Assassin’s Creed Liberation (2012) is renowned for being the first video game in the Assassin’s Creed franchise to have a woman as a playable protagonist. Naturally, this was the main selling point of the game, which was first released on the new PlayStation Vita system. The settings of the game are the Louisiana bayou, New Orleans city, Chitzen Itza in Mexico and briefly New York, set in the late 18th century. Aveline’s objective is to dismantle the oppressive control the Knights Templars have over the region. The game was met with considerable praise for Aveline, the protagonist, with one critic stating, “Aveline is the kind of character I’d like to see more of in gaming” (Ingenito, 2014). A defining feature of Aveline’s story is the persona choices. This refers to the different outfits (and behaviours associated with them) Aveline can choose to wear to utilise different features in different spatial environments. There are three different personae available to Aveline. First is the default assassin outfit, secondly the slave disguise and finally the lady persona (Figures 1, 4 & 6). Each outfit changes the way Aveline can act and the way others act around her. The relationship women have with space has been a topic of immense interest to feminist geographers such as Doreen Massey (1994) and Linda McDowell (1999). Yet there is still a clear lack of coverage relating to imagined spaces, i.e. those in video games. Consequentially, the crux of this paper will focus on how different spatial environments, in this virtual world, influence the choice of each outfit/persona of Aveline’s, and her spatial conformity and the extent of acceptance she receives from those around her in her environment, whilst relating this to real world geographic historical and contemporary examples.
Aveline the Assassin
Figure 1: Aveline’s Assassin Outfit. Author’s own image.
The first outfit of Aveline’s to be analysed is the assassin ensemble (Figure 1). This outfit ties the game into the Assassin’s Creed genre with every protagonist in the series having their own unique robes. Interestingly, Aveline is the first and only protagonist to not have the notorious assassin hood; rather Aveline dons a hat by default but a hood can be purchased in-game. This was likely the case to draw attention to her long ponytail emphasising her femininity when compared to the previous protagonists. Aveline’s conspicuous ponytail could even be related theologically with specific reference to 1 Corinthians 11:15, “but that if a woman has long hair, it is her glory? For long hair is given to her as a covering.” (New International Version). The work of Simone de Beauvoir (1949) can also be applied here. de Beauvoir ascertained women are defined as the “other”. By this she refers to the phallocentric nature of defining society where men are seen as the natural form and women are the “other”; therefore a woman’s most defining feature is that she is not man. Similarly, Sutherland et al’s (2015) research can also be applied here. They found women who had strong facial features, such as a prominent nose, long face, pointed chin etc. where often viewed as cold, wicked or serious. Aveline’s hat, whilst sacrificing facial anonymity, allows her facial features to be displayed. Aveline’s facial features can be described as traditionally feminine, and so, allows her characterisation and unveiling to be more positive. As a result she is not seen as a 'female intrusion' on a male space. Moreover, in giving her a more noticeable face in her assassin outfit, rapport is built easier and can be argued to pave the way for future female characters, such as Evie, Kassandra and Eivor, the successor women characters in the franchise. It 'eases' a change in the fan base, and the female assassin is given an identity which can be carried on and evolved in future expansions.
Nonetheless, as the outfit description in Figure 1 states, Aveline’s assassin outfit enables her to “climb freely” and is “best suited for combat”. As a result, it grants access to all of Aveline’s weapons allowing them to be utilised. However, the hamartia Aveline faces when in this outfit is that “The Assassin persona is always notorious, and guards are quick to notice her”. Naturally, this emphasises the gender stereotypes of the 18th century colonial zeitgeist as a woman suited for combat would be out of place within many places of this era. Ironically, one of the tenants of the Assassins’ Creed is to “work in the dark to serve the light”, i.e. remain inconspicuous in order to vanquish your enemies; however when Aveline is suited in her assassin robe she is automatically notorious to an extent by all guards. Therefore, Aveline, assumedly along with every other noticeable female assassin of the era, faces challenges to remain anonymous that her male counterparts do not face when in her assassin robes. The work of Linda McDowell (1999) is relevant here as she believes certain spaces are intrinsically defined as masculine and other spaces are defined as feminine. The American 18th century was a definite gendered era with the public space belonging to men whilst the home was the “correct” space for women. As McDowell asserts, any woman who did not stay in her proper place risked public criticism. As a result of this increased attention Aveline faces whilst in her assassin robes, parkour via rooftops or trees is the best way to avoid attention whilst traversing her environments. Granted due to her ability to remain out of sight from the majority of guards. This highlights the different ways some women are treated in certain spaces and the precautions they need to take in order to avoid attention and harm. Whilst Aveline is fully capable of fending off numerous attackers at once (Figure 2), she faces unwanted attention from guards that men in her situation do not face. She faces this unwanted attention as a result of her transgressive outfit.
