Ingmar Bergman’s Wild Strawberries, while released in 1957, embodies a refreshingly progressive perspective in its portrayal of women. Undoubtedly, Wild Strawberries is Isak Borg’s journey, both literal and spiritual, of realization, recollection, and redemption. However, its female characters, namely Marianne and the Sarahs of both generations, play an integral part in Isak’s transformation. Other movies we viewed from this era, specifically Au Hasard Balthazar and La Strada, tended towards victimization of female characters, from sexual assault to unhealthy dependencies. However, Wild Strawberries shies away simultaneously from those trope and the feminist stereotype of bra-burning, man-hating liberationism. Marianne, in particular, functions …show more content…
Evald has repeatedly espoused to her that he does not want children. Thus when she becomes pregnant at the age of thirty-nine, Marianne is in an incredibly difficult position: leave her husband and raise the child on her own, or abort the child and stay with her husband. Neither of these options are ideal; Marianne repeatedly elucidates that she wants to keep the child, and so the decision is not one she can make lightly. This brings to mind other sub-optimal conditions faced by prospective mothers throughout the semester; particularly, the situation of Lucy in Disgrace, pregnant with her rapist’s child, conjures similar quandaries. Neither of these women is a teenager unable to support herself and her possible offspring, but still, the question of impending motherhood is a challenging one. Wild Strawberries tends to portray motherhood in a negative light; motherhood does not seem a harbinger of joy and happiness, but rather a necessary evil that should not necessarily be undertaken. Sarah, Isak’s betrothed who eventually marries his brother, cradles what is supposed to be a newborn child, but is obviously only a facsimile, a doll. Isak’s mother, of advanced age, is frigid and cold towards him, unwilling to show the least bit of affection for her last remaining …show more content…
She is not quite as carefree and unburdened as the present day Sarah, who flits back and forth between her two suitors while seeming beholden to neither of them. However, Sarah is almost androgynous at times, with her less quintessentially feminine attire and pipe-smoking; with her refusal to conform to societal expectations and settle down with one boy or the other, she appears the perfect modern woman. But this accolade truly belongs to Marianne; at the beginning of the film, Marianne is relying on Isak to be her transportation to Lund and is quite literally a secondary character, a passenger, in their conveyance there. Abruptly, Marianne begins to be the driver, as Isak gets lost in his memories; it is she who tosses the bickering couple out of the car. She has decided her path: to keep the child, regardless of the repercussions the decision has on her marriage. In the end, Evald reluctantly accepts the child in an effort to stay with Marianne. This does not necessarily qualify as a happy ending for the couple; their continued union, in fact, seems quite tentative. However, Marianne’s relationship with Isak has improved tremendously; as he comes to terms with the mistakes of his past, she is able to recognize his genuine contrition and forgive him for how he has treated his son, and by extension,
Innocent, as the father, was only able to watch as Marisol “cursed the scientists for drawing too much blood in that one, prodding this one, and not allowing the other to sleep long enough. She’d become distant and sad. [Innocent] was allowed to visit, but she rejected [him], only asking for her ‘babies’” (57). Marisol’s motherly instincts take over, and her one and only desire is to see her “babies,” and that desire overtakes any desire she may feel to see her husband. Innocent, in turn, feels neglected as her husband and the isolation of the two continues to grow stronger and
The society of today’s world revolves around satisfaction, and as humans there is never a true feeling of satisfaction. In our lives it is no longer about satisfying ourselves but also satisfying the people we love the most. Throughout the poems; Blackberries by Yusef Komunyakaa, Singapore by Mary Oliver, and What Work Is by Philip Levine, lays a constant crave of satisfaction. The real issue is knowing that our soul-hunger for satisfaction is never truly met, at least from other people’s eyes. In each poem there comes a circumstance of when the narrator faces a time when questioning their whole idea of self-worth and satisfaction, caused by outside influences. These outside influences usually pity the narrator for having the jobs that they
Led by Laura Mulvey, feminist film critics have discussed the difficulty presented to female spectators by the controlling male gaze and narrative generally found in mainstream film, creating for female spectators a position that forces them into limited choices: "bisexual" identification with active male characters; identification with the passive, often victimized, female characters; or on occasion, identification with a "masculinized" active female character, who is generally punished for her unhealthy behavior. Before discussing recent improvements, it is important to note that a group of Classic Hollywood films regularly offered female spectators positive, female characters who were active in controlling narrative, gazing and desiring: the screwball comedy.
The female characters in Young Frankenstein and One Flew over the Cuckoo’s Nest are, stereotypically, satiric and parodic renditions of oppressed or emotionally unstable feminine personalities. The theme of the treatment of women is not only played out in the external relationships the women interact within but also in the basic mentality and roles they embody within their personality. The women of Young Frankenstein add a comical element to the film which a direct contrast to the insignificance of the female in Mary Shelley’s novel. The women of One Flew over the Cuckoo’s Nest are either almost terrifying when thinking of the potential evil lurking just beneath the surface or effectual props in the healing of those who need it.
These movies allowed female characters to embody all the contradictions that could make them a woman. They were portrayed as the “femme fatale” and also “mother,” the “seductress” and at the same time the “saint,” (Newsom, 2011). Female characters were multi-faceted during this time and had much more complexity and interesting qualities than in the movies we watch today. Today, only 16% of protagonists in movies are female, and the portrayal of these women is one of sexualization and dependence rather than complexity (Newsom, 2011).
