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1) Seated at his fireside, solitary and sad as he says, Jefferson proceeded to write one of the most amazing love letters ever penned, the famous Dialogue of the Head and Heart. He calls it a sermon, and in many ways it is one. He makes no attempt to conceal his misery in this "history of the evening I parted from you." No Werther ever expressed himself with more romantic fervor. "I am indeed the most wretched of all earthly beings," he cries. "Overwhelmed with grief, every fibre of my frame distended beyond its natural powers to bear, I would willingly meet whatever catastrophe should leave me no more to feel, or to fear. . . . I am rent into fragments by the force of my grief. If you have any balm," he adjures his head, "pour it into my wounds; if none, do not harrow them by new torments. Spare me this awful moment!"
Marie Kimball 170

2) Thomas Jefferson was physically spot-on, Maria Cosway seemed too fake, and Sally was not at all what I expected. Throughout my readings in history and throughout middle school and high school I always thought of Jefferson as being somewhat of a jerk, so I didn't pay much attention to him in this movie. In fact, his character was slightly annoying. I found Sally to be the most captivating because of the way she was pitched as a flirtatious, bold teenager. I always pictured her as more mature than her years, even as a teenager, so the immature personality wasn't really working for me. It was jolting to see her "in flesh and blood" on the screen in any way, however. The movie itself was a jumble of plots and events attempting at some sort of artistic juxtaposition which, in my personal opinion, didn't seem to work.
Ruslana Makarenko, Lehigh University

3) To catalogue their [Merchant and Ivory] distinguished virtues: they depend on no sensation of sex or violence to sell; they portray individual human complexities quite convincingly; they provide well-acted, delightfully real characters; they capture the paradoxes of modern love and sexuality; they point out the hypocrisies of traditional bourgeois and upper-class social conventions.
Martin Hipsky 100

4) Merchant and Ivory portray what seems to me, a Jefferson suffering from a mid-life crisis. He realizes that he wants sex, but, at this point in his life, Jefferson wants less complication and more familiarity. The directors juxtapose French political unrest with Jefferson's private unrest. I'm not sure I thought it worked. The comparison seems to make Jefferson look, as my daughters who were watching with me stated, like a "jerk."Jefferson is clearly Jefferson's first priority.
Stephen Molloy, Lehigh University

5) I view the controversial relationship between America's architect of democracy and his slave Sally Hemings as an allegory of racial drama that made whites "Americans" and blacks "aliens."
Sharon Monteith 33

6) The comparison between Cosway and Sally help to portray a Jefferson looking for the easy fix. Cosway is an intelligent, articulate woman -- a woman who commands a certain amount of attention and consideration. She was not portrayed as someone to just "warm Jefferson's bed."Cosway does not commit to go to Virginia, I don't think, and that's what Jefferson really longs for -- to putter around his garden, grow his vegetables, renovate his house, and get laid. Oh my, I can't believe I just said that, but that's the impression I got. Sally's immaturity, lack of sophistication, and availability make her the perfect fix for the Jefferson portrayed in the film.
Anonymous , Lehigh University

7) It is well-documented that the recently widowed Jefferson had an amorous affair in Europe with the fashionable artist Maria Cosway, and the film explores this theme in depth. If it had left it there, perhaps the whole re-examination of his role as a slave owner would have passed by as a rich and colorful exercise in national self-awareness. . . . Exit Maria Cosway. Enter Sally Hemmings.
David Newnham 2

8) I was also intrigued by the undercurrent of contestation of slavery running through the film. From the distaste of the French at the thought, to his own daughter's hatred, and the violent outbursts of James. I actually found this to be a much more interesting storyline than the small playings of Jefferson and Sally. That made me wrinkle my nose, in the least. That was clearly an old, lonely man playing with something he really should know better than to play with. Shame on you, Jefferson! Get a grip on yourself, man.
Greg King, Lehigh University

9) The romantic rendering of Hemings is defined by what we desire her to have done or to have been rather than what she actually did or who she actually was.
Bradford Vivian 293

10) I must be used to the sex of today's movies, because that was not at all what I was expecting. I think Sally was characterized as a playful, beautiful young thing, and it almost seemed like Jefferson was chasing her to chase his own youth. When she was dancing in his bedroom, Jefferson seemed stuck between amusement and disgust, but his feelings toward her seemed more like amusement than love. He seemed much more "into" Maria, especially for her intellect and culture, and Sally really does seem like more of a possession than a genuine, self-esteeming interest. I agree that this was very Jefferson friendly though it tried to cater to Sally's beauty and "seduction."
Teresa Salvatore, Lehigh University

11) London was cleaner, Rome more ancient, Venice more magical, Vienna cozier; you might eat better in Lyon, trade better in Bordeaux, sleep better almost anywhere; it was dirty, noisy, expensive; but if you had asked almost anyone where he or she wanted to go, the answer would have been Paris.
Olivier Bernier 3

12) I was not expecting the intensity of Sally's Virginia dialect or the bright yellowness of her skin, blackness of her hair, or playfulness of her personality. The only time I noticed Sally's "slave dialect" in Chase-Riboud was when she was comforting the dying slave, but her dialect in the movie is so obvious, with her "we has"and general Southern tone. I'm amazed by her courage (or foolishness?) -- she goes up and touches Jefferson's face before he falls asleep and claims she did it because a fly was there. Talk about audacity! She seems so audacious and seductive in the movie, like she has an air about her that no one is immune to, and that Jefferson apparently finds irresistible.
Anonymous , Lehigh University