Figure 2: Aveline Fighting. Suellentrop (2014)
Women who do not conform to the traditional outfit of their sex often face harsh criticism.For instance, Zimmerman (2016) points out that in professional spaces, most commonly associated with cities, if a woman is not dressed extremely sophisticated, even more so than her male counterparts, she garners less respect from her colleagues.Ergo, even in the contemporary real-world women are still faced with portraying certain personae, whether it be the suited businesswoman in professional workspaces or the relaxed mother in the home.A famous example of this double standard is the Fox News Corporation sexual harassment scandal.This involved Roger Ailes, the head of Fox News, who in 2016 was accused by 20 different women working in the Fox News Corporation of sexual harassment.Ailes held the most authoritative position in the network.He used his position of authority not only to sexually assault numerous women (most likely more than 20), but to dictate what they would wear to work and how this would affect their careers (Duramy, 2020).Ailes dictated that if a woman working in Fox wanted to be a television news anchor, she had to wear short skirts to attract viewers.Here a correlation can be drawn between Aveline and the women employees of Fox. To benefit in their spaces
they must conform to that space’s gender norms by outwardly emphasising their femininity. If they do not conform, then there are consequences i.e. Aveline’s increased notoriety and the lack of career progression for Fox employees.
Figure 3: Aveline, Roussillon and Elise. Author’s own image.
However, one environment where Aveline appears to gain empowerment from her assassin robes is the Louisiana bayou region. This harsh swamp land is scantly colonised by slave communities, the occasional guard post and most importantly smugglers. The smugglers are a group led by two people, Roussillon and Elise Lafleur (Figure 3). Within the game however, it is clear Elise holds the most authority and is viewed as the main leader of the smuggler group. Surprisingly here Assassin’s Creed Liberation has taken the unusual step by having more than one woman character in a pivotal action role, a rare occurrence in video games at the time it was released (Chess, 2017). The role of Elise is somewhat to mirror the experience Aveline faces in gendered spaces. Patently the smuggling industry was an extremely masculine environment during the 18th century with little to no women, (with the rare exception of piracy), being accredited to managing it (Creighton & Norling, 1996). Along with Aveline, Elise is breaking into an environment that is not accepting of the traditional lady of the 18th century Louisiana colony. Therefore, both Elise’s and Aveline’s subversions of the traditional dress codes inhibit them to garner presence, and to some extent acknowledgement from their male counterparts, within the bayou region. It is safe to assume that if both women donned the traditional dress of the 18th century and conformed to the spatial gender norms their presence within the region would be questioned. Nevertheless, even when refusing to conform to spatial gender norms, Aveline still faces sexism from men within the bayou region. For instance, Roussillon makes advances towards Aveline throughout their time together, albeit jokingly, but nonetheless this singles her out from the men around her as different.
Aveline the Slave
Aveline’s slave persona (Figure 4) allows her to conform more to gendered expectations in comparison to her assassin outfit.As seen in Figure 4 the slave persona equips Aveline with a knee length skirt with trousers as an undergarment.This allows her to move freely whilst not drawing attention to her based on her outfit.This also appears relatively inconspicuous as a slave would be required to wear practical clothes along with not being allowed to wear “civilised” attire.According to Wares (1981) the “Basic garment of female slaves consisted of a one-piece frock or slip of coarse "Negro Cloth." Cotton dresses, sunbonnets, and undergarments were made from handwoven cloth for summer and winter”.Therefore, practicality appears to have more importance than femininity regarding slave outfits.This works in Aveline’s favour as it allows her to be equipped with a machete when in the slave garb as numerous slaves are equipped with machetes for agricultural work in-game.
Figure 4: Aveline’s Slave Outfit. Author’s own image.
