Mona Lisa Smile: Joan Brandwyn Character Analysis “So the choice is yours, ladies. You can conform to what other people expect, or, you can…” “I know. Be ourselves.” The above dialogue summarizes the central theme of the 2003 film Mona Lisa Smile, a feminist film about Katherine Watson, an art history teacher at the Wellesley College with a liberal outlook on the subject she teaches and in life in general. Her views regarding the role of women in society and the lives of the different female characters are explored throughout the story, and her views are met with both praise and criticism from the society she revolves in.
In order to explore the feminist themes in the society, the film gives the viewers many female characters, each having …show more content…
Her relationship with her partner Tommy is healthy—it is obvious that they romantically love each other, as evidenced as their strong affectionate gestures with each other and the concern that they show each other regarding their current status.
2. Joan Brandwyn: Gender Identity
Generally, Joan Brandwyn has a female gender identity and thus fulfills feminine roles in the film. However, what makes her character interesting is her character’s conflict: is she going to relegate her life to be just another housewife or she will pursue her dreams of being a career woman? In a more broad view of terms, will she follow the path that society expects of her or is she going to follow her own dreams? While she wanted to be a lawyer and continue studying at Yale, she also wanted to provide a good home for her fiancé Tommy.
3. Joan’s Character …show more content…
On one hand, it seems like a waste for such a character like Joan to be relegated into a mere housewife, an occupation in which many feminists would like to sneer at. However, is being a housewife makes her happy and fulfilled, then nothing is wrong with that. Feminism, after all, is about the freedom of women to choose their lives by themselves and not as what society dictates them to do. As blogger Sisi puts it, putting her effort into becoming a housewife is a better alternative because as much as women think that they can handle career and home life at the same time, ultimately “…the only way to be good at something is to focus all your energies in that
In order to explore the feminist themes in the society, the film gives the viewers many female characters, each having …show more content…
Her relationship with her partner Tommy is healthy—it is obvious that they romantically love each other, as evidenced as their strong affectionate gestures with each other and the concern that they show each other regarding their current status.
2. Joan Brandwyn: Gender Identity
Generally, Joan Brandwyn has a female gender identity and thus fulfills feminine roles in the film. However, what makes her character interesting is her character’s conflict: is she going to relegate her life to be just another housewife or she will pursue her dreams of being a career woman? In a more broad view of terms, will she follow the path that society expects of her or is she going to follow her own dreams? While she wanted to be a lawyer and continue studying at Yale, she also wanted to provide a good home for her fiancé Tommy.
3. Joan’s Character …show more content…
On one hand, it seems like a waste for such a character like Joan to be relegated into a mere housewife, an occupation in which many feminists would like to sneer at. However, is being a housewife makes her happy and fulfilled, then nothing is wrong with that. Feminism, after all, is about the freedom of women to choose their lives by themselves and not as what society dictates them to do. As blogger Sisi puts it, putting her effort into becoming a housewife is a better alternative because as much as women think that they can handle career and home life at the same time, ultimately “…the only way to be good at something is to focus all your energies in that