LIT112: The Life of a Showgirl with Mara Eller

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Mara Eller

10 episodes

4 days ago

“Ruin the Friendship” expands on the vulnerability we saw in “Eldest Daughter” and reveals the showgirl at her most human. In this episode, we unpack the song’s quiet heartbreak and the recurring tension between the “good girl” who plays it safe and the artist who longs to live boldly. We’ll trace how Swift’s lyrics move through time, how regret becomes revelation, and how this moment of tenderness deepens the album’s larger story. Don’t miss the writing prompts at the end, or go to www.marae...

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Episodes (10/10)

LIT112: The Life of a Showgirl with Mara Eller

9: “Ruin the Friendship” — the price of playing it safe

4 days ago

18 minutes

LIT112: The Life of a Showgirl with Mara Eller

8: "Eldest Daughter" — the showgirl takes off her makeup

What is this confessional ballad doing in the middle of an album about the glamour of the showgirl life? In this episode, we explore the surprising intimacy and aching vulnerability of “Eldest Daughter.” Our heroine—fresh from the ruthless triumph of “Father Figure”—seems to be asking herself who she’s become and whether she can stay kind, loyal, and true to herself in a world that rewards performance and punishes softness. We’ll unpack the song’s use of slang, its play with hot and col...

1 week ago

16 minutes

LIT112: The Life of a Showgirl with Mara Eller

7: "Father Figure" — professional slavery and the cost of success

In this episode, we dive into “Father Figure” — a song that dramatizes the complex dynamics between a young, vulnerable artist and the powerful adults who offer guidance and protection. We also explore why she credited George Michael and her own battle for creative control. As the final track in Act 1 of this unfolding drama, “Father Figure” shows our heroine at a crossroads, faced with a difficult choice between two less-than-ideal options: surrender to the forces that want to keep her...

1 week ago

30 minutes

LIT112: The Life of a Showgirl with Mara Eller

6: “Opalite” — all that glitters is not . . . opal?

On the surface, “Opalite” sparkles — a feel-good, danceable love song about moving on and finding happiness. But when you look closer, both musically and lyrically, the shimmer seems to be only skin deep. The happiness she’s portraying is not entirely real — it’s manufactured, just like opalite itself. In this episode, we dive into chapter three of the showgirl’s story and uncover a tension between the joyful chorus and the unresolved verses that mirrors the lyrics’ emotional undercurrent. Wh...

2 weeks ago

18 minutes

LIT112: The Life of a Showgirl with Mara Eller

5: "Elizabeth Taylor" — fame's fickle feast

In Track 2, our showgirl finds herself living the life of her dreams yet consumed with aching loneliness and haunting anxiety. Will any of this last? Is it possible to find enduring love in this life she’s chosen? With no one else to ask, she reaches out to the ghost of Elizabeth Taylor: “Do you think it’s forever?” While the song itself doesn’t provide an answer, Elizabeth’s life makes it pretty clear. In this episode, we unpack “Elizabeth Taylor” not just as a pop song, but as a haunt...

2 weeks ago

23 minutes

LIT112: The Life of a Showgirl with Mara Eller

4: "The Fate of Ophelia" Music Video — a visual key to the album

Beneath the shimmer of “The Fate of Ophelia” music video lies an argument disguised as art—a visual essay on fame, femininity, and façade. Through paintings, plays, and showgirls past, Taylor Swift makes it clear the song—and the album as a whole—is about far more than any one person. The music video offers a provocative question: Can the showgirl ever stop performing? And, in the performative world we live in, can we? Come join the discussion! TikTok Threads Instagram You ca...

3 weeks ago

19 minutes

LIT112: The Life of a Showgirl with Mara Eller

3: "The Fate of Ophelia"— love story or origin story?

In this episode, we dive into “The Fate of Ophelia” — dramatic chapter one of Taylor Swift’s concept album. At first listen, it might sound like a classic love story — a damsel saved by her hero. But if you read this song as part one of the larger narrative, it’s the inciting incident — the spark that sets off the showgirl’s rise to stardom and the struggles that follow. Dig a little deeper, and you find Shakespearean irony, unreliable narration, and a chilling meditation on power, self-aband...

3 weeks ago

27 minutes

LIT112: The Life of a Showgirl with Mara Eller

2: The Secret of the Unreliable Narrator

Most people assume every lyric in The Life of a Showgirl is Taylor Swift speaking directly, giving her perspective—but what if they're not? Understanding the secret of the unreliable narrator changes everything about how we read this album—especially the opening track, “The Fate of Ophelia.” Once you recognize when and how the narrator shifts, a whole new layer of meaning comes into focus. In this episode, we’ll explore what the different between author and narrator + the concept of an unreli...

4 weeks ago

9 minutes

LIT112: The Life of a Showgirl with Mara Eller

1: What is a concept album, and why does that matter?

This isn’t just an album. It’s a novel in songs—what’s known as a concept album, carefully designed to tell cohesive story from the first track to the last. Taylor practically confirmed it herself when she said the order of the songs is crucial. Maybe you’ve been convinced that the album really isn’t all that great, or maybe you’ve been grooving to the tunes but not quite sure what’s going on with some of the lyrics. Either way, the key to experiencing this album fully is to approach it like...

1 month ago

11 minutes

LIT112: The Life of a Showgirl with Mara Eller

Trailer: Course Intro

Class is in session! Over the next couple of weeks, I’ll be walking you through a literary analysis of Taylor Swift's most recent album, The Life of a Showgirl, as if it were a novel in my literature class. We’ll unpack literary techniques and analyze each song in light of the album as a whole. I recently retired from my day job teaching writing and literature at the high school in college level to focus on my business as an editor and book coach, but I miss the classroom. So I’...

1 month ago

3 minutes