The Godfather is an American classic, originally written by Mario Puzo and later directed by Francis Coppola starring Marlon Brando, Robert Duval, Al Pacino, Diane Keaton (Kay), James Caan, and Talia Shire (Adrian from Rocky) to name a few.
In my class Three Novels and a Film, Professor Rosenberg's last class, we took a look at Moby-Dick, Song of Solomon, The Godfather, The Godfather Pt.II, and The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay - all coming of age stories. But it is Kay's power, or lack of power, in the hegemonic Italian-mob family that particularly interests me.
near the end of the Pt.II, Michael is naive and not informed about his family as he is more focused on the business of the mob. There is a scene where Kay and Michael (who has been the Don of the Corleone's for a while now, since the end of Pt.I) are talking and Michael is trying to converse with go who it seems is long past their relationship. In one of the most intense scenes in the film, with spectacular acting, Michael says something alongs the lines of "i know you blame me for you miscarriage" and Kay responds "it wasn't a miscarriage, it was an abortion. an abortion michael. just like our marriage is an abortion. something that is unholy and evil. i didn't want your son micahel. i wouldn't bring another one of your sons in this world... i had it killed because this had to end" (referring to the Italian-Mob).
I was one of the few in class who sort of sided with Kay because she was trapped in this family and relationship, and before she did not know what she was getting herself into. But after reading Zami at the beginning of the year, I noticed that Kay was doing the only thing she could within her power, so she did it. This also spoke to American society of the time because Pt. II came out in '74 and Roe v. Wade happened in '73, which was a very interesting point Professor Rosenberg noted. I do not think I would have noticed Kay's reasoning behind doing this and why she did it, not only because she felt responsible for continuing on the Corleone family, but because this was the only power she had in the relationship, over her own body and to abort the baby, without reading and discussing Audre Lorde and her novel Zami in class this semester. I am always intrigued and happy when I can see the relationship between things from one class to another and did so in this case.
The scene that you discuss is one of the most crucial scenes in the entire moving. Not only does it change the legacy of an entire family, but it makes Michael go mad. As a woman in this environment, Kay did feel like the abortion was her only choice, and I believe it was too. There was no other way that Michael would end it with Kay unless it was something this drastic. Morally, Kay felt that what the Corleone's were doing was wrong, and her actions may have saved a lot of peoples lives. In less drastic measures, Lorde's abortion was in a sense her only option as well. A legally blind, black, single mother in college would have been a task nothing short of impossible to handle. As a result, Lorde did not have a baby with a man out of wedlock, and in the long run, she was able to discover her true self because she would have probably not chosen this path of life if she had a that child.
ReplyDeleteAs a side note, the Roe Vs. Wade can be connected to our history class. Thats all three classes connected in one! Now that's liberal artsy.