Since we’ve only really just begun Unit Four in terms of actual class discussion, classmate’s blogs on this subject are a little scarce. However, several entries (along with Dr. C’s in-class pointers) have really given me some things to think about with regard to the complex relationship between art and love, and the very thin line between love and obsession. Also, although blog entries rarely mention Jennie, it seems like her motivations and presence lurks everywhere, the same kind of integral-but-invisible presence she served in the novel. For instance, in Charlie’s blog, he comments that “Of course, the nature of love and whether or not soulmates exist is something each person has to decide on his/her own.” Clearly, Jennie has made this decision, and her confidence and certainty that she and Eben are meant to be together is what propels her through the film–and really what propels the film itself. And, while it takes Eben longer, he too eventually decides that Jennie is not merely a little girl in the park but his missing half, so to speak, making his behavior in the latter portion of the film much more demonstrative and romantic.
Kate’s blog took a look at the big picture of gender relations when she brought up the fact that “male roles dominating female roles is on the rise…and I’m sure this has some impact in the future decisions [children] make.” I think this is true and a very valid point. Jennie, despite her maturity and intelligence, is still inferior to Eben in the general scheme of the film. It is his film, his story, his triumph. And, while Jennie covertly directs the course of the film to ensure that they end up together before her final realization of her own mortality, it is Eben who has the power to overtly control her actions–telling her where to sit, how to behave, what to do. In the end, Jennie’s method of control is too subtle to be noticed by a young audience, who will come away from the film having witnessed Jennie’s entrapment as a thing of beauty, not her growth into a strong woman. What kind of message does this send to that young audience? Love almost equalizes sexism but not quite? Keep trying, girls, you’ll almost get there? I don’t know much about the old-school Greek muses but I seem to remember thembeing the figures of power, with artists being allowed to paint them but not possessing the right. By the end of the film Eben seems to take Jennie for granted as a Muse even as he revels in having her as a soulmate. Some not-very-nice part of me is kind of glad that he lost her.
Finally, Que Onda? commented in a blog on the role of gender in films. He observed that “In our last class we noted that there are very few female-character-driven films. In fact there are very few films that strive to portray the broad-spectrum of roles that both genders play in relationships.” Especially given the nature of my meditations on Portrait of Jennie I would agree completely with this, especially with the first sentence. In fact, it got me thinking about how the film would have played out if the film had been Jennie’s story instead of Eben’s. Would the story have been less about art and more about time? Would Jennie have been portrayed in such a flattering, romantic light, or would she have come under attack for pursuing Eben and been labeled a tramp? Or would she have been considered a heroine, a goddess, for effortlessly rescuing Eben from the abyss of creative brokenness? It’s impossible to tell because the situation is almost impossible to imagine. As for the second sentence considering the lack of broad-spectrum roles given to both genders, I would agree as well. Especially in the 1930s and 1940s, a romantic film was notable and valued for its romance, whether it be comical or dreamlike. The burgeoning relationship between the male and female leads was the whole point, not the subtleties of their character. It is entirely unnecessary for the two leads to be depicted in beautiful, epic detail since really, the romance between them is all we care about. In fact, when all the roles played by the two are examined, it becomes much more difficult to focus on that romance; the audience begins to examine those roles instead of the romance, and the film falls apart…or becomes another genre. This is demonstrated in Portrait of Jennie with Eben and Jennie both possessing very simple roles to fulfill: Jennie as the Muse; Eben as the Artist; Jennie as the love; Eben as the lover. Jennie, poised on the brink of becoming a superwoman, dies before she can transcend these roles, leaving her character beautiful, lovely, and simple.
My favorite point made during Unit IV was made by Dr. C in class, and really has nothing to do with the dynamic-but-mostly-ignored character of Jennie. Why do we settle for just good relationships when we would never settle for just good art? Why do we hold art to a higher standard than we hold love? Why does one demand less perfection than the other?
I’m still thinking about that one.