The world revolves around the lives of women in Spanish director Pedro Almodόvar’s latest film, Volver (2006). It is a wonderful depiction of survival, loyalty, and integrity yet the action on the screen bears little resemblance to what is really going on in the lives, hearts, and heads of the women.
Almodόvar demonstrates once again (as he did in the film All About My Mother) that he truly understands the dual nature of women. He understands that women often have their external life, one that is busy and complex, but it is in their interior life (often very different than what is seen by others) where the core of her being dwells. His female characters are smart, fallible, sophisticated, genuine, and complex, perhaps some of the most complex female characters ever represented in film.
Volver is a relational film though perhaps few women can relate to the circumstances Penélope Cruz finds herself in but it isn’t to the situation that we can relate but rather who her character, Raimunda, is.
A beautiful, fun (in a strange way) film, one to share with your girlfriends.
This film reminded me of a quote by Edith Wharton:
"But I have sometimes thought that a woman's nature is like a great house full of rooms: there is the hall, through which everyone passes in going in and out; the drawing- room, where one receives formal visits; the sitting-room, where the members of the family come and go as they list; but beyond that, far beyond, are other rooms, the handles of whose doors perhaps are never turned; no one knows the way to them, no one knows whither they lead; and in the innermost room, the holy of holies, the soul sits alone and waits for a footstep that never comes."*
*The Fullness of Life, part II (1893) Early Stories of Edith Wharton, vol. 2.
About the author: Allison Frederick is a writer and online marketing educator for other creative women. www.FaMissWomen.com offers free Web 2.0 resources. She is also the author of an upcoming novel, A Portrait of Josephine, an academic-lite thriller. Find out how to receive a free copy of the novel by visiting www.portraitofjosephine.com
Showing posts with label Edith Wharton. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Edith Wharton. Show all posts
Tuesday, July 8, 2008
Sunday, December 30, 2007
Book & Movie Explore Challenges of Marriage
Doris Lessing in her 1950 novel, "The Grass is Singing," many of Edith Wharton's stories, and the recent movie "The Painted Veil" explore the tragic consequences of the socially upheld expectation of women to marry. In today's culture, women still feel compelled to "make a good match" even if they consider themselves modern or progressive.
Kitty Garstin, played by Naomi Watts in the 2006 film "The Painted Veil" was confronted by her family who implied that they no longer wished to financially support her and that it was time for her to get married, thus becoming someone else's burden. This film was set in the 1920's and Kitty did not have the skills and society did not have the infrastructure to allow a woman of her class to earn her own income and thereby support herself. Kitty's only path to "independence" was to get married, even if she didn't want to, or as in this case, was not in love with her suitor. Her marriage led her on a downward tailspin to the bleak, grim lands of inner China to a town decimated by a cholera outbreak. Left here, isolated from her previous life, Kitty is forced to not only grow up but to also forge her own path and identity.
Doris Lessing's female character, Mary Turner of "The Grass is Singing" does not fare as well as Kitty Garstin. The story opens with her murder and then back tracks to how she arrived at such a fatal ending. Mary Turner was unlike Kitty, and more like some of Edith Wharton's women, she worked and supported herself even if the income was meager. Mary Turner was successful with her office job and socially successful. She was happy and independent until she overheard some of her friends criticizing her for remaining single. Mary felt shame at their stigma, as if being single meant that she was incomplete or undesirable, instead of single by her own choice. Many women still experience this same stigma today. They hear exclamations like "Why is a nice girl like you still single?"
Mary, like Kitty, enters into a hostile, brutal married environment. It isn't that the husbands are horrible but where they live as the result of their marriage leaves them isolated. Edith Wharton's women also often leave a life of some independence to get married and "become fulfilled and respectable" only to find themselves in a bitter, often devastating struggle to survive. (Read "The Age of Innocence" and "Bunner Sisters")
Women's literature often explores the reconciliation of individual identity and marriage (whether it is one filled with love or not).
Kitty Garstin, played by Naomi Watts in the 2006 film "The Painted Veil" was confronted by her family who implied that they no longer wished to financially support her and that it was time for her to get married, thus becoming someone else's burden. This film was set in the 1920's and Kitty did not have the skills and society did not have the infrastructure to allow a woman of her class to earn her own income and thereby support herself. Kitty's only path to "independence" was to get married, even if she didn't want to, or as in this case, was not in love with her suitor. Her marriage led her on a downward tailspin to the bleak, grim lands of inner China to a town decimated by a cholera outbreak. Left here, isolated from her previous life, Kitty is forced to not only grow up but to also forge her own path and identity.
