A Woman Scorned Essay, Research Paper
The Cook, the Thief, his Wife, and her Lover by Peter Greenway is an astounding tale of sex, deceit, corruption, and abuse. This movie is partial about a woman named Georgina and the relationship she holds between her and the two men in her life, Michael and Albert. Michael is her lover and Albert, her husband, is a head gangster. Albert both physically and psychologically abuses Georgina throughout their whole relationship. As many women in abusive relationships, Georgina does nothing to stop him. It is only when her lover is killed that Georgina finally takes a stand against Albert. As the old saying goes: Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned.
The most obvious way that Georgina is abused is physically. There are the smaller things like when Albert hits her in the face with a menu when she corrects him in his French pronunciation. And the time that Albert hits Georgina on the hand with a spoon at the dinner table because she was not paying attention to him. Grabbing Georgina s breast at the dinner table is another prime example. Of course there are the most obvious ways Albert abuses her. Dragging her around, twisting her arm, and punching her in the stomach when she makes him mad. When Albert rapes Georgina in the car in the back of the restaurant it gives very strong evidence of just how horrible this man really is. There are also those things that blur the line between physical and psychological abuse. These things could be considered both physical and psychological. Albert forces Georgina to wipe his ass with a warm cloth every night after dinner. There are also instruments that he uses on his wife, such as wooden spoons, tooth brushes, and bottles; Georgina tells a dead Michael that it didn t hurt as bad when she did it herself. Actually, there is no such a thing as physical abuse that isn t also psychologically damaging. However, of all the physical abuse that Georgina received, the two last things, and the raping, seem to be the most damaging both
physically and mentally.
There as other forms of psychological abuse that Albert uses that are purely verbal. There may actually have been more verbal abuse than physical abuse happening in this movie. Most of what Albert does are small nasty comments he makes to her to harm her self esteem and to basically make fun of her in front of his gang buddies. There are the conversations at the dinner table describing their sex life in detail and ruining her food made specially for her while she is away from the table in the bathroom . And of course, how could one forget the time when Albert follows Georgina into the women s bathroom and tells her she better not be masturbating because she s not allowed to, she is his property . And then there s the time when he s mad at her and drags the kitchen boy into the middle of it. Albert tells the boy about how he blames Georgina for Albert s loss of innocence and youth, stating that she corrupted him. Last, but not least, is the time when Albert invites Michael over to the table and forces Georgina to say detrimental things about herself.
Despite the fact that Georgina is continuously abused throughout the whole movie, she does try to find solace and happiness. Michael, a quiet bookworm whom she meets at the restaurant, becomes her outlet. He becomes her beacon of light, the one thing that keeps her going during Albert s constant abuse. She finds happiness in the warmth of his body, and solace in the silence between them. They don t even know each other s names until Albert (like the idiot that he is) invites Michael over to their table. I believe she liked the silence between them, the secret rendezvous they have in the bathroom and kitchen. Unlike Albert s unceasing chatter, Michael has a soft and very docile voice when the couple finally begin to speak. After being in an abusive relationship for so long, it is hard for Georgina to believe that she could actually have found someone who truely cares for her. therefore, that is why she needs to sleep with Michael right under Albert s nose and to have someone like the Chef see her. That way, she knows it is truely happening.
Georgina s happiness disintegrates not long after she has found it. Albert finds out about the two lovers and vows to, as he put it, I ll kill him, and then I ll eat him! To escape from Albert s wrath Georgina and Michael hide in a truck full of rotten meat and flee to Michael’s book depository where they spend but a very short time in bliss. After Michael is Killed by Albert and his henchmen, Georgina decides it is time to get revenge. Along with the chef and the rest of the restaurant s staff, Albert finally gets what he deserves. Under Georgina s instructions the chef cooks Michael and sends a formal invitation to Albert to come and have dinner. Once Albert is there, Georgina, Along with the staff, present s Michael, fully laid out on a platter, to Albert. Georgina pulls a gun on him and forces him to take a bite of her dead lover. Once he has, she shoots him in the head, calling him a cannibal . Thus freeing Georgina from Albert forever.
The abuse that Georgina goes through is appalling. The amount of anguish she put up with is unbelievable. She seems to accept it, however, until it is no longer just her. In some way she may have even thought that she deserved the abuse she received. Michael, on the other hand did not deserve any abuse from Albert, so when Albert kills Michael, Georgina decides to fight back. She finally does something about Albert s control of her life. Hell definitely hath no fury like Georgina scorned.
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