Screwball Women Essay

Screwball women are far from the so called “traditional women” of the time, constantly pushing the boundaries of what was considered appropriate behavior for women, especially in the 1930s and 1940s, a period in which the feminist movement was rapidly gaining popularity in America. In The Fortunes of Feminism, Parrish states the emergence of the “New Women”, who were firm believers of the idea that “equality meant enjoying the pleasures customarily reserved for men”. These women constantly challenged the traditional gender stereotypes of the time. This “New Woman” is showcased in The Awful Truth, where the female lead, Lucy, is suggested of being intimately involved with three men, despite being married. This was obviously a stark contrast to the traditional woman, who was expected to stay loyal to her husband and not engage in any sort of infidelity. Lucy is a shown to be a flirtatious woman, busy getting busy, which was strictly against the norm of women being monogamous. She refuses to put up with her husband’s adultery
These three woman have a captivating presence with their confident and defiant personas, and actively control each and every aspect of the movies. They are superior to the men, telling them what’s right or wrong. In the Lady eve, throughout the movie, Jean keeps on telling Hopsie what is correct – “You don’t know about women.” This is a clear example of her teaching the so called “hero” of the film, when the norm was quite the opposite. In contrast, Drums Along the Mohawk and The Shop Around The Corner, which were considered traditional rom coms of the time, show the men in the movies constantly pointing out faults in the women, guiding them and reprimanding them for their mistakes, with the women obeying the men without a word. The screwball women, in fact, mirror a strong resemblance to the Hawksian Woman, as put by Naomi