Nicole K

Multifaceted Madonna

There is a dramatic Chinese folk art called Face-changing, in which the performers

change the masks constantly to please the audience with novelty. Face-changing is a form of art

which uses tricks to amuse people. Performers wave their arms, twist their heads, use their long

sleeves as cover, and change their faces in a fraction of a second. Face-changing was first used in

a story about a hero who stole from the rich to help the poor. When he was caught by feudal

officials, he changed his face to puzzle them and escaped. The masks performers use in Face-

changing are made of oiled paper that skillful performers can peel off within a second.

Madonna could be a very skillful Face-changing performer since she knows how to play

the tricks of changing very well. Watching Madonna is like watching Face-changing because

there is always something changing about her look and her personality that cannot be predicted.

Madonna does not have a fixed image. Neither does she have a set personality. She is not only a

singer, but also an actress. She starts her career as a singer, in which she has very limited

prospect of development because of her limited skill in singing. So she wisely puts on the mask

of “actress” to give herself a fresh look. The change of her images is frequent and fast enough to

keep the audiences’ interest. After the showing of her roles as singer and actress, Madonna

pursues her career in business as well as book writing. Though she is criticized by most people

for her pursuit in business and writing, she successfully changes her look, endowing herself with

two more ornamental titles. Except for her multiple professions, fluctuation in her personalities is

much more astonishing than the trick of changing her look. Face-changing is not simply about

changing the masks. The colors and patterns of each mask reflect different moods and

personalities. For example, the color of red represents anger and black represent fury. Madonna
does not need a mask to show her changing moods and dispositions. She is taking every chance

to show her volatility anytime she wants. She developed her defiant personality since her

childhood. She was bossy in her life and career. Her rebellious attitude worsened after her

father’s second marriage. She does not want to follow rules, but for success she has committed to

diligence. She is ambitious, and she is maternal. On the one hand she is frivolous, but on the

other hand she is serious. She impresses the public with her naughty behaviors from her early

musical videos. While people are still commenting her capricious actions, she suddenly

contributes herself resolutely into playing the role of Eva Peron, convincing the audiences that

she is a hard-working artist. She makes high-sounding announcements, while her vulgar actions

diverge from what she says. Everyone still remembers her shocking bout of Sapphic kissing with

Britney Spears in the MTV award ceremony when a lot of children were watching, before which

Madonna made her lofty announcements of her understanding of maternity. In a word, Madonna

is multifaceted, a nature that adds great value to her fame. As Paul Silvia says in his book

Exploring the Psychology of Interest, a person’s interest can be sparked by novelty, such as

contrast with prior experience or encounter with a totally new object (34). Madonna’s multiple

facets create a high level of novelty to keep the public from boredom. Her constant changing of

image and personalities attract public interest. She is always the topic of conversations and

publications, either positive or negative.

When one attempts to discover who Madonna is, he or she could notice how blurry her

identity is. Madonna is identified as a singer, an actress, a dancer, an entrepreneur, a writer, etc.

Madonna engages in various careers that she is seemingly not entitled to any specific profession.

It is wise for her to choose multiple occupations instead of focusing on one single field, because

to become a professional, one must possess outstanding skills either through a high level of
training and education, or by natural endowment. There are not many people like Beethoven or

Mozart because most people are neither musical geniuses nor well trained musically. Neither is

Madonna. Her musical life started from her engagement as a singer in a New York band called

Breakfast Club. However, she is not a master of vocals. Madonna’s voice is so thin and high that

she has been called “Minnie Mouse on Helium” (Bosma). “Material Girl” is a good example to

reflect Madonna’s girlie voice. “Material Girl” is set in the key of C major, with Madonna’s

voice spanning from the tonal nodes of C4 to C5, which is the most basic range for a soprano.

Though the range of this song is not very high, Madonna is exaggerating her voice to match the

robotic male voices in the chorus. The problem is that Madonna has a raucous and raw voice,

which is not suitable to sing in the range of soprano from C4 to C6. In this high-pitched song,

Madonna sings as if she is squeezing her voice up to the high range, which turns out to be very

shrill. Besides the problem of pitch, she often sings off-key. In most of Madonna’s songs, she is

so busy with dancing that she could hardly control her breath to sing well. The former rock critic

Simon Frith admits that Madonna has very limited vocal range (Bosma). Obviously Madonna is

not proficient in the field of singing. Her lack of special musical skills and talents should make

her a mediocrity. Madonna knows clearly about the limitation in her talents. As she said, “I know

I am not the best singer or dancer in the world. I know that. But I am not interested in that. I am

interested in pushing buttons” (Taraborrelli, 7). Madonna did push a lot of buttons. She is doing

everything she wants to do. Her multiple careers and changing personalities create incremental

value. The more careers she has, the more opportunities of being the topic of public

conversations. Without any specific professional expertise, Madonna still can become an

entertainment industry phenomenon.

 It is interesting to note that Madonna still goes for singing when she has no exceptional

talents in it. She does so because pop singing is her realm where she can find her ego. In this

field she is the queen who has control over herself and others around her. Madonna can express

her rebellious attitude and defiant personality when she is doing pop music. Even though

Madonna’s career started from her singing, she was actually planning to pursue a career in

dancing. She went to study dance at the Christopher Flynn Dance School at the Rochester School

of Ballet for several years. After her serious dance study with Christopher Flynn, Madonna

received a dance scholarship to the University of Michigan in 1976. After her one year and a half

study at the university, Madonna had determined to leave school and go to New York to pursue

her career in dancing. Her roommate Whitley Setrakian remembered that “Madonna saw better

things for herself if she moves on quickly, without so much as a glance back. She wanted to be a

dancer. She wanted to go to New York and get into a good company” (Taraborrelli 33).

