Some may argue that the movie The General conforms to traditional patriarchal gender roles. Annabelle Lee, the heroine, is kidnapped (albeit inadvertently) by hostile soldiers and needs the heroic exploits of her lover to rescue her. She is portrayed as submissive to her father and brother, ineffectual in plotting her own escape (such as throwing a stick of wood into the train furnace or failing to stop the engine so her lover can board it), and often exhibiting domestic inclinations ( as when she sweeps the engine with a broom).
Do you agree with this picture of Annabelle Lee -- or is it more complicated? Is Annabelle a stereotypical damsel in distress or is she a more progressive figure? Is there something about her a feminist could admire? What is this film saying about gender roles?
Even though this film begins and ends with Anabelle Lee giving into the gender stereotypes of America, the middle of the film challenges these stereotypes, but has an unsuccessful execution. In the start of the film, Annabelle sees herself in the presence of male power. For example, while she is at home (where she spends most of her time except when she is abducted, challenging barriers, or commemorating the powerful men in her life), she is proud of her brother and father for enlisting in the military. Correspondingly, she no longer likes Johnnie after he in unable to enlist, since he does not have the alpha characteristics that play into her submissive female stereotype. The stereotype is strengthened when Annabelle is abducted, and has to wait for her hero (Johnnie) to come save her and set her free. The scene of Annabelle thrashing around on the bed just before Johnnie rescues her is the ultimate "Damsel in Distress" scene, and is the climax of Annabelle's feminine stereotype. Until this point, we see no life of Annabelle's other than discomfort outside the home and reassurance in the men of her life in uniforms. As soon as she joins Johnnie on the train, the gender roles are challenged. Very rarely are women of this time on trains, let alone helping to conduct the train, and reminding Johnnie that his misunderstanding with the soldiers is due to his uniform. Even in this progressive section, we still see domestic female attributes such as sweeping the train, being emotional, always following behind Johnnie when they run and hold hands, and not being able to run the train. That aside, the fact that she is on the train helping Johnnie earn his role as General is enough to challenge the gender barrier. As they depart the train and enter the final few scenes, Annabelle reverts back to her original disposition. She is flattered and reassured to see her father and brother in uniform, she begins to love Johnnie once again as he is awarded a prestigious military role, she reverts back to submissive since she has powerful men to run her life, and she follows Johnnie's lead in being the womanly figure to show off in the final kissing scene alongside the train. While there was a promising argument for less gender convention in the middle of Buster Keaton's, "The General," the female stereotype cannot be executed and maintained throughout the end of the film, thus complicating but not changing the gender stereotypes of the time.
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ReplyDeleteIn The General, Annabelle Lee generally portrays the stereotypical damsel in distress seen in most movies involving a male lead, and, despite the occasional exception, only serves to enforce this stereotype of women. Annabelle Lee is portrayed to be the traditional, “domesticated woman” figure, which is portrayed throughout the film by her cluelessness when it comes to situations outside of the house, and through the different actions she does that fit the role of a woman at home. One of the most outstanding examples is when Annabelle Lee picks up the broom on the train in the midst of a heated getaway. This example not only shows that, as a woman, she is inclined to do maintenance and cleanup whenever she has nothing else to do, but also makes the viewer feel as if she is clueless to the pressure of the situation. It is as if Annabelle is mentally unable to comprehend the dire situation that she and Buster Keaton are in as they attempt to escape from the clutches of the northern arm. In the majority of situations where Annabelle gets into a sticky situation, she almost always needs assistance from a male character in order to overcome the obstacle. This can be seen when she is stuck in the house. Even with a simple exit, - the window - she still cannot get out until Buster Keaton shoves her out of the window. This constant dependency and helplessness that is a majority throughout the film only strengthens the preconceived notions of gender roles in the viewers’ minds. Lastly, even when Annabelle is depicted as being helpful, there are still underlying principles that serve to contradict the efforts to combat gender roles in the film. For example, when the viewers watched Annabelle tie a rope between the two trees to create another obstacle for their pursuers to overcome, the first thoughts of many would be that Annabelle has finally contributed to something. However, this thought in itself goes against the efforts to combat gender roles because it implies that women are rarely helpful, and the amount that they can contribute is minimal compared to the amount a man can contribute. Also this action of blockading the pursuing train with a rope is only to help the male character. Annabelle did this only to help give Buster an easier time in getting them away from the pursuers. Annabelle did not necessarily do this to help herself or empower herself. Thus, this action still implies that women can only help men, instead of helping themselves.
