Is the Doctor misogynistic or mean? An examination of the question and Hide.

Is Steven Moffat and Matt Smith's tenure misogynistic? One interesting fan brought up a intriguing point last night regarding eleven's time on the program. They characterize him as being sociopathic with no respect or like for people. They believe Eleven didn't like the Ponds and came across as being mean. Although they understand people believe Eleven loved Amy, they perceive it more as possession rather than love. They cites Eleven talking over Amy and criticising her amongst other things and the writing indicates that the Doctor believes he is better than Amy and denies her agency. They sees a marked difference in the way Ten and Eleven treat women and there are many complicated factors working with together with unfortunate character implications.

 

I mentioned I do have a bias towards Eleven, but I am always open to other people's opinions. It is with this thought that I tried to have an open mind the next time I watched an episode. Hide wasn't only Neil Cross' first script (before The Rings of Akhaten), it was also the first one shot for the second part of season seven. The Wikipedia page details all the cultural and self referential moments along with production history, but for our sake we will try to examine it from my observations.

 

If I were to put aside cultural references such as Clara mentioning Ghostbusters and comedic moments such as when the Doctor talks about toggling, giving faces, and taking selfies, do we have a sexist script or one indicating the Doctor is less than kind?

 

Emma warns Clara, "Don't trust him. There's a sliver of ice in his heart." as she knows the real reason the Doctor arrived at this point in time. He didn't intend to solve ghost stories, but rather find out whether Emma knows anything about Clara. He admits this to Emma near the end of the episode after he put her agony and never thanked her for bringing him back to this realm. In this case, there could be an argument towards saying he is deceitful and neglectful of people surrounding him.

 

We also get moments between him and his companion. When he puts on the orange suit we have seen in previous episodes including The Satan Pit with David Tennant, he says "I think it brings out my eyes" and Clara responds with "It hurts my eyes." This banter with the female companion seems reflective of the rebooted series where the female is always questioning or teasing the doctor. In this case, it could be argued the companions are meaner towards their host than the host is to the guest.

 

As for putting his companions in their place, there is a moment when Clara begins by saying she can't understand a certain amount of technology or equipment and he interjects with he knows she can't understand. On the surface, it could sound patronizing and condensing, but if we were to think of Doctor Who as a real universe than we must also ask whether that trait isn't a truthful reflection? If we are mortals in our twenties talking to an alien who is a thousand years old, that means we have only accumulated .02% of his life experience. Would that same twenty-six year old use the same kind of vernacular if she were speaking to a fetus or newborn?  

 

If we are to say my bias is coming into play, then we can examine a few more examples. There is one where the Doctor is taking snapshots of time and he tells Clara to stay in the Tardis, "Don't breathe, well you can breathe, but shallow breaths." Although I interpret this as a simple, yet cute caution, I can see a place where people could take it as being a bit possessive or mean.

 

 I think the main reason why I have a hard time believing in the Eleven's potential arrogance is he doesn't tend to overstate his cleverness or brilliance like Nine and Ten (and other previous doctors), instead he often uses statements like "Oh, I'm so slow. I am slow. I am notorious for that. That's always been my problem, but I get there in the end. Oh, yes." A person who constantly refers to themselves as stupid, idiotic or slow seems more like they are self deprecating than arrogant.

 

The most telling conversation in the episode is one between Clara and the Doctor in the Tardis. It gets harder for me to transcribe the last bit of Clara's monologue, but I think you will get the gist.

 

Doctor: What's wrong? Did the Tardis say something to you? Are you being mean?
Clara: No, it's not that. Have I just watched the entire cycle of earth from birth to death?
Doctor: Yes.
Clara: And you're ok with that?
Doctor: Yes.
Clara: How can you be?
Doctor: The Tardis, she's time with a wibbly vortex and so on.
Clara: That's not what I mean.
Doctor: That's ok. So help. Context. Cheat sheet. Something?
Clara: I mean one minute you're in 1974 looking at for ghosts, but all you have to do is open your eyes and talk to whoever is standing there. To you, I haven't even been born yet. And to you, I've been dead for a hundred billion of years. Is there really someone out there somewhere? In the ground?
Doctor: Yes, I suppose it is.
Clara: But here we are talking, so I am a ghost? To you, I'm a ghost. We're all ghosts to you. We must be nothing.
Doctor: No. No. You're not that.
Clara: Then what are we? What can we possibly be?
Doctor: You are the only mystery worth solving.

There seems to be a point in every companion's journey when they question the Doctor. There is something unsettling about him and they need to talk it out. I think the conversation is quite telling in what it must be like for the passenger on this journey and for the Doctor as well. 

 

I am inclined to believe that Eleven is the optimist and arguably the one who cares for his companions the most. Despite previous love stories including the more recent Rose Tyler, we don't really see previous incarnations carry a piece of their love with them. Eleven seems more sentimental with him wearing Amy's glasses that he carries next to his heart in his coat and there does seem to be moments of reflection when the companions confront him about life in the TARDIS. I think this sentiment actually allows him to see his companions more as equals, but ones that he also feels a strong need to protect. The childish angst or perhaps the effects of intoxicating power we see in the end of The Waters of Mars and several other episodes with previous Doctors seems to be gone. I would love to hear more from others on what they think.

 

Here are some notes from cast and crew on the episode. On a side note, this is also one of the rare times we see the Doctor without his bowtie. There is a point where he carries it in his hand and the top button of his shirt is undone.