Whilst he's still bedbound McB tells Miss Martha that he's a Quaker. We know he's lying because of the accompanying flashback of his life, and she's got no way of knowing his religious preferences at this stage. However, a minute or two later she's offering him wine - I thought Quakers didn't touch alcoholic drinks.
And later we see him playing cards. (I wonder where he got them from).
I suspect that Miss Martha knows McB is a liar from the start, but is overwhelmed by her sexual feelings for him. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if his Quaker claim didn't go in one ear and out the other. It's also possible that Miss Martha may not know very much about Quakers anyway.
There, daddy, do I get a gold star?
And he also says he would not use a weapon, but 10 minutes later he grabs the pistol from Edwina.
I didn't know about the alcohol and the cards. Interesting. We think the flashbacks are for us, the viewer to see him for a boldfaced liar, but it is also plain in the story that he is such, as well. I haven't thought about the movie on that level before. interesting.
I also noticed that he tells all the girls that he loves to dance -- reels, polkas, waltzes -- and that he could give them lessons. It struck me as a little suspect for a Quaker, even though I don't know how strict Quakers were in that regard (just a gut feeling).
sharePlus, he didn't even ask for Quaker Oats at breakfast. That really gave it away.
"The sword is the soul. Study the soul to know the sword. Evil mind makes an evil sword." — Toranosuke Shimada, “The Sword of Doom“
Quakers dance, so your gut is wrong.
I think he figured he could get away with it because most people then as now are pretty ignorant about the different denominations. Most of you are describing Southern Baptists and other fundamentalists.
Using the gun was the dead giveaway. Quakers are pacifists.
As someone else noted, there's also the strong implication that the women believed what they wanted to believe.
I think the headmistress WAS taken in by his claim to be a Quaker. You could see it in the subtle change in her facial expression and manner toward him before and after his phony story about saving the wounded. But that was the point of the title, he "beguiled" them into accepting him, first by lying, then by charming them with his clint eastwood charisma.
And yes, Quakers today play cards, dance, and drink wine, but that wasn't the case in the 1860's. From the 1750's on they abstained from alcohol. If the ladies of the seminary did know anything about Quakers of their time, they would have recognized that. However, most of the Quakers in the South in the years before and during the Civil War were forced to leave their homes or were sent to prison, because of their denomination's opposition to war, although some did serve in the military, both as medics (which he pretended to be) or in some cases combat soldiers.
But that was the point of the title, he "beguiled" them into accepting him, first by lying, then by charming them with his clint eastwood charisma.I agree with you, but I think the beguiling runs in both directions with McB being played too. I don't think Martha was too taken in by the Quaker claims, as even back then many Quakers avoided taking up arms like the plague. She was suspicious, but happy enough for her own reasons to see how things played out. share
Great answer.
If I may add, McB's description of himself as a "Quaker" explained away his reluctance to return to the war, and also absolved him of any suspicion of cowardice.