ReplyDeleteI believe that the film “The General” promotes typical gender roles for females in the early 1900s by portraying Anabelle Lee as helpless, and treating her attempts of helping as comedy. Throughout the film, Buster's motivations for his actions are all driven by Anabelle, as she only wants him if he is a tough and hard working manly soldier. By doing this, from the start of the story she takes over the role as the love interest, which negates any storyline she has and instead, all of her actions are directed towards Buster. Throughout the train battles, Buster is constantly outwitting tens of union soldiers at a time single handedly. However, when Anabelle Lee joins him, she becomes yet another obstacle of safely getting his train back. Due to her failure to stop the train, Buster has to chase after it and cut corners just to fix her fumble. After that, she mistakenly puts the train in reverse, leading Buster on another comical adventure as he must save the helpless Anabelle on the train going backwards towards the Union soldiers. When they are finally headed in the right direction, she instinctively picks up a broom and starts cleaning in an attempt to help- illustrating that a woman’s instinct is to clean so the man can do his job better. In fact, the only time she looks confident in all of the train scenes is when she is holding the broom and sweeping. When she finally does do something helpful, it is supposed to be a shock to the audience - the woman finally does something right! - and her helpful acts are only a stepping stone in Buster saving the day. Despite Anabelle playing a part in the action and fight scenes in the general, her character promotes stereotypical gender roles of a housewife throat the movie.
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DeleteWhile a majority of The General portrays Annabelle Lee as the typical female gender role of her time period, there are a few instances in which she momentarily steps out of that submissive position. In the beginning of the film, Annabelle is seen as young women surrounded by men who try their best to protect her: her father, brother, and Johnny Gray. When Annabelle is kidnapped by the soldiers, her stereotypical role comes to light. She is helplessly dragged around by the soldiers within the train, unable to fend her way out. While sitting on the bed, Annabelle cries for help rather than come up with a quick solution to escape. Johnny Gray comes in as her hero once he opens the window, which provides Annabelle momentary relief. Once aboard the train, Annabelle’s “damsel in distress” character begins to cut in and out. When she chooses to tie a rope to two trees in order to slow down the antagonists’ train, she demonstrates that she is able to develop beneficial ideas individually. This is one of the few scenes a feminist may admire, however, it can also be deduced that Annabelle only gained this knowledge through observing Johnny doing similar feats. As time progresses, her progressive figure becomes more irrelevant than not. Scenes in which she reverts back to the stereotypical gender role include her inability to run the train successfully, her instinct to sweep the train floor, and her lack of knowledge regarding the furnace. Once she and Johnny return, her submissive female role reverts back to its entirety. Annabelle’s character depicts women as having the ability to think for themselves only when the benefits pertain to their male counterparts. Though there are scenes in which The General portrays Annabelle Lee as a more progressive figure, the film’s main message revolving around female gender roles is stereotypical.
ReplyDeleteThe General conforms to many stereotypical gender roles, however, it would be incorrect not to acknowledge the times where it breaks them down. At the beginning of the movie, Annabelle Lee’s brother and father enlist in the army as every “patriotic” man is supposed to do. Johnnie Gray decides to enlist as is expected of all men at the time, but they reject him because he does not fit the male stereotype of being forceful and brave. Annabelle Lee leaves him because he does not fit these gender norms, showing she needs an intelligent and hardworking man to marry. Gray goes on a long journey to save his train, where he comes across Annabelle Lee, who has been kidnapped and is helpless. As a woman, she is the one without power, and Gray, the male, must save her. The soldiers carry her away and lock her in a room where she cannot escape except when Gray comes to rescue her, all he does is open a window and carry her away, saving the day. At one point while back on the train, Johnnie Gray has to hop out to create a trap for the soldiers following them. He leaves Annabelle in control, and the locomotive starts rolling away from Johnnie. She cannot figure out how to stop it, so Johnnie has to run up and down the hill until he finally gets on the train and can stop it. The film countlessly portrays Annabelle as helpless such as when Johnnie and Annabelle are trying to fuel the train with wood, and she throws in a tiny piece, making her look foolish. Annabelle also sweeps the inside of the train, a job most women had to do while the men were out working. Although there are many times where Annabelle fits into gender roles, she does play a role in stopping the soldiers from catching up to them. Annabelle ties a rope in between two trees across the train tracks. Johnnie acts like she is crazy, but the trap works and causes the soldiers to have to stop, letting Johnnie and Annabelle get away. The General has points where it breaks down gender roles such as Annabelle helping to save the day and Gray, a nonconforming male, be the hero, however, the film does picture Annabelle Lee fitting the stereotypical gender roles.
