Maslow’s and Beauvoir’s Theories Portrayed on Sarah’s Character

Abstract

The purpose of this research is to analyze the portrayal of feminine slavery in "Redeeming Love," focusing on understanding the underlying motivations and social pressures that lead Sarah to prostitution. This study explores the social phenomena of women being enslaved as prostitutes and the motivations behind their choices, using the movie "Redeeming Love." The study follows a descriptive qualitative method to examine Sarah’s depiction as a feminine slave and her motivations by employing a context-oriented approach. The research utilizes Simone de Beauvoir’s theory of feminine slavery and Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs to analyze the experiences of the main character, Sarah. The research process involved several steps: first, closely observing the movie; second, focusing on Sarah’s dialogue and actions to discern her depiction and motivations; third, selecting and interpreting dialogues that reflect the concept of feminine slavery and her reasons for engaging in prostitution. The findings reveal that Sarah’s experiences as a prostitute include both external and internal struggles, which align with Beauvoir’s theory of women’s objectification and devaluation by a patriarchal society. The external experience is how Sarah experiences feminine slavery from societal views. The internal experience reflects how Sarah experiences feminine slavery from her personal views. Additionally, the study shows that Sarah, as the main female character, experiences some unfulfilled needs that push her into prostitution. Sarah’s unfulfilled needs are physiological, psychological, esteem, and love-belonging needs. Her unfulfilled needs are caused by her illegitimate status as a child, her father’s abandonment, her poverty, and her inability to meet basic needs due to combined unfulfilled needs. These unfulfilled needs caused her to live as a prostitute. In conclusion, this study provides new insights into the factors contributing to female enslavement and the needs of women in a patriarchal society, enhancing our understanding of the intersection between women’s objectification and their basic and psychological needs.