Madonna had the enthusiasm for dancing. She had taken so much risk for dancing. Except for

her passion, Madonna was also born into a gifted dancer. Her special talent in dancing was

confirmed by the choreographer Pearl Lang. Lang recalled that Madonna “was an exceptional

dancer. Many dancers can kick and exhibit acrobatic body control, but that is just run-of-the-

mill, taken for granted. Madonna had the power, the intensity to go beyond mere physical

performance into something far more exciting. That intensity is the first thing I look for in a

dancer, and Madonna had it” (Taraborrelli 38). Madonna should definitely have continued to

become a dancer. However, she did not carry on. Madonna’s termination in dancing was a

rebellion to the rules and the discipline, which reflects her egocentric and defiant personality

developed when she was a child. Madonna was born into a family of six children. Being the third

child in the family, she was eager to be noticed. As she recalled, “I grew up in a really big family
and in an environment where you had to get it over to be heard” (Taraborrelli 7). However,

Madonna’s family was a really strict and old-fashioned one. When Madonna was very young,

her grandmother used to ask her to go to church, to love Jesus and be a good girl (Taraborrelli 9).

This traditional Catholic opinion was against what Madonna wanted. She wanted to be noticed. It

was not easy to attract attentions if she was just being obedient and good. So Madonna had

chosen to break the rules. Madonna had done many wild things to get notice, such as burning her

finger deliberately, or jumping on top of a table, lifting up her dress and showing her panties

(Taraborrelli 11). All these behaviors would be considered to be inappropriate for a girl from a

Catholic family. Madonna’s rebellious attitude intensified after her beloved father married a

housekeeper. Madonna was very resentful about her father’s second marriage. As Madonna said,

“I was in love with my father and I didn’t want to lose him. I lost my mother, but then I was my

mother… and my father was mine” (Taraborrelli 14). Madonna was very angry at her father,

which developed into a rebellious attitude against her strict Catholic father, against the rules he

set up and against the discipline of life. When Madonna was studying dance, her dance instructor

Christopher Flynn “stressed hard work and discipline, concepts Madonna had sometimes felt the

need to rebel against in her home and at school, but which she now embraced as a dance student”

(Taraborrelli 26). And Madonna recalls her instructor as very “Catholic and all about rules”

(Taraborrelli 26). Her instructor was very like her father. However, Madonna did not show her

rebellious attitude towards Flynn. Even though Madonna hates to follow rules, her ego to

become somebody urged her to take over all those hard work. In addition, Christopher Flynn

understood what Madonna wanted, toward which Madonna was very thankful. Madonna might

have the talents and fervor to pursue a career in dancing, but she is too egocentric to be a dancer.

When she was doing the audition for Pearl Lang’s company, Madonna’s exceptional dancing
talents were approved by Lang. However, Lang was not content with Madonna’s performance.

As Lang said, “I knew she would have trouble being a dancer in any troupe because she was

such an individual. It wasn’t really a matter of working hard; she worked hard. But not in a way

that gave me hope that she could blend with others” (Taraborrelli 39). That is who Madonna is, a

girl who always wants to express her own opinion and does not care what other people want.

Madonna’s childhood experience had made her eager for attention. She wants to be noticed. That

is why she performed unconventional behavior, such as doing cartwheels and handstand in the

hallway between class, dangling by her knees from the monkey bars during recess and pulling up

her skirt during class to show her underwear to the boys (Taraborrelli 21). All these actions drew

a lot of attention from people around her, even though it made her name notorious. Dancing is

not always an individual work. Most of the time it requires group work, and to follow the dance

instructor’s advice. Madonna’s defiant personality had determined that she would not follow

anybody’s advice and rules. She was so talented that her work needed to be appreciated, not

criticized. At a point, Lang gave Madonna some advice, and Madonna curtsied and, in the most

spiteful tone, said, “Why thank you ever so, Lady Hateful” (Taraborrelli 39). After that,

Madonna was told to leave Lang’s company. After all her experience with dancing, Madonna

had chosen to do music, playing guitar, playing organ, and eventually, she wanted to sing. Even

though she is not good at singing, however, Madonna is free to express herself when she was

doing music. She can define herself as whatever she wants. She does not need to obey anybody’s

order. Neither is she buried in a group of performers. In singing she takes over the whole stage,

doing whatever she feels like. As Whitley Setrakian says, when she came to meet with Madonna

in New York, Madonna had “further evolution in her personality, more self-confidence about her

decision” (Taraborrelli 45). “I sat in one of the chairs of the synagogue and watched her and saw
that she was really in her element. I knew that she was finished with dancing, even though she

never said it. I could tell that she loved this side of performing, as a singer, an entertainer”

(Taraborrelli 45).

