The Piano: A Feminine Narrative of Masculine Jealousies (J. Campion, Australia/New Zealand, 1993)

Abstract

The Piano has almost become a cult film for feminists, who have written at length about the significance of its enigmatic heroine Ada. However, little has been said about the male characters in the film and the depiction of their different jealousies has not been addressed. The Piano provides an example of an alternative, feminist strategy for representing the plurality of male jealousies, including the possibility of a ‘good enough’ jealousy, and a different kind of resolution between the parties concerned. The themes of sexual jealousy and jealous possession, together with the psychological tensions and pleasures of living with otherness, are central to the film’s narrative. These themes are played out in relation to gender and through the portrayal of male sexual jealousy and its relationship to colonial possession.