Biblical revisionism in Night of the Hunter
How Charles Laughton Reclaims Eve and the Fall from Grace
Nov 25, 2008
The Night of the Hunter, the classic 1955 American film, has received extensive analysis and acclaim, and deservedly so; its importance to cinematic history cannot be overstated. With its unique and iconic images, virtuoso performances, and enduring influence across artistic disciplines, Night of the Hunter has taken its rightful place among the pantheon of great films.
The Tradional Parable revisited
Lost amongst these accolades is the simple truth that Night of the Hunter is in fact a deeply subversive and revisionist film; although it does not come up when the great and foundational feminist movies are listed, one of its overarching themes is an attempt to reclaim the story of Eve, original sin, and the fall from paradise. This analysis is laid out clearly in the two dominant personalities of the film: Robert Michum's psychotic preacher and serial killer, Harry Powell; and Lillian Gish's fairy godmother and defender of orphans, Rachel Cooper.
When the viewer first encounters Powell, he has just killed his latest in a long string of similar slayings: women who he first seduces and marries, and then kills for their money. His deadly misogyny is hammered into the viewer again and again, no more graphically than in the infamous wedding night scene with Willa Harper, played by Shelly Winters. After rejecting her sexual advances, he makes her look at herself in the full-length mirror while he heaps shame upon her.
"Look at yourself! What do ya see, girl? ... You see the flesh of Eve that man since Adam has profaned. That body was ... not meant for the lust of men." In Powell's demented mind, all human failings can be traced back to this initial moment of perceived feminine weakness.
A New Take on an Old Story
Contrast this to a scene much later in the movie, after Rachel has discovered that Ruby, one of the orphan girls she's adopted, has been lying to her and going on dates with boys from the local town. Rachel disapproves of Ruby's actions, but instead of the murderous hatred that Powell shows all women who, in his eyes, tempt the worst nature of men, she responds with kindness, love, and understanding:
"You were looking for love, Ruby, in the only foolish way you knew how. We all need love, Ruby... You're going to grow up to be a strong, fine woman, and I'm gonna see to it that you do." Rather than fear and rejection, Rachel brings a calm resolution to help and reassure rather than repress and destroy.
The most obvious and powerful symbol of this reclamation of Eve comes at the end of Night of the Hunter. The young boy, John—who represents the battlefield on which the war of good and evil is waged—performs the simple act of bringing Rachel an apple as a Christmas gift. With this act, Laughton turns the entire foundation of original sin and the ingrained misogyny of the Judeo-Christian faith on its head. Rachel's response is telling: "That's the richest gift a body could have."
Rachel represents all that is good in people—wise, loving, courageous, strong—and her acceptance of both the symbols of original sin—the apple and the Eve surrogate—is an inversion of the symbolism traditionally associated with the fall from grace. Charles Laughton doesn't receive credit as a pioneer of feminist cinema... but perhaps his role, just as that of Eve, should be revisited.