Madonna’s rebellious attitude can be seen from her early singing style. In the video of

“Like a Virgin”, Madonna promotes the idea of sex without marriage, which received a lot of

complains from family organizations. The topic of this song and Madonna’s seductive

performance is challenging the tradition and conservatism. In some scenes of the video,

Madonna is wearing the lily-white wedding attire, which is traditionally used as a signifier of

purity and virginity. In the old-fashioned stereotype, every woman who wears this wedding dress

has to be a virginal bride. Virginity is highly valued in the tradition. Whoever does not follow the

rule is severely punished. As in old China, if a girl loses her virginity before marriage, she will

be put into a pig cage, and thrown into the river, drowned to death. Women have no control on

their sexual life. Even though Madonna is not living in China, she is voicing out for all women

around the world. Madonna’s performance in “Like a Virgin” is challenging this stereotype and

shackles. She wears the wedding dress, not for getting married, but for love. To Madonna, the

lily-white dress is not confined in the church. Also, Madonna is delivering the message in the

video that she is wearing the wedding attire, but she is not a virgin. When Madonna is singing in

her wedding dress, she uncovers a piece of cloth and shows a red chair. The color of red means

losing the virginity. Madonna’s action shows that she actively seeks to lose her virginity for her

lover. She initiates the sexual relationship, rebelling against all the authorities and old fashion.

This is the rebellious Madonna, and she is saying to all women that it is acceptable for them to

lose virginity for love, regardless of the old-fashioned stereotypes. In her other single “Papa

Don’t Preach” Madonna deals with another sensitive topic, which is teenage pregnancy. As the
video indicates, teenage pregnancy is such a taboo to which the older generations could not

reconcile. If a girl has sex and gets pregnant, she is always the one who gets blamed for. It is

really unfair that she has to take over the whole problem as if this is her own issue. Madonna

addresses this issue in the song because she wants to arouse people’s thinking about teenage

pregnancy. The girl is actually a victim. She needs understanding and support. As for Madonna,

the song fits right in with her own personal zeitgeist of standing up to male authorities, whether it

is the Pope, or the Catholic Church or her father (Scaggs). In the Catholic religion, use of

condom is not promoted, which could lead to teenage pregnancy. As a result, the issue Madonna

addresses in the song is questioning the Catholic doctrine. It is inconsistent for the Catholic

Church to oppose the use of condom and blame teenage pregnancy. Madonna stands up to this

conflict. In addition, this song touches the tensions between Madonna and her father. She is

rebelling against her father in any way, including losing her virginity to her high school

boyfriend Russell Long. Long recalled, Madonna would say, “What do you think he’d do if he

knew we were having sex? Do you think it would freak him out? ... Maybe I should tell him”

(Taraborrelli 25). Long says, “But my safety, or her privacy, wasn’t on her mind. If she could

blow his mind, shock him, she wanted to do it. Even more than that, if she could piss him off,

she wanted to do it” (Taraborrelli 25).

In 1985, two years after her debut as a singer, Madonna entered the field of film acting,

playing a role of an anonymous club singer in her first movie, Vision Quest. Since then,

Madonna has been actively engaged in acting as well as singing. One critic has claimed,

“Despite her status as one of the most successful pop stars in the world, Madonna’s acting

endeavors continued to receive poor reviews” (NNDB). Even though Madonna is not an

exceptional singer, compared with acting, her musical contributions are much better. She has
starred in numerous motion pictures, the majority of which have been box office failures. She is

considered a jinx at the box office. One of the films where Madonna appeared is Shanghai

Surprise, which was dismissed by moviegoers and received poor reviews. Madonna’s wooden

acting in this movie made her the winner for Worst Actress in the Golden Raspberry Awards, an

annual award ceremony held in Los Angeles to recognize the worst in film. Since most of her

film acting does not receive good review, then why does Madonna still take risks in this career?

One reason is that acting is really a good way to reinvest her images. In singing, she could only

sing as a singer, no matter what styles she takes. In film acting, Madonna gets different

opportunities to act various characters, which expands the limit of fixed image. For example, she

plays a role of wisecracking street girl in Who’s That Girl, a tightrope artist in Shadows and Fog,

a baseman in A League of Their Own, and First Lady in Evita. Despite the fact that her acting is

poor, her engagement in films breaks out of the domain of pure singing, expanding her fame into

the Hollywood market. As a singer, her name would only be seen in Billboard; as an actress, her

name began to appear in Hollywood reports. Madonna’s film acting also brings her greater

opportunities as a singer. In most of the movies in which she has acted, Madonna has obtained

the chance to sing the theme songs, which, in return, has boosted her popularity as a singer. In

her first movie Vision Quest, though Madonna only played the role of an anonymous club singer,

her singing of “Crazy for You” in this movie turned out to be a great success and gained

Madonna great popularity. Also, her acting in the film Evita made her the principle singer on the

entire soundtrack. The song “You Must Love Me” from this soundtrack also won the Oscar for

best song. If Madonna had never pursued a career in film acting, she would not have recognized

by the Academy Award.

 There is certain association between Madonna’s personality and her choice in pursuing

film acting. Film acting presents what the actors pretend to show, instead of their true feelings.

So acting is really a good way to conceal one’s real identity. As for Madonna, she is so

capricious that she can hide the real her. As Taraborrelli says in the Author’s Note in his book,

“While it may not always be easy to find the real Madonna amidst the hocus-pocus of public

relations she manufactures to hide her true self, she's there just the same. In pursuit of her, one

has to be perceptive enough to look beyond the thick smoke, away from the confusing mirrors.

