Esther Vilar
Esther Vilar | |
|---|---|
 Vilar in 1977 | |
| Born | Esther Margareta Katzen September 16, 1935 Buenos Aires,Argentina |
| Occupation | Writer,psychologist,physician,sociologist |
| Nationality | German,Argentinian |
| Education | University of Buenos Aires |
| Notable works | The Manipulated Man(1971) |
| Spouse | |
Esther Margareta Vilar(bornEsther Margareta Katzen,September 16, 1935)[1]is an Argentine-Germanwriter. She trained and practised as a medical doctor before establishing herself as an author. She is best known for her 1971 bookThe Manipulated Manand its various follow-ups, which argue that, contrary to commonfeministandwomen's rightsrhetoric, women in industrialized cultures are not oppressed, but rather exploit a well-established system of manipulating men.
Biography
[edit]Vilar's parents were German emigrants. They separated when she was three years old.
She studied medicine at theUniversity of Buenos Aires,and in 1960 went toWest Germanyon scholarship to continue her studies in psychology and sociology. She worked as a doctor in a Bavarian hospital for a year, and has also worked as a translator, saleswoman, assembly-line worker in a thermometer factory, shoe model, and secretary.[2]
Esther married the German authorKlaus Wagnin 1961.[3]The marriage ended in divorce but they had a son, Martin, in 1964.[verification needed]Concerning the divorce she stated, "I didn't break up with the man, just with marriage as an institution."[4]
Work
[edit]The Manipulated Man(1971)
[edit]One of Vilar's most popular books is titledThe Manipulated Man,which she called part of a study on "man's delight in nonfreedom".[4]In it, she claims that women are not oppressed by men, but rather control men in a relationship that is to their advantage but which most men are not aware of.
Some of the strategies described in her book are:
- Luring men with sex, which she referred to as the "periodic use of a woman's vagina", and other seduction strategies
- Controlling men by the judicious use of praise, sex, andemotional blackmailonce they have been lured
- Masking her real intentions and motives in the guise of romantic love
The Manipulated Manwas quite popular at the time of its release, in part due to the considerable press coverage it received.[5]
Vilar appeared onThe Tonight Showon February 21, 1973, to discuss the book. In 1975 she was invited to a televised debate[6]byWDRwithAlice Schwarzer,who became known as the representative of the women's movement at that time. The debate was controversial, with Schwarzer claiming Vilar was:[7]"Not only sexist, but fascist",comparing her book with the Nazi newspaperDer Stürmer.[8]
According to the author, she received death threats over the book:
So I hadn't imagined broadly enough the isolation I would find myself in after writing this book. Nor had I envisaged the consequences which it would have for subsequent writing and even for my private life – violent threats have not ceased to this date.[9]
Other books
[edit]Her playSpeer(1998) is a work of fictional biography about the German architectAlbert Speer,and has been staged in Berlin and London, directed by and starringKlaus Maria Brandauer.She has also written many other books and plays, but most have not been translated into English.
Selected works
[edit]- The Manipulated Man.Pinter & Martin. 1998.ISBN0-9530964-2-4.
- Der dressierte Mann[The Manipulated Man] (in German). Tritonpers. 1971.ISBN90-6057-032-4.
- Book collecting original series of 3:Der dressierte Mann[The Manipulated Man], Das polygame Geschlecht [The polygamous sex],Das Ende der Dressur(The End of the Manipulation; third part never translated into English). dtv Verlag 1998.ISBN978-3-423-36134-7
- The Polygamous Sex: A man's right to the other woman.W. H. Allen. 1976.ISBN0-491-01737-5.
- Alt(in German). Herbig Verlagsbuchhandlung. 1980.ISBN3-7766-1089-1.
- Oud(in Dutch). De Centaur. 1980.ISBN90-6057-168-1.
- El discurso inaugural de la papisa americana[The inaugural address of the Americanpapess] (in Spanish). Lectorum. 1982.ISBN84-02-09008-7.
- Speer(in German). Transit. 1998.ISBN9781861971555.
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^"Stichtag - 16. September 1935 - Geburtstag von Esther Vilar".www1.wdr.de.September 16, 2020.
- ^Times, Judith Weinraub Special to The New York (June 13, 1972)."She Says It's the Men Who Are Enslaved (Published 1972)".The New York Times.
- ^Wünsch dir was (in German)Der Spiegel,December 27, 1971. Retrieved December 20, 2011.
- ^abAuthor Esther Vilar Lashes Out At WomenStar-Banner,June 14, 1972. Retrieved December 20, 2011.
- ^E. Vilar, "Der dressierte Mann", radio-interview (in German)ARD,November 7, 1971. Retrieved in December 19, 2011.
- ^Excerpts from the debate can be seen in the documentary aboutAlice Schwarzer,available in the "Deutschland - Lenker und Gestalter" series of 12 DVDs released inGermany,and in a recent Schwarzer interview aired in September 27, 2011, and available in theARDwebsite. The full-42 minute debate can be obtained directly fromWDRin DVDhereand online athttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-NufFVuXN84.
- ^Im Clinch (in German)Der Spiegel,February 10, 1975. Retrieved December 20, 2011.
- ^Frau gegen Frau (in German)Die Zeit,June 16, 2005. Retrieved December 20, 2011.
- ^Esther Vilar,The Manipulated Man,revised edition, August 1998
External links
[edit]
- Vilar, Esther."Author's Introduction to" The Manipulated Man "".Misogyny.The Absolute.
- Pinter & Martin,English publishers
- 2021 article titled "Women are spoiled - even today", interviewing Esther(in german)
- 1935 births
- Living people
- Argentine women writers
- Jewish Argentine writers
- Jewish dramatists and playwrights
- Jewish women writers
- Argentine people of German-Jewish descent
- Argentine dramatists and playwrights
- 20th-century Argentine writers
- 20th-century dramatists and playwrights
- 20th-century German writers
- 20th-century German women writers
- Female critics of feminism
- Argentine women dramatists and playwrights
- Masculists
- Writers from Buenos Aires
- University of Buenos Aires alumni
- 20th-century German physicians
- 20th-century German women physicians