However, she is restricted to the machete as a result of her outfit as a sword or axe would be too conspicuous. When equipped, the slave persona makes Aveline more easily scrutinised by guards for “unacceptable” behaviour i.e. running, fighting, or climbing. Interestingly, the assassin persona does not raise Aveline’s notoriety when running or climbing; most likely due to the fact her notoriety is already raised, and so physicality draws no more attention than the choice of outfit. Whilst fighting in her slave garb, Aveline also receives various inflammatory remarks from guards such as, “Does your master know you’re out?”. Therefore, whilst Aveline has the physical freedom to manoeuvre throughout her different spaces, she is restricted in her movements and literal freedom if she wishes to remain anonymous.
Figure 5: Aveline Blending Using the Slave Outfit (Sahdev, 2012)
According to Evan Narcisse, who has championed Assassin’s Creed Liberation, “Blackness can be a sort of performance,” (Suellentrop, 2014).Aveline uses this “performance” to fully utilise herself and exploit her surroundings.The main advantage Aveline acquires from the slave persona is the ability to infiltrate restricted areas using the cover of slave labour.Whilst carrying a box Aveline can freely walk past checkpoints into highly fortified and militarised spaces or evade pursuits by blending into the crowd by sweeping floors (Figure 5). Moreover, Aveline only has the option to incite slave riots when in the slave garb. These riots cause distractions and create escape opportunities for Aveline. Assumedly, this is unique to the slave outfit as Aveline garners more acceptance and respect from slaves whilst dressed like one. Aveline the slave carries heavy resemblance to Harriet Tubman the 19th and 20th century slave abolitionist, smuggler and suffragette. Tubman, like Aveline, donned numerous disguises in order to travel to the southern American states in order to free captured slaves and escort them north, freeing at least 77 slaves in her lifetime (Bradford, 2018). Tubman realised that for her to travel to slave colonies she would have to blend with them and once escaped she would have to disguise herself again so as not to look like an escaped slave. Therefore, both women utilise slave disguises to gain entrance to restricted areas and move unnoticed. However, both women have faced challenges when disguised as slaves. Aveline faces abuse from guards, whilst Tubman almost was arrested and enslaved again when caught in her slave disguise. Ergo, the slave outfit, for Aveline and Tubman, provides benefits when manoeuvring certain spaces but is inextricably tied to racial harassment and increased risk of violence especially in heavily urbanised spaces.
Like the assassin persona, Aveline also seemingly acquires more freedom whilst in the bayou region than in New Orleans. San Danje, a community of escaped slaves, is located in the bayou and as a result the slave persona has extra opportunities to blend in this environment. Nonetheless, if Aveline performs physical feats in view of them, such as climbing buildings, her notoriety is still raised. Therefore, whilst Aveline may receive less unwanted attention from those around her she is still scrutinised for her athleticism. This escaped slave colony professes itself in-game as a place for free black people, however it would still appear that whilst these former slaves are physically free from slavery, they are still shackled to the gender norms often imposed unto them by their slavers. As a result, whilst Aveline’s racial qualities are less scrutinised here she is still expected to conform to gender expectations in both slave and “free” areas.
Aveline the Lady
The final persona of Aveline’s is the lady (Figure 6). Aveline comes from a privileged background with her father being a successful white merchant.Due to this, Aveline was raised in high society and is accustomed to the expected behaviours of an 18th century lady.The default colour of green may have been chosen to emphasise Aveline’s Creole ethnicity with the additional intention to characterise her as “earthy” and related to nature; a common imposition upon black and minority ethnic (BME) women in media representations (Gammage, 2015).
Figure 6: Aveline’s Lady Outfit. Author’s own image.
Noticeably when equipped in this outfit Aveline changes her voice to be higher pitched than normal, emphasising her femininity to those she interacts with.Similarly, for Aveline to create her performance of gender, she is restricted in her physicality.She is unable to run faster than a jogging pace, climb buildings without a ladder, has lower health in combat and is greatly restricted in her choice of weapons.She is equipped with the famous hidden blades (hidden under her sleeves), a parasol that shoots poison darts or a small concealable gun if purchased.The hidden blades serve as Aveline’s default weapon of choice when in the lady attire.This serves as a rejection of the assumption that a lady’s primary choice of weapon would be poison.This trope, often referred to as the femme fatale trope, has been analysed by numerous feminist media critics, such as Anita Sarkeesian (2016).It is renowned for being inherently sexist as it serves the assumption that women lack the physical strength to fight an opponent in combat.Aveline’s use of the hidden blades therefore defies this trope as she is physically capable of fighting numerous attackers whilst in her lady attire (Figure 7).
Figure 7: Aveline’s Combat Ability Whilst in Lady Attire. Author’s own image.