There hides the real woman.” Singing provides Madonna a stage to voice out her thoughts, and

acting has produced the smoke that confuses the concept of who Madonna is. Every actor has to

put on a mask for acting. Madonna has her mask too. Even though Madonna is very direct in

expressing her feelings in her earlier stage, it is hard to survive in the entertaining circle if she is

just being naïve and simple. In addition, she would easily get hurt if she is too easy to been seen

through. To become worldly, singing is obviously not enough. Acting could give her a lot of

experience of life, and turn her into a mature woman. Through acting, Madonna obtains the skills

to hide her honest feelings and become a sophisticated woman. Acting is a good way to shape

Madonna’s personalities. In addition, her experience is expanded through meeting different

people who she comes across during acting.

Compared with her singing, film acting reflects another facet of Madonna. Madonna’s

image is more hostile in her singing, while her diligent attitude is show through her acting. She is

hard-working and persistent in this career. When she was acting in the film Evita, Madonna had

confronted with many difficulties. In this movie, Madonna played Argentina’s First Lady Eva

Peron, a famous and popular figure who contributed her life to helping the people and

developing the nation. It is really hard to associate Madonna’s image with such a dignified
figure. However, Madonna campaigned intensively for the role of Eva Peron by writing a

persuasive letter to director Alan Parker and convincing him how perfect she would be for this

role. After she successfully obtained the chance to act in the film, Madonna then faced another

problem. There was a lot of opposition from Argentina. “Many of those living in Argentina

believed that Madonna would desecrate the memory of their beloved Santa Evita. They feared

that Evita, as painted by the flagrant Madonna, would be an insult to her memory – and for no

good reason other than the fact that Madonna would be the one essaying the role” (Taraborrelli

1). Madonna was not pleased with this situation. She needs to convince the people that she is

sincere in acting the role. Madonna was very demanding in her acting. She wants everything to

be perfect. In the film, there is a scene where Madonna sings “Don’t Cry for Me Argentina” at

the balcony of the presidential residence. There was actually a replica of the balcony at Casa

Rosada re-created for the movie in London. Madonna could just use this replica for her acting.

However, she was not content with the way it was. She wanted to film that scene at the actual

location of Casa Rosada where Evita gave some her appearances. Undoubtedly, filming at the

actual location is much better than suing a replica. However, the problem was that the president

of Argentina Carlos Menem did not permit the film company to film at the Casa Rosada due to

public protestations. Madonna was so serious about her acting performance that she insisted on

filming at the actual location. So she started lobbying the president of Argentina for the right to

film at the Casa Rosada. She did a lot research about the president so she could know more about

his life and political career. As Madonna said, “I want to know who he is. He certainly knows

who I am” (Taraborrelli 3). She was properly dressed up for the meeting with the president. Her

attitude was sincere in persuading Menem. As she said, “I so want to make this movie… I

promised you that it will be fair. I want to be respectful to Eva’s memory. You must understand
that my intention is good” (Taraborrelli 5). Madonna’s sincerity was successful. She got the

permission to film her movie in government buildings. Madonna’s honest attitude had convinced

the president. Her authentic acting moved everyone on the scene. As Richard Zoglin says, Evita

has been a crucial milestone in a career that has been reinvented Madonna’s image. The making

of the film has produced another Madonna, softer and more chastened.

However, Madonna is not content with her roles as a singer and actress. As her response

to Dick Clark’s question about what she wanted to do when she grew up indicates, Madonna

wants to “Rule the world” (Brown). And her ambition was proven successful when she entered

into the world of business. In April 1992, she founded her own entertainment company,

Maverick. Since then, she has claimed the name of “businesswoman”. Actually Madonna has no

knowledge about revenues or business strategies. Her ambitious and outrageous attitude has

earned her millions of dollars, and more important, her reputation as an outstanding and brilliant

marketer. All artists have their own managers, which means, they are under the management of

someone else. This is totally different for Madonna. She is not managed, but manages. Madonna

defines herself as the Boss in her business. Her business style is all about ambition. “People who

work with Madonna agree that she is a rarity among entertainers: a star who runs her own

business affairs” (Schifrin). Madonna has the ability to put everything under her control. She is

aggressive and vigorous. “To keep tabs on the day-to-day operation of her companies, Madonna

has offices equipped with fax machines and multiple phone lines in both her Hollywood Hills

house and her New York apartment. Each morning her puts together a list of goals to accomplish

that day and list of tasks for her assistant and associates. Then from nine to eleven, she makes

business calls, speaking to a variety of associates, including her agent, publicist and script

readers” (Goodman). This is Madonna’s business life. As the chairman of Disney Studios Jeffrey
Katzenberg says, Madonna “has a very strong hand in deal making and financing of her

enterprises. Nothing gets done without her participation. She uses her lawyers and accountants

and advisers as aides in making her own judgment, as opposed to having them run her life”

(Schifrin). Under the title of “entrepreneur”, Madonna attracts great attention from commercial

industry. Even though the shrewd businesswoman image is incompatible with the naughty image

that she crafts in her singing, Madonna’s involvement in doing business gets her a lot of credit.

The media has been claiming her as “a dynamic entrepreneur who has succeeded in a

competitive industry” (Anderson). Madonna’s ambition has made her company extremely

successful, even though not financially. Madonna’s business success has extended her name to

Wall Street, a place that perhaps has the least association with pop culture. The name Madonna

became the topic of business publications, such as the Wall Street Journal and Forbes.