Doris Lessing's female character, Mary Turner of "The Grass is Singing" does not fare as well as Kitty Garstin. The story opens with her murder and then back tracks to how she arrived at such a fatal ending. Mary Turner was unlike Kitty, and more like some of Edith Wharton's women, she worked and supported herself even if the income was meager. Mary Turner was successful with her office job and socially successful. She was happy and independent until she overheard some of her friends criticizing her for remaining single. Mary felt shame at their stigma, as if being single meant that she was incomplete or undesirable, instead of single by her own choice. Many women still experience this same stigma today. They hear exclamations like "Why is a nice girl like you still single?"
Mary, like Kitty, enters into a hostile, brutal married environment. It isn't that the husbands are horrible but where they live as the result of their marriage leaves them isolated. Edith Wharton's women also often leave a life of some independence to get married and "become fulfilled and respectable" only to find themselves in a bitter, often devastating struggle to survive. (Read "The Age of Innocence" and "Bunner Sisters")
Women's literature often explores the reconciliation of individual identity and marriage (whether it is one filled with love or not).
Looking for more?
- Novel "The Grass is Singing" by Doris Lessing, 1950 This novel is well written and is an interesting manifestation of how people’s choices govern their lives. It is set in Rhodesia (now South Africa) and among other things, depicts the class struggle between British settlers and the native African population.
- Movie: "The Painted Veil" starring Naomi Watts and Edward Norton, 2006 This movie is a visually stunning film. It is a quiet film with endearing characters and gripping struggle. It is based on the 1925 novel by W. Somerset Maugham, which I have not read.
- Doris Lessing audio clips – excerpt readings and interviews
- Biography of Doris Lessing, a winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature
- To learn about more women who inspire us and who guide us, please read my articles at
Famiss – Women’s Success History & Portraits
About the author: Allison Frederick is a writer and online marketing educator for other creative women. www.FaMissWomen.com offers free Web 2.0 resources. She is also the author of an upcoming novel, A Portrait of Josephine, an academic-lite thriller. Find out how to receive a free copy of the novel by visiting www.portraitofjosephine.com
Thursday, October 25, 2007
Can You Be a "Pioneer" and Not Be Free?
For all their show of strength,
their straight backs,
and strong will,
Charlotte Bronte & Edith Wharton still exhibit a profound entrenchment in social prisons.
Charlotte in her rewrite of Emily’s work so that it appears tamer, less grim and more Christian and Edith who lingered in a love-less marriage because divorce was unacceptable.
Neither woman, though pioneers, were truly free.
Are you allowing yourself to be held back by societal expectations or other prisons?
About the author: Allison Frederick is a writer and online marketing educator for other creative women. www.FaMissWomen.com offers free Web 2.0 resources. She is also the author of an upcoming novel, A Portrait of Josephine, an academic-lite thriller. Find out how to receive a free copy of the novel by visiting www.portraitofjosephine.com
their straight backs,
and strong will,
Charlotte Bronte & Edith Wharton still exhibit a profound entrenchment in social prisons.
Charlotte in her rewrite of Emily’s work so that it appears tamer, less grim and more Christian and Edith who lingered in a love-less marriage because divorce was unacceptable.
Neither woman, though pioneers, were truly free.
Are you allowing yourself to be held back by societal expectations or other prisons?
About the author: Allison Frederick is a writer and online marketing educator for other creative women. www.FaMissWomen.com offers free Web 2.0 resources. She is also the author of an upcoming novel, A Portrait of Josephine, an academic-lite thriller. Find out how to receive a free copy of the novel by visiting www.portraitofjosephine.com
Wednesday, October 3, 2007
Book Review: Shaggy Muses: The Dogs Who Inspired Virginia Woolf, Emily Dickinson, Elizabeth Barrett Browning, Edith Wharton, and Emily Bronte
Author Maureen Adams wrote a wonderful overview of these famous women writers in her book Shaggy Muses. She explores each writer's life within the context of their relationship and dependence on their dog(s). If you are a dog lover, you can connect to the strong bonds between the women and their dogs. A dog is always accepting and incredibly tolerant. These dogs were no different and constantly, devotedly listened to their mistresses recite their work without ever appearing critical. They also kept the writers from feeling too much loneliness during their literary solitude.
Even if you are not a dog lover, this book offers a great overview and introduction to some of the most famous women writers of English literature. I do have to warn you; however, some of the experiences these women went through were painful.
