After watching Viridiana,
I see similarities among Viridiana, Karin from The Virgin Spring, and the saint Maria Goretti. Viridiana, Karin,
and Maria all had vows to remain sexually pure. I also see a common theme of
sacrifice. When originally reading Girard’s Violence
and the Sacred I looked up the definition of sacrifice, “the act of giving
something important or valuable so you or other people can do or have something
else”, and its literal meaning, “to make (-fice) holy (sacr-).” In these cases,
the instances of sacrifice are almost all brought on or forced by violence,
which brings me back to Violence and the
Sacred, with the idea they are usually synonymous. Karin’s rape and murder
sacrificed Karin’s life, making her holier and leading to events that end up
bettering the other character’s lives. Maria Goretti sacrificed her life by
getting stabbed to death instead of giving up her virginity that she was saving
for marriage, her death made her holier through sacrifice as well.
I don’t
see the events Viridiana goes through make her more profane. I see her on
journey that leads her to be more sacred. She is about to become a nun and has
a vow of celibacy. Her uncles almost sacrifices her virginity but withholds
himself, Viridiana’s purity remained. By killing himself, Don Jaime sacrificed
Viridiana’s dream to be nun now that she is to return and handle his estate.
Whereas this might seem like Viridiana is being pulled away from the sacred,
she still remains benevolent. She welcomes in the beggars to live in her uncle’s
home, and cares for them. Though she is not going to become a nun, she remains
celibate and doing good works. Eventually the beggars take advantage of her and
trash the house when she is gone, one beggar even attempting to rape her when
she and Jorge return unexpectedly. Viridiana is saved and of course her purity
remains once again. The trials Viridiana goes through act as sacrifices making
Viridiana a “holier” person. Despite all that happens to her, she remains pure
and with her faith. Whenever she ends up joining Jorge and the maid for cards I
see her once again just adjusting to what life has given her remaining with her
same values, the cards she was dealt (hehe).
You have given me a new perspective of the character Viridiana. But, I feel that her view on her faith may have changed. In the convent, she was idealistic and believed in doing good and her innocence. But, once she came to her uncle's, her faith started to change. Her true innocence of the world was taken away. Her uncle tried to take advantage of her just as the beggars did. Her belief in doing good to help the world and have everyone show gratitude and goodwill in return is tarnished as the beggars destroyed the dining room. At the end, I believe her innocence of reality and idealism is gone as she now is trying to grow accustom to the real harsh world.
ReplyDeleteYou took an insight to Viridiana that I did not originally see. Gabrielle stated that she believes Viridiana had a change in faith. I don't believe her faith has changed, I just think that she believes she isn't worthy of being a sacred entity of her faith anymore. She might feel like a failure, and believes she should be amongst the profane. This is not a change in her faith, just a change of faith in herself.
ReplyDeleteI also had no clue who saint Maria Goretti was...thanks for the knowledge!
I do not agree that she did not have a change in faith, in fact, I believe the final scene was meant to show that Viridiana had essentially given up on her faith. Viridiana did not show up at Jorge's door to play cards. She knew he wanted her, and was giving herself up to him which completely defies her moral values. Yes, maybe she has accepted the real harsh world, but in doing so, she is becoming just another individual and is no longer a sacred being in the midst of a profane world. By Jorge saying "I always knew one day I'd shuffle the deck with my cousin," I feel Bunuel is trying to convey that Viridiana is not just going to play cards and leave, but she is willingly giving up her purity.
ReplyDeleteDo you think it is possibly blasphemous that as she withdrew farther and farther from the ideal life of the convent, she became more sacred. Your interpretation of her becoming more holy as the movie went on is very thought-provoking. Kelli also brings up a good question about Viridiana's faith. I interpreted her faith as fleeting by the conclusion of the film. Perhaps the final scene shows how she is now displaying her faith in different ways. Perhaps that she finally accepts that she lives in the secular world and is not above it.
ReplyDeleteWhile I would agree most with Alexander's observations, I do think Mahalie and Kelli brought interesting perspectives.