The Rose of Versailles PSA
From the author and official material.
"Oscar is a "woman" both physically and mentally. She is only interested in "men". She is "man" only in her clothing and social status. In other words, she is a transvestite heterosexual"
"Some people seem to wonder if Oscar has gender identity disorder, but gender identity disorder refers to a person or state in which they feel uncomfortable with the physical sex they were born with. Homosexuals, if they are women, they will like other women while remaining women, and if they are men, they will like other men while remaining men. Therefore, Oscar does not fit into either category."
“I think that is what led me to create Oscar. A woman who can fight on an equal footing with men. I wanted to show that women have that ability too. I think that in that sense there were female readers who were able to empathize with her."
"Also, it is true that the background to drawing Oscar was a kind of antithesis to male society. 35 years ago, Japan was still an overwhelmingly male-dominated society. I felt that it was fine for a cute girl to be loved by men, but a strong woman with her own will was also wonderful. Things have changed a lot now, but overall, I think there are overwhelmingly more men who like girls like Rosalie."
“In those days, it was not accepted for men and women to be equal. It was a time when women were told to stay at home, so if a woman tried to go out into society, she was severely criticized.”
Oscar only ever identifies as a woman. The premise of the entire story is that her father raises her as a son (not her choice) so she can succeed him in the military and be his heir (a traditionally male field, not allowed to women)
Oscar's story correlates with the experiences of the author as a working woman and women who were entering the workforce for the first time. The authors intentions with the character of Oscar, as she had stated, was to show that there should be equality between men and women and that women can be just as capable as men.
People are missing out on a great story in favor of projecting something its not onto it. While ignoring everything that's there. I think its a shame.
People trying to apply modern gender concepts to The Rose of Versailles is where I see a lot of newer fan confusion stemming from and I think we should to stop doing it. It really does not compute. It has a very specific gender narrative that relates to what was going on when it was written, which still holds value today.
The near constant disparaging comments in the main tag about how Rov/Oscar should have been and would have been better if xyz/completely different story/character, get really old and do indeed come off as pretty rude and ignorant. This is not something most fans of the story and character want to see everyday. I think anyone of any background can relate to and like a character without having to “read” something else into their story and complain about it. This seems to be getting more and more unhealthy and confusing for people. People wishing the story was something else entirely and ignoring the text is not an interpretation.
No matter how well intentioned it is, this waters down the true intent of the work until it becomes something completely different. As a fan of The Rose of Versailles I would like to see it be successful and loved for what it is, not what it isn't. I think the preservation of history is important. The perception a lot of the newer English audience has of this story is fabricated or "head canons" that have been sold as truth and a lot of people can't tell the difference.
It is not a yuri/wlw, people need to stop lying about that and recommending it to people that way, especially If you haven't read/watched it at all. Many, many people recommend this work as such, sight unseen. Knock it off, it does no one any good. Get out of your echo chamber. The story is historical fiction with multiple het romances. The MC is straight and lowkey homophobic. There is one character who as a child develops a one sided crush on the MC and later falls in love with and marries a man, then a few comic relief moments from some background court women. This is not what people are looking for when they want a wlw story and this often leads to these peoples disappointment, anger, conspiracy theories and sometimes downright hate towards the existing fandom. Knock it off.
Just like Oscar’s father we are forcing the story into being something that it’s not. Just like Fersen we are refusing to see Oscar as who she is and who she has TOLD us she is. Why?
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