MovieChat Forums > 3 Women (1977) Discussion > 3 women is an allegory about....

3 women is an allegory about....


growing up and accepting change. In my opinion that is. I believe that each of the 3 women is a symbol of a different stage of womanhood. Pinky the child, Millie the adolescent/20-something, and Willie the expectant mother. Where my opinion differs from others though, is that each of these women is slowly growing out of their stage and is reluctant to move on. Well, at least Pinky and Millie are. Pinky is far too old to be behaving the way she does at the beginning of the film, and is in dire need of a change. The same with Millie. She is stuck in the stage of the flirty adolescent girl and is reluctant to move forward. Willie is the acception. She is where she needs to be in life...she is the appropriate age for bearing children.

When Pinky awakens from her coma, her change occurs. She is jump-started and leaps from childhood to adolescence. Millie, horrified from these changes, slowly morphs into a more motherly figure. She becomes more like Willie and her reactions are akin to those a mother feels when they realize that their child is no longer a child, but a young adult.

When Willie's child dies, it affects Millie and Pinky. Pinky, frightened by the promise of motherhood to come, reverts back to her childlike state again. Millie, coming face to face with the same horror, realizes that she must take her place in the world as a caring mother to Pinky. And Willie, being the only one who has accepted her role from the beginning, becomes a grandmother to them both, leading them both through their changing stages of womanhood.

I also believe that they murder Edgar. The death of Edgar is a metaphor for women breaking free from the distraction that is man. Men affect the women all throughout the film. Millie is kept from growing up because she is constantly waiting for the one man to come who will love her. Willie is locked into an unsatisfactory situation because she is carrying Edgar's child. When Edgar died/is murdered, the women are metaphorically freed from men and all the distractions that come with them, and are completely free to embrace their destiny's as women.

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[deleted]

You have some great points there. You should say that to the idiot who posted this is "the worst movie ever", but he probably wouldn't understand anyway.

"I did cramps the way Meryl Streep did accents" - Calliope (Middlesex)

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Good points. Much of the same interpretation I got.

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They blew up Congress!!! HAHAHA!

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good but read my theory in the other thread, I just think there has to be some closer link between Duvall and Spacek's characters. I've watched this film several times and there are too many links between them, not only the names but many clues and hints throughout the film lead me to believe Sissy Spacek represents the troubled childhood of Shelly Duvall. Duvall mentions her mother leaving when she was 11, I see Spacek's body language as that of an 11 year old girl. They each mention their dislike of tomatoes too.

I believe the drunken man represents her father and the reason why Spacek acts so distraught at the prospect of Duvall sleeping with him is because she represents when Duvall as a child was abused by her father. Notice after that night she turns cold and bitter, the signs of abuse. At the end they kill the abusive father off but basically what I'm saying is the Duvall character is unstable and is being haunted by her childhood, which Spacek represents.

Mama:They're all gonna laugh at you!
Carrie:For reals?Then I'll f*k them UP!

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Well, prom-queen, as I mentioned in the other thread, your theory is interessting, and Im not saying I disagree with it. But I also asked you in the other thread, on which you haven't answered yet: Where does Pinkys parents (the old couple visiting her at the hospital) fit into your theory?

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They blew up Congress!!! HAHAHA!

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Peroewen wrote "Well, prom-queen, as I mentioned in the other thread, your theory is interessting, and Im not saying I disagree with it. But I also asked you in the other thread, on which you haven't answered yet: Where does Pinkys parents (the old couple visiting her at the hospital) fit into your theory?"

This wasn't directed at me, but I assume since the whole movie is dreamy and I feel Millie, Pinky and Willie are parts of the same woman, her parents are her parents. She rejects them because she probably had a bad childhood. The parents are more symbols then actual parents, sort of like the husband of Willie a symbol of the male.

It's hard to make theories to a movie like this. It is up to a lot of individual interpretation. It is like people all looking at an abstract painting and trying to make sense out of it.