Moreover, Madonna took advantage of her investment in Maverick. As she said in an interview,

“the company started as a desire of more control. There’s a group of writers, photographers,

directors and editors that I’ve met along the way in my career and want to take with me

everywhere I go. I want to incorporate them into my little factory of ideas. I also come in contact

with a lot of young talent that I feel entrepreneurial about” (Holden). Maverick provided her an

opportunity to publish her first controversial book, Sex. Before Maverick was founded, Sex’s

production was under the regulation of Time Warner, which required Madonna to sign an

agreement that forbade her from including any photographs depicting children, religious imagery

and bestiality. However, the foundation of Maverick made the agreement obsolete, since

Madonna had total artistic control over any of the work released by Maverick.

Madonna’s endeavor in business reflects her ambitious facet. The Forbes Magazine

describes her as “one shrewd businesswoman. Taking a leaf from the Detroit of old, she restyles
herself almost every year. That keeps the fans happy and has earned her at least $125 million

over the past five years” (Schifrin). As Madonna’s childhood friend Messana recalled, she and

little Madonna would make things up and fight over who would get to be the star (Cawley).

Madonna has her marketing brilliance, and her ambitious attitude makes her a well-recognized

entrepreneur and a rich woman. There are thousands of pop singers and artists in the world.

Madonna is the one who manages to succeed financially because from the first day she entered

on the stage; she knows clearly where she is – a place where ambition survives. As Stephen

Brown says, “There is no tougher business than show business. It is a veritable war zone, where

the make-a-buck battle is fought incessantly against countless competitors and a constantly

changing cavalcade of knock-em-dead concepts, products, and brands. It s a battlefield,

moreover, that accounts for an ever-rising proportion of national output and expenditure.”

Survival in the severe competitions of commercial world is a good experience for Madonna.

Madonna’s investment in Maverick does not only reflect her ambitious persona, but also her

outspoken characteristic. Although Madonna contributes a lot of efforts to the operation of

Maverick, the company was operating under substantial losses, costing Madonna millions of

dollars. Madonna had brought a lawsuit against Time Warner in 2004, alleging Maverick was

operating under poor management and seeking millions of dollars in damages. Madonna also

wanted to end to the joint-venture relationship between the two companies. Though Madonna

was the owner of Maverick, Time Warner was actually the big boss. Madonna signed with

Warner Bros. in 1982. Most of her artistic activities were sponsored by Time Warner. Even when

Madonna ruled Maverick, Time Warner still had the talk. It is worth noting that Madonna risked

her music career for suing her own company. Madonna is really straight on her problem. She

insists on what she thinks, even if it would offend other people. On this issue, Madonna did not
surrender. Eventually, Madonna was bought out of Maverick by Time Warner, and she continues

to record with Warner Bros. Madonna’s outspokenness won. Most important, Time Warner

cannot afford to lose Madonna. Madonna knows her value.

Madonna’s multiplicity never ends. In 2003, Madonna launched her venture in storybook

making. She published her first children’s book The English Roses, targeting children from ages

four to nine. Madonna’s engagement as a children’s book author aroused a lot of criticism from

society. Some thought she would be incompetent as a children’s book writer, either because her

“tramp” image would set up a terrible role model for her little readers, or because of her poor

skills in writing a children’s book (R.S.). Some have criticized her book as having too much text

for little kids and too many pictures to attract older children (Gurdon). No matter how negative

the reviews are, her book has been translated into more than twenty-five languages and

distributed in 100 countries, aiming to attract little international readers. The English Roses is

about four girls who are jealous about a beautiful fifth girl and behave frostily to her. Even

though this is a book for kids, librarians have called it an “issue-driven” book. The moral lesson

addressed in The English Roses has made the book more seemingly suitable for adults. As

Gurdon says, children reach for books of exciting adventure far more quickly than they do for

books of virtue. Gurdon also raises a question in his article in the Wall Street Journal that

whether any child will beg to hear The English Roses more than once or twice. In spite the fact

that Madonna’s The English Roses is marketing as a children’s book, it appears more likely to be

for adults who could understand the moral issue. One possible reason for Madonna packaging

her book as a children’s book is that, her name could be introduced into the younger generations

who might become her fans when they grow up. After the release of her book, Madonna has

been busy publicizing her image into the children readers, such as reading the book to them in
the library. Even though Madonna has been a legend, after decades, her name would possibly be

forgotten by later generations. One way to maintain her reputation is to go into the younger kids

and make them know whom Madonna is.

The facet reflected in Madonna’s writing is much more emotional and tender. “When

asked why she decided to write children’s books, Madonna said that she was inspired by her

Kabbalah teacher to share with children some of the wisdom she had learned as an adult” (St.

James). The fifth character Madonna designed for The English Roses resembles the little

Madonna on many ways. The little girl’s mother dies, she has a lot of chores, she has no friends

and she is lonely. Madonna’s book is very like the fairy tale Cinderella, and she is reflecting her

image as a modern day Cinderella through her writing. The fairy-tale Cinderella has no mother.

She is tortured by her evil stepmother with lots of work. While Madonna grew up, very like

Cinderella, she was not under the protection of her mother, she had a lot of responsibilities and

she did not like her stepmother. What is different is that, Cinderella is not lonely, but Madonna

was. Madonna was too busy with her chores to find friends. Although the fairy-tail Cinderella

has no mother, she has a lot of friends. Her life is accompanied by the birds, the squirrels, the

rabbits, etc. And the most important, she is rescued by the handsome Prince. Real life is not fairy

tail. There is no glass shoes or prince. Madonna did not expect her prince to save her out from

her situation. Madonna’s childhood experience deserves sympathy. If she were Cinderella, she

would have been someone very gentle. However, Madonna’s persona is not shaped that way.

