Cabiria,
a film made in 1956, displays the struggles of a woman hoping to find happiness
and love from a man. She makes a living by prostituting, and every man she
comes in contact with takes advantage of her vulnerability. Giorgio, Alberto,
and Oscar all hurt Cabiria in multiple ways, even though she gives them
everything and tries to gain their acceptance. The pattern of her heartache and
anger is a continuous reoccurrence in the film, and makes viewers believe that
she will have a hard time finding happiness. In the last scene of the film,
Cabiria has a tear running down her face and walks off alone, but is soon met
by a band of musicians. At that moment she builds a smile upon her face, even
after all of the anguish she faces throughout the film. I believe that at that
moment, Cabiria realizes that she does not need a man to make her feel like she
is not alone. Cabiria changes herself and does not rely on others to change
her. Her smile is lifted from behind her tears because she feels the joy
surrounding her, and I think she realizes that there is no use in crying over
someone who did not deserve her happiness in the first place.
All
of the male characters in the film pursue something in Cabiria that she is not
searching for herself. They all either want money or lust, while she wants love
and happiness. Cabiria carries herself through the streets of Rome with high
hopes, but always manages to get caught in an act of deceit and heartache. The
first man who appears in the film is Giorgio, who pushes her into a pond for
40,000 lira. Her rage and anger is casted towards everyone, even those who save
her life. Soon thereafter she is dancing
with her prostitute friends and having a good time. We never get to understand
the real Cabiria because all of her emotions seem as though they are exaggerated.
She cannot understand why someone who she loves would try to drown her, but
likewise she allows people to do pretty much whatever they want with her. It is
hard to understand as a viewer where her happiness comes from, and I also think
Cabiria does not truly know. She knows she wants to find love and she wants
something to change, but she is not sure how to put her hopes into action.
Another
man that causes Cabiria’s self-realization at the end of the film is the famous
actor Alberto Lazzati. I believe she goes with this man because she hopes
something good will come out of their night, but he ends up locking Cabiria up
in a bathroom to hide her from his fiancé. She relies on him to make her happy,
but he is too caught up in his own lifestyle and luxury to care about a woman
like her. It seems like a repetitive scene where Cabiria puts trust into a man
with many faults that Cabiria chooses to overlook. Her one hope in life is to
be happy and to have someone love her, but she will never be able to reach
these goals unless she can be happy and love herself.
The
last contender in Cabiria’s spiral downwards is a man named Oscar. They fall in
love and are soon to be married. This could be because Cabiria prayed to the Madonna
for something to change, but we soon find out that Oscar was only going to marry
her for her money, and also intends to push her off of a cliff. She has been
stepped on countless times by the people she surrounds herself with. It is as
though none of the things in her life matter if she can’t be happy, but Cabiria
has yet to realize that it is the way she is dependent on others for her
happiness. Cabiria walks away in tears as the movie is coming to an end. As
viewers we want the best for Cabiria, but it seems impossible at this point.
Cabiria
walks alone but suddenly comes across a lively orchestra of people who smile at
her and show her friendliness. They dance and sing alongside her, I believe
helping her forget all of her past distress. Something very unexpected happens
within Cabiria; she looks towards the audience and a grin lightens up across
her face. This confused me at first—how could Cabiria be happy after all of the
hurt she experienced throughout the film? Nonetheless, her perseverance to find
true happiness through scumbags and deceitful liars opened her eyes to what she
could have been doing wrong the entire time. These men are not going to change
her life around for the better. Even though Cabiria is now alone, she is now surrounded
by warmth, delight, and a true love for herself. If Cabiria had never
experienced the hurt she did throughout the film, she would not have been able
to hope for something better and be optimistic about her life. By people
hurting her, she comes to the conclusion that the only person she can rely on
is herself.
-Allison Emery
Nights of Cabiria is a story of the ups and downs of Cabiria and her attempt at finding love and, more importantly, happiness. The film is shows the ups and downs of her life, as she is trying to accomplish this goal of love and happiness. I agree that throughout the sequence of events, she still tries to put forth a false sense of happiness. This quality defines Cabiria because she is consistently trying to impress people and show that her life is not as bad as her friends and the other prostitute. I think by doing this, she is a character the viewers can relate to, in that, many people are trying to find happiness and do not want others to see their flaws in judgment and their real unhappiness.
ReplyDeleteAnother theme in Nights of Cabiria that was prevalent was the motif of foreshadowing. The movie starts with Giorgio pushing Cabiria into the lake for her money and then she talks about how she loved the Giorgio and refuses to believe that he was using her. Then she has many ups and downs as she meets a movie star and then he gets back with his girlfriend, she prays for a miracle to the Madonna, but it doesn’t happen, and lastly she meets Oscar who tricks her into loving him before he takes her money. This theme is hidden by the fact that some good things do happen, but then it turns around for the worst each time. By using foreshadowing discretely, the viewer does not catch on to her dismay at each sequence of events. Also Cabiria becomes an extremely sympathetic character due to her lifestyle and personality, which keeps the viewer watching and hoping for something good to happen in her life just as Cabiria does.
- Daniel Bowman (Group 2)
I agree that Nights of Cabiria is a journey we go on with this young woman in her pursuit of happiness. The ending to the movie where we see Cabiria pick herself up out of the dirt is truly heartwarming. The struggle she goes through to get to that point is immense and emotionally exhausting but she never gives up. Cabiria has the audience cheering so desperately for her, as we can relate to her need to fit in and find true love.
ReplyDeleteCabiria does find herself in several predicaments involving men taking advantage of her, beginning with Gorgio and (we hope) ending with Oscar. She is constantly fighting throughout the film to find her place among her peers and all whom she encounters. An example of this is her desire to impress the "upper class" prostitutes she met earlier in the day by yelling out of the movie star Alberto Lazzari's car at them, "look at me now". She even struggles to fit in with her peers, reminding them frequently that she doesn't need them, she has a house and even a bank account.
Cabiria has a constant theme of innocence. She bares herself completely while under hypnosis in front of a crowd of rowdy viewers. Her ability to completely forget the lesson she should've learned with Gorgio in the beginning and trust Oscar wholeheartedly in the end lends way to this repetitive theme. She has harmed no one, and her only flaw is that she trusts too easily and is therefore taken advantage of.
Though we see her try to remain proud and strong, we see her at her weakest moments and she finds a way to keep us rooting her on. She, like us, acts independent, pushing people away but secretly yearning for someone to save her. Cabiria meets herself in the middle of this, finding herself in the ability to actually dig deep and rescue herself. We hope that with the teary ending, Cabiria has learned her lesson and will not repeat the cycle she lived during the film.