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ReplyDeleteWhile Anabelle Lee does perpetuate many of the stereotypical norms of gendered roles in The General her apparent whit and juxtaposition to Buster Keaton displays some qualities that go against the typical depiction of a female in the 1900s. During Buster and Anabelle’s escape, Buster stumbles and falls several times in his attempt to get as far away from their captor’s house as possible. Anabelle, however, is mostly poised in her flight only ever making one error of stepping on the bear trap. Though Buster’s misstep in this scene is of a far greater severity as he gets his foot caught multiple times. Ultimately, he requires Anabelle’s assistance to escape which displays strength which was unusual for the portrayal of a female who were often thought of as delicate and timid. Furthermore, Anabelle’s ingenuity during the chase scene where they stop to get firewood negates the rhetoric that women are less intelligent than men. While Buster struggles to be productive and put the firewood into the train, Anabelle successfully rigs a trap to slow down the union. Unfortunately, the film does present some stereotypical depictions of women through the classic Damsel in Distress arch and domestic labor. For example, when Buster hands Anabelle a broom, instead of using it as firewood, she begins sweeping thus showing that the only thing females know how to do is take care of the house and need male instructions to anything else. Additionally, when she is kidnap she is helpless to men and requires another man to come in and save her. Despite these flaws, the film still is progressive for its era and does fight the norms of gender roles in some capacity.
ReplyDeleteThroughout the beginning of the The General, Annabelle Lee is portrayed as any other woman in 1926, however there are instances towards the end where she challenges these stereotypes, and this should be acknowledged. Very early in the film, Keaton is acting funny around Annabelle in a comedic manner. Keaton is seen as not very manly in these situations. An example of this is Anabelle opening the door for Keaton, and this is where the whole film starts. From here, Keaton is continually questioned about his manhood when he decides to enlist for the war. Throughout this part of the film, Annabelle is seen as supportive, and she is there for Keaton. She is still not the one taking any action. Then the action in the film occurs, and she is captured. No surprise here, she is in need of saving by a man. The majority of this part of the film is rather focused on Keaton trying to get to her and get the train back than it is Annabelle trying to fight back or take action herself. Keaton gets to her, and he has to do all the work himself to help them escape. Once they are on the move again, this is where we see these general stereotypes of women challenged. Annabelle helps Keaton fend off the train chasing them in her own ways showing independence. Her help is much needed as there is a lot for Keaton to do to escape. Throughout the entirety of the film Keaton is trying to win her over by becoming a soldier. He finally wins her over in the end, and this is paralleled with him not needing her help anymore. When he is finally a soldier, she goes back to the role of being a supportive woman recognizing his accomplishments. However, she did play a key role in the escape, and she helped Keaton when needed which should be recognized and appreciated.
ReplyDeleteAlthough the character of Annabelle Lee occasionally shows signs of competence and independence during the film The General, the overarching portrayal focuses on stereotypical female characteristics consisting of ignorance, physical vulnerability, and submissive nature. Throughout the film, Buster Keaton’s efforts are frequently delayed by Anabelle’s lack of knowledge, and generally tend to hurt Keaton’s endeavors as a result. A prime example of this is when Buster and Anabelle are trying to escape the approaching Union army by changing the direction of the railing. As the army approaches, Buster tells Annabelle to start the engine of the train, but ultimately results in Annabelle going up and down the tracks of the hill to find and pick up Buster. Buster’s efforts are seen to be futile because of Annabelle’s ignorance as to where he is, and results in Annabelle to look like a fool. In addition to being depicted as a fool, Annabelle is often physically vulnerable to other men because of her physical appearance. An instance where this resonates true is when Annabelle is accidentally captured on a Confederate train during the beginning of the film, and is rendered helpless to the mercy of the on board Union personnel. Buster then relentlessly pursues the train to save Annabelle (a damsel in distress) to prove his manhood. Lastly, Annebelle almost never refutes or questions what the men in her life (Buster and her father) say, and results in her taking on a role of domesticity. An example of this is when Annabelle feels the need to clean the floor of the train during their heated escape from the Union forces. For some reason, Annabelle is compelled to clean the train during their hectic escape and clearly has her priorities catterd to one of domestic labor. Annabelle’s actions, physical stature, and priorities alludes to the film being misogynistic and in support of the typical “damsel in distress” storyline, thereby reinforcing contemporary female stereotypes as a result.