Reality is cruel. If she is not rescued by anybody, then Madonna is the only one who could save

herself. She needs to be tough to get rid of her situation. As she said, “I’m going to be really

strong if I can’t have my mother. I am going to take care of myself” (Taraborrelli 13). The way

she behaved strongly is through her rebellious attitude, not because she was born into such a girl,
but the environment she lived in determines so. According to Russell Long, Madonna’s high

school boyfriend, Madonna “wasn’t like most other students. There was a group f kids who were

just the odd ones, the ones most of the students thought were sort of creepy. Madonna was in that

bunch. She didn’t assimilate into the student body, rather she was one of those kids on the fringe,

sort of one the sidelines smirking at everyone else” (Taraborrelli 25). Actually, Madonna is eager

for understanding of her wildness and her loneliness. As in her book, she names the little girl

who mirrors her “Binah”, which means understanding. It is the claim that Madonna understands

what life would be for a little girl if no mother exists. It is also Madonna’s appeal to the public

for understanding of her actions. Madonna had developed a very good relationship with her

dancing instructor Christopher Flynn, who is about thirty years older than her. It is not easy to

get along with Madonna since she has been setting up fences around her to protect herself. And

Christopher Flynn is not quite easy-going. As Whitley Setrakian said, Madonna “worked well

with Christopher Flynn, though a lot of other students didn’t. He was a delightful person, and yet

scary in ballet class because if he thought you were lazy he would pinch you really hard and

leave little blood blisters on you. I had some trepidation about that, but Madonna didn’t. She

liked it, actually. He was flamboyant and sarcastic, like her” (Taraborrelli 30). Flynn understands

Madonna’s inner world and appreciates Madonna’s hostile persona. In her book, Madonna does

not only design the character Binah, but also other four characters and develops a story line that

the four little girls are guided by the godmother and find out the what kind of girl Binah is, and

eventually, they understand Binah’s problem and make friend with her. The story has a happy

ending, which is actually what Madonna wants. The fairy godmother sums up in the book, “In

the future, you might think twice before grumbling that someone else has a better life than you.”

This is Madonna’s wisdom she mentioned. Thinking twice means to understand. Her behaviors
and actions are criticized, or her persona is accused of. The tender side of Madonna asks for

understanding. Through her writing, her innermost feelings are shown to the public.

Madonna’s multiple facets are not only shown in her various careers but also in her

mercurial attitudes. From the beginning, Madonna has been trying to set up her image as a pop

star. She is bold in her expression, and her actions are extreme. Sometimes she is even impudent.

In her 2003 Girlie Show in Puerto Rico, Madonna scrubbed the nation’s national flag around her

body, which caused uproar in the society. The critics were very harsh. Puerto Rico’s congress

condemned Madonna for abusing their national flag. A lot of Puerto Ricans gathered near

Madonna’s mansion in Miami to protest against her disrespect for the flag. As Richard Corliss

from Time Magazine says, “It is tough to stay on top by spanking somebody’s bottom.”

Madonna is always pushing the boundary, which impresses the public with her rude and

disrespectful attitude. Madonna is impudent, but she is not wicked. She is like a spoiled kid who

plays tricks on other people, but not in a bad intention. As her brother Christopher said, “She was

spoiled from he very beginning…But she was good-hearted” (Taraborrelli 9). When she is on

stage, Madonna might appear crazed and wild; she has another facet hidden under her saucy

appearance. Her former manager Freddy DeMann remembered a story happened during

Madonna’s show. “I remember a time, long after her first taste of fame, when a girl in one of her

audiences was being pushed around by some guys in front, trying to get closer to her. Suddenly,

the girl went down, into the crowd. It was as if she was going to get stomped. Then a couple of

guys went down after her, and none of them came up. Madonna was watching the whole thing.

She stopped the show, stopped singing, and called security out and told them to help that girl”

(Taraborrelli 36). Madonna’s consideration for the girl indicated that she has her gentle side. She

is a tough lady, and at the same time, she is considerate. One controversial topic about
Madonna’s personal life is her relationship with her father. As her attitude shows, she is really

rebellious toward her father. It seams there is a big problem that cannot be solved between her

and her father. However, Madonna defiant persona does not mean she hates her father. She is

hiding her feelings. Madonna’s cousin Gina Magnetti reported that Madonna once had a big fight

with her father. “I thought Uncle Tony would have a stroke, his face got red, his blood pressure

shot up and he looked like he was being stricken. Madonna got scared and ran to him. Down on

her knees in front of him, she started crying and apologizing. ‘I’m so sorry,’ she kept saying. ‘I

didn’t mean it. I didn’t mean it.’ An apology to her father? Why, that was a major concession on

her part” (Taraborrelli 34). Madonna’s persona is quite complicated to be analyzed. No matter

how wayward she was, Madonna is soft-hearted.

After Madonna became a mother, she is trying to project a maternal image to the public.

