Understanding Incestuous Family Dynamics Through the Film Miss Violence
- Jan 21, 2018
- 14 min read
When we raise the question, what is violence?, we arrive at different answers. The word violence comes from the Latin violentia, meaning vehemence or impetuosity. At its root, however, it is closely connected to the concept of violation (violare).
Violence can manifest itself in explicit or silent ways, and in many forms, such as domestic violence, violence against children, sexual violence, urban violence, among others. It may arise through conflict, abuse of power, or aggression, and is characterized by being directed toward something or someone, sometimes even toward the aggressor themselves, as in cases of self-violation. Violence may also appear in verbal forms, causing emotional and moral harm, or in physical forms, leaving visible scars that are often easier to recognize.
From here on, we will focus on a form of violence that is often difficult to perceive and frequently denied by society: intrafamilial violence. This type of violence accompanies family groups, whether silently or openly.
To enrich this discussion, I will use scenes from the Greek film Miss Violence, which resembles a “Greek tragedy,” where violence appears from beginning to end in its many forms.
In this work, I propose to explore the theme of violence and its many manifestations through the lens of this film.
The story begins when Angeliki, a teenager celebrating her eleventh birthday, commits suicide shortly after arriving at her party, accompanied by her aunt Mirto, who is close to her in age. The guests at the celebration are exclusively family members: her mother, grandparents, aunt, and siblings.
From that moment on, a succession of events draws attention to the way this family functions. Considering the way the characters relate to one another, special emphasis must be placed on the incestuous dynamics of this family and the role each person occupies.
Shortly after Angeliki’s suicide, her mother and grandfather, the main male figure in the household, are summoned by Social Services to testify about what happened. Eleni, Angeliki’s mother, appears devastated, and her passive and detached behavior deeply disturbs the viewer in the scenes that follow.
After all, what is expected of a mother who has just lost a child to suicide? Suffering, pain, and revolt are perhaps the most common emotions in such circumstances. Yet in Eleni, all these feelings appear veiled, as though there were no space or permission for them to exist. Whenever she attempts to express her pain and sadness to the family, she is reprimanded by her father, who forbids her from crying and maintains a rigid stance. The other family members remain silent, offering neither comfort nor support.
In the same way that Eleni’s father represses her suffering, he constantly dictates the rules of the household. He is the one who assumes the social role of accompanying the children to school and establishing the order to be followed under that roof. But as the story unfolds, what we discover about this father goes far beyond what had initially been shown.
When we speak of an incestuous dynamic, we are referring to a family filled with secrets, where individuals seemingly have no true sense of individuality and where parental roles and their functions are not clearly defined. Secrets and blurred boundaries are certainly not lacking in this family.
As we follow the unsettling events of the film, we are confronted with an important question: who is Angeliki’s father, the girl who committed suicide and the possible partner of Eleni? And who are the fathers of the other children?
An important detail emerges early in the story, when Eleni tells her mother that she is pregnant again, without revealing who the father is. The news is received almost naturally by her mother, without much questioning, as if she already knew exactly what was happening in Eleni’s life.
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The physical appearance of the women in the family deserves special attention in our discussion of the film. From the very first scenes, before Angeliki commits suicide, it is possible to notice that she and her older sister share similar features, which also resemble those of their mother. This suggests a certain blurring of feminine identities, something often present in incestuous family dynamics.
What follows here is a perception that may reveal a secret gradually uncovered throughout the story, but one that needs to be addressed in order to maintain clarity in the sequence of events. Eleni’s father is possibly also the father of the children who appear in the film, including Angeliki. This interpretation is suggested because he is the only male figure actively present in the daily lives of everyone in the household. Even if he is not the biological father, he clearly represents that social role.
Furthermore, it becomes evident that he and the grandmother do not function as a couple, which strengthens the idea that Eleni may have taken on a substitute role within the household, as her father’s sexual partner, reinforcing the blurring of roles. This perception is likely shared by outsiders as well, such as the doctor who is monitoring Eleni’s new pregnancy and subtly hints at something unusual. Social Services also begin to suspect that something disturbing is taking place when they investigate the reasons behind Angeliki’s suicide.
The outside world seems to be something that disturbs this family, especially the patriarch. Contact with anything external appears to be constantly denied or controlled. Even at Angeliki’s birthday party, the only guests present are family members.
