Note: Responses have been left basically as commentators typed them, so don't blame me for spelling and grammatical errors.
Here's the opinion that started it all. I think someone's been reading a bit too much Freud... :)
How could you say that Jareth, the epitome of sex appeal, or whatever you said, doesn't have problems with the generative organs? First, as you mentioned, the story's ending is pre-written by the fairy-tale genre. Jareth is impotent as a villain, because he is destined to lose from the beginning, and he knows it.
He is always failing in his attempts to subdue and defeat Sarah, and she always conquers his hindrances.
He fails in his attempt to seduce Sarah -- a social impotence, if you will. You mentioned androgyny, and that is what Jareth is. He has a rather effeminate build, and has the 'trophy wife' vanity thing going on. He has un-masculine hair, wears make-up, sings and dances, etc. Forgive the stereotype of what's feminine, but keep in mind that it's cultural, not personal. (I'm a Goth, and I wear make-up and have long hair.) He's not a masculine person at all, and that's often associated with impotence.
Bowie is an attractive man, but that doesn't mean that Jareth can't be impotent.
Besides, his whole world is destroyed at the end and he loses all of his power. [And here's the best line. ---->] If he wasn't impotent throughout the film, then Sarah surely castrates him in the climax.
In response (using the same Freudian tone :) ), I would urge this person to take note of the many phallic symbols that surround Jareth: the snake that he throws at Sarah in the beginning, his cane that he jabs Hoggle with, and his boots. (Think about it: they're high and stiff and they make him appear bigger than he really is. :) ) These articles obviously denote virility and mastery.
Another lover of Freud provides a rebuttal, fortunately with a sense of humor.
OK... so perhaps it is a little silly to argue the possibility of Jareth's impotence... (We don't really WANT him to be, do we? ;) ) Just to play the devil's proverbial advocate, couldn't Jareth be using these as compensation methods? OK, OK, I know I'm being a tad ridiculous... It's just the first thing that popped into my head when I read that.... Love the site, btw... overanalyzers unite!
Another Jareth fanatic fires back at the original argument, getting really personal.
strangely, i worship you. i am only 16, and i saw the movie when it came out in theaters. now, i can recite it word for word, action for action (talk about memory).
i think that every woman (girl) of their right mind that has seen the movie has (even for a brief moment) had a urge to be with Jareth. his character is captivating; he has a smoothness of words. never once did he falter under pressure. even when Sarah stood up to him and recited "dangers untold" , he was taken back, but stood and continued, "fear me"... i read the comments and the person who challanged Jareth's manliness needs to honestly watch the movie...and look. Jareth was frightened; he admitted it, but could our "man" who condemned Jareth admit something like that? i honestly doubt it. keep up the good work.
This person does have a point, you know. :)
Of course , we don't really WANT Jareth to be impotent, but, with those tight grey pants (dreamy sigh), how can he not be? Mwahhahhahhah!
This person believes that the question of Jareth's impotence is immaterial, seeing as how he hasn't had a chance yet to find out about his potency. I'll admit that this theory is attractive. When one considers his overeager and messy attempts to get Sarah's attention and his insistence on wearing pants that show certain parts off to good advantage, one has to start thinking that perhaps he's promising more sex than he's ever delivered.
Btw, sometimes I think that Jareth may be a virgin... Perhaps a little bit weird, but I don't think he seduced all the little girls which were searching for their baby brothers -- when we assume that Sarah is the first girl / woman he falls in love with... Okay, I think too much about this film...
Here an individual puts the issue in a wider context and suggests that maybe it can't be resolved because it goes along with Jareth's paradoxical nature...
I was intrigued by the impotence discussion, not because of the question itself but because so many people were interested in the subject. I guess I've succumbed too, because otherwise I would never be prompted to write about this.
Although "Labyrinth" is perhaps not the most notable of Henson's work, Jareth is a most fascinating character. He seems to be the one character whom everyone remembers, and your site sort of highlighted that enigma for me. Why does he have so many fans?
I think it has to do with his "intermediate" nature. He seems, for
example, very real to Sarah, yet he embodies her fantasies. The fantasies he
embodies are both immature and mature. Physically he is a male, yet he possesses
feminine traits. He presents Sarah with a variety of dominant sexual symbols,
yet he cannot dominate her in the end. He manifests himself in both human and
non-human forms. He is a powerful sorcerer, yet he cannot
really leave the
domains of his labyrinth. He says, "Do what I say and I will be your slave,"
which represents a paradox. Your suggestion that he mirrors Sarah is interesting
in this respect, because Sarah is herself in an intermediate position: She is
not quite a child, not quite an adult.
