I have yet to see the new Les Misérables film, mainly because my friend described it as “so long and they NEVER STOP SINGING” (I’ll try to get her to write a guest review). I have, however, just seen another film dedicated to exploring the harrowing existence of the poor and of women in historical Paris, without making a song and dance about it.
Gervaise was released in 1956 to a slew of awards; an adaptation of Émile Zola’s 1877 novel L’Assommoir. It follows the life of laundress Gervaise (Maria Schnell) as she tries to throw off the chains of poverty, a sexist society and selfish men. The film opens with her adulterous partner Lantier (Armand Mestral) abandoning her and their two sons for another woman. Gervaise is soon married to illiterate roofer Henri Coupeau (François Périer), described as a “kind man” who is not deterred by her existing children and past lovers. Gervaise’s humble dream is to open her own laundry shop, and through years of hard work, she and Coupeau finally raise the money to rent a building. However, tragedy strikes and Coupeau is left bed-bound for months, eating into all their savings and trapping him in the grip of alcoholism. Gervaise’s future then stumbles steadily, inexorably, downhill.
In 1956, this film would have been quite progressive for its time, and even more so the 1877 novel. It tragically portrays the struggles of decent, hard-working women in the face of a cruel patriarchal, conservative society, and the struggle of those living in poverty to find a way out whilst maintaining their pride and integrity.
Although Gervaise is determined and industrious, she is trapped by the necessity of having a man in a patriarchal world, no matter how disappointing that man may be. She narrates of how selfish Lantier took her when she was 15, gave her two children then left; to avoid destitution and social exclusion, she then marries Coupeau, who ends up drinking away her money and her business, and drinking himself into an early grave.
The most striking display of the tragedy of mid-19th Century woman’s dependence on men comes at the crux of the movie. Gervaise has the money to rent her laundry shop, but the law requires her husband’s signature (despite Coupeau’s illiteracy leaving his signature as no more than a scrawled “X”). As he gets up from his roofing job to sign the form, he trips and falls: it is this that leaves him bed-bound, and in turn leads him to alcoholism and despair. Had Gervaise been able to rent the room on her own, the heartbreaking events of the second half of the film might never have happened.
This film is more complex than a simple “women are good, men are evil” narrative, however, and I wouldn’t want to give that impression. This is more a tale of the structural evils of patriarchy, of labour laws, and of poverty than it is of individual deeds. Coupeau and Lantier may essentially ruin Gervaise’s life, but Coupeau at least cuts a pitiable figure. He begins a good man, but because of expensive medical bills, his illiteracy and male pride, falls into despair. There is one purely “good” man in the film: Goujet (Jacques Harden), a quiet, honest blacksmith who loves Gervaise, but is put into jail for striking at the one time he could have saved her. Equally, women are not all portrayed in a positive light, with deceitful Virginie (Suzy Delair) causing much of Gervaise’s anguish.
It is this complexity and realism in Gervaise that makes it such a compelling watch. There are no simplistic heroes and heroines and no happy ending. It is a sad tale, but a powerful one, and a poignant reminder of how far society has come, yet how far it has to go.
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