The film essentially follows the yearnings of a middle-aged woman from the captivity of her oppressive marriage. Madame Beudet, an imaginative and sentimental person, spends most of her time reading, playing the piano, and fantasizing. She is constantly mocked by her ruthless husband who tells her to play differently and read different books. He continually teases her by putting an unloaded gun to his head and miming his own suicide. This tease of his functions on two levels for Madame Beudet: on one hand she knows that if he were actually to kill himself she would be an old maid, but on the other hand she really wishes he would kill himself so that she could be rid of him forever. When Madame Beudet decides to secretly load the gun with bullets, she becomes wrought with guilt the next day and tries to go back and retrieve them. When Madame Beudet is ultimately shot, it seems like that the whole universe is governed by patriarchy. The female is punished for reacting against her keeper.
The saddest moments of the film are those in which Madame Beudet is alone, wistfully looking into the mirror. As she slowly pulls a brush through her long lifeless hair, she mourns the passage of her youth and energy. If one considers the female liberation movement that the younger women of the time were enjoying, Madame Beudet’s story becomes even more tragic.
No comments:
Post a Comment