Apart from being a visually beautiful movie marked by superb performances and juicy plot-developments as the various wives, and servants, back-stab one another, this is a brilliant microcosmic take on a patriarchal society, or indeed a metaphor for any hierarchical society, in which those in the lower tiers are required to fight and scheme against themselves in order to win the favour of those at the top, in this case literally a man.
shareI'm sure feminists would find this film a good depiction of woman's place in a patriarchal society. But they would hate the fact that the women in this film were only scheming against each other, instead of collaborating with each other against their common oppressor (husband).
shareI disagree. The film is a great illustration of what women shouldn't do, and what they are sadly often forced to do, within the patriarchy. A wish-fulfilment fantasy in which the women joined forces and defeated their male master/husband would have been fatuous in view of the time and circumstances they were living under, and I'm sure most intelligent feminists would agree.
The divide and conquer strategy is often successfully used by people in power, whether they're male, white, wealthy or whatever.
Patriarchy or not, fact is that certainly wife number 3 and wife number 4 had other options but choose money over their happiness. By their marriage, they accepted the terms that came with it. Or at least should have.
If you go to a dominatrix you won't complain afterwards that your butt got whipped.
But they would hate the fact that the women in this film were only scheming against each other, instead of collaborating with each other against their common oppressor (husband).
You're a sexual Disneyland.share