Sunday, October 11, 2015

Is Maria an Existentialist?

In the movie Trust, Maria seems to go through an existential crisis of her own. She goes from being a popular girl who got what she wanted to having no money and nowhere to turn. Trust appears to make existentialism less sexist than The Stranger, and show that women are not just holding men back from living authentic lives. However, I don't think that Trust makes existentialism more available to women.

Maria seems to leave all social constructions in her life after meeting Matthew. However, her family, best friend, and boyfriend abandon her. She isn't the one actively choosing what she wants to do in her life, and only makes choices when she has no other options available. Throughout the movie, she tries to regain her mother's love and does anything her mother asks. She also maintains her relationship with her sister after her sister "sleeps" with Matthew.

Maria gets rid of posters in her room and changes her clothes, which seem to be a representation of her leaving popular culture and the system. I think those are a result of loving Matthew. When Maria talks to the nurse, the nurse comments on how much Maria and Matthew both change as a result of their relationship. Maria becomes more simple and withdrawn from society like Matthew. She becomes interested in her education after reading one of Matthew's books. Ultimately, Maria's biggest personal decision is getting her abortion, and it isn't really her own. Maria wants to keep the baby, but decides to get the abortion after seeing her sister and Matthew in bed together. She had already talked with her sister and a friend about how they had both had abortions, so while it was unpopular in society as a whole, it was common among those she had the closest relationships with.

Maria isn't going through an existentialist crisis. Rather, she is changing due to her relationship with Matthew and is still deeply connected to the system. If anything, Maria holds back Matthew from living an authentic life, like Marie holds back Meursault in The Stranger. Matthew is on a course to abandoning the last social constructions is his life, his family and his job, until he becomes involved with Maria. With Maria, Matthew gets another job he hates so he can support her and the baby if they get married. Matthew compromises what he wants to do what Maria needs, which is the peril of love. Love stops people from living authentic lives by making them consider other people's wants and needs instead of their own. Trust maintains existentialism as a "male" thing, and shows women prevent men from leaving the system like The Stranger.

1 comment:

  1. I like that you explore how Maria and Matthew are holding each other back. I thought that they were changing each other for the better, but now I'm rethinking that.

    ReplyDelete