She is also able to disarm guards and utilise their weapons against them; although if she carries these weapons in public her notoriety will raise as a result. Like the assassin outfit, Aveline is the only protagonist in the franchise to have her notoriety rise if she is seen carrying a weapon in clothes that reveal her identity. Again, Aveline’s gender is the reason for this. When Aveline conforms to the New Orleans dress code of the 18th century she is expected to behave like a lady as a result. If she is seen carrying weapons this would defy these expectations and draw unwanted attention to her. Like the slave persona, when fighting in the lady outfit Aveline receives derogatory remarks. In this case sexist, from guards such as “Are you going to hit me with your fan?”. The parasol presents an ingenious way for Aveline to utilise her lady persona whilst being unseeingly equipped for a fight. Unlike the small gun, the parasol is less conspicuous and highlights Aveline’s lady-like nature. For Aveline to be equipped to handle herself in a fight without exposing her true nature, her choice of weapons would have to be easily concealed, a quality which the parasol has. Consequentially, Aveline’s job as an assassin can be physically hindered when she conforms to these spatial gendered expectations. For Aveline to create and fully exploit opportunities within New Orleans, whilst in the lady attire, she must rely on her femininity as her social and spatial compass.
Whilst in her formal attire, Aveline’s notoriety increases slower than her other two personae as she is somewhat protected from punishment due to her father’s background. The lady ensemble also grants Aveline the ability to charm guards to lure them into secluded areas, as well as providing her the ability to receive jewels from gentlemen she can sell in shops for a profit (Figure 8). An example of this benefit was utilised when assigned the Governor of New Orleans as an assassination target. Aveline gains access to his formal garden party using the lady attire, charms him and lures him to a secluded area, then assassinates him, all whilst remaining unnoticed. As a result, unlike Aveline’s male counterparts within the game franchise, she is able to exploit her gender in urban spaces (especially in formal areas), in order to acquire access to her targets much more discreetly. Assumedly, this is granted due to the decreased public belief of her being threating as it would be assumed if she conforms to dress codes she would ergo conform to behavioural codes as well, specifically those of passiveness and gentleness often associated with women throughout the misogynistic zeitgeist of the 18th century (Cihangir, 2012).
Figure 8: Aveline’s Charm Ability. Author’s own image
Nonetheless, like many women throughout historical and contemporary society, feminine clothing has often been restrictive and detrimental to women in numerous ways. Gillian Rose (1993) noted that when women wear short skirts or other revealing choices of clothing, they are much more apprehensive about where they choose to travel, especially if they are alone. The fear of physical assault often hinders many women from exploring or experiencing spaces to a full extent. In this case, Aveline is no exception to this exclusion and harassment. Aveline is only able to equip the lady persona in New Orleans, refusing access to the bayou and other regions within the game if she is in this outfit, presumably as a lady would be too conspicuous in any area other than a city or urban space. When Aveline dons the lady attire she can be harassed and attacked by muggers in alleyways in New Orleans. Although Aveline can fight off these attackers, many other women have not been able to and have unfortunately become victims of crime. Gill Valentine (1989) covers this is detail specifying how the fear of violence in itself can dictate where women travel. As Friedan (1963) believes, it could therefore be assumed that, as a result of societies’ demands for ladies to be reliant on men for protection and to say at home for safety, many women are not prepared to deal with physical dangers and threats. Many societies may still be seen as reluctant as 18th century Louisiana to encourage women to learn self-defence and increase their physical strength, whilst teaching men to be less aggressive, evident by contemporary crime records, as they would contradict their seemingly inherent gender stereotypes.
In conclusion, all three of Aveline’s personae provide unique benefits and disadvantages to possess. The assassin allows full movement and access to all weapons but is automatically conspicuous, the slave persona grants Aveline the ability to infiltrate restricted areas and blend with slaves but gains notoriety the quickest and reduces weapon availability, whilst the lady persona grants Aveline the ability to charm and bribe guards but decreases her health and greatly restricts her movement. Therefore, for Aveline to fully exploit her surroundings a contextual approach needs to be taken, with each situation calling for a different approach. This can be seen to reflect contemporary society as women and men change their image in order to conform to the various spaces they are in throughout the world. However, as conforming expectations change, gender still appears to be a defining aspect of a person’s relationship to space. Therefore, this begs the question, would Aveline be treated any differently in the contemporary zeitgeist or would she still need to utilise her gender to achieve acceptance in certain spaces?
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