Overpowering a Powerful Woman: Conflict & Power between Carrie and Aleksander
When it comes to being a powerful fabulous woman, my mind instantly goes to Carrie Bradshaw. Though she has been discussed before, the many men in the life of Carrie show very different sides of her personality. Her relationship with Russian artist Aleksander Petrovsky, shows a very powerless side of this normally powerful woman.
One of the biggest indicators of Aleksander's power over Carrie is when she moves to Paris with him. As discussed in Close Encounters, "Most communication is influential...when we do someone a favor, when we advertise a product, or when we campaign for political office, we are trying to influence people's attitudes and change their behavior" (28). Although Aleksander is not advertising or voting, he is asking for a favor and this favor falls under the category of making a lifestyle change.
By asking Carrie to move, their relationship and her current lifestyle are all at stake of changing drastically either way she chooses. Carrie has always been a woman not only looking for the perfect pair of shoes, but diligently looking for love and Aleksander knows this and uses it as power in his favor. |
Carrie and Aleksander's way of dealing with conflict, or conflict style, is also something that causes tension during their relationship and ultimately brings its end. As described in Close Encounters, Aleksander's conflict style is competitive fighting, "people with a competing style try to control the interaction so they have more power than their partner" (29). Alex and Carrie move to Paris because Alex wants to, where he has friends and she does not, he goes out while she waits up for him. When she questions this he gets angry. Over and over we see this as a problem more than just once and we also see Carrie blow up due to her contrasting style.
In this relationship, Carrie's conflict style is yielding. "People who use this style forgo their own goals and desires in consideration of the partner" (30). Carrie leaves her friends, apartment, city she loves and career for what she hopes to be love. With these two very different styles of conflict Carrie is overpowered by Alex, and therefore loses herself. Thankfully for avid viewers, only for a few episodes. In the end, the bubbly blonde rediscovers who she is and what she wants and that it is okay to feel the way she does. |
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