With a husband and two children at the age of twenty eight, Edna Pontillier realized that the mother-wife life was not for her. With her new found independence Edna’s husband was unsure of how to handle his new untraditional wife. “I came to consult—no, not precisely to consult—to talk to you about Edna. I don't know what ails her.”(pg. 109) Mr. Pontillier is a loving and good husband but, his slight narcissistic personality causes him to lose touch with his wife. Mr. Pontillier buys Edna bonbons and compliments her in front of their friends but it would seem that he enjoys spending time with his friends and working more than he values his time with his wife. “Coming back to dinner?" his wife called after him. He halted a moment and shrugged his shoulders.”(pg. 8) The only reason Mrs. Pontillier stays with her husband for so long is because of her children. Although the Pontillier children are not major characters they help demonstrate her true commitment. Edna would rather die than let her children think their mother left them to be with another man. “She thought of Leonce and the children. They were a part of her life. But they need not have thought that they could possess her, body...
Looking back on the death of Larissa’s son, Zebedee Breeze, Lorraine examines Larissa’s response to the passing of her child. Lorraine says, “I never saw her cry that day or any other. She never mentioned her sons.” (Senior 311). This statement from Lorraine shows how even though Larissa was devastated by the news of her son’s passing, she had to keep going. Women in Larissa’s position did not have the luxury of stopping everything to grieve. While someone in Lorraine’s position could take time to grieve and recover from the loss of a loved one, Larissa was expected to keep working despite the grief she felt. One of the saddest things about Zebedee’s passing, was that Larissa had to leave him and was not able to stay with her family because she had to take care of other families. Not only did Larissa have the strength to move on and keep working after her son’s passing, Larissa and other women like her also had no choice but to leave their families in order to find a way to support them. As a child, Lorraine did not understand the strength Larissa must have had to leave her family to take care of someone else’s
The Infant Child plays a huge role in Blanche’s early life. As a result of her mother’s death, Blanche has a fearful temperament, and
By dissecting the film, the director, Jennie Livingston's methodology and the audience's perceived response I believe we can easily ignore a different and more positive way of understanding the film despite the many flaws easy for feminist minds to criticize. This is in no way saying that these critiques are not valid, or that it is not beneficial to look at works of any form through the many and various feminist lenses.
In today’s society, there is a considerably high value on motherhood. Mothers teach their kids important aspects of life and typically pass down their own values to their children. It only makes sense emphasize the importance of motherhood. This is not the case in the novel Sula. In the community of The Bottom, motherhood is not highly valued and has a negative connotation which is shown through Eva’s experiences as a mother and is passed down through her family.
Marie, who is a product of an abusive family, is influenced by her past, as she perceives the relationship between Callie and her son, Bo. Saunders writes, describing Marie’s childhood experiences, “At least she’d [Marie] never locked on of them [her children] in a closet while entertaining a literal gravedigger in the parlor” (174). Marie’s mother did not embody the traditional traits of a maternal fig...
...present powerful characters, while females represent unimportant characters. Unaware of the influence of society’s perception of the importance of sexes, literature and culture go unchanged. Although fairytales such as Sleeping Beauty produce charming entertainment for children, their remains a didactic message that lays hidden beneath the surface; teaching future generations to be submissive to the inequalities of their gender. Feminist critic the works of former literature, highlighting sexual discriminations, and broadcasting their own versions of former works, that paints a composite image of women’s oppression (Feminist Theory and Criticism). Women of the twenty-first century serge forward investigating, and highlighting the inequalities of their race in effort to organize a better social life for women of the future (Feminist Theory and Criticism).
Black elderberries (Sambucus nigra L.), a deciduous shrub is often used as a traditional medicine, and it is used for common cold and influenza. The bioactive chemical of Sambucus nigra is the anthocyanins. Anthocyanins, plant colorants that responsible for colors such as red, purple, or blue, and in addition, it also provides various health benefits. Studies have shown that anthocyanins for animal and in vitro have decreased necrotic and apoptotic cell death and lower the infarct risks through anti-inflammatory and relaxant effects on coronary arteries. Krawitz and colleagues conducted a study to find out if a standardized elderberry liquid extract will work against bacterial infections and influenza types A and B. They investigated the ability of the extract of elderberries to weaken or decrease the growth of of human pathogenic influenza A and B virus strains. Krawitz and colleagues worked with A/Thailand/KAN-1/2004 (KAN-1, H5N1) and B/Massachusetts/71 (B/Mass) in cell culture.
Motherhood is a traditional role for women. From the time they are young, girls are taught to grow up, marry and become mothers. Of course they can do other things with their lives like play sports, have careers, and travel, but an overwhelming amount of women want to be mothers no matter what else they accomplish with their lives. It is common knowledge that being a good mother is one of the hardest jobs in the world. It is to forever have a special link with another person or people and have a tremendous influence, maybe the most tremendous influence over their lives. Motherhood is a roller coaster ride for women, full of ups and downs, fears and accomplishments. But what happens when motherhood defines who a woman is? All children grow up, and while a woman is always a mother, children need their mothers less and less until eventually their dependence is very minimal. What happens to the woman whose singular role and purpose is no longer needed? In The Summer Before The Dark, and The Fifth Child, the maternal roles of Kate Brown, and Harriet Lovatt are analyzed and traditional motherhood behavior is deconstructed due to these characters’ experiences and relationships with their children.
The representation of violence exacted upon women in cinema is inextricable from being projected upon all women. To provide a scene that objectifies the female is to reduce the feminine form to its non-dual state, e.g., a sexual object providing a vessel for male gratification (hubris and sexual) rather then being defined by its duality of sentient and physical forms. Those who construct scenes of violence against women are bound to a moral responsibility to subjectify the woman’s perspective, thus reestablishing the female as a victim rather then an object and rendering the act of violence intelligible (deplorable, open to interpretation).