Since the 1950s, roles have changed in respect to how women were viewed in society.
The film Mona Lisa Smile depicts the traditional ideology of a woman’s role in society as a domestic homemaker as well as the new idea of an educated woman. Education was utilised to teach respectable women how to prepare for marriage, tending a house and raising a family rather than to develop a career outside the home. For example, Wellesley offered an etiquette course that taught women good grooming, traditional values and respectable behaviour deemed appropriate for society.Their source of education was solely based on becoming a subservient accessory to a man’s household. Nowadays, courses are based on providing women with the knowledge they need to achieve a successful career.
Society taught women that they were unable to manage both a career and a family; therefore they were obligated to choose life as a domestic homemaker. For instance, when Katherine encourages Joan to apply to Yale law school, where she succeeds in getting admission, she ultimately declines the offer in order to play the traditional role of housewife to Tom.In today’s society, women are effective in managing a successful career as well as a family. If a woman’s husband was to have an affair, she often was encouraged to “look the other way” and tolerate it. For example, Betty became disheartened with woman’s traditional role when she discovered that her husband was having an affair and her mother urged her to silently endure it in order to maintain proper appearances. Divorce for most seemed to be a taboo and was frowned upon by many members of society.
The implication was that the woman "couldn't keep a man". Divorce currently is more common than it was in the fifties. Despite the many changes in society regarding women, there are some things that are still around from the 1950s in today’s society. In some countries around the world, women are denied rights and aren’t recognized as persons. Women are also viewed as sex symbols. In conclusion, women in the 1950s were viewed very differently in society than women today.
The movie Mona Lisa Smile can be used a resourceful reference to contrast this.Part B: Why was the movie was called Mona Lisa Smile? The movie Mona Lisa Smile is referring to the famous picture by Leonardo Divinci. The movie may have been titled this because Mona Lisa’s smile is not an indication that she is happy and content but rather that she appears that way to maintain a proper appearance. For instance, women in the fifties gave up their career and education to get married and maintain a household. Most of these women appeared as though they were happy but in reality were not.
Since this was the ideal life for a woman, many conformed to this standard simply because that was expected of a woman. The movie truly depicts that the traditional role of a woman is not all its hyped up to be. Even though a woman may maintain the perfect house and have dinner on the table at 5 o’clock every night, her husband may still have an affair. But the woman must endure this and put a smile on her face. Mona Lisa’s smile is ultimately an indictment of those in society who proliferate secrets and lies.