13) Hemings is played by Thandie Newton as a demure, lovely, flirtatious spitfire who would rather stay with Jefferson than be free. (He offers her freedom when her brother points out that in France slavery is outlawed, but she tearfully declines.) This fudges the issue, sullying Jefferson's status as hero in a movie that allows him to refer to the responsibility of taking care of slaves as something like taking care of family. Granted, this is gray territory historically, but he was a slave-owner and that's difficult to defend under any circumstances. And Jefferson isn't made to appear any nobler when he sleeps with Sally but strings the unsuspecting Maria along. This movie would have had a chance of being interesting had it been about Sally Hemings. Perhaps then the filmmakers would have thought it important to make Jefferson appear to be the man capable of all his fabled accomplishments, a man who might possibly be interesting enough to attract a 15-year-old spitfire.
Barbara Shulgasser

14) But Jefferson, as depicted in the film is an aristocrat and hypocrite. He places himself above the principles he espouses, presumably because he sees himself as born above them; how's that for aristocratic? The religious freedom he is so proud of he denies his daughter on the grounds that she is too young to decide for herself. He denies James his immediate freedom because James "owes" him. And he tells Cosway that he cannot free his slaves because "we" (whites) have a "responsibility." He is oppressively paternalistic to everyone in his circle, and entirely unable, or unwilling, to see it. There's more to the pairing of his denials of freedom to both his child and his slave. The filmmakers seem to be pointing us to Jefferson's blind spots.
Anonymous , Lehigh University

15) Had Newton been given a chance, she might have saved "Jefferson in Paris" from its leaden pace and history-as-medicine tone. But she and Nolte have no love scenes, and the passion their characters are supposed to have shared in real life is only hinted at in Newton's eyes, and symbolized in one telling moment: Sally's removal of her "massah's" boot.
Edward Guthmann

16) The portrayal of Sally is troubling, to say the least. In the Chase-Riboud novel, she was entirely self-aware and quite sophisticated even as a teenager. The film's portrayal of a less mature, less worldly Sally seems more likely to my mind. She is child-like yet sexualized, and while she seems to know what she is doing, I'd say her understanding of her own sexual force is incomplete. She knows she wants something to happen --that she is seeking some kind of sexual attention from TJ, but does she get more than she was after? There is almost more of Nabakov here than of Chase-Riboud. There is a suggestion of Jefferson's force in their first encounter--the sudden clasp of her wrist and the cut, rather than fade, to black. Later, his question to her, "Are you still afraid of me, Sally?"(my italics). It looks like he takes her because he can --because she belongs to him, because she is there to be taken, because there is no one, no boundary, no scruple, no conscience to stop him. Chase-Riboud's novel gave Jefferson many more words with which to explain himself, and much more inner (and outer) conflict.
Stephen Molloy, Lehigh University

17) Still, considering that the relationship of slave and master is really the reason "Jefferson in Paris" was made, the filmmakers seem to have few ideas about the nature of their feelings. Does Sally "love" Jefferson, or only act seductively around him because of his importance and power? How does he feel about her? She is pregnant by the end of the film, but the sex scene is off-camera, and later as he discusses Sally's plight, Jefferson seems to talk almost as if she might have gotten pregnant by herself. Newton's performance is also hard to read; she adopts an odd dialect, behaves childishly, seems more like a caricature of an ingratiating slave than like a woman who apparently interested Jefferson so much that he went on to have several more children with her over a period of years.
Roger Ebert

18) Bereft of any flesh-and-blood honesty, the last half of the movie plays like a ludicrous PBS version of Mandingo, with Jefferson and Sally's relationship cast as a metaphorical love dance between aristocrat and "noble savage." Nolte starts out convincingly, portraying Jefferson as a passionate moralist with a gift for ironic pensees. His performance, though, never grows beyond this one refined note. Jefferson, for all his romantic idealism, remains a pleasant shell of a man. He seems hollowed out, and so, by the end, does "Jefferson in Paris."
Owen Gleiberman

19) Now, working with a much bigger budget (courtesy of Touchstone Pictures), they have produced "Jefferson in Paris." And they have foundered. The money hasn't been spent on enriching a story but on stuffing it full of unassimilated research. You can see what attracted the filmmaking team to this project. Jefferson, the Mona Lisa of American history, is, in their view, a man who deliberately repressed his deeper emotions and fit his life to a precise pattern. Drawn to an attractive and emotionally free-spending woman, he struggles to express his own emotions until circumstances and his own limitations drive him back into his shell.
Richard Alleva

20) The comparison between Maria Cosway and Sally is also very pro-Jefferson. He falls in love with the educated, musically talented, artistic woman, who could not be whiter. It is almost as if the filmmakers want the viewer to blame Sally for Jefferson's falling-out with Maria. Maybe that is going too far, but it does show the corruption of slavery. Why would Jefferson waste his efforts on this woman, when he has Sally, who embodies every man's fantasy -- one that will last till Jefferson's death. My conclusion from the film is that it was very Jefferson-friendly.
Stephen Rumizen, Lehigh University

21) "It's virtually impossible to recognize the historical Jefferson in this film," Jordan says. "My concern is that film is such a powerful medium that bogus history drives out real history."
David Holmstrom

22) My first impression of Sally was that she was too forward and flirtatious. Her overall demeanor was very confident, and, given her position in life as a slave, especially as a slave to a man with so much power, I expected her to be more demure. The scene in which Jefferson is having his wrist examined exemplified this idea. Sally walked up to him and blurted out her own medial opinions, not only disrespecting Jefferson but also his doctors. As this attitude continued, I wondered if it was a result of Sally's personality or her age. This flirtation and lack of respect for elders is common among girls that age. I think of all of the teenagers who dress provocatively and talk back to their parents even though they know it is inappropriate. Sally was a rebellious teen of sorts. Overall, I would have liked to see a stronger, more intelligent Sally, but I do not think this interpretation was too far off.
Sarah Freeman, Lehigh University

