The Feminine Voice -- An Analysis of Willa, Ruby and Ms. Cooper

Charles Laughton’s The Night of The Hunter (1955)

I found the most prominent message in The Night of The Hunter to be the various portrayals of women and the feminine voice (or lack thereof) embodied by Willa, Ruby, and Ms. Cooper.

Willa is submissive to Harry the preacher by doing what she is told and prioritizing his views and decisions over her own.  She allows him to oppress her sexually and vocally without opposition.  Even though Willa has the desire to incorporate recreational sexual intercourse into their marriage, Harry brainwashes her into believing that a woman is unclean and sinful if she has a sexual desire outside of reproductive intentions.  All of Harry’s beliefs are rooted in religion and his hatred towards “impure” women and sex.  Therefore, Willa is representative as the female body that is passive and weak.

Similarly, Ruby is also instantly captivated by the preacher’s charming voice and his never-ending “words of wisdom”.  Ruby really has no individual goals or pursuits, but rather portrays the narrow-minded woman that only has her eyes set on one thing and believes she needs a man to make her happy.  She is clearly willing to give herself over to just about any man so she can be seen on his arm.  Ruby is the cliché exaggerated anti-feminist female character of the movie.

Is the audience supposed to resonate with Ruby to an extent?  Do we (and by we I speak particularly to the female audience) really hate Ruby because she represents everything that the feminist movement attempts to suppress, or do we hate the fact that she is a relatable (to an extent) figure?  Deep down, don’t we all wish to find that one person that can make us happy?  These are some things to consider although I don’t have the answers, but it could be important to dwell on before settling on obvious conclusions.

I want to talk about Ms. Cooper a little bit too, because she is the only female character in the film that stands for a different kind of feminine principle, one that symbolizes a motherly figure who is not sexualized or dumbed-down.  I think she is the only female figure who does not express overwhelming sexual attraction towards the preacher.  Ms. Cooper (and much of the end of the film) gives off a mother goose sense and feels very much like we are in a fairytale.  This makes for an interesting change of pace from the southern gothic genre experienced earlier in the film.

Ms. Cooper is the protective mother figure who takes in children under her wing.  She is loving (even if it was tough love), forgiving and comforting.  In fact, she is so adamant about protecting her younglings she even has a gun, and knows how to use it.  She isn’t married nor does she have children of her own (that we know of).  In fact, I would argue that Ms. Cooper is somewhat of a radical female figure for the 1950s.

The ritual aspect of confession says a lot about Ms. Cooper’s style of raising children, which I find fascinating, and something that Michel Foucault would have a lot to say about I’m sure.  Although rooted in religion, the idea of confession as a way to cleanliness and purity is something that remains very prominent in our culture.  However, technology has allowed the practice of confession to be reborn in very different forms such as through apps that allow anonymous confession like Yik Yak, etc.  It would be an interesting discussion to view the film as a religious parable (as we are easily invited) and consider how religious views remain present in today’s culture and how women fit into this conversation.