ReplyDeleteThe General’s main female character, Annabelle Lee fits perfectly into the stereotypical “Damsel in Distress” and the Civil War-era woman roles. Although Annabelle showed one moment of independence and self-advocacy, it turned out not as successful as Johnny Gray’s efforts to thwart the Union soldiers. Characters, like Annabelle Lee, are often seen in these kinds of movies. The movie usually includes the protagonist, a man, who has to compete or fight against incredibly difficult odds. There are always moments that make the audience believe all is lost, but the protagonist always perseveres to achieve his goal. In movies like these, the person whom the main character is pursuing does nothing to help herself or the protagonist. There are scenarios like this in all forms of media, most famously in the game Super Mario Bros. The villain kidnaps the main character’s love interest, and the player follows the protagonist’s journey to rescue the girl. However, the girl, Princess Peach, does absolutely nothing to help herself, even when seemingly easy. Characters like Annabelle and Princess Peach are clear references to the stereotypical woman. In the time of The General’s release, people saw women as attractive, ignorant, dependent, people existing just to satisfy men. Annabelle Lee doing nothing to prevent the soldiers from kidnapping her shows the audience that she needs Johnny to save her. In addition to her not defending herself, she could not complete simple tasks to better her situation, like putting wood in the furnace or not stopping the engine. These scenes of the film show the audience that women cannot prosper without a man assisting her. Although these damsel in distress roles are completely incorrect and offensive towards women, Annabelle Lee from The General portrays this stereotype perfectly.
ReplyDeleteWhile Anabelle is portrayed in a stereotypical matter throughout the majority of the movie, I believe there are times where she acts as a more progressive character. In the beginning of Buster Keaton's, The General, Anabelle spends most of her time at home and lets the men around her make money and have sustainable jobs while she works around the house. This image portrays very strong gender roles with the concept that women shouldn't work. Furthermore, when Anabelle is kidnapped she is quickly overtaken by the Union Soldiers, and is helpless until Johnnie Gray shows up and saves her. Up until this point in the movie, Anabelle is not shown as a progressive figure, rather a typical damsel in distress. But, after Anabelle and Johnnie escape, she is extremely helpful during the escape. While Johnnie's idea to hide her in a cloth bag is demeaning, she pulls out the rod between the train cars disconnecting the engine from the rest of the train, ensuring a quick getaway. Throughout the journey back to Confederate territory, Anabelle learns how to control the train and is even able to make the train go backwards at one point during their trip: considerable progress from someone who had never operated a train before. She also sets up a trap for the Union train by tying rope across two trees which then get stuck in the wheels of the Union soldiers' train. Anabelle is revealed to be a progressive character during the long journey that she and Johnnie must take to return home, however, when they reach confederate territory, she falls back into stereotypical gender roles: spending time back at the house, helping her father, and waiting for her brother and Johnnie to return from battle. Overall, while this film would not be considered progressive in today's day and age, I believe it was at the time of its release. Even though the majority of the film portrays Anabelle in the female gender role, she spends a considerable amount of time in a more feministic role.
ReplyDeleteAlthough The General portrays misogynistic societal norms at the time through Annabelle Lee for the majority of the film, the few moments that her actions are unconventional, show the audience a version of society that it could progress to in the future. At the beginning of the film, Anabelle turns down Buster because he can’t get enlisted into the army. This is one of the first moments where Anabelle is portrayed as the stereotypical woman who only wants a man with a status (such as a soldier), without having a dream of her own. This idea of women not having their own career, but only being useful as housekeepers is one of the major themes in this movie that portray what was acceptable at the time. Another moment with a similar misogynistic theme was when she was kidnapped. Annabelle was submissive to the soldiers; she didn’t choose to fight to escape and expected someone else to come and save her. Buster coming to save her contributes to the societal norm then that men are the ones who will come save the women. Anabelle’s choices in this moment also show the audience that women must be submissive and shouldn’t have a voice. These are a few of the problematic themes that aren’t good examples for young women, but there is one moment that contradicts those themes and stands out the most. The moment where Annabelle helps Buster escape portrays the most important themes of all: equality and independence. Annabelle and Buster help each other escape from danger on the trains, which depicts them as equals. At this moment, Annabelle made intelligent decisions that helped their situation, which shows how women can make independent choices, as they too are intelligent and don’t have to be submissive. This was one of my favourite moments in the movie because it portrayed how powerful and strong women truly are, which is a theme that was lacking throughout the film. It shows women at the time that they are worth more and that society could progress in the future to accept that. Watching Annabelle in this moment made me proud, as society has come a long way. But there always room for improvement, which is what this moment possibly ignited in young women at the time who wanted to make society a better place for them to grow.
