TRESS-PSYCHOLOGICAL ANALYSIS

Let us look into historical aspects of different hair styles and how it is linked to social values, personal believes and even religious believes. Cutting hair very short symbolised illness, punishment ( self-inflicted of by Authority).deprivation , sadness or radical changes in the life. Bright tinted hair, like red or purple symbolised the beginning of a new life.I will support my analysis by Sigmund Freud and what he said about cutting young women's hair: in his book "the interpretation of dreams"

" I should like to warn against overestimating the importance of symbols in our dreams. Dreamer's associations must be taken into account in the technique of dream-interpretation. Example: cutting hair in your dream - means a young woman suffering from agoraphobia as a result of fears of seduction."Great English poet of the 18th century Alexander Pope gave us another insight into cutting the lock of young woman's hair in his poem " The Rape of the Lock"

Cut when the Mischief Mortals bend their Will How soon they find fit instrument of Ill

Just then, Clarissa drew with temping Grace

A two-edged Weapon from her shining Case.

So ladies in Romance assist their Knight,

Present the Spear, and arm him for the Fight.

He takes the Gift with reverence, and extends

The little Engine on his Finger's End;

This just behind Belinda's Neck he spread "

Ariel cut off Belinda's lock of hair while she was sitting at the piano. The poet is humorous at times as he emphasizes the triviality of the incident. The beauty is fragile and the loss of a lock of hair touches Belinda deeply. Maybe superficial attitude toward life can lead to tragedy - personal and social. The title of this poem "The Rape of the Lock" is shocking and at the same time innovative. Linguistically it bring new ideas and makes changes in the 18 cent. Great Britain. IT is putting a foundation for Suffragists and other women's rights movements. Good on you Alexander Pope!

Tanya Tsishevski

November 2012

By the time I was 18 years old I knew that women are divided into 2 categories: young and the rest. " The rest" are smart, witty, charming, cute, practical, analytical; loving wives, mothers, colleagues, some of rare beauty, pilots, politicians, police women. There is even a space woman Valentine Tereshkova It is a pity that we do not have a woman-general. I hope we will have one in the future.

I was in the "young category" and to celebrate my young life and to declare this celebration to the whole new world I made my mind to do a new hair style. I looked at the mirror leaving hairdressing salon and I could hardly recognize myself: who was this young woman with red curls? And the red colour was " fire engine! ".Some young women go out after the visit to the Hairdresser Salon. I went straight to the bathroom and washed my hair. I could not face my parents with my new red hair! Later in my life I changed my hair style many times. I was not afraid to try new cuts and style. The Soviet era of my life was dominantly short hair cut. In the Soviet Union, a new country which was formed as a result of Socialist Revolution and the collapse of Monarchy women tend to favour short hair. The concept of being free, emancipated, and being equal to men had brought this short care free hair style to many Soviet women. This concept was conceived by Soviet ideologists and propaganda machines and was planted in the minds of young women. Romanticism was out of fashion. God of Love EROS was put to sleep. The concept of beauty was not on the agenda, women were too busy studying, working , rebuilding society. Looking too pretty became out of fashion.

In the past during the epidemics of the infectious diseases women often cut their hair short. Rebellious women had their hair cut short and put into the convents or imprisoned into the Monasteries. Nuns had to part with their long hair.