MovieChat Forums > Light in the Piazza (1962) Discussion > She didn't seem dumb to me

She didn't seem dumb to me

posted 12 years ago by zensixties
10 replies | jump to latest

Obviously the actress Yvette Mimieux was smart (she retired to become an anthropologist), but even her character Clara was not dumb at all, as far as I can see. Childlike, yes, but that's not the same thing as dumb. I mean for one thing she learned to speak Italian pretty much fluently--smarter than me (and her parents) in that regard.
Also her look. You can tell when someone is dumb by their look in their eyes...a certain dullness you can just tell. Clara obviously had a look of intelligence, not just beauty. On the other hand if she actually was dumb, this film would be worthless--the whole value of the film lies in the value of the main character.
Any thoughts?

For who would bear the whips and scorns of Hollywood... (;-p)

[–] singjohn 12 years ago

Clara was not referred to as "dumb". Just of being naive. Apparently the head injury she suffered did not render her mentally handicapped. Rather it effected her maturity level.

[–] eatomson 12 years ago

Her mother said that the headinjury left her with the mind of a ten-year-old. And, if you hang around 10 year olds, they can be pretty smart. They are, in fact the age-group of 'Are You Smarter Than a Fifth-Grader?' With patience, they can be taught a lot.
She's been kept innocent and sheltered by her mother, she' emotionally immature, and would probably not really get 'deep' subjects, or complicated ideas, but I suspect that separated from her over-protective mother, but cushioned by loving in-laws, she'd be fine.

[–] EllisFowler 12 years ago

The whole point of the story (and this is spelled out more in the novella) is that Meg's hoped-for miracle comes to pass in Italy. Clara, while absorbing a new language and culture, actually becomes brighter and comes into her own. When her mother is finally convinced that she's not imagining things and realizes the fitness of Clara's staying in Italy, she does a 180 from attempting to discourage the relationship. There's almost something of a fantasy element and yes, the point is made that very little would be expected of Clara.

[–] bron-tay 11 years ago

If very little would be expected of Clara, she certainly shouldn't become a mother.

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Please put some dashes above your sig line so I won't think it's part of your dumb post.

[–] EllisFowler 11 years ago

If very little would be expected of Clara, she certainly shouldn't become a mother.

*sigh* She'll be surrounded by doting servants and in-laws, a built-in support group. It's pointed out (and the author, regardless of your prof's criticism, did her homework) that this was the norm for people of this class and it's certainly typical of Italians to this day - we have a younger friend who plans on moving in with the in-laws in Rome (they'll build an extension onto the house) after she and her Italian fiancé marry. Clara, like many other well-to-do mothers, wouldn't be called upon to have to deal with the frustration of tantrums, dirty diapers, cleaning house (which she has undoubtedly never done anyway), budgeting Fabrizio's income, etc. because she'd be cushioned from them, as would someone of normal intelligence under similar circumstances. All she'd be called upon to do is love her family. The round-the-clock availability of servants and in-laws are hardly grounds for denying a warm, loving young woman motherhood, especially since here intellectual limitations aren't heritable.

[–] TheChamCham 10 years ago

Plenty of truly "dumb" girls who haven't been kicked in the head by ponies give birth every day and no one says anything. Even if Clara had met her fiancé in the states and he had been of the same type of family, she would have been fine but I think marrying into another nationality where it was accepted that the women were taken care of and protected was even better.

"I say,open this door at once! We're British !"

[–] leader-7 10 years ago

She's more capable of being a mother than many mentally "adult" women. Too many people come to might right now, but I'll leave their names out of it.

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The world doesnt owe you a damn thing.

[–] joeann_21 10 years ago

I saw this movie very recently on TCM and I would not refer to Clara as "dumb", but more like "simple".

[–] jmatrixrenegade 10 years ago

Little children learn foreign languages. I'm unsure about this "look of intelligence." The value of the main character is her basic goodness.

We saw various signs of her being childish -- her getting excited and ready to cry before Fabrizio calmed her down, her feeding the dog, her wondering why she didn't have a sibling, the final bit about her eating the breadcrumbs.

I personally got a "child-like" vibe from her. A child of 10, which is supposed to be her mental age, can handle most things fairly well. She is not supposed to be a total imbecile or something.

[–] simba-18 10 years ago

It was very noticeable in the scene at the boy's house when she sees their dog. She acted like a child; and then the temper tantrums in public.