The Swan

When the Russian Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (anglicised as Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky) composed Swan Lake in 1875, he envisioned the swan as womanhood in its purest form. (It its unknown what the male swans thought of this choice.) Legends of swan-maidens can be found in ancient Greek mythology (Apollo's birth), The Tales of the Thousand and One Nights, Sweet Mikhail Ivanovich the Rover, and The Legend of the Children of Lir.

If we assume the Swan Queen is modern a portrayal of womanhood in its purest form, then Nina's character reveals some of the pressures that womanhood faces. Nina is obsessed with trying to be "perfect," if such a thing even exists. She even goes as far as to steal Beth's things to try to be like Beth, whom appears to be the ideal dancer. Day after day, we see Nina practice at the studio far longer and harder than everyone else, even driving the pianist to finally quit playing the day before opening night. Nina evens turns to bulimia to maintain her already skeletal figure. (Was anyone else a little disturbed by how unhealthy she looked?)

While Nina was busy trying to perfect herself, she also had to worry about other competing dancers and saboteurs. Lily's attempts to take the role of Swan Queen from Nina appear to be the last straw, and Nina begins to hallucinate. Even after the hallucinations begin, Nina is still determined to be Swan Queen and refuses admit her problems to anyone. It is not until her company sees the blood blossoming across her stomach that anyone even suspects anything is wrong.

Nina must face the pressure from herself and those around her to be perfect, while fending off others who will do anything to take from her what she has. She also does not feel that she cannot turn to anyone else for help. It is no wonder that she, and many other women, turn to self-harm and succumb to medical issues.