique rather than internal choice.

Nina’s story illustrates this perfectly. Her repressed and confused feelings about sexuality, her childlike demeanour despite adulthood, her strict diet and exercise routines, and her destructive obsession with getting every movement flawless all point to a burden that extends far beyond the stage. The audience watches as her body and psyche collapse under the impossible demand to be both women at once — and, in doing so, recognizes the broader societal trap at play.

In the end, Black Swan does not merely tell a story of artistic ambition gone wrong. It mirrors the experience of countless women who struggle with societal expectations, perfectionism, and the heavy price of trying to embody ideals that were never meant to coexist.