ReplyDelete-Marisa Mohapatra
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ReplyDeleteDespite some progressiveness Annabelle Lee shows in the middle of The GeneralI, her overall character arc and values as a person revert back to the stereotypical damsel in distress figure by the movie’s resolution. In the beginning of the film, Annabelle is a very common girl wanting things that any common girl (in the time) would want. She wants a simple life with, most specifically, a military man. She is surrounded by men in her life and relies on them entirely for her well being. Towards the beginning of the film when Annabelle is first captured and brought to a house she is a typical helpless damsel in distress. When Annabelle is locked in a room instead of finding quick ways to escape she simply leans over and starts sobbing on her bed. This action is something that is seen a lot in modern day films today specifically in Disney Princess movies. Children are taught that when a girl is in trouble she simply cries about it and is expected to be saved. Johnny Gray on the other hand does not just cry and let bad things happen to him. He makes an adventurous and risky entrance into the house and eventually saves Annabelle by pulling her out through a window. After Annabelle and Johnny start their escape route Annabelle’s fierce mind comes into play. She erases the earlier stereotypes of her as a naive woman when she bravely fits herself into a potato bag as a ruse to let her and Johnny steal back The General. Once they steal the train back she conducts a clever trap for the army men chasing them with a rope tied between two trees causing the train behind them to get stuck and The General to get ahead. Annabelle even maneuvers the train, wrongly at first of course, but still maneuvers it, for which at the time was not something a woman was ever seen behind. However, she reverts back to stereotypes when she starts sweeping the train mid chase. This shows that no matter how many progresive actions she was taking she would always go back to being a compliant woman. Lastly, when the film is nearing the resolution and The General is returned home, Johnny Gray is the only one given credit and Annabelle does not even seem to care. It seems as if Annabelle did not even realize that without her The General would not have been brought back safely. In conclusion, although gender stereotypes were complicated and challenged in the film, Annabelle still plays a damsel and distress figure complying with the typical role of a woman for the time.
While Annabelle Lee occasionally breaks the mold of the traditional gender roles of the time, her main function in the story is to serve the male lead in a very stereotypically feminine way. She is in many ways a traditional wife and homemaker, playing the subservient role to every single man she encounters over the course of this film. I honestly don't think that the creators of this film were trying to make any particular statement about gender roles in America through Annabelle Lee's character, as she really wasn't a major facet of the plot. She plays the typical ingenue, with no character development occurring between the beginning and end of the film. The few times in the middle where she takes some semblance of agency over her storyline are quickly overshadowed by Buster Keaton's physical comedy, the obvious main function of each scene. In a film chock-full of incompetence, Annabelle is shown as more incompetent than most, with her few moments of success coming completely by accident as opposed to a result of weaponized femininity. She seems to be just as much one of Buster Keaton's props as the engine itself. She sits in the heat of the action, but is rarely able to affect change for herself or any of the other characters. While the actress was clearly very talented as a physical comedian, the character of Annabelle Lee is nothing more than a demure and subservient female supporting lead typical to that time period. Thus, Buster Keaton's The General cannot be considered a groundbreaking feminist piece of media by any means.
ReplyDeleteWhile the film The General does in fact conform to a lot of traditional stereotypical gender roles, the film also has some very progressive moments using the character of Annabelle Lee. In the viewers first glance of Annabelle she is domesticated at home under the presence of patriarchal power. She looks like she is someone who is in the house most of the time in the film at first glance. Next, when the men of the city start to enlist in the army Annabelle expects her family and Johnnie to do the same immediately. This also sets a tone of stereotypical gender roles within the film by having expectations of the men to enlist. When her father and brother come back after they enlist, she could not be prouder, but then when her brother tells her Johnnie did not, she is taken over with disappointment and refuses to see him anymore. The next example is a more general example of traditional gender roles as Annabelle is the character who is kidnapped in the film. In my seventeen years of life I do not believe I have ever seen a film in which a male character was kidnapped. It is traditional and stereotypical that it would be a female character in this film. Like many other films, a male hero in the end of course saves Annabelle. After she is saved by Johnnie their adventure back home is where this story of traditional gender roles gets juicy. There are times during their escape where she does not know what she is doing, for instance when she had to switch gears on the train. This gives us the impression that she does not get out of the house much, and has a hard time doing tasks outside of the house. But there are also some moments that are extremely progressive for the time. First of all the fact that she is on a train at all is an example of forward thinking. She also helps Johnnie complete his plan and helps him carry it out and succeed which shows a female can do tasks not domestic related as well. While Annabelle is portrayed as a domesticated traditional female most of the film, she has some very progressive moments that I believe should be admired and considered forward thinking.