Pick up a copy of "Shaggy Muses: The Dogs Who Inspired Virginia Woolf, Emily Dickinson, Elizabeth Barrett Browning, Edith Wharton, and Emily Bronte" by Maureen Adams.
Published 2007.
About the author: Allison Frederick is a writer and online marketing educator for other creative women. www.FaMissWomen.com offers free Web 2.0 resources. She is also the author of an upcoming novel, A Portrait of Josephine, an academic-lite thriller. Find out how to receive a free copy of the novel by visiting www.portraitofjosephine.com
Even if you are not a dog lover, this book offers a great overview and introduction to some of the most famous women writers of English literature. I do have to warn you; however, some of the experiences these women went through were painful.
Pick up a copy of "Shaggy Muses: The Dogs Who Inspired Virginia Woolf, Emily Dickinson, Elizabeth Barrett Browning, Edith Wharton, and Emily Bronte" by Maureen Adams.
Published 2007.
About the author: Allison Frederick is a writer and online marketing educator for other creative women. www.FaMissWomen.com offers free Web 2.0 resources. She is also the author of an upcoming novel, A Portrait of Josephine, an academic-lite thriller. Find out how to receive a free copy of the novel by visiting www.portraitofjosephine.com
Saturday, August 11, 2007
Edith Wharton - American Novelist
Edith Wharton was an American Novelist who is most famous for "The Age of Innocence" (1920) which won the Pulitzer Prize in 1921 and "The House of Mirth" (1905) and "Ethan Frome" (1911).
She lived from January 24, 1862- August 11, 1937
Her Contemporaries & Companions Included:
President Theodore Roosevelt, and authors Henry James, Sinclair Lewis, and Earnest HemingwayThe Combination of Her Sense of Design and Her Writing TalentsShe began her writing career with the book "The Decoration of Houses" (1897) which became a surprise success.
It is hard to imagine a time before Martha Stewart, Sunset Magazine, and The Travel Channel, but Edith Wharton was the pioneer of these programs we are now addicted to. Wharton gave readers their first glance into home design and landscape design. She focused on off-the-beaten path Italian villas. She rode in some of the first automobiles all throughout the Italian countryside to find and recreate glorious Italian gardens.
One of her most exciting projects, and of which she stated was an even better accomplishment than "The House of Mirth" was the design and building of her summer estate home in Lenox, Massachusetts called "The Mount".
You can tour this fantastic home and understand the writer even more by walking in her footsteps.
Tour Edith Wharton Estate "The Mount".
A modern, gorgeous book about Edith and her journeys in Italy is "Edith Wharton's Italian Gardens" by Vivian Russell. This is a coffee table sized book.
About the author: Allison Frederick is a writer and online marketing educator for other creative women. www.FaMissWomen.com offers free Web 2.0 resources. She is also the author of an upcoming novel, A Portrait of Josephine, an academic-lite thriller. Find out how to receive a free copy of the novel by visiting www.portraitofjosephine.com
She lived from January 24, 1862- August 11, 1937
Her Contemporaries & Companions Included:
President Theodore Roosevelt, and authors Henry James, Sinclair Lewis, and Earnest HemingwayThe Combination of Her Sense of Design and Her Writing TalentsShe began her writing career with the book "The Decoration of Houses" (1897) which became a surprise success.
It is hard to imagine a time before Martha Stewart, Sunset Magazine, and The Travel Channel, but Edith Wharton was the pioneer of these programs we are now addicted to. Wharton gave readers their first glance into home design and landscape design. She focused on off-the-beaten path Italian villas. She rode in some of the first automobiles all throughout the Italian countryside to find and recreate glorious Italian gardens.
One of her most exciting projects, and of which she stated was an even better accomplishment than "The House of Mirth" was the design and building of her summer estate home in Lenox, Massachusetts called "The Mount".
You can tour this fantastic home and understand the writer even more by walking in her footsteps.
Tour Edith Wharton Estate "The Mount".
A modern, gorgeous book about Edith and her journeys in Italy is "Edith Wharton's Italian Gardens" by Vivian Russell. This is a coffee table sized book.
About the author: Allison Frederick is a writer and online marketing educator for other creative women. www.FaMissWomen.com offers free Web 2.0 resources. She is also the author of an upcoming novel, A Portrait of Josephine, an academic-lite thriller. Find out how to receive a free copy of the novel by visiting www.portraitofjosephine.com
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