tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9218226270919785997.post5634320164431698583..comments2024-02-18T06:53:12.231-08:00Comments on literatimom: Dichotomous Motherhood in the Stage Version of Mary Poppinsliteratimomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18350416090357900369noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9218226270919785997.post-27344243843356038312010-07-08T07:44:03.001-07:002010-07-08T07:44:03.001-07:00Dani, you are right. Mrs. Banks's demeanor is...Dani, you are right. Mrs. Banks's demeanor is more "grown up" in the end. And she seems to come to regard her suffragette activities as childish and something that she must put aside in order to be a good mother. All in all, the movie really uses feminism as the butt of the joke, I think. Mrs. Banks must remove herself from the frivolity of the suffragette movement in order to become a real woman, a good mother. Interesting, though, that although she kind of acts more grown up, Mrs. Banks does not assert her own personhood in the end anymore than she does in the beginning. She remains completely subservient to her husband's desires, following him mindlessly as he seems to lose touch with reality and go on an outing with the children and fly kites after he loses his job.<br /><br />Thanks so much, Dani!! You make me think!literatimomhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18350416090357900369noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9218226270919785997.post-84041161546919782172010-07-05T08:03:49.648-07:002010-07-05T08:03:49.648-07:00Interesting--and disappointingly the same, apparen...Interesting--and disappointingly the same, apparently. <br /><br />As I'm thinking about this, the one thing that sticks out in my memory was a kind of contempt for Mrs. Banks (the movie version) for her so OBVIOUS deference to her husband, even and especially in the face of her suffragette rebellion. It made her a less sympathetic or likable character, even to my childhood/adolescent mind. I'm not sure they did themselves any favors by making her such an idiot. <br /><br />On the other hand, she like her husband does seem more grown up by the end. So perhaps the message to stay home and put your children first remains intact after all. <br /><br />Or perhaps the message might arguably be to simply to grow up and be a good parent, whatever that might look like? (I was thinking the other day, I'd have been a much better mother if I'd been more emotionally mature . . . which wouldn't necessarily have precluded creating a life *I* loved, perhaps?! Of course, that assumes a certain level of maturity!)danerylnoreply@blogger.com