MovieChat Forums > Way Down East (1920) Discussion > Characterization of Martha

Characterization of Martha

posted 9 years ago by Trippetta10
2 replies | jump to latest

I liked this movie, but the the way Martha was presented seemed off. It seems that we are meant to see her merely as a likable comic spinster, but it is hard to square this with her self-righteous glee about Anna's past. She comes across as worse than the squire who was narrow-minded and judgmental but at least didn't take any particular pleasure in seeing Anna disgraced. I do think Griffith showed some insight into the puritanical mindset with Martha at this part of the film--that is, a lot moral outrage over "sinners" is rooted in schadenfreude over their humiliation and suffering. Yet by the end of the film, Martha is again being presented as a harmless kook (rewarded with a happy wedding, no less) who didn't even feel it necessary to apologize to Anna as the squire at least did. This seemed so off it made me wonder if there originally had been a scene in which she apologized that ended up being deleted.

******************************
In heaven everything is fine.

[–] Errauko 9 years ago

When Martha is first introduced we're told that no one needs a newspaper when she's around. In other words, she is the town gossip. As such, I don't think her gleeful pleasure was rooted in any puritanical moral outrage, but rather in the fact that she had a juicy bit of information that no one else had. I also suspect that she didn't take pleasure in Anna's suffering so much as she took pleasure in the anticipation of telling others about it. I think it is this lack of any deliberate malice that makes gossips harmless, and yet very dangerous at the same time.

[–] snsurone 8 years ago

The real villain was Maria Poole, the zombie-like landlady.
After she told Anna's story to Martha, the latter felt that it was her "boundin' duty to report this woman to the Squire."
And while Martha may have initially felt gleeful about her gossip, I believe she may have changed her mind after Anna revealed that Lennox Sanderson was her betrayer
True, we never see Martha actually apologize to Anna, the fact that she wasn't angry about David marrying her tells me that she was sorry, and that everyone was able to move on.