Another moment of contact with the outside world appears in a scene where a neighbor, considered Eleni’s friend, approaches her to talk about how she might be feeling after her daughter’s death. Their conversation is interrupted by the sounds of the television, strongly suggesting that the noise is intentionally turned up by Eleni’s mother to prevent exchanges that are not being controlled.
Interestingly, the television is always showing programs about animal life. Beyond pointing to primitive aspects of this family and its incestuous dynamics, this detail also suggests that open and unpredictable forms of communication have no place in this household.
After being interrupted while trying to express her grief, Eleni locks herself in the bathroom and cries under the shower so that no one can hear her. Privacy simply does not exist within this family. The fact that she locks herself away causes discomfort among the others. In fact, the doors of the rooms are expected to remain open at all times, and when this rule is broken, the door is removed under the justification that there is nothing to hide in that house.
The keys to the front door remain under the custody of Eleni’s parents, but in reality, it is the father who determines what can and cannot be done.
Contact with the outside world appears to be constantly mediated as a way of maintaining control and power, something deeply desired by this father. He is the one who chooses whom his daughters will relate to, what the family may or may not eat, and even the clothes the children wear, among many other aspects that will be revealed later.
When we begin to ask ourselves where this family’s livelihood comes from, we get closer to uncovering one of the film’s most disturbing secrets, and one of the hidden layers of incest itself.
After Angeliki’s death, the patriarch is shown searching for a job and is eventually hired. Throughout the story, however, he is rarely seen actually carrying out his work duties, as he seems far more concerned with controlling what is happening inside his home, even while he is away. As a result of his lateness and repeated absences, he is dismissed from the job, which leads the viewer to wonder: if he is no longer working, will anyone else in this family step into that role?
The grandmother is never shown outside the house in any scene. Eleni only leaves when accompanied by her father, and the children leave only to attend school.
The only one who seeks other relationships and is therefore reprimanded is Mirto. She, who possibly has a boyfriend outside the family, is punished several times for leaving the system. But there isn't a major fight with Mirto, especially since she's involved in the family's livelihood.
Something revealing from the middle to the end of the film concerns the means of support and the entire plot: the patriarch prostitutes Eleni and Mirto, thus selecting the men who have relationships with his daughters. Besides selecting them, the father actively participates in the prostitution, choosing the music that can play when he takes his daughters, bringing the clothes they should wear for the encounter, even dancing and taking photographs with the men. A pleasure seems to be derived from maintaining this dynamic for so long, and it's worth noting that the sexual act also takes place between the father and his daughters, giving shape to the dynamic that is incestuous and transforming it into a scene that actually happened.
At this moment, the reason for Angeliki's suicide is also revealed: it's part of the family system that the women in the family begin having relationships with this father, and that prostitution as a means of support begins after the eleventh birthday. Returning to the first scene of the film, it shows Mirto and her niece, who is turning 11, leaving through a door where they were talking, at which point Angeliki's fate is revealed.
The teenager chooses, through death, not to be part of this system, bringing to light something that had probably been hidden for many years. The suicide reveals that there is something worrying in this family, and can be seen as a symptom of a dysfunctional dynamic in which incest is concretized.
The viewer's unease with such revelations of secrets may worsen. With the death of his next source of income, and with Eleni's pregnancy, the patriarch realizes he may lose part of his livelihood. To ensure Mirto isn't his only option in the field of prostitution, his attention turns to the growth of his possible youngest daughter, treated as his granddaughter, Alkimini.
The girl, around 7 years old, appears dancing sensually to music played in the living room, for the whole family. This fact catches the attention of the father/grandfather, who apparently already has a plan for her.
Before continuing to discuss Alkimini's fate, I would like to talk a little about a figure so important to the plot and, until now, little mentioned.
The grandmother appears without any sign of femininity, spending much of the plot as an absent figure, with low vitality and as if in the shadow of this grandfather/father. This man, for her, could be called her husband, if it weren't for the strange relationship that exists there. She observes everything, receives orders from her husband, and doesn't seem bothered by anything, considering she doesn't oppose his impositions; she also participates in this whole dynamic. Something intriguing happens when she hands a letter to her husband; he questions whether she opened the door, reinforcing the idea that contact with the outside world is forbidden without his permission. He also says that they will "play" that night. She seems astonished, but doesn't raise many questions. In the following scenes, the grandmother is portrayed as someone who can't leave her room because of a migraine, but it's noticeable that she's all bruised and has probably been beaten by him, and it's unclear to the viewer what game they're referring to.