When she was in the showroom with Oprah Winfrey, Madonna brought tears to the audience

when she described feeling her baby kicking on Mother’s Day. She is taking her way to turn

herself from a bossy girl into a nurturing mother, which aroused a lot of discussions. As her

career in pop music declines, she is trying to shift the public focus from her venture to her

nurture. Every time when she is in public, she would talk about her daughter and her experience

as a mother. Her children’s book writing also has something to do with her maternal idea. As she

explained to the media, she was disappointed with the quality of stories available to read to her

daughter and son. She “couldn’t believe how vapid and vacant and empty all the stories were”

(Gurdon). “There were no lessons. I don’t see anybody struggling for things.” She also said,

“Raising children makes us more responsible and more thoughtful about our own actions and

their consequence for those around us.” This is a really laudable sentiment. The problem is, her

action diverges from her lofty announcements. She sets up an image of mother and tries to get
support from maternal females. However, maternity does not seam to have any impact on

Madonna’s personality. If Madonna thinks that motherhood makes her more thoughtful about her

actions, she would not have the controversial kiss with Britney Spears at the MTV awards, while

everybody’s children were watching. Some critics say that her high-sounding statement

somehow sounds like a faint whiff of hypocrisy. She defines her own way as being a mother. As

she announced to USA Today, “My having a child is not for public consumption. It’s not a

career move. It’s not a performance to be judged and rated” (Cawley). Her figure as a mother

could be dated back to her childhood. After her mother died, little Madonna not only learned to

take care of herself, she also took good care of her brothers and sisters. “As the oldest girl, she

was happy to take on the maternal role with her siblings. In fact, her brother Martin remembers

that Madonna not only fed the younger children but she always made sure that they were

properly dressed for school. ‘I didn’t resent having to raise my brothers and sisters as much as I

resented the fact that I didn’t have my mother,’ Madonna confirmed” (Taraborrelli 13).

Madonna’s way of raising her siblings and her daughter is totally based on her perception of

what a mother would do. She did not have a maternal model in her life telling her what a mother

should do since her mother died when Madonna was young. She defines a mother’s job

according to her understanding.

In 2006, Madonna founded a charity non-profit organization Raising Malawi to help with

the extreme poverty and hardship endured by the Malawi one million orphans, in order to set up

her image as a philanthropist. Her philanthropic action was supposed to get a lot of welcoming

from society, but, on the contrary, it aroused a lot of critics. To show her maternal kindness in

helping the children in Malawi, Madonna names the organization “Raising Malawi”, which treats

the village as a child of her. The marketing imagery and language of Raising Malawi is the
focusing point of criticism. As Mana Prochuk criticizes, “In case someone might miss the parent-

child metaphor implicit in Raising Malawi’s name, the logo confirms it: a silhouette of a child

atop an adult’s shoulder has been stamped all over the charity’s promotional materials.” The

problem is not on raising the children, but on who raises them. The marketing strategy of Raising

Malawi consistently conveys a message that Madonna is the woman in the world who could save

these children from poverty and help them become the future of Malawi. The role that local

adults play in the care of Malawi’s children is hidden under Madonna’s maternal role in the

charity. From the website of Raising Malawi, to the documentary I Am Because We Are,

Malawian women are either nowhere to be seen or appearing in a montage of portraits of sick

and dying people. Reductive motherly imagery of local women could highlight Madonna’s

maternal image. Also, Madonna’s adoption of two Malawi kids is controversial. Human rights

group in Malawi want injunction against her adoption of David Banda because the child’s

biological father did not what to lose the custody of his own son (Carrillo). Even though her

benevolent actions trigger a lot of negative criticism, Madonna never gives up her determination

for charitable work. She always acts according to her will regardless of other’s opinions. She

knows what she is doing.

It is worth noting that many of her charity work relates to children, especially orphans.

As for Raising Malawi, Madonna’s aim is to bring an end to the extreme poverty and hardship

endured by Malawi’s two millions orphans and vulnerable children. Also, as mentioned before,

her writing is targeting children. No matter how brassy she is, in her later stage, Madonna tries so

hard to build up her maternal quality. The formative event in her life that contributes to

Madonna’s pursuit of maternity is her mother’s death in Madonna’s childhood. Madonna’s

mother died of breast cancer at the age of thirty when Madonna was only six years old. As she
told Prime Time Live, “I really did feel completely abandoned at that point in my life, and I am

sure that has influenced very decision that I have made and sort of left me with a feeling, a

hunger, a longing, a feeling of emptiness” (Cawley). Madonna’s growing up without her

mother’s love really makes her childhood incomplete. Her suffering turns out to be a motive to

build up her own maternity as compensation. Madonna gave birth to her daughter little Lourdes,

without marrying her daughter’s father. She has said that there is no need to get married because

she is perfectly happy with the way things are (Cawley). What Madonna needs is not a man, but

a child to heal the pain she felt growing up without a mother. From the beginning of her career,

Madonna has appeared as a tough woman who controls her own life and manipulates whatever

goes on around her. It is the mention of her mother or her motherhood that makes Madonna’s

tough image softer. Madonna’s maternity is not confined to her own daughter. She also adopted

two kids from Malawi. Interestingly, both of these two kids, Mercy and David, are not

completely in orphanage. Their biological fathers are still alive, but mothers dead. Madonna’s

adoption aroused a lot of opposition, however, she still insists on her adoption. Mercy’s father

told CBS News that he wants to take care of his daughter, and he is capable to take care of

Mercy (McElroy). And David’s father told the Associated Press that he sees no reason why he

should give away his son (Carrillo). However, Madonna does not think the same as the fathers or

the public. To Madonna, the mother’s nonexistence means complete orphanage. She suffers the

pain of growing up without a mother. Mercy and David would feel the same pain for being in the

situation of no mother. The existence of father cannot make up the emptiness. Madonna has

emphasized so much on the role of mother in a kid’s childhood that she wants to be mother of

every kid who has no mother. As in Raising Malawi, the diminished role of Malawi women also

reflects Madonna’s hunger for motherhood. Madonna once made a statement that Raising
Malawi is one of her proudest achievements. She considered this as an achievement because

through Raising Malawi she has become mother of two million kids, a great success that fulfills

her maternal eager. Madonna’s maternal image has much to do with her love and hate

relationship with her father. In Madonna’s mind, no women could take the place of her mother.

