Themes in the Novel and Movie Adaptation of James Cain’s Mildred Pierce

We obviously know that Mildred plays another huge role in this book that she affects him in a huge way in how he views the

Mildred Pierce is one of the greatest novels written by James M. Cain. After the success of the novel, the Hollywood film came out, produced by Jerry Wald. The novel and the movie are very different from each other. “James M. Cain sent several letters of complaint to producer Jerry Wald, objecting to the changes Wald wanted to make, especially the dramatic idea of making Veda a washout musically and putting her in a tawdry nightclub” (Bennett Notes). The three main differences in the film were, the murder of Monte, Veda not having a successful career, and the time period only covering 1941 to 1945.

In its simplest form, Charlotte Bronte’s Jane Eyre tells the story of a young woman, Jane Eyre, who grows up poor, makes the decision to be independent, does so, and, eventually, marries rich. The novel follows her from her childhood to her reunion with the love of her life and she, throughout it, deals with classism and sexism and exhibits her own form of feminism. By the end, it becomes clear that, with this semi-autobiographical novel, Charlotte Bronte was providing a criticism on society’s discrimination toward those of a lower class, a subtle argument against the male-dominated society’s treatment of women, and an even subtler call to action for women to find their own agency outside of the men in their lives. On another end, however,

For example, after Montag escaped from the police and hound, he met up with the “hobos” and realized “My wife, my wife. Poor millie, poor, poor Millie. I can’t remember anything. I think of her hands but I don’t see them doing anything at all”(Bradbury 156). Bradbury makes Mildred a “model wife” where nothing about her is special, and she is exactly the same as any other wife in F451. This leads to Montag forgetting what Mildred was like. The characterization of Mildred indirectly emphasizes Wilde’s point because unlike Montag, Mildred did not rebel or disobey the law therefore, the figure of the wife would remain the same. She demonstrates a devolution of the wife figure. However, if Mildred did stand out, there would be social progression to a more loving, and caring wife, similar to today’s society. As a contradiction, females in history were always seen as inferior to their male counterparts. For so long they lacked the same rights men had since they would rarely rebel for their rights. On 1848, women created a movement to fight for liberty. Because of this, they brought an end to the majority of inequality which is social progression. Furthermore in F451, Bradbury uses Granger to convey his message. As an illustration, when Montag was grieving for his wife, Granger said, “It doesn’t matter what you do,... so long as you change something from the way it was before you touched it into something that’s like you after you take your hands away” (Bradbury 156-157). Bradbury uses Granger to express the theme of change to better society. He tells Montag that doing what society expects from you is not always just and sometimes defiance is necessary. Bradbury’s claim is supported by the American Revolution in history. In late 1700s, the thirteen colonies of Great Britain were forced to pay taxes because Britain was in war debt. This led to rebellion and American

Mildred, even though was someone that lacked excitement and interesting things, still was one of the biggest and most influential characters in the entire novel. Her purpose was not to only show the reader how a normal citizen would act and think, but to make them understand how someone could do such tremendous things after being brainwashed and believed to be someone that had no potential or reason in life.

Throughout the Victorian Age, male dominance deprived women from freedom of choice. In Charlotte Brontë’s novel, Jane Eyre, Jane Eyre repeatedly struggles to become an independent young lady due to the troublesome men in the story. There are several male characters who control, humiliate, and abuse their power over Jane. The author manages to depict patriarchal dominance through the characterization of John Reed, Mr. Brocklehurst, and Mr. Rochester.

Lastly the dependence of men plays an extremely large role in this book. Williams uses Blanche’s and Stella’s dependence on men to expose and critique the treatment of women during the transition from the old to the new South. Both Blanche and Stella see male companions as their only means to achieve happiness, and they depend on men for both their sustenance and their self-image. Blanche recognizes that Stella could be happier without her physically abusive husband, Stanley. Yet, the alternative Blanche

Anderson’s assessment stems from the fact that men found obedience to be a desirable female quality during the eighteenth century. Moreover, according to feminists, society during that time was designed for the pleasure and benefit of men alone. While Feminist criticism works well with Charlotte Temple, it is evident that another concept also deserves attention. Although the majority of novel seems to focus on women, chapters two through five connect almost exclusively to economics. The significance of economics and social class in these opening chapters implies that Charlotte is not only victimized due to her gender, but also due to her class. During the first few chapters, the importance of money and gender are revealed. Mr. Lewis exploits and then proceeds to blackmails Mr. Eldridge for money, thus sending him into financial tragedy. This short background story sets up the theme of class struggle for the novel.

