XKRISTINX'S BLOG
Inara Serra: Agency, Controversy and Sex-Work in Joss Whedon's Firefly - Part 3
Thursday, April 6, 2006 1:00 AM
If Inara were the “oppressed victim” both Kathleen Barry and Malcolm Reynolds make her out to be, her realization of his feelings for her could be seen as a possible “out”. And as an “out” she could end her career as a Companion and join the crew of Serenity (as she had in Trash). But, instead Inara sees her relationship with Mal as detrimental to her career, and chooses to leave him behind in order to move forward with work. Her leaving makes for an interesting cut to Malcolm Reynolds ego, in that he assumed his feeling for her would be reason enough to leave her career (and life long training) behind.
Whether or not she is truly free is another question. Then again, whether or not any character on Firefly is free is an equally valid question. As put by Mercedes Lackey “she is clearly someone who is near the top rank of that profession. She can go where she chooses and select her clients herself. She is only with Serenity because she wishes to be. Surely of all the crew, she is the one with most real freedom, is she not?”
Lackey makes a distinction on the importance of the legality of Inara’s work, and how important it is to said freedom:
Her freedom is as thin as the piece of paper her license is printed on. Without it, she’s no longer respected or respectable; she goes from being a sought-after professional to nothing but a lovely and exquisitely trained whore.
In Heart of Gold Inara makes that distinction herself when discussing an old friend Nandi who’s in need of assistance:
Inara Serra: ?They're not companions. They're whores, Mal.
Malcolm Reynolds:?Thought you didn't much care for that word?
Inara Serra:?It applies. None who work for Nandi?are registered with the Guild .?. . They're –
Malcolm Reynolds: --independent?
So it seems Inara herself places the value of her license and the training and certification it represents. In this same example, we see that Malcolm puts the emphasis on the notion of independence. Nandi explains the previous state of the Heart Of Gold ranch and why she left the security of the Guild:
Nandi: . . . it occurred to me that a companion's life might just be a little too constricting. So I trucked out to the border, learned to say "ain't" and came to find work. Found this place.
Malcolm Reynolds: It's a nice place.
Nandi: It was a dung heap. Run by a pig who had half the girls strung out on drops. There's no Guild out here; they let men run the houses, and they don’t ask for references. We didn’t get along.
The general consensus of Wendy Chapkis’ article was that “the fewer options you have, the more control you lose.” But in Inara’s case, her access to Serenity and its crew, to her own shuttle, to her client registry and to the protection and guidance of The Guild give her many choices. In Nandi’s case, as an independent navigating the law of her specific planet, as well as the social relations and economic realities—not to mention the added threats of pimps and drug abuse—made for a riskier acquisition of power.
Unfortunately, the real questions are those that will most likely go unanswered. What was in the syringe Inara had in the pilot, Serenity? Why did she leave Sihnon (her home planet)? Overall, Inara is portrayed throughout the Firefly series as strong, intelligent and independent, regardless of her work as a sex-worker. Throughout the series the major highlighting of her career and issues of morality and legality were in the context of conversations with Malcolm Reynolds. As such, these conversations were also highly loaded with romantic tension and jealousy. When Inara’s role as “ambassador” is viewed without considering Malcolm Reynolds, her job is seen in a completely different light. Oddly enough in subtracting Malcolm Reynolds from the equation Inara’s work seems considerably less problematic. Then again, Inara thought so too.
COMMENTS: 1