However, her mother is not here any more, there must be a female figure in the family to take

care of everyone. And that is Madonna. She had been trying to get approval from her father as a

surrogate mother. As she said, “I was looking for a mother figure” (Taraborrelli 14). She was

trying very hard to prove that she was competent to take care of her mother’s children. She was

trying to convince her father that they did not need a stepmother. However, she failed. Her father

married their housekeeper, creating a mother figure in the family. Her stepmother does not only

replace Madonna’s mother, but also Madonna’s role as a surrogate mother. Her father’s second

marriage ceased Madonna’s maternal intention, leaving her anger and eagerness. Since her

willingness to be a mother figure was denied, Madonna turned back to the role as a daughter, a

rebellious daughter. Her mother’s death created the emptiness, while Madonna’s father deepened

her emptiness.

Though Madonna projects her images that fluctuate ambiguously, she is confronted with

the problem of being stuck with the name of “Material girl” after the release of the song

“Material Girl”. The song has made Madonna an icon of materialism. In the video, Madonna

posits herself under the superficial mask of material girl who desires money and jewelry, but out

of the frame she dreams for simple romance. Many magnates cluster around Madonna, offering

her cash, diamond and furs to attract her attention. It looks like she is impressed by all these

material things. In fact, she turns them down and goes on a date with a director who offers her

flowers. As Madonna says, the song is an irony. However, the impact of “Material Girl” was not
circumscribed by the video, but by the lyrics. Contrary to what the video portrays, Madonna’s

public image is symbolized by the lyrics “You know that we are living in a material world and I

am a material girl” “The boy with cold hard cash is always Mr. Right” “If they don’t give me

proper credit I just walk away”. The concept projected by the lyrics has attached to Madonna for

decades. As Simon During says, “with the release of her debut album, the entertainment industry

quickly hits on ‘The Material Girl’ as a fitting moniker for the budding star that has stuck with

her ever since.” Madonna has often remarked that “Material Girl” is the song she most regret

recording, as the name has became a pseudonym for her in mainstream media. As she said in an

interview, when she is ninety, she will still be the material girl. After this song, her ever-

changing image is permanently defined by this word. The “Material Girl” video does not only set

up Madonna’s image as a material girl, she is also being equated to Marilyn Monroe. This is the

first time that Madonna’s image is defined by other person. During her career, Madonna has

been trying very hard to reinvent her image and style to remain fresh and innovative. However,

her material girl image is not her innovation. People always associate her with Monroe’s take on

“Diamonds Are a Girl’s Best Friend.” Madonna tries to make it clear that she is actually not like

Monroe. “Madonna projected an image of the self-possessed woman who will get out of life

exactly what she wants regardless of what nay man might want her to be. She conveyed a

strength of will rarely matched by any other pop singer, woman or man” (St. James). Compared

with Monroe, Madonna is actually stronger and more independent.

Not only do Madonna’s persona vary all the time, the concepts reflected in her songs also

changes, from decadence in “Like a Virgin” to counter-war in “American Life.” The seductive

Madonna is quite different from her later singing style. In the recent decades, her musical

expression expands to the area of politics. As the concepts delivered in “American Life”, what
Madonna sings reflects the public resentment to the Iraq War. In the music video, Madonna

appears in a military uniform. She is acting like a superhero who express the idea of the public.

What is recognizable in this video is not Madonna’s ironic performance, but her pronunciation of

her opinion through her music. Madonna’s music is not simply music; it is Madonna herself. Her

persona is clearly reflected though her musical expression. She is daring in her announcements.

She has the ability to stir public emotions, either religiously or politically. In this song she is

taking every chance to vent her anger on the beats and raps. Madonna is provocative. Madonna is

not involved in politics. However, as usual, she has her way to get involved, not only herself, but

also her audience. Madonna is a stunning woman.

Madonna impresses her audience with her multifaceted nature. She announces who she is

and how she lives to the world. As the lyrics from her single says, “Unlike the others, I’d do

anything/I’m not the same; I have no shame.” Her fame is built on her multiplicity, and the way

she defines her multiplicity. Madonna is like a piece of diamond. The more facets there are, the

more scintillating the diamond is. This is also true for Madonna. With all these multiple facets,

she catapults from obscurity to international stardom. Madonna knows clearly the benefit she

would get from her multiple images and personalities. She is not set to any fixed image, and she

maintains her novelty in the topic of public. She is not the best. However, being multifaceted, she

became the most famous. As Encyclopedia introduces, “Madonna has successfully reinvented

herself many times since she first appeared on the American scene. There is no doubt that she

will continue inhabiting new roles, creating new looks, and exploring new territory, creating

controversy and attracting attention, for many years to come.” This is Madonna.

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