Maggie Greenwald's The Ballad of Little Jo very much demonstrates the position of women as an outsider in the Western film. Josephine Monaghan is an outsider from the beginning, when she bears an illegitimate child; her father promptly wants her out of their life entirely. From there, Josephine discovers the impossibility to live on her own in the West as a woman; it is impossible to live a dignified life in the West as a woman, the woman is so much of a depowered outsider to the men's West that there is no place for her other than servitude and sex.
"Jo" must essentially then become a recluse to prevent her (or is it "his"?) secret from being uncovered by the community. Through this, even though she is living as a man, she must truly embrace her role as an outsider; she lives alone, only wants to be alone, and is vicious against those who threaten her position as a loner. Throughout the film, she connects with other outsiders, maybe one of the reasons why people consider her "unique"; in the West, no typical person would ever want to have anything to do with the outsiders she associated with: the immigrant family she brings out to the frontier and "Chinaman" Wong. Her treatment of the men trying to lynch Wong and their reaction further demonstrate the fundamental difference between the men of the West and the women of the West; she is appalled by their mistreatment of him, they are "having fun".
Josephine, even at the very end is an outsider. The people who knew her all her years West treat her with utter disrespect and ridicule her body. They use her body for a picture to make a headline outing her as a woman. She spends her final years after the death of fellow outsider "Tinman" all alone, an outsider to the community.
Fred Zinnemann's High Noon features two clear examples of the women as the outsider in the Western: Amy Kane and Helen Ramirez. "Mrs. Kane" is constantly put in the Western woman's position: she is a Quaker. As a Quaker, Amy is everything outside of what the Western alpha male is all about. She detests the way that Western alpha males kill, steal, and are drawn right in to violence. She is habitually ignored by her husband (to add, her new husband), as is pointed out by Tompkins. "[I]n the course of these struggles the hero frequently forms a bond with another man--sometimes his rival... that is more important than any relationship he has with a woman" (39). This spot-on describes Will Kane. He has so much more of a bond to his rival, Frank Miller, than his wife Amy that he basically abandons her on their wedding day.
Helen Ramirez is also a very much an outsider in High Noon. She is treated like property in male conversation. Harvey treats her like she has no options but to listen to him. She also is a minority in that she is Mexican. This combination puts her in the position where she must leave the town in fear that she will have no one defend her and sells her business. Had she been as successful as she was and be a man in town like the other shareholder in the saloon, no doubt she would not have to do so.
Maggie Greenwald's The Ballad of Little Jo very much demonstrates the position of women as an outsider in the Western film. Josephine Monaghan is an outsider from the beginning, when she bears an illegitimate child; her father promptly wants her out of their life entirely. From there, Josephine discovers the impossibility to live on her own in the West as a woman; it is impossible to live a dignified life in the West as a woman. The woman is a depowered outsider in the men's West: the only place for women is to fill the roles of servitude and sex.
ReplyDelete"Jo" must essentially then become a recluse to prevent her (or is it "his"?) secret from being uncovered by the community. Even though she is living as a man, she must truly embrace her role as an outsider; she lives alone, only wants to be alone, and is vicious against those who threaten her position as a loner. Throughout the film, she connects with other outsiders, maybe one of the reasons why people in town consider her so "unique"; in the West, no "regular" person would want to associate with outsiders. Yet Joe associated with the immigrant family she brings out to the frontier and "Chinaman" Wong. Her treatment of the men trying to lynch Wong and their reaction further demonstrate the fundamental difference between the men of the West and the women of the West; she is appalled by their mistreatment of him, they are just "having fun".
Josephine, even at the very end is made into an outsider. The people who knew her all her years treat her body with utter disrespect and ridicule. They use her body for a picture to make a headline "outing" Jo as a woman.
Fred Zinnemann's High Noon features two interesting women: Amy Kane and Helen Ramirez. "Mrs. Kane" is constantly put in the Western woman's position: she is always addressed as "Mrs. Kane" even though her marriage just took place, she is alredy subject to Will Kane; she is HIS wife. Furthermore, she is a Quaker. As a Quaker, Amy is everything outside of what the Western alpha male is all about. She detests the way that Western alpha males kill, steal, and perpetuate the use of violence. She is habitually ignored by her husband, which is exceptionally surprising, seeing as they were just wed. Typically, one would assume a bride would be acknowledged by her new husband, yet this is not the case. As is pointed out by Tompkins. "[I]n the course of these struggles the hero frequently forms a bond with another man--sometimes his rival... that is more important than any relationship he has with a woman" (39). This spot-on describes Will Kane. He has so much more of a bond to his rival, Frank Miller, than his wife Amy that he basically abandons her on their wedding day.
Helen Ramirez, however, plays a very precarious role as a women. She is a minority in that she is Mexican. Yet at the same time, she is an affluent memember of the town; she is a business owner. She negotiates the sale of her business like a man would. Yet in the end, she is put in the position where she must leave the town in fear that she will have no one defend her and sells her business. Had she been as successful as a man in town like the other shareholder in the saloon, no doubt she would not have to do so. This is interesting because Helen shows signs of being an independant woman, something rare in the Western; yet in the end, fear of violence drives her away. This fear and fleeing of town is something more reserved for women in the Western; no alpha character would run in the face of danger.