In addition to my other  classes, this semester I am taking an online class through Johnson County Community College.  It’s called Literature by Women; and in addition to reading a variety of feminist authors, the goal is to further understand gender identity.

It got me thinking about feminist movies I have seen.  With an all female cast, William Wyler’s, “The Women” definitly came to mind.  Anchored by the histrionic prowess of Joan Crawford, Rosalind Russell, and Norma Shearer, the movie encapsulates the root of many issues women faced in 1939, and for the most part, still face today.

On the surface level, this movie is hardly a feminist ballad.  The screenplay is cluttered with catty bantor, the cast is static in traditional gender roles, and there is a fashion show awkwardly in the middle of the movie.  However, this film does challenge a multitude of women’s perspectives.

At its base, the plot is propelled by Norma Shearer’s character, Mary, discovering that her husband (who is never seen in the film), is having an affair with a woman at a perfume counter at a store that sounds a lot like Sak’s Fifth Avenue.  This news comes as a surprise to her close friends, who are eager to hold the woman accountable for her domestic crime, leaving a trail of gossip along the way (hence the catty bantor).

However, what makes this movie great is the explanation of the female perspective.  Mary’s mother represents the past, urging her daughter to stay with her husband for the sake of Mary’s young daughter.  Yet Mary’s friends, all modern women, plead with Mary to leave her husband and spare her dignity.  Additionally, her friends represent a variety of diffeerent female roles.  Rosalind Russell’s character is a career woman, who obviously wears the pants in the relationship.  Another one of Mary’s comrades is the typical housewife with eight devious children.

“The Women” won numerous Academy Awards in 1940 and was more recently remade into a movie starring Meg Ryan, however, it does not even compare to the originial film.  Find it on Netflix or Amazon!