The Duchess

 Word count: 316

The Duchess

The Duke states, "For the life of me I don't understand why women's attire must be so damned complicated." Georgiana replies, "I suppose it's just our way of expressing ourselves." The Duke asks, "Whatever do you mean?" Georgiana replies, "Well, that you have so many ways of expressing yourselves, whereas we must make do with our hats and our dresses, I suppose" (Dibb, 2008)

"I am sure you are full of the best intentions, Mr. Fox, but I dare say I would not spend my vote - assuming I had it - on so vague a statement. Either one is free or one is not. The concept of freedom is an absolute. After all, one cannot be moderately dead, moderately loved, or moderately free. It must always remain a matter of either or."

     The first quote is dialogue is from the Duke and Georgiana's wedding night. They have this conversation as the Duke undresses her. This scene is immensely powerful. Georgiana explains what it is like to be a women in this time period.  Throughout the movie, the Duke continually acts and says that Georgiana is his property. We see that aspect in this scene as he cuts her dress off of her, but Georgiana truly expresses herself and her power through her clothing. There are many times where her clothes are the focal point of an event they are attending. Many women look up to her because of this power. They see a woman, who they know is being oppressed in her home, demand more attention than her husband in every room they walk into. 

    Georgiana states the second quote to Mr. Fox in a conversation about how he wants to obtain more freedom for the people. She deems this contradictory because "the concept of freedom is an absolute" (Dibb, 2008). She also mentions that she, and all women at the time, do not have the right to vote. This statement is interesting because she is giving her opinion so freely about a topic men have decided she has no opinion on. This quote also relates back to the first quote. Georgiana has no freedom, except in her clothing. This is why she makes it such an important part of her identity and her public persona. This is the only way society will let her be free, which contradicts her point that freedom is absolute. Freedom, especially during this time, was fluid. Groups of people were constantly fighting for more - even the most free group of people, white men, were grappling with the government for more. This is because a little freedom is better than none. This is why Georgiana emposes so much importance onto her clothes.

Dibb, Saul. The Duchess. Paramount Pictures, 2008.

Comments

  1. Cora MatthewsonFebruary 27, 2021 at 5:49 PM

    Within The Duchess I believe that the first quote mentioned is an enormously powerful part of this piece when it comes to looking at women in this time period. The topic of her clothes come up more than once throughout this film and you can see that it is a representation of how hard women had it. From the outside the clothing looks beautiful but on the inside it is suffocating and has many different layers. The Duke continuously states that Georgina is his property and it shows that although Georgina is powerful she is also seen as property and feels that way as well which is the main cause of her unhappiness. Georgina has no freedom except within her clothes and for the Duke to cut them off show her power and control being taken away in some aspects and views.

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  2. Kristen SassoMarch 1, 2021 at 3:30 PM

    I agree how the first quote you mentioned demonstrated power. The Duke saying that Georgina is his property shows the power he had over her. Throughout this movie, male dominance was portrayed due to the power the Duke had over the Duchess.

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