Cyclist Gender Roles

In Bardem’s 1955 film Death of a Cyclist, the audience gets a glimpse of Francoist Spain’s perspective on the female role in society under the regime through the plot and characters that unravel during the film. As Helen Graham puts it, “Francoism projected an ultra-conservative constructions of ‘ideal’ womanhood, perceived as the fundamental guarantor of social stability” (Graham 182). This meant that Franco wanted to code all women under the regime to accept their role as caretakers, sacrificing themselves for the betterment of society. Graham goes on to say, “Franco regime targeted women because of the pivotal role they played within the family… [and the family] connected vertically with the state rather than horizontally within society…
Matilde appears in the movie as a strong female character that is pursuing higher education as a student in Juan’s class. Here she represents a female figure that is independent and hardworking, but she is shut down by Juan while she is solving a complex equation and is unable to do anything. Later on we see her confront Juan for embarrassing her, and again she is depicted as a strong female figure that refuses to be submissive to Juan. Interestingly enough, she transforms into the caretaker figure that was expected of women under the regime. Kinder points out, “[Matilde Lucia] soon becomes more concerned with Juan’s fate than with her own academic future; no wonder [Juan envisions her a happy future] within the domestic realm of the family rather than within the public realm of science or industry” (Kinder 80). In this example Matilde’s role as a woman in society takes precedence over her own future. The strongest female character in the film is ultimately brought back to assume her position as a motherly caretaker who will sacrifice herself to help Juan, who in this case represents the oppressive Francoist regime who utilizes the women’s sacrifice to help achieve his own