This individual wonders just what the implications are if Jareth isn't a virgin. I must say, her sense of humor is much like mine.
who would he have lost it [his virginity] to? a goblin? or another girl half his age trying toget her brother back. maybe Sarah should go back to Jareth's castle in a R rated sequel and find out for sure -- except he's like 50 now. hmmmm.....
The Freudian line of discussion returns. Don't ya just love phallic imagery? :P
And impotent...I THINK NOT... any student of Freud will point out Jareth is never in a scene without a fertility, or phallic, symbol. Jareth is the epitome of desire (in both sexes, hence the androgyny). You don't get to be an epitome of desire and be IMPOTENT!
A rebuttal to the original equation of effeminacy and impotence.
After all the dreams, after all the fantasies (damn, I sure do live in a dream world) I just can't let myself believe that he could have any problem at all with sex.... Someone who can turn me on that much, or anyone else for that matter.... it just doesn't make sense.... someone who exudes that much sexual energy has got to be able to perform... I mean, that sexuality has to be coming from somewhere! As for those who say Jareth is too effeminate to be potent, I say you are probably very wrong, because I tend to like effeminate guys, and trust me, they haven't got any problems whatsoever.. in fact, in my experience, they're even more... um... excitable? than 'normal' guys. So trust me on this, just cuz a guy looks like a little like a chick, it definitely doesn't mean he can't still act (or react ;)) just like a guy.
Theories about Jareth's sex life -- or lack thereof -- abound. Here's
another.
My one observation deals with the whole Jareth impotency issue. It's pretty safe to say that most fans agree that he is in love with Sarah but cannot express his love to her. Now I'm thinking that he probably stroked it off in his castle alot and then went to go torment her. Afterall, would you want to torture the love of your life with a raging hard-on stabbing out of your extremely tight little pants? Nope.
More evidence from personal experience...
Okay, here is my opinion on the matter. . . I have no clue whatsoever as
to his "actual" state of potency, but in my estimation, Jareth can't be
impotent. First, he's too much of a sex-symbol (considering thate very other
male in the movie is either young, like Toby, old, like Sarah's father, or
non-human, like the goblins/Ludo/Hoggle/etc.). Second, if you take it from the
stand-point that the movie is a dramatic interpretation of Sarah's mental
maturity, well. . . Speaking as woman, I can't see imagining such a powerful
(even if it IS all in Sarah's mind) dashing male who couldn't deliver if he WAS
to get the object of his desire. . . What a letdown that would be. Also, as to
the mention that Jareth is too feminine to not be impotent, may I mention that
how one is built lends a lot to that view.
Jareth is tall, and extremely thin,
which is considered the epitome of female beauty in today's society. Make up is
also considered to be a "female"affectation by today's standards, and wanting to
be well dressed hasn't much to do with potency, either. At any rate, for the
major influence in my belief against the argument that he is too feminine, that
would bethat my lover of several years is rather tall, extremely thin (built
just about equally to Jareth, really), has been known to wear make up (and is
better at applying it than I am) and LOVES to dress well, and look impressively
neat and tidy. If those standards are all that are needed prove him impotent,
then I suppose he is. However, if that is true... I'M living in a dream world.
Or, in my more natural, more sarcastic mode: If my lover is impotent, I'm a
shelving unit.
All psychosexual confusion is helpfully clarified by a generous psych student. ;)
Having taken fun psych classes, I can say that the Freudian nterpretations presented attempting to prove Jerath's impotence were a tad incorrect. All Freudian theory points to the opposite.
To start, 'compensation' was a philosophy of Alfred Adler, who came up with inferiority complexes and such. Adler disagreed quite a bit with Freud.
Freud's assessment would be that Jerath was having an Oedipal crisis -- meaning, he posseses strong narcissism, and, although continually trying to attract the opposite sex, has difficulty establishing a mature heterosexual relationship. He needs continual recognition and appreciation of his attractive and unique qualities. Brash, vain, self-assured and constantly asserting and expressing his masculinity -- what about this definition DOESN'T seem right?
Finally, as far as phallic symbols go, everything Jerath carries with him--from the snake to the balls ^_^-- are masculine symbols. They represent his sexual desire. The Labyrinth, or an enclosed space, is indicative of the female womb. The fact that Jerath 'rules' over it asserts his masculine dominance over the females. Unfortunatly, his Oedipal complex prevents him from completely succeding.
Sorry ta bug ya. Just had to say this.
Looks like a nice place to conlude this document. We've started with Freud and come full circle to end with Freud, with amazing, amusing and just plain weird comments along the way. It seems like the consensus is that Jareth is a sexually potent virgin with feelings of inadequacy who has psychosexual difficulties that prevent him from expressing his emotions in a constructive way. Someone should write some fan fiction: "Jareth Goes to the Therapist." :)