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Millie's tomato comment was OVERHEARD by Pinky while working at the Rehab Facility (in the tub/shower room). Pinky's face shows extreme interest and an obvious decision to 'adopt' this trait of Millie's in order to form a bond/affinity with her.

Otherwise, I like aspects of your theory. However, the tomato issue cannot be used to support it.

Cheers!

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exactly.

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They each mention their dislike of tomatoes too.
I think Pinkie was eavesdropping, learned of Millie's dislike for tomatoes, and used it on her later to further their relationship; but maybe she actually did hate tomatoes as well.

"We cure NOTHING! We heal NOTHING!"
-George C. Scott

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bunnaykrazie, I like your theory.

I personally think Willie looked too old to a mother and she also was trying to be something she wasn't, hence the stillborn birth and trying to make good of a bad family life.

It is very maiden, mother, crone, though all those places have women who don't want to leave what is comfortable to them. I find Id, Ego and Superego to fit, too, be it this was filmed in the 70's.

I never thought of the daughter, mother and grandmother scene at the end, but it makes a lot of sense. Pinky says Millie is her mom and Willie seems to have greying hair on the porch, it could be lighting, but still...

Along with the Edgar/men themes is that Pinky becomes a sort of Lolita after becoming Millie.

I always felt a bit of Wizard of Oz in this, like Pinky was a Dorothy type girl, Millie was a sort of a Good Witch and Willie a blend of the Wizard and Wicked Witch, due to her making scary sand paintings and not saying much.

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Sorry for not responding to this in so long, I just watched it again and had to get back on here lol.

Thank you scarletminded, I really like what you said about Willie looking too old. That fits into my theory quite well...

Also, this time around I took particular notice of the moment when Pinky spills the cocktail sauce. To me, it almost seems to represent a girl's first menstruation. A sign of the changes to come...a sign of becoming a woman. Soon after that, Pinky rejects her parents, just like all teenage girls do. I don't agree with the whole abuse idea. That's too logical of an approach to take. The parents were simply a symbol, nothing more.

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Really interesting theory, I hadn't seen it that way, in ant particular way at all, but you got me thinking about it. I also thought it was pretty obvious that they killed Edgar in the end.

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"I hate you, I hate us both"

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Great post!

Yes, the film seems to be about one woman at different stages in her life. We never see that one real woman only glimpses of her past.

1 - Pinkie - The woman when she was young and just moved to California.

2 - Millie - After she settled in, remained isolated then just started to take up with Edgar

3 - Willie - The woman after she spent years living with Edgar and only painting to sustain her.

But then the movie curls in on itself. Was Pinkie supposed to represent the unborn child? Maybe the child was born and was only still born in the dream.

Anyway it was a great trip, both Spacek and Duvall were fantastic.

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wow..maybe the whole scenario was a dream, and nobody has woken up yet.

Just like Midnight Cowboy is an allegory about western drifters braving the winds of the element, and ..

Isn't is so millennial-eclectic and fascinating? What a cherished analysis. Maybe you can y'all give us an allegory of Slumber Party Massacre representing the disembodied power of the night overcoming our eternal salvation, which becomes shattered as indicated by the broken windows..and

You bunch of idiots.





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They haven't woken up, that's why the interpretations all sound so deluded.

Exorcist: Christ's power compels you. Cast out, unclean spirit.
Destinata:💩

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Yes, it was a great trip, but it wasn't that trippy in the sense you are alluding too. They were 3 different separate characters, that found a common bond and connection with each other. A teenage girl, an older woman and a mature woman, pronto! And no, Pinkie wasn't representative of an unborn child. The movie only appears to curl in on itself to you, because it isn't befitting of your pretentious interpretation.

Exorcist: Christ's power compels you. Cast out, unclean spirit.
Destinata:💩

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:D I love your interpretation! And with your idea of the sauce=menstruation, and the rejection of the parents, it all seems to fit!

Don't wake me 'cuz I'm dreamin' of angels on the moon...

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Indeed, very interesting read of the film. It reminded me of works that David Lynch would do in the future, like "Mulholland Dr.".

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