MovieChat Forums > True Grit (2010) Discussion > Is anyone surprised she's an old maid?

Is anyone surprised she's an old maid?

posted 10 years ago by jgroub
11 replies | jump to latest

I'm not trying to sound like an anti-feminist a$$hole here; I'm just pointing out the times she was in would not have accepted her.

I think that even if she had two good, working arms, she would never have married anyway. Not because, as she said, she "never had time to fool with it," but because basically no man back then would have ever had her. For that time, she was an incredibly arrogant know-it-all, something incredibly unfeminine, and no man would have been caught dead with her. Okay, I'm exaggerating to get my point across, but only very slightly.

Again, I like her character very much from a 21st century perspective. I would even go so far as to say that the title refers to herself - she's the one with True Grit. But from a 19th century perspective? Fuhgeddaboudit.

I want the doctor to take your picture so I can look at you from inside as well.

[–] dyingearth 10 years ago

The thing is that she's a woman of property. There would've been plenty of men willing to put up with her insistent and unbending personality just to have that money. She's not willing though.

[–] jgroub 10 years ago

Good point. You're probably right.

I want the doctor to take your picture so I can look at you from inside as well.

[–] spookyrat1 9 years ago

Mattie essentially says the same thing in her narration towards the end. She's an extremely straight - talking gimp, who doesn't take crap from anyone (Frank James's poor manners) and this hasn't helped her gain a husband, but she doesn't really seem to care ... that much. Similar themes along these lines, are explored really well IMO, in The Homesman.🐭

[–] JackTorrance1980 9 years ago

I'm just over 12 minutes into the movie and she is already driving me crazy. I actually stopped the movie just to see if anyone wrote anything on here about how annoying she is. She may be right about some things, but I don't like her stuck-up, know-it-all attitude. I don't agree with her at all when she says that the stable owner owes her for the stolen horse. I just don't see how he is responsible if some drunk knocked out the stable watchman and stole a horse. It's also ridiculous how she wants him to buy the horses back that her father bought from him, just because she has no use for them. It's no wonder she never marries. I certainly wouldn't marry her back then or in the present.

[–] jgroub 9 years ago

I don't agree with her at all when she says that the stable owner owes her for the stolen horse. I just don't see how he is responsible if some drunk knocked out the stable watchman and stole a horse.

The legal term is that he is the bailee of the horses. Once they are left in his care, they are completely his responsibility. It is no different than if you deposited your money with a bank, and the bank got robbed.

I want the doctor to take your picture so I can look at you from inside as well.

[–] sdoty-54510 9 years ago

You say, "Once they are left in his care, they are completely his responsibility."

No, a bailment for hire is one type of bailment and is a contract governed by its terms or, by default of any, a negligence standard is implied at law. Not absolute liability, as you suggest. You presume the bailee is liable regardless of fault. That is false. The bailee may have used reasonable care and yet been the victim of a crime as well, an intentional act by a third party that acts as supervening cause, which the bailee could successfully argue. Although, the burden of proof might shift on that issue:

"Where the property is damaged, lost or stolen while in the bailee's possession, the bailee may be held liable for negligence to the bailor. In other words, if a stable takes possession of a horse and does not return the horse in the same condition, the stable is presumed to be negligent and has the burden to prove they were not responsible in the loss or damage to the horse."

https://www.avvo.com/legal-guides/ugc/horse-bailment-responsibility

Back in the 1800s, fault was even MORE crucial in tort law than it is today. The law of absolute liability has spread slowly since 1900, first to worker's comp, then to products liability.

[–] franzkabuki 9 years ago

"She is already driving me crazy".

You should see her character in the 1969 True Grit. By comparison, Hailee Steinfeld is a very pleasent, soothing presence.

"facts are stupid things" Ronald Reagan

[–] donald-vanvliet 9 years ago

For that time, she was an incredibly arrogant know-it-all, something incredibly unfeminine, and no man would have been caught dead with her.(...) But from a 19th century perspective? Fuhgeddaboudit.

We're talking about the Wild West here.

I think women who lived there were not always obedient girly girls...Life was hard there, so were the people.

[–] vicky_lc2001 (1907) 8 years ago

From what I read, you need tough women to survive in the 19th century West and these were didn't after women than the delicate type who were ultra feminate and obedient.

[–] vicky_lc2001 (1907) 8 years ago

I like her spunky charger too but she may not fond a husband if from the get go she insults a got and is abrasive so on a sense it really was her decision not to engage in such a thing. Though I felt she had a crush on Matt Damon's character. But I've read too many strong willed and strong minded women with sassy tongues who married in the time period or even earlier so I don't doubt that she very well could've married if she wanted to.

Also of you watch films from the 20s-40s, plenty of likable women with similar characters, so this isn't a 21st century perspective.

[–] Iconoclast321 (429) 7 years ago

Although I didn't care for how her character was portrayed in the movie (emotionally flat, cries more for her horse than for her father), nonetheless, I think the tough character that she portrayed was probably a) not unusual for the women living in the West during the 19th century and b) probably would have been seen as an asset, rather than a liability. He staying single was clearly her choice.