Ramsey 1 Doss Ramsey Dr.

Orr ENGL 268 3 November 2013 Patriarchy in the Botanero Cochon In the 10th chapter of Quentin Tarantinos film Kill Bill Vol. II, Beatrice, the films protagonist, converses with Esteban Vihaio, an 80-year-old pimp with information regarding Bill, the movies namesake and the object of her search. Esteban is the quintessential patriarch, epitomizing the patriarchal image and manifesting it through his control over women and the stereotypification of the women around him. Esteban is a man in control, filled with ego and class, and he rules his harem with an iron fist. Esteban is established as a patriarch in a few ways. As Beatrice introduces him we learn that he is one of the men whom Bill, who is fatherless, collected as a father figure (Tarantino), perhaps due in part to Estebans friendship with Bills mother. However, Bill is not the only character regarding Esteban as a father figure as we also learn that Esteban is the leader of a small army, the Acuna Boys, made up of the fatherless offspring of [Estebans] whores (Tarantino). Estebans image also furthers the notion of patriarchy as the first shot of him shows him smoking a cigar, dignified in a smart blazer and glasses, relaxing as he reads a book in the back of his bar, the Botanero Cochon, as his whores sit around him like objects. The women in this scene are initially objectified, but as the scene continues we see that they have been stereotyped as well. As whores, the women have already

Ramsey 2 been relegated to the status of sex objects, but they are stereotyped in other ways as well. In the beginning of the scene, the first shot of any woman is that of one lady holding a laundry basket with another in the background sitting atop a washing machine a clear stereotype of woman as laundress. As the scene continues, Bill summons another girl to fetch them a drink the classic stereotype of woman as waitress- and we see in the background yet another woman cleaning, embodying the stereotype of woman as maid. Esteban even goes so far as to objectify Beatrice saying, If we had met when I was back in business, gesturing towards his crotch and winking, you would have been my #1 lady (Tarantino). Her response is that she is flattered, and his response to that is, You goddamn well better be (Tarantino). As he says this we catch a glimpse of the darker side of his ego and his desire for control. From Beatrices first interaction with Esteban he asserts this control. We know from her introduction of him that he runs the Acuna Boys, and also that the Acuna Boysrun Acuna (Tarantino) the town where the scene takes place, so as he sits there reading his book, he has firm control not only over his establishment, but also over the town in which it resides. Approaching Esteban, Beatrice asks formally if she may join him, and his response is, Only on the condition that you call me Esteban (Tarantino). She does, and they sit. As they converse, Esteban asks Beatrice if Bill had truly shot her in the head and learning that it was so, he shakes his head saying, I would have been much nicer. I would have just cut your face (Tarantino). When the woman Esteban had summoned for drinks arrives at their table, she is

Ramsey 3 sporting a horrifically swollen lower lip and a cross expression. The implication is that Esteban inflicted the injury to her face. Esteban is the authority throughout the entire scene and this is due in large part to the roles that the women around him hold. With the exception of Beatrice, all of the women are treated as inferiors and he pays them little mind except to the extent to which they can be of service to him. Estebans power comes from the disempowerment, domination and submission of the women around him, and his image, his entire existence even, is dependent upon their acceptance of their subservience.

Works Cited

Kill Bill Volume II. Dir. Tarantino, Quentin. Prod. Lawrence Bender. Perf. Uma Thurman, David Carradine and Michael Parks. Film. A Band Apart, 2004.