23) Merchant's and Ivory's Jefferson, however, is a perfectly rational and dispassionate master who never loses his temper or abuses his power. While this interpretation is strained when dealing with the challenge raised by James, it is absurd in its claim that fourteen-or fifteen-year-old Sally seduced her master and merrily bore his children. Surely the relationship was more complicated than that, with all the patriarchal and legal power on his side and nothing but youth and willingness to please on hers. Had Merchant and Ivory reversed the roles of seducer and seduced and had they included the presence of a strong woman like Abigail Adams, we might have glimpsed a Jefferson who could display passion and profound emotional engagement only in situations where he was completely in charge. The dangers and vulnerability of intimacy for him would have been limited by the disproportionate power and dominance he wielded in his domestic setting. We might, in short, have seen Jefferson as a powerful patriarchal slaveowner, a perhaps not unsurprising character after all. Instead, Merchant and Ivory give us a slightly more manly version of the usual pious portrait of a perfectly rational creature of the Enlightenment-Gary Cooper, in a periwig.
Darren Staloff

24) I am seriously disappointed with the depiction of Sally in this film. I understand that they made her uneducated because of her role as a slave; however, I think they actually made her into the "bad guy" of the film. Before I began watching, I was already weary just by looking at the cover. It shows Cosway and Jefferson in the front, with Sally smaller and in the middle of them in the background. To me, she looked like some evil mistress coming to ruin Jefferson and Cosway's relationship . . . and then, that is exactly what she did. The film introduces Sally late in the film to establish that Cosway and Jefferson have a positive relationship, and the appearance of this girl disturbs the peace they have acquired.
Elizabeth Guzzo, Lehigh University

25) The Jefferson protectors need to take some deep breaths -- and a cue or two from the screenwriter Ruth Prawer Jhabvala, author of the new movie "Jefferson in Paris." It is stiff and ineffective as drama. But its virtue lies in recognizing that Jefferson would remain a towering figure regardless of what happened in his bedroom. In a world more interested in watching than reading, historical adjudications are becoming largely the territory of screenwriters, many of whom would have turned this story into a bodice-ripper. Ms. Jhabvala respects the subtleties in the story, suggests the love affair, but does not trump it up. The script seems to say: Perhaps they did, but for crying out loud, what's the big deal? Jefferson would still be who he is, the country he fathered still history's envy. The world as we know it would go right on turning.
Brent Staples "Editorial Notebook: Thomas Jefferson and ‘Dashing Sally'; In Love, or Just Master and Slave?"

26) The film asks the viewer to cheer on Cosway. She's a strong likable character. She has a husband who is a homosexual, and in addition he is not a very charming character, and so we hope she can escape from a non-loving relationship into a better one. She's educated, fun, and completely in love with Jefferson. We want her to find happiness, and Jefferson fulfills this role. She even befriends Patsy, who is hard to communicate with, and gets more points in our book. By talking about her siblings who were killed, she gains sympathy from the audience (yet, somehow we never hear substantial history from James and Sally to force us to feel badly for them). Therefore, when Sally enters the picture, we are supposed to dislike her. She is the third wheel of a triangle that is ruining Cosway's bliss. I feel like the film puts way too much blame on Sally and not enough on Jefferson, who is actually responsible for ending his relationship and beginning sex with his slave.
Elizabeth Guzzo, Lehigh University

27) Twenty-six-year-old Maria Louisa Caterina Cecilia Hadfield Cosway was surely the most talented and fascinating woman Thomas Jefferson ever met. She captured his heart in a moment. Maria Cosway seemed to personify every attribute a gentleman could want. She was charming, beautiful, intelligent, artistic, and musical. Although Jefferson met her in the flirtatious years of her twenties, he sensed a depth of character that was deeply religious. Maria had been a devout Catholic as a young girl, and in later years she embraced her faith again and founded a convent in Italy. All in all, Maria Cosway's "qualities and accomplishments" seemed to surpass those of other women. Jefferson described her as "a chapter apart" -- an assessment in which he was joined by dozens of smitten contemporaries in the capitals and byways of England and the Continent.
Jon Kukla, "Maria Cosway" (in Mr. Jefferson's Women) 86

28) If the depiction of Jefferson is accurate, then I am sad to say that I am very disappointed in our third President. He is so obnoxious with his "american ways" and "american beliefs" that he shoves down the throats of anyone he meets throughout the entire movie. In my eyes, he completely uses a slave just for sex, since there is absolutely no chemistry between the two and he is already in love with Cosway. I think he is pretentious, arrogant, and blind to accepting ways of living that are different from his own. It is ironic that he believes in slavery, a concept that is barbaric to the French, and yet he can put down their culture throughout the entire film.
Elizabeth Guzzo, Lehigh University

29) The focus here is upon Thomas Jefferson, our first secretary of state, our third president, an elegant, sophisticated intellectual who framed the Declaration of Independence; but the movie under consideration here was not intended to celebrate his intellect but rather his somewhat tarnished reputation, since, as the premier issue of Civilization announced, "Now some scholars detect a whiff of hypocrisy behind his republican values."
Jim Welsh 51-52

30) It is interesting to see that the actors who played a Hemings in the film was of mixed descent, yet some looked more black than others, and way too black to be one-eighth or one-sixteenth black. For example, the actress chosen to portray Sally Hemings in the film, Thandie Newton, because in real life her mother is of African descent and her father is of British descent. Yet she identifies herself as black, and her appearance looks more white than black. Another example, the actor who plays Madison Hemings, James Earl Jones, is of African-American, American Indian, and Irish ancestry, yet he identifies himself a black Indian. What is interesting is that he identifies himself with the minority races, and if anything he has prominent black features so he could pass for an African American. I wonder what race Sally would've identified with had she been given a choice and not forced to think she was black.
Samantha Gerstein, Lehigh University