The intriguing figure of the grandmother may elicit different opinions from viewers, leading us to consider the ambivalence in her portrayal of her behavior. While she can be understood as yet another victim of the system imposed by the patriarch, the grandmother knows everything that is happening, observes it, and her attitude keeps the machine running and things as they are. Mirto even tells her, then his mother, that things are as they are also her fault and that she never wants to know anything. This suggests a posture as violent as that of her husband, considering that violence can also be silent and through omission of help.
Another character who goes unnoticed and almost without any dialogue throughout the film is Philliphos, Eleni's youngest son. The only time he receives attention is when a complaint of aggression arises at school, and this behavior is met with even more violence. His grandfather/father asks Angeliki to slap the boy in the face. This scene might lead the viewer to question whether the patriarch's childhood was marked by such experiences, and whether he is now simply reproducing the cycle of violence that was already in place, considering that Philliphos represents the only male figure, besides his father, and the youngest in the film. What is done, then, is to place the boy in a position where he is angry with his sister, and possibly with the female sex. Another point to consider is that a boy born among other girls will not be destined for prostitution, which could lead to a loss of value within the family. This raises a question that can be interpreted in different ways, and another intriguing question: what kind of masculinity is this that takes over the house, sometimes so strong and dictatorial, and sometimes so fragile.
Returning to the film's scenes and nearing the end, the family receives a visit from social services to investigate what mysteries lie within their home. While tidying up and restocking the refrigerator, the family even has their cupboards inspected for any kind of neglect. Externally, everything appears tidy.
The problem begins to surface when one of the investigators discovers, while talking to the children, that Eleni is pregnant again and apparently not in a serious relationship. The family quickly mentions the name and address of a friend of the patriarch who, in exchange for money, agreed to cover for them in this situation so that things don't get worse. And after trying so hard to control the situation, the father/grandfather hears at the end of the visit: "It's as if nothing happened here...". This phrase can be seen as a victory for the patriarch, as he constantly seeks to control situations and even the feelings of his family members, as if that were possible.
The film then has a conclusion that had already been indicated above: noticing that his youngest daughter, Angeliki, may be initiated into prostitution, the patriarch takes her to the house of one of his clients, who then abuses the girl under the care of her father/grandfather.
Here, we see a dysfunctional behavior expected from the one who should protect her, and instead, he exposes his daughter to such violence. This daughter also seeks protection in the figure of her mother, who, upon returning from the moment she was abused, calls for Eleni, who remains oblivious to the reality and unable to fulfill her role as mother and protector, enacting a scene of negligence and, consequently, silent violence.
The Greek tragedy concludes with a surprising ending for the viewer. It seems that when the patriarch takes Angeliki into prostitution, he possibly broke a pact that had been in place for generations, in which the family system functioned from the eleventh birthday onwards, not before. When rules are broken, the system seems to change. Eleni then wakes up and goes to see how her father is doing that morning. Upon entering the room, she is shocked to find the patriarch dead and stabbed in his bed. Eleni's expression can be interpreted as a mixture of satisfaction, horror, and joy—an indiscriminate feeling that accompanies her throughout the film.
It appears that the perpetrator of the crime was Eleni's mother, and the children's grandmother. Upon the father's death, her mother gives the following order:
“Eleni, lock the door”
This final phrase leaves us with uncertainty about what will happen from that moment on.
Many interpretations are possible. By locking the door and keeping everyone inside, the film suggests that things may continue as they always have. Symbolically, this act of locking the door can be understood as a sign that nothing will leave that house, and therefore everything may go on as before, perpetuating the incestuous dynamic already in place.
On the other hand, if we consider that the grandmother herself had been suffering and that this suffering led her to kill her husband, it may also suggest that she intends to put an end to the others involved as well.
One thing remains certain in the ending proposed by the film: the mystery continues, and the shadowy, unspoken atmosphere so characteristic of incestuous families remains.
At this point, we can begin to reflect on how the family portrayed above resembles the families treated at CEARAS (Center for Studies and Care Related to Sexual Abuse) at the Faculty of Medicine of São Paulo, where I completed my training in working with incestuous families, the experience that gave rise to this text.
At CEARAS, families who have been reported to the justice system for intrafamilial sexual abuse are referred for care. They receive family-centered support aimed at understanding the existing dynamics and, above all, at breaking possible cycles of violence.
