Posted by JC on August 07, 1998 at 13:51:41:
In Reply to: A posted by Rich on August 07, 1998 at 12:11:15:
Rich,
Yes, a "strong" Alice is possible. Not everything is black and white- ie: Cora is strong, therefore Alice must be weak, Chingachgook is the hero, Magua is the bad guy.
Does "innocent school girl, have you seen the Red Man?, what an adventure!" translate into weakness? Cora had seen the face of war before, and because of that she was able to "handle" herself and act accordingly- Alice is not wise to this world and does not know what to make of it all, she IS terrified because this is her first experience with anything of the kind. I am not hard-pressed to find strength in anyone in this movie, especially Alice, they are all strong powerful characters in their own individual ways.
In my opinion, going with Magua would have been suicide for Alice Munro, death of her spirit. She was able to rise above her fear, to be at peace with herself for one brief moment, and followed what was in her heart. Her spirit now soars.
This is art, it is open for interpretation by all. There is no RIGHT answer. And, you may think I'm a foo-foo from out in left field and that's fine!
She-who-dreams-a-little-dream
JC
. To read strength into Alice Munro is to create a new character. It is only on the cliffs, that she SEEMS to exhibit strength (maybe!). But, is suicide a sign of the strong? I think not. Her face clears ONLY because she has resolved the dilemma in her mind.