31) Despite his artistic genius and capacity for hard work, Richard Cosway's relentless ambition, his physical appearance and extravagant attire, and his sexual tastes were lightning rods for satire and ridicule. "Although a well-made little man," a friend recalled, Cosway was "certainly very like a monkey in the face." Writing to a friend who was touring Europe, Cosway expressed his lust for Italian women with the vulgar bravado of a man seeking to proclaim his masculinity. Among the more exotic of Richard's close friends was the transvestite Charles Beaumont, chevaliere d'Eon, a former French diplomat notorious for demonstrating his fencing skills in exhibitions dressed as a woman. Rival artists fastened upon Cosway's "monkey face, apish figure and his inane finicking dandyism" in caricature prints (now rare because their victim "purchased and destroyed every copy that he could lay his hands on"), depicting him as an insatiable monkey dressed in the costume of a dandy, or macaroni. A 1761 engraving by William Hogarth portrayed Cosway as a furry baboon dressed as a dilettante connoisseur. Another print stuck him for life with the derisive nickname "the Macaroni Miniature Painter." Even Cosway's friends admitted that he "was certainly the greatest fop of all."
Jon Kukla, "Maria Cosway" (in Mr. Jefferson's Women) 89

32) So what who exactly was Jefferson doing in Paris? I thought the movie did a decent job of developing the relationship between Cosway and Jefferson so it was believable. But I did not find myself believing much of anything about the portrayal between him and Sally. It seemed a bit rushed and abrupt. Sally was overly seductive and childish at the same time, which was weird. What were her motives? Her character was so underdeveloped that there was hardly anything else she was portrayed doing unless it was in the context of Jefferson. She also played dumb a lot, which annoyed me; trying to be unnecessarily cute as a desperate ploy for attention. She was in Paris! And found little to zero interest in a FREE land. She has money for the first time and doesn't even spend it but, instead, has Jefferson keep it in a desk drawer. Give me a break. There was nothing for me to believe in any type of relationship between him and Sally, and, even more so, the context of the situation and its characters was lost on me.
Kristen Dalton, Lehigh University

33) Jefferson in Paris was the name of the picture, but Jefferson in Love was surely the primary agenda of the Ishmael Merchant and James Ivory film that demeaned the reputation of our third president. This was perhaps a product of the times, a decade of scandal for Mr. Jefferson's namesake in the White House when the film was made, William Jefferson Clinton. The film took an understanding and tolerant approach, as if intending to forgive the alleged attachment between Jefferson and Sally Hemings. As portrayed in the film, their flirtation even comes close to being cute, though not so cute as the fictitious romance later concocted for Shakespeare in Love (1998). Should the film be forgiven for the way it attempts to humanize and explain Jefferson's alleged behavior? Or is this historical romp to be taken seriously? Was it the intent of the film to wink at Mr. Clinton's merry pranks?
Jim Welsh 50-51

34) I thought that Sally's depiction in the film is realistic but very different than what I had imagined. She's depicted as young, naive, and there for Jefferson when Maria Cosway and he are forced to end their relationship. This relationship only came to be because of Jefferson's moment of vulnerability. Since Sally's young age seems to be the focus of her character (or at least that was all I could think about), it seems as if the film makes a point of highlighting Jefferson's inappropriate behavior. Throughout the entire film, we see Jefferson depicted as the quintessential renaissance man that we want to think of when we think of our third president. However, his up and coming relationship with Sally practically started as a mistake that may have never happened if Maria Cosway and he could have stayed together. I think another interesting aspect of the film is the lack of control that Sally has. We've seen her in Chase-Riboud's novel as having a strong sense of character and wisdom despite her young age. In the film, James must push Sally to ask for wages, and eventually to bargain for her freedom. Perhaps Sally's lack of initiative is yet another indication of her young age on which the film focuses.
Alexandra Neumann, Lehigh University

35) By 1786, as the dialogue ["The Head and the Heart"] demonstrates, Jefferson was capable of regaining his control over his emotions by the exercise of reason. The blunt facts remained, however that three of the four women to whom Jefferson offered his Heart had rejected it, and the fourth had been taken from him by death. In light of these harsh truths, Jefferson allowed his Head to remind him that "this is not a world to live at random in." Henceforth in his relationships with women he would act with caution and with a balance in his hand, "put[ting] into one scale the pleasures which any object may offer; but put[ting] fairly into the other the pains which are to follow." Thomas Jefferson's flirtation with Maria Cosway was the last time that any autonomous woman ensnared his Heart.
Jon Kukla, "Maria Cosway" (in Mr. Jefferson's Women) 114

36) When I first saw James I noticed how he didn't even think about the idea of getting wages until someone else brought it up. James didn't feel entitled even though he was dressed as white people and worked among them. While talking about the attire of the movie I was shocked at how overly dressed the French were. I know it is the upper class portrayed in the flamboyant costumes, but I wonder if they are exaggerated or if the upper French class really dressed this nicely on a daily basis? I notice Jefferson's dislike of the French extravagance and how he remarks that it would be easy for his daughter to forget the American morals and embody those of the French people.
Elaina Kelly, Lehigh University

37) Jefferson argues for American slavery as a special case for which exceptions must be allowed. He manages to alienate himself from an attractive and cultivated woman of taste by his sexual dalliance with Sally, who barely speaks literate English and has little to recommend her beyond girlish high spirits. Why this Renaissance man of over forty would be so taken by an ignorant teenager is not successfully explained by either the screenplay or the acting.
Jim Welsh 54

38) I was shocked at how open Jefferson's relationship with Maria appeared in the film. They affectionately embraced and acted so in public situations. It also seemed a bit odd at the opera how her husband left and dragged the other man out of the suite to leave the two alone. She then implies he is gay, so maybe he is trying to please his wife by allowing her to have an affair with Jefferson? I was also shocked he would invite her back to Monticello because it seems that would be close to a violation of a promise to his wife. It really bothers me that he dismisses his vow saying, "you and I are alive and the earth belongs to the living."I always have imagined "my Jefferson"as extremely devoted to his wife and bringing back another woman seems like a clear dismissal of his promise.
Anonymous , Lehigh University

