Would anybody care to speculate on what Eilis would have done had her marriage remained secret? I thought she was leaning toward remaining in Ireland and marrying Jim, until the crotchety store owner found out.
Cheers,
Alan Shank
Woodland, CA
I am glad to see this thread since it validates my feelings about the film. For me the problem is bigger than Ellis' irresponsible behavior. The problem lies in the fact that the film told a simple, romanticized story from a time gone by without offering a deeper perspective of the choices women of the period had.
Ellis fell in love with the gentle and sincere Tony out of an emotional void in her life. She adapted to her new home and culture, but as she pointed out during the bleakest period early on in her stay that she could not help thinking that she'd "rather be an Irish girl in Ireland."
Love of her culture, her heritage, along with the reality of the postion women of the time period held and the lack of opportunity and facing life without a husband. The movie failed to show her conflict. Instead, it painted her like a capricious woman who openly flirted with the idea of involvement even though she was not free to do so.
Writers and filmmakers cannot expect women today to appreciate this lack of options and so they have to tell the story in a way that compels them to understand it in historical context.
I really think it's unfair to say that the movie painted her as capricious. I found the movie to be rather sympathetic towards her situation. It clearly showed how her mom tried to push her to stay, and how lonely her mother seemed.
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We are certainly led to believe that this was the straw that pushed her back into the "go to NY" camp whereas she appeared to have been leaning more and more towards staying in Ireland. We, of course, knew that it was not that simple, that she was married back in NY, and that would surely have come out before anything happened with Jim (she was far too old-fashioned in mores to get intimate with him while married), but it did raise the dramatic tension for us to think she might end up staying anyway. Realistically, this could not have happened, though.
shareEllis was not going to remain in Ireland. Why? She outgrew it ( Rose knew there was no room for her there). Remember she was attending Brooklyn College and not only was she studying bookkeeping so she can one day be an accountant, but was getting superior grades ( she was being even more educated then Tony's family ( it was noted that only the small boy had a chance for college). Also keep in mind the plans that Tony had ( and Ellis agreed to) to move to Long Island. The problems that Ellis had with Ireland ( gossip and limited opportunity), were still there she just needed to be reminded of them plus when she admitted to her mother she was married, she told her she wants to be with her husband. Finally Ellis was a very strong woman: The way she told Mrs. Kelly her name ( Fiorillo) you could tell she was proud of it. Plus what she told the Irish Girl on the ship and afterwards at Ellis Island ( no accident her name is Ellis), you can tell she is a very different woman then when she arrived in the first place.
shareI agree that she was leaning toward remaining in Ireland. For me, the story would have worked better and made the viewer more sympathetic toward Eilis had she and Tony not married prior to her going back to Ireland. As presented, for me, Eilis's character was not consistent. While she initially comes across as caring, giving, innocent, respectful, and oozing integrity, the fact that she seems to be considering leaving her husband but only relents when her 'secret' is discovered creates a much less-flattering picture. Had she not been legally committed to Tony, I would have related better to her plight.
shareGiven the stifling culture of the town, I don't think she would have stayed.
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