A Feminist Reading of Dan Brown's The Da Vinci Code

Abstract

This work deals with the representation of women in The Da Vinci Code. The points tackled within this work are the ways that the writer used to portray women. These women have been presented as characters who are empowered as strong women either being depicted as educated members of society or holding important jobs like keeper of important institutions as a church or an agent of DCPJ, a job where smartness is a prerequisite. There are many symbols like the Mona Lisa that are used in order to convey Brown’s idea about women empowerment. The theme of gender equality was also explored as the protagonists were a man and a woman. In the first chapter, the reader will be introduced to a movement often misunderstood, namely Feminism, as well as the different waves of feminism, feminist literary criticism and a brief explanation of Feminist theology. The second chapter is a Feminist analysis of the different elements in The Da Vinci Code with particular interest on the empowerment and marginalisation of women.