Understanding these dynamics requires technical preparation, sensitivity, and ongoing spaces for learning. Part of this experience inspires Núcleo Espiral’s courses, such as Educating for Peace and the Spiral Method Training, designed for educators, professionals, and care networks who seek to strengthen practices of violence prevention and the promotion of safer, healthier bonds.
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According to psychological theories, the non-enactment of incest allows for the differentiation and symbolization of roles within the family, such as father, mother, and siblings, making both individual and family development possible. From this perspective, the prohibition of incest functions as an organizing factor, establishing boundaries (COHEN, 1993).
Among the families treated, it is possible to observe similarities with the film, especially when we encounter mothers resembling Eleni, who often appear disconnected from the situation, perhaps because they are unable to bear the anguish of confronting and breaking a cycle that may have existed for many years.
The fear involved in breaking such a system and having to report it is deeply distressing, not only for those directly involved but also for those on the outside who witness the potential damage caused by incestuous dynamics and sexual abuse.
Sexual violence can be characterized as a sexual act or game, in either heterosexual or homosexual contexts, involving one or more adults and a child or adolescent, with the purpose of sexually stimulating the child or adolescent, or using them to obtain sexual gratification for themselves or another person (AZEVEDO; GUERRA, 1998, p.33).
According to Florentino (2015), sexual abuse is defined as any act of sexual interest by one or more adults toward a child or adolescent. It may occur within the intrafamilial sphere, involving people connected by emotional ties, or in the extrafamilial sphere, involving individuals without kinship relations.
Existing literature shows agreement among specialists in recognizing that children who are victims of sexual abuse and sexual violence are at risk of developing severe psychopathologies that may disrupt their psychological, emotional, and sexual development (ROMARO; CAPITÃO, 2007, p.144).
But how can families who have remained within an incestuous dynamic for so long, with such deeply disorganized roles and the potential for severe psychological harm, be treated?
The concept of family referred to here, functioning as the foundation of the social fabric, can be defined by the existence of a differentiated emotional bond that justifies a relationship in which psycho-affective functions are expected among its members. Incest, in this context, manifests through sexual relationships between members of the same family (excluding spouses), and “family” is defined not only by blood ties or affinity, but above all by the social function of kinship exercised by the individuals within the group (COHEN; GOBBETTI, 1998).
This complex work may begin by accompanying the entire family, without rigid definitions of victim and aggressor. Instead, it requires considering that if something was enacted, or even came close to being enacted, all members of that family circle may have contributed in some way, whether through physical aggression, difficulty in containing impulses, or even through silence and the failure to take a stand.
The “no” to the enactment of Oedipal desires establishes the boundaries between desire and reality. According to Sigmund Freud, there is an antagonism between the demands of instinctual drives and the individual’s insertion into culture, and every individual must learn to deal with this conflict. The incestuous desire, present in all human beings, must be repressed for the survival of civilization: “Incest is antisocial, and civilization consists in its progressive renunciation” (FREUD, 1930).
From what is presented in the film Miss Violence, it can be concluded that when we speak of incest, we are referring to something that causes confusion due to its blurred boundaries and the many situations that remain hidden.
Incest is far more than the abusive act itself. It unfolds silently, and for its dynamics to be interrupted, it must be brought into the open, creating the possibility for cycles of violence to be broken.
Author: Ana Cecília Pagliarini de Souza
Coordinator of the Retocare Program
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References:
AZEVEDO, M. A.; GUERRA, V. N. A. Pele de asno não é só história… um estudo sobre a vitimização sexual de crianças e adolescentes em família. São Paulo: Rocca, 1998.
COHEN, C. O Incesto um desejo. São Paulo, Casa do Psicólogo, 1993.
COHEN, C; GOBBETTI, G.J. “Abuso Sexual Intrafamiliar” Revista Brasileira de Ciências Criminais. v.6, n.24, p. 235-43, 1998. FLORENTINO, B.R.B. “As possíveis consequências do abuso sexual praticado contra crianças e adolescentes.” Revista de Psicologia, v. 27, n. 2, p. 139-144, maio-ago. 2015
FREUD,S. (1930) “O mal estar na civilização”. In Freud,S. Obras Psicológicas Completas. Rio de Janeiro, Imago, 1980, v.19.
ROMARO, R. A; CAPITÃO, C. G. As faces da violência: aproximações, pesquisas, reflexões. São Paulo: Vetor, 2007.
