MovieChat Forums > Jeanne Dielman, 23 quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles (1976) Discussion > What impact did the letter have?

What impact did the letter have?

posted 15 years ago by odo5435
7 replies | jump to latest

Was the arrival of the sister's letter the catalyst for subsequent events?

Jeanne remarks to Sylvain that she does not know how to reply, indicating that she must have been thinking about the letter at some point. The letter may even have distracted her to the extent of forgetting to check on the potatoes.

The letter's breezy style, interestingly interpreted in its oral rendition, portays a life of comparative excitement (learning to drive!) and luxury (the cousin has his own bedroom!); a life that is glaringly at odds with Jeanne's own existence. The conversation with Sylvain about his father further emphasises dissimilarities in her sister's life from WWII onwards.

Could the receipt of the letter, and Jeanne's brooding upon its contents, have been part of the reason behind her orgasm?

Was it the banality of the contents of the (care?) package, when considered against her sister's lifestyle, that precipitated Jeanne's final actions.

It seems so to me but this aspect does not appear to have been considered yet on this site (or any others I have explored).

That wasn't very sporting, using real bullets.

[–] gnolti 15 years ago

I'm reluctant to see anything in this film as causative; Jeanne's development as a character seems almost entirely internally driven -- she's a conundrum inside an enigma. Her sister's letter is intended for us, I think, as a reference point, i.e., a brief window on the outside world that is so completely alien to Jeanne's present existence. Even the way she recites the letter's contents indicates that she is beyond the reach of words (silence being her natural state). The thing I find so maddening about JD is that I can't be sure she is capable of self-reflection. Does she even have an inner life? I know it would seem impossible for her not to, but plenty of people get through the day staring at a TV and going about banal routines without having a single profound thought.

There, daddy, do I get a gold star?

[–] kino66 9 years ago

IMO, this is an excellent summation of the JD character:

I'm reluctant to see anything in this film as causative; Jeanne's development as a character seems almost entirely internally driven -- she's a conundrum inside an enigma. Her sister's letter is intended for us, I think, as a reference point, i.e., a brief window on the outside world that is so completely alien to Jeanne's present existence. Even the way she recites the letter's contents indicates that she is beyond the reach of words (silence being her natural state). The thing I find so maddening about JD is that I can't be sure she is capable of self-reflection. Does she even have an inner life?

I don't think she can (or wants to) self-reflect because she's afraid to admit to herself what she actually feels. Hence, this is why she does what she does in the end.

[–] maybemily 15 years ago

She had an orgasm??!! When in the film did that take place?

[–] aczmd 15 years ago

The orgasm is quite evident in the last sexual encounter just before the customer was terminated with scissors. It seems evident to this observer that Jeanne's self-disgust with that orgasm was the motivation for the termination.

[–] cherish7246 15 years ago

It's not visible in the film, but the director has said in an interview that she has an orgasm with her second (middle) customer. The very first sign we have that she is rattled is when she forgets to turn on the light in the hall as he is paying.

[–] timlin-4 14 years ago

Strange that the point of this very very long film is only very very obscurely implied. It's true as the director claims that a man would never make such a film, since he would show this in much more detail--say 1 hour, and unless he were of the Victorian era he certainly wouldn't think to use it as an explanation for insanity. Although I liked this film there is some twisted ideology guiding it.

[–] PoppyTransfusion 10 years ago

I think Jeanne struggled with a reply because of the song on the radio. A woman singing with throaty vocals. Plus she has started falling apart a little after the visit from her client, e.g. the potatoes over cook, she doesn't have enough left so has to go and buy some more, and so on.

I give my respect to those who have earned it; to everyone else, I'm civil.