Diana Prince, better known as Wonder Woman or the Amazonian Warrior Princess, is one of the most recognizable female superhero icons in the world. Created in 1941 by lawyer and psychologist William Moulton Marston, she has been hailed from the start as a "new prototype woman": independent, strong, resolute, warrior-like, and intelligent – an image of an Amazonian goddess with supernatural strength who, after escorting a stranded Captain Trevor back to Earth, becomes the scourge of the Nazis.
The need for a new prototype woman was expressed by Marston himself:
"Even women themselves do not want to be women while our archetype of femininity lacks strength, fortitude and power..."
The American Scholar, 1944 (Tartakovsky, 2011)
With this idea in mind, Marston turned to Greco-Roman culture, which the U.S. claims as its heritage, for inspiration and to shape his character, a representative of that new archetype. On one hand, he legitimized the strength and powers of Wonder Woman by making her an Amazon, a civilization from ancient Greek mythology composed entirely of warrior women whose army and valor were known throughout the world – so much so that in the mythological universe many heroes seek their aid for military support. On the other hand, he gave Wonder Woman the name Diana, the Roman counterpart to the Greek goddess Artemis, a deity of hunting, inhabitant and protector of nature, and a maiden "virgin" committed. The goddess was always accompanied by her weapon – an arrow – and her hunters, with whom she formed a small but self-sufficient female community.
By taking these Greco-Roman inspirations, symbols of independence and strength, and wrapping them in American symbolism – Wonder Woman's costume is a reinvention of the flag – Marston makes an appeal: Wonder Woman represents (or should represent) the new model of American woman.
The 1940s: A Change for Women?
The context in which Wonder Woman was born certainly invited the creation of a "new model woman." The Second World War had turned the U.S. into the main supplier of arms after the enactment of the Cash and Carry Act of 1939, making it possible to sell weapons to allied countries in conflict. As a result, factories needed to increase production and, consequently, their need for labor:
However, with the official entry of the U.S. into the conflict on December 7, 1941 after the attack on Pearl Harbor, this labor force would be called upon to serve as soldiers, combatants, and personnel for the war effort. It then became clear that women, who had previously been confined to their domestic sphere, needed to work.
The propaganda promoting female employment was overwhelming. Not only in factories; women were called upon as nurses, guerrillas, aviators, hostesses, etc. The media shifted from presenting them chatting, knitting, and happy in their new homes to showing them working, helping decisively towards victory by joining the army or working in factories and fields – for example, the famous Rosie, "the riveter," emerged.
Thus, it is no coincidence that a character like Wonder Woman was born in this context. It was necessary to transmit value, strength, and utility to the feminine image, which had been traditionally silenced and, very notably, after the first and second waves of feminism.
The Realities of Post-War
These changes were, however, temporary. After the victory in the war, the labor force returned and with it went the need for this "new model woman." All labor propaganda aimed at women disappeared and gave way to unprecedented domestic campaigns. Women were re-educated through advertising and schools. Women's magazines eliminated all traces of previous strength and independence and showed women once again immersed in maternal and domestic life, in the private sphere, with an intensity that led many women to what Betty Friedan calls, in her The Feminine Mystique, "the nameless evil."
What happened then with Wonder Woman, born precisely in the previous scenario as a "new model of femininity"? With Marston's death in 1947, just two years after the war, the character was left out of context and her message forcibly erased by her successors. Editor Robert Kanigher – later replaced by Mike Sekowsky – took over Diana Prince's story and, aware of his influence as an "example of femininity," transformed it. Wonder Woman lost her powers, hung up her costume, worked running a clothing store, and devoted herself to winning the heart of Captain Trevor.
Conclusion
In the decade of the 1970s, coinciding with the impacts of third-wave feminism, the superheroine reclaimed her original role and story. It is ironic that Marston's Greco-Roman inspirations foreshadowed this social rejection.
The savagery and perversion of natural values demonstrated by the Amazons in rejecting male leadership and taking women to positions reserved for them caused revulsion among Greeks. Thus, in geography books they were placed far from the known civilized world – Herodotus' and Demetrius' works are examples of this –. Awe-inspiring but feared. Diana Prince shared their fate many centuries later: on society's margins, waiting for it to be ready for her.
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