     At the same time, the readings of the women's masculinity and androgyny must be similarly reconsidered. While Irving reads Lena as one who "conforms more readily than Ántonia" and assimilates in a manner "too complete" in that "she, like Jim, is lethargic" (100), I would argue that Lena's refusal to marry and her achievement of the independent, successful life she sought belie any ready categorization of reinforced hegemony, undermining standard patriarchal demands; and her success can be contrasted with Jim's loveless marriage and the vague reference to the "disappointments" that have failed to quell his "naturally romantic and ardent disposition" (4). Similarly, as Gilbert and Gubar highlight, the happiness of the "masculine" hired girls stands in stark contrast with the emotional restriction to which town wives are subjected: "Energetic and jolly, Mrs. Harling must stop all the activities of her household so as to devote herself entirely to her husband" (197). While it may be true that "their disturbing androgynous qualities, and their unwillingness to accept traditional female roles" position the hired girls as "outsiders" (Wussow 52) and that these facts can be read as critical of the feminine, it seems more

American Literature has always been about men and for men. In this essay, we are going to analyze the women’s role in the book, as inferior and weaker gender.

In Jane Austen’s Persuasion, it may appear to some readers that Austen writes from a conservative perspective that reinforces women’s submissive and inferior roles in society. Many of the female characters seem to perpetuate traditional and oppressive gender roles, and a central plot line for most of the female characters involves finding a man to marry as a means of attaining ultimate happiness. However, while there are many examples of Austen’s adherence to the social standards of her time, upon closer inspection it becomes clear that Austen also challenges many ideas of the time, which suggests that she wrote Persuasion from a proto-feminist point of view. In fact, Austen provides the reader with many nontraditional voices that empower characteristics and behaviors in females that were looked down on during her lifetime. Although Austen holds onto some beliefs of her time that contemporary feminists may consider anti-feminist, through the development of her female protagonist, Anne Elliot, Austen re-examines what it means to be a woman in society and asserts her

Through the Victorian Age, male dominance deprived women from a certain freedom. In Charlotte Brontë’s novel, Jane Eyre, Jane Eyre repeatedly struggles to become an independent young lady due to the troublesome men in the story. John Reed controls Jane, Mr. Brocklehurst humiliates Jane, and Mr. Rochester sees women, in general, as objects. The author manages to depict patriarchal dominance through the characterization of John Reed, Mr. Brocklehurst, and Mr. Rochester.

Nelly represents not only the power and wisdom of women, but also her compliance to dominance of men. ‘Nelly Dean is a manipulative creature who will go to considerable lengths to maintain the status quo of male authority.’ (Whitley, 2000: xi) By adding this trait to Nelly’s character Brontë reminds the reader of the order of the world. Even though the characters are fighting and representing women’s rights, they still do live in a man’s world – that is the novel’s connection with the reality. The character of Nelly is a great support to the statement of de Beauvoir (1949: 324):

Genre is a reflection of society. Film noir is a genre that has a distinctive relationship with the American society from 1941 - 1958 because it reflects America’s fears and concerns from when they experienced major upheaval after The Great Depression and during World War I. In particular, the unstable atmosphere from the aftermath of World War 1 as Bruce Crowther, author of the book ‘Film Noir: Reflections in a Dark Mirror’, elaborates on how Film Noir films produce “a dark quality that derived as much from the character's depiction as from the cinematographer’s art.” These dark moods are transparent through the key features of the femme fatale, the film techniques and the impact of the Hay’s code on American film and American society.

The theme of female struggle against male dominancy is presented throughout the novel and the narrator,