ReplyDeleteThe General by Buster Keaton pictures the main female character, Annabelle Lee, as the ‘stereotypical’ helpless girl, with the minor exception of a few scenes. First off, the main plot of the film is that Keaton, who plays a train engineer during the civil war, has to prove himself a strong, capable, soldier to his love interest Annabelle. This confirms the notion that she needs someone to support her because she is a ‘damsel in distress’. We see this theme more and more throughout the movie. While Keaton gets into plenty of trouble while trying to show he is ‘worthy’ enough for Lee, he still ends up being the one who has to get her out of both of their own messes. For example, when buster ends up in the enemy’s house and is hiding underneath the table, he sees through a tiny whole that Annabelle got caught and is being taken prisoner. Keaton proceeds to get out of his own mess and then help a very flustered Annabelle Lee escape. This supports the stereotype that was very common back when this film was produced, which was that women could not do anything for themselves and they always needed men to rescue and help them. This evidence proves why The General is not a very gender progressive movie; however, considering the time it was produced in, this is not unexpected. Now having reflect on society back in the early 1900s, we can acknowledge that a few bits of the film did dissent the mainstream ideas of gender. For example, when the train is stuck, the couple both do something to help. Instead of the woman just sitting and watching herself be saved, she ties a rope around two trees and it eventually ends up working by temporarily slowing down the enemies train. This type of intellect was not a common trait of women in movies at the time, so to have just a few scenes like this one gave inspiration to many girls and women of all ages, which is why feminist could, in fact, admire parts of this movie.
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ReplyDeleteI can't totally agree that Annabelle Lee was a 'damsel in distress.' She did seem helpless at times, and like she lost hope. At the beginning of the film, she is seen to be submissive to her gender norms. As the film progresses, we see Annabelle Lee sometimes fight against constraining gender roles. I don't believe she is a submissive woman, although there is no doubt that she was raised to be one. She suggests that she followed the rules and listened to the people considered higher in the social scene. At the time, males dominated, and many women lived their lives accordingly, without any complaints. Once she is recused, and they begin there to escape, there are many scenes in which Buster Keeton seems to be in trouble and tries to overcompensate to attempt to impress Annabelle Lee. At the period, it is implausible to see women be a feminist and rebel against the gender norms. Therefore she sits back at the beginning and lets him attempt to handle the situation. The film presented gender roles when women didn't have the same opportunities as men. Another example of the gender roles is when Annabelle Lee refuses to be with Johnie because he was unable to enlist in the army. No matter the reason (in this case, a denied attempt), it is portrayed as dishonorable if you aren't a 'Man in Uniform.' Overall, Annabelle Lee shows two sides to herself at the beginning. She is a submissive woman who takes directions and lives by the societal gender norms. In the end, she gains self-approval and confidence in her actions.
In The General, Annabelle is a stereotypical damsel in distress because she is naïve and is portrayed as a woman who needs a man to help her. Johnny Gray saves her multiple times, saving her from death and from being kidnapped. An example of when Gray saves Annabelle is when she was kidnapped by the Union spies and though he didn’t know he was saving her he saved the day in the end. He went through trial and tribulations in order to get her back and she did nothing to thank him. She is an innocent woman who also needs a man to aid her with whatever she is doing. Annabelle puts herself in troubling and dangerous situations and is constantly needing to be saved. Even though her father does not save her as Johnny Gray did, he is a dominant and controlling figure in Annabelle’s life, as well as her brother. Gray is not as controlling as Annabelle’s brother or father, since he is physically not as well off as them but he is the generic, and cliché hero. Annabelle does help herself a couple of times such as when she threw the wood into the train furnace and when she was cleaning the engine with a broom. Though her actions were not helpful for Gray, she was trying to use what she knows to help the situation. I do not think that Annabelle is a progressive figure in the film since she is not willing to help herself when she is in trouble. There is also not that much for a feminist to admire about her because she constantly is always needing to be rescued.
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