39) Ishmail Merchant and James Ivory's historical drama actually ensures that Thomas Jefferson is read as a quiet intellectual statesman and a lonely widower whose emotions are awakened by the charm of a young girl who in Paris reminds him of home, of America and most tellingly of Monticello. In fact, rather than enforcing the droit de seigneur, Nick Nolte's Jefferson succumbs to a bright young Sally, played by Thandie Newton, after an incredibly literate (historically, the relationship was primarily epistolary) but quite formal flirtation with married Maria Cosway.
Sharon Monteith 36

40) The movie was nothing like I expected. I was intrigued by the fact that half of the movie depicted the relationship between Cosway and Jefferson. It showed a sharp contrast between this relationship and that of Hemings. In the Cosway relationship he seems to be infatuated with her. It is clear that he initiated the relationship. His affair with Sally, however, shows that she is seducing him, and he is intrigued by this.
Abigail Harris-Shea, Lehigh University

41) Jefferson argues for American slavery as a special case for which exceptions must be allowed. He manages to alienate himself from an attractive and cultivated woman of taste by his sexual dalliance with Sally, who barely speaks literate English and has little to recommend her beyond girlish high spirits. Why this Renaissance man over forty would be so taken by an ignorant teenager is not successfully explained by either the screenplay or the acting.
Jim Welsh 54

42) We see Sally seducing Jefferson by her forward body language when Jefferson gives her the necklace. She also is so playful with him and is constantly making jokes with him. Even before their affair, it hardly seems like a relationship between a master and a slave. It even gets to the point where Cosway feels uncomfortable (the scene with the corn). I think it is really interesting that the movie chose to portray the relationship in that way. Although it is acknowledged that Sally is only 15, she is cast as an older woman. It makes the relationship seem less taboo. I also think it is interesting that Sally is portrayed at being the seducer. It certainly shows that Jefferson was interested, but it seems like Sally was the initiator.
Abigail Harris-Shea, Lehigh University

43) Trumbull knew the Cosways from London and their paths had crossed in Paris, too. Now he made the proper introductions -- and suddenly everything changed. By midafternoon Jefferson's heart was "dilating with [his] new acquaintances, and contriving how to prevent a separation from them," especially from Maria. The Cosways, Jefferson, and Trumbull all had evening commitments, from which they excused themselves by dispatching "lying messengers . . . into every quarter of the city."
Jon Kukla, "Maria Cosway" (in Mr. Jefferson's Women) 94

44) I was surprised at the portrayal of Sally and Jefferson in the movie. With regards to Jefferson, I almost kind of thought he was . . . creepy. Not the way I had previously looked at him, but it seems like he's into Maria Cosway and Sally simultaneously, two opposite women--though we can hardly call Sally a woman. I'm in agreement with my classmates about how Sally was depicted in the movie. Perhaps as a result of the many discussions we've had about how 14 years old wasn't considered nearly as young as it is today, I've been prone to believe that Sally is mature and somewhat in control of her emotions. However, after seeing her in the movie, I don't think she even has any concept of what love is. I kind of felt like she didn't understand the difference between comfort and intimacy and thus confused that being sexual with him was her opportunity to comfort him. There were times that I thought she seemed seductive, yet there were also times, like when she says she missed her "mammie" and wanted to go back to Monticello. I was especially struck when she seemed not to pay much regard to being free, and when James suggested it to her she was almost saying that she had no choice but to go back to Monticello to be a slave because she wouldn't know what to do with herself! I'd guess that most slaves of intellectual maturity would desire freedom over anything, so this decision (which, in the movie, does not seem to stem from her "love" of Jefferson) is another way of exemplifying her immaturity. This doesn't, however, explain how this relationship could have persisted for almost 40 years, and I'm surprised that the movie barely gets into their relationship, other than how it may have started.
Samantha Feinberg, Lehigh University

45) The film shows its true colors after taking an unexpected and unexplained turn when Jefferson indulges himself carnally with this child-nurse and gets her pregnant, a common course of events, the film seems to suggest, for Virginia gentlemen slave-owners. Daughter Patsy seems to know what has occurred and is so repulsed by her randy father that she decides to become a nun and remain in France, but her father will have none of that. He has very strong opinions about granting freedom of choice to women and slaves. When questioned by the mother superior about the meaning of freedom of religion, the man seems to be a perfect hypocrite, but neither does he flinch nor falter. He also seems to be something of a fool. But of course it is nothing new these days to hear the echo of feet of clay clomping through the White House.
Jim Welsh 54

46) Historians are right to dismiss the charge because it applies contemporary standards to a man who lived two centuries ago. As the Jefferson scholar Douglas Wilson points out, the question of why Jefferson held slaves gets us nowhere. The more interesting question is: Why did a man who inherited slaves and a fortune dependent upon them, and who lived in a society that was inured to slavery, decide at an early age that slavery was morally wrong and forcefully declare that it ought to be abolished? The answer is that Jefferson was exceptional, ahead of his time -- but not completely free of it.
Brent Staples, "Editorial Notebook: Thomas Jefferson and ‘Dashing Sally'; In Love, or Just Master and Slave?"

47) Jefferson, representative of a colony seeking freedom, is a relentless colonizer; his slave-children will nominally have freedom in their descent from him, occupy a small, neat house, and play into his hagiography. But they are not free: They live his life, as his daughter was forced to, and as Maria Cosway would not. He cannot see that his words apply only to his public space, not his private ones, and that he has set up a world that will oppress women. Neither Patsy nor Maria can choose their own vocations; Madison Hemings will still use his sister as a kind of servant, in the generation.
Katherine Arens 83

48) The air of unintelligence surrounding Sally that some people have mentioned is also potentially realistic -- and no fault of Sally's. I think it is important to keep in mind that Sally was a slave all her life before she came to Paris. It is more than likely that she was never educated, never taught to read or write or the rules of grammar. I think the producers took these facts to heart in portraying Sally in the way that most any completely uneducated person may have behaved. While this uneducated, immature, silly character we see in this film may not be consistent with what we would like to believe Sally Hemings was like, I do appreciate it's diversion from past representations and its element of realism.
Mary O'Reilly, Lehigh University

