"Marriage was the one thing in the world I thought ought to be perfect. And when mine wasn't, I quit."
Ahhh... some redemption for the ladies of 1930. After watching The Love Parade, I expected The Divorcee to glorify many of the same gender stereotypes. It does, but in a much more palatable way.
Jerry (Norma Shearer) and Ted (Chester Morris) marry and share three happy years as husband and wife. But when Ted has a one night stand, Jerry decides to balance their relationship by doing the same. Their infidelities prove too much to overcome, and the couple files for divorce. Jerry and Ted struggle with their lives and loves post-divorce, but ultimately find themselves in the process. (I promise the actual movie is not as cheesy as this clunky summary.)
This movie was a surprise from the beginning. I'm fairly certain divorce was severely frowned upon in the 1930s, and yet in the opening scene there are ladies cheerfully discussing and joking about their ex-husbands. No stigma. Just a piece of their lives that these women have gracefully put behind them. Ted and Jerry are also quite the progressive couple: she has a job which she keeps after marrying, and she jokes with him about all the sex he had before they met. Now, I'm not naive-- obviously premarital sex has always happened-- but I would think that most women in the era of this film would have just pretended their husbands were virgins on their wedding night. Perhaps I'm just shocked at the frankness of some of the movie's dialogue?*
What I found most interesting is the film's discussion of adultery. It feels so much like a contemporary discussion of the topic. Infidelity is still a huge barrier to couples, and how it's treated by the sexes seems to have changed little over time. Ted explains his lapse as a meaningless tryst that should be excused because "it didn't mean a thing." However, when his wife does the same he cannot forgive her. Men are expected to slip up, but women must remain faithful. Even how the two deal with the news of the other cheating is hardly surprising: Jerry pulls herself together and pretends nothing is wrong (for a few hours at least), while Ted gets drunk and makes a scene at a friend's wedding reception. Sure, this is more flattering representation of women than men, but it still goes back to the same expectations of the sexes. Men should get mad and fight for their woman, while women should just shrug it off and pretend nothing is wrong. Women are intrinsically viewed as a man's property, while men are nothing more than roving sex monsters.
Despite the gender stereotypes pertaining to love and sex, I enjoyed this film for one reason: Jerry is a strong, independent woman, and remains so throughout the movie. None of this take-everything-I-own-so-you-can-be-happy crap from The Love Parade. Jerry tries to move on with her marriage, and when it's clear that Ted cannot do the same, she leaves him. She comes to regret it, but she takes the time to be sure. She sees other men, she has fun with her friends, and she even earns a promotion at work. Her decision to divorce never comes across as a flippant one. In fact, she even urges another not to do the same despite his own unhappy marriage. And even though it was Ted who started all the trouble, Jerry knows they are both at fault, and she deals with her guilt admirably.
The Divorcee deals with a sensitive topic with great maturity, and for that it has stood the test of time. Perhaps a remake is in order?
* "I like to make love to you until you scream for help!" ~ Ted to Jerry
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