Both High Noon and The Ballad of Little Jo have strong female characters. However, Jane Tompkins argues otherwise; saying that these women may seem strong and fiery at first, “but when push comes to shove, as it always does, they crumble” (61). This can be seen in High Noon, with the main female character, Mrs. Amy Kane. She has some control over Will Kane, as he is ready to leave town and start a new life with her. Mrs. Kane gets married to the Marshal and tries to convince him to leave with her instead of fighting the villain. Nevertheless, all of her talk gets her nowhere, since Marshal Will Kane gets ready for Frank Miller’s arrival. Mrs. Kane’s attempt at fleeing with her newlywed husband, does not work because the West is a place, as Tompkins would argue, of “not-language”. Even so, one can argue that Mrs. Kane’s talking does work. In the end, Will does leave with Amy to begin life elsewhere. Although Amy Kane doesn’t get exactly what she asks for, when she asks for it, she does get it eventually. Also, we see a female character make a truly important step in this movie, since it is Amy Kane who saves Will; she kills a man and steps out of the way for Will Kane to kill Frank Miller.
The Ballad of Little Jo also takes the female character in another direction. Jo is a woman who dresses as a man and therefore is a man, since it is “illegal to dress improper to your sex”. She is a very strong female character, because like the men in Westerns, she does not “open to another person”, therefore not becoming “vulnerable” (Tompkins 56). She is not the typical woman who speaks her mind and her feelings, making herself vulnerable and less dominant. Tompkins would almost characterize Jo as a man of the West, because she does keep her secret until her death. She does not open up and let everyone, especially men, in. It is very important to see how a woman can be just like a man in this movie. This is a big step for women in westerns, since the silence is a very important characteristic of the alpha male cowboy and a woman can do the same in this movie.
In High Noon, we also have Mrs. Ramirez, who is a very important female character. She is a very advanced character. Since High Noon was only made in 1952, the advancement of the female characters is very important to consider. American women are starting to really stand up for their rights. Mrs. Ramirez is a successful business woman who independently decides what she wants to do and sets off on her own- she does not need a man to get anywhere. We also see Mrs. Kane using a gun (which is a mascusline symbol) in order to protect her husband. We see women really starting to have an important role in this western. It is important to consider the fact that in America, women didn't have many rights yet and there weren't many women in 1952, who lived independently and worked on their own.
ReplyDeleteWe must also consider the Ballad of Little Jo and where America was at that time. In 1993, we don't really see women's rights being an issue anymore, since women were already in the workforce and many women could live on their own and support themselves. However, we see the whole cross-dressing issue arise. This was a time when crossdressers were really trying to voice their rights to be what they felt like being. Many times in history, crossdressing is seen as a disorder, but in the 1980s and 1990s, we see crossdressers really expressing themselves. They even have their own websites now, that support their fellow crossdressers on this tough change of life. We see that crossdressing is not easy for Little Jo, and it was not easy for the crossdressers across America either.