49) Friendship, rather than romantic love, always characterized Maria Cosway's letters. "How I wish I could answer the dialogue!" she had written in October 1786. "But I honestly think my heart is invisible, and mute, . . . sensible of my loss at separating from the friends I left at Paris." Scolding him for not writing often enough, she described the happiness that accompanied letters from "persons whom we hold in esteem, . . . our happiness in being able to savor of their value, and. . . the pleasure which a sensitive soul feels in friendship." After two of his letters finally arrived, she worried that Jefferson would "be painted in future ages sitting solitary and sad, on the beautiful Monticello, tormented by the shadow of a woman." Then she begged him to write again "to remember sometimes with friendship one who will be sensible and grateful of it."
Jon Kukla, "Maria Cosway" (in Mr. Jefferson's Women) 104

50) The buildup is impossible to avoid as well. Sally is suggestive. Sally is eager. Jefferson is hit with heavy news. Jefferson is weak. Again, a beautiful woman is suggestive and submissive. Eager, even. The filmmakers demonstrate this encounter to be inevitable. They cleverly omit the possibility of rape in Sally's lines: "I ain't scared of you, Massa." Serious character defense here. Sally's dramatic dance overshadows Jefferson's moment of weakness. It's a very subtle scene; without paying close attention, you could miss what happens. Their first sexual encounter overshadowed by a barbaric dance. Pity.
Stephanie DeLuca, Lehigh University

51) I believe the Sally Hemings story ties people [African Americans] to the founding of the nation.
Sharon Monteith 37

52) The thing that struck me the most about this film was the way in which Sally is portrayed. I'd just started accepting Barbara Chase-Riboud's smart, calculating, enchanting version of Sally. This movie completely wiped away any vestiges of that in their portrayal of Sally. She seemed to be weak-minded, simple, extremely naive, and easily manipulated. It was very hard for me to believe this, because she failed to hold any appeal for Jefferson aside from her beauty. It was easy to understand why she could be pulled towards Jefferson, but there was no reason for Jefferson to remain loyal to her for the 38 years of their alleged relationship. This leads me to question the motives behind this portrayal of Sally. Did the directors assume that, because she was a slave, it may have only been her beauty that captured the attention of Jefferson? This is hard to believe when we look at the passionate, strong-willed portrayal of her brother James. I'm left at a loss for what to think. I look forward to watching the next film rendition of Jefferson and Sally's relationship to see a fresh interpretation of Sally's character.
Katie Prosswimmer, Lehigh University

53) Despite the conventions of romance with which it is often decorated, the Jefferson-Hemings folklore contains many elements disquieting to conventional sensibilities.
Bradford Vivian 295

54) This was definitely not the way I pictured Sally, Jefferson, and the relationship that existed between them. I was much more under the impression that Jefferson was the one to take the lead. In this movie, Sally seemed like somewhat of a temptress who sent Jefferson the signals that became the catalyst for the formation of Jefferson's feelings. The one scene in particular is the one in which Sally is seen imitating a bird and dancing around the room. Jefferson is so taken by her antics that he realizes his feelings, and, we assume, it is at that point that the relationship is "consummated."
Samantha Christal, Lehigh University

56) I thought it was interesting that most of the movie was focused on the relationship between Maria Cosway and Jefferson. It almost seems like most of the movie furthers the idea of how "out of character" a liaison would have been with his slave. It's as if viewers see how strongly he felt for Cosway, and then view any sexual encounter he had with Sally as a temporary slip up because his young, black slave seduced him.
Samantha Christal, Lehigh University

57) There was, in fact, every reason for the French to dislike what they found. They went from the most sophisticated country in the known world to a primitive wilderness. They who hated to leave Paris and Versailles now wintered three thousand miles away from their pomp and glitter. There were no palaces and no parks, no fashionable clothes, no fashion at all, in fact.
Olivier Bernier 214

58) Another part I was particularly drawn to was the scene in which Jefferson explains that he burned all of the letters exchanged between him and his late wife because it was happiness that existed between him and her. Once she died, he said that it was only his and that it was something that did not need to be shared. Perhaps this was to further characterize Jefferson as a compassionate and loving character? Then why would he later on agree to go against his wife's dying wish and continue a relationship with Cosway? It is all very confusing.
Samantha Christal, Lehigh University

59) What did the years Thomas Jefferson spent as our ambassador to France mean -- to the two countries concerned, to history, to him? Are we supposed to care about his platonic dalliance with the pretty Maria Cosway, a painter married to a painter? Very well, then, make us feel, for example, what kept the game platonic, and at what cost to the players. Did his alleged concubinage with his slave girl Sally Hemings, said to have borne him several children, teach him something about love or slavery? And if not, why not? Is there anything to be learned from this story that encompasses both the aftereffects of the American Revolution and the beginning of the French one? Why were the enlightened French aristocrats who helped the former along of no use in forestalling or civilizing the latter? Again, what exactly was Jefferson's relation to his slaves other than Sally? (And in making her the aggressor in the affair with her master, the film is politically correct but historically absurd.) How much did his oath of fidelity to his dying wife affect Jefferson's subsequent affairs? And what was his relationship to his demanding elder daughter, Patsy, drawn equally intensely to her father and to becoming a nun? This, like much else, is at best dabbled in, at worst just dangled before us. So we briefly see an impassioned orator frenziedly inciting the crowd; only from the program can we tell he is Camille Desmoulins. From nothing can we tell his true significance. This is not just a case of not seeing the forest for the trees; it is a case of not seeing the trees for the moss on their bark.
John Simon

60) Jefferson gives Sally the necklace. It was at this point that I had a hard time figuring how who claimed who during this interaction. While it would be more obvious that Jefferson gave her this necklace as a token of his affection, it seems as though Sally had a huge part in receiving it in the way that she lured Jefferson throughout so many other parts of the movie. Perhaps "claimed" is not the right word, but the symbolism of this necklace should definitely be looked into. It is something she wore constantly and was held onto closely.
Samantha Christal, Lehigh University

61) Jefferson was utterly smitten. On this point his admiring biographer was entirely reliable. "A generally philosophical gentleman, hungrier for beauty and a woman than he realized," Dumas Malone wrote, "was quite swept off his supposedly well-planted feet." For the next week or so Jefferson and Maria Cosway roamed Paris and its environs together, sometimes accompanied by Maria's husband, by Trumbull, of by Jefferson's secretary, William Short.
Jon Kukla, "Maria Cosway" (in Mr. Jefferson's Women) 94

62) I was confused about the scene in which Jefferson burned the letters. I thought it characterized him as less of a compassionate person. In my mind it makes more sense for Jefferson to hold onto these letters because they have some sort of sentimental purpose, not just cast them aside and claim he is burning his happiness. It seemed like an out-of-sight, out-of-mind type of action. It was probably much easier to pursue other relationships when the memories of Jefferson's late wife were gone. I think if Jefferson would've admitted something more honest like the fact that he couldn't stand to read the letters, it would've made him more believable in this scene.
Kimbrilee Weber, Lehigh University

63) Jhabvala and Ivory aren't out to rake Jefferson over the coals for his racial hypocrisies; they cast a cool, objective eye on both his moral lapses and his intellectual virtues. But judiciousness can take you only so far. What this movie needs is great scenes, and it doesn't have any. When the Merchant Ivory team is at its best -- in "Howards End" and "A Room With a View" -- you can feel the passion behind the tasteful reserve. But there's no moment in "Jefferson in Paris" when you can feel why the filmmakers had to tell this story. All dressed up, this elegant movie has nowhere to go.
David Ansen 69

64) I found the movie to be very interesting. Details in particular that I noticed the directors probably gleaned from Brodie or Chase-Riboud were the emphasis on the "promise" Jefferson makes to James and Sally at the end of the movie and also Sally's relationship with Patty. The details that I thought were embellished for the effects of the movie were the Jefferson-Cosway relationship (and specifically Ms. Cosway's husband) and also Patsy's emotional turmoil. Though I think it is definitely fair to assume there was some sort of emotional turmoil going on, I'm not sure if Patsy would've been so suspecting that Jefferson was having some sort of a relationship with Sally until the moment she realizes Sally is pregnant. The scenes of Patsy spying through the doorways or creeping in the stairwells seemed a bit exaggerated to me, but they did convey the turmoil which I'm sure Patsy was feeling that Jefferson-Hemings scholars could easily overlook when getting caught up with other details. Patsy's personality and turmoil over being the child of a slaveowner especially came through when she said, "I wish all the Negroes could be free: they of us and we of them." In the movie Patsy seems to play second fiddle to Jefferson's women, and while she seems to be against the notion of slavery, I think she is also just a girl who has lost her mother and wants her father back.
Kimbrilee Weber, Lehigh University

65) A month later, after Maria Cosway returned to London, Jefferson promised to cherish her correspondence in the same spirit that "Arlequin in Les Deux Billets spelt the words ‘je t'aime' and wished that the whole alphabet had entered into their composition."
Jon Kukla, "Maria Cosway" (in Mr. Jefferson's Women) 95

66) I appreciated that Jefferson brought Patsy in to be a part of the promise at the last scene. This particularly emotional scene really gave "my" Jefferson a bit more credibility. He could've easily gone back on his promise, but this scene showed that he was serious about the promise and did not intend to go back on it. I thought the directors portrayed the facts nicely. James was much more antagonistic than I had initially pictured him throughout the film. I thought he and Sally both had characteristics which were very stereotypically "black." They spoke in a dialect at times, Sally was very submissive and docile, and she almost seems whimsical or childish (when I say this I am referring specifically to the scene where she is singing and dancing for Jefferson and he laughs along as if he is being entertained.) I didn't think this portrayed Sally in a particularly positive light, but I could understand why demonstrating Sally's childlike qualities and naivety would add to the story.
Kimbrilee Weber, Lehigh University

67) That devil's pact ends the movie. The movie fades to black, with print histories of the participants.
Katherine Arens 83

68) To shift, Jefferson's love triangle also has an interesting dynamic. Jefferson seems obsessed with Maria. She seems to have the upperhand (especially in the beginning of the relationship before she returns to London) and fake that she is disinterested. Jefferson comes off as desperate. He invites Cosway to America and seems to be heartbroken at the thought of leaving her. Then, when he is with Sally, Jefferson shifts and seems to have the upperhand in this relationship. He is the puppeteer and Sally the puppet. He sits back and is entertained by Sally's silly dancing, and Sally just dances. The juxtaposition of the two power dynamics were especially salient to me after watching this movie. There was one specific moment, though, where I saw Sally defy this role and come out as assertive and strong. When she is in the garden with Ms. Cosway and Jefferson, she makes a sort of "power move" in front of Ms. Cosway and seems to intentionally bump into Jefferson. In my mind, that was Sally's silent and passive way of claiming Jefferson as her own. Ms. Cosway must have been threatened by Jefferson and Sally's growing relationship, too, because she reacted to this assertion of power by appearing more insecure than she ever had about her own relationship with Jefferson thereafter. Soon, Jefferson and Cosway seem to end their relationship.
Kimbrilee Weber, Lehigh University

69) "Jefferson's relationship with Cosway was unique in his life," Kaminski wrote, "and historians have long disagreed about it. Some have attacked Cosway as a spoiled, pampered coquette who added Jefferson to her salon of admirers. Others have said it was a romantic friendship filled with flirtation but no physical consummation." Kaminski continued, "And yet others have sensed a passion between the two that never appeared between Jefferson and any other woman"â€"except presumably his late wife. "Given this passion," Kaminski concluded, "Along with Maria's unhappy marriage and Jefferson's loneliness as a widower, it would not seem unlikely that they consummated their love. The sexual mores of late-eighteenth-century France would have been less critical of their relationship than would those of later generations. Whatever the case, these letters are evidence of a deep and passionate love between Thomas and Maria."
Jon Kukla, "Appendix C. Dialogue Between My Head And My Heart. Thomas Jefferson To Maria Cosway. October 12. 1786" (in Mr. Jefferson's Women) 202

70) When Jefferson is at the convent fighting for Patsy to leave the school, one thing I found especially interesting was the quote he says to the nun. He says that "independence is not a toy for children to play with, but the privledge of a fully matured mind." This attitude that he approaches Patsy's religion with is a good parallel to the reason that he seems to coddle Sally as a slave (keeping her money in his desk, etc.) He does not believe that Sally is mature enough to fend for herself and be independent, even an independent slave like her brother James. If he feels Patsy is too young to consent and choose her own religion, it baffles my mind how he can in good conscience believe that Sally (the same age as Patsy) can consent to a sexual relationship with him.
Kimbrilee Weber, Lehigh University

71) The defense of America's third president has been fierce and furious. Those who maintain that a man as enlightened and principled as Jefferson would never have impregnated his slave girl have attacked James Ivory's film not just on grounds of historical accuracy but on every other front too, for good measure.
David Newnham 4

72) I thought the whole portrayal of Patsy throughout the film was very interesting and creative on the part of the producers -- but not necessarily in a bad way. She always played "second fiddle" to the other women in her father's life. Her relationship with Jefferson always seemed portrayed as being very close -- almost uncomfortably intimate at times. I can't tell if this was because each other was all they seemingly had left after so many other family members had died, or what, but their relationship felt unnaturally close at times. Nonetheless, it definitely seems viable that she would be envious of the other women in her father's life. I feel as though perhaps she also resented them because they were "replacing" her mother for Jefferson. Overall, I thought the director made her an interesting character that played an enjoyably dynamic role in the movie.
Anonymous , Lehigh University

73) The slavery issue becomes personalized in the last hour of the film with the arrival of Sally Hemings (Thandie Newton), the slave who accompanies the youngest Jefferson daughter to Paris and who may have been the half-sister of Jefferson's deceased wife. Frustrated in his pursuit of Mrs. Cosway, Jefferson turns to Sally for companionship. The script is notably unconvincing on this point. Sally is an inept, intrusive teen-ager with little apparent ability to relate to the brilliant, somewhat dour, tortured Mr. Jefferson. With her pregnancy the story doesn't end; it simply stops. Nothing is really resolved.
Richard A. Blake 25

74) While I think the representation of Sally here is not one that many are readily willing to accept, I do think it is as realistic a possibility as any of the other representations we have seen. In some ways, I even found it to be more realistic than others. Contrary to the nature of the Chase-Riboud novel, I found myself feeling very aware of Sally's age in this film. I think the producers did a good job of portraying her as what she was: only 14 years old. She is young, immature, giggly, a victim of girlish crushes and puppy love, and eager to please. I think we see this often in Sally's demeanor -- i.e., her dancing with no regard in front of Jefferson seems to me to be a representation of a young girl overproud and eager to show off her abilities while simultaneously trying to use her innocent humor to make Jefferson laugh. I feel as though she was almost too young to recognize the potential inappropriateness of the situation she had thrown herself into. Her age feels similarly visible during the scene in which she reveals to James that she is pregnant. When she makes mention of Monticello and starts crying about missing her mother and her family and her home, I felt poignantly aware of the fact that Sally was only a young teenager when she was in Paris. Her feelings of homesickness seemed to accurately reflect this to me. I think this young age accounts for a great deal of the character we see of Sally. I feel as though the producers of the film make a conscious effort to represent Sally's age accurately, which has a significant effect on our how we perceive her.
Mary O'Reilly, Lehigh University

75) And so it happened that Jefferson and Cosway were strolling in the riverside park of the Cours la Reine, near the Champs-Elysees and the place de la Concorde, when he impulsively attempted to vault a fence. Although Jefferson may have felt as youthful as his beautiful companion, his forty-three-year-old right wrist gave way. Whether Jefferson's wrist was broken or dislocated proved a moot point -- the pain was excruciating and it continued for months. One surgeon was summoned but quickly dismissed as incompetent. The second surgeon was scarcely more helpful. Jefferson did not regain any use of his right hand until early November, and the wrist plagued him for the rest of his life.
Jon Kukla, "Maria Cosway" (in Mr. Jefferson's Women) 96

77) Mid-film, a child runs out of a house followed by a young teen, almost a mere child herself. The latter catches up with the child as they stand in the yard embracing, discussing a trip they are about to take to Paris. This teen, this beautiful young lady, is none other than the Sally Hemings -- the Sally Hemings debated over for centuries, the Sally Hemings that's been described as "a slut as common as the pavement" and "handsome" alike, the Sally Hemings that everyone who's ever heard of the Jefferson-Hemings controversy has pictured in their minds, painted a portrait of, imagined her face, her hair, her eyes. And now finally, after a long wait, we get to see her in the flesh, played by a beautiful, young, light-skinned actress. We get to see her and our revered third president "flirt" if you will. We get to see them kiss, we see them converse, laugh, play. After all this imagining it was very impacting to actually see what the relationship may have been like. It was nice to actually see the two together, it was nice to finally see Sally's long black hair, it was nice to finally see her rosy cheeks, her clothing, hear her voice. It was nice to finally meet the Sally Hemings.
Casey Hollawell, Lehigh University

78) Never more, perhaps, than in the twenty years preceding the Revolution have people cared about what their houses or apartments looked like. Like architecture, interior decoration was influenced by the newly excavated Roman cities of Pompeii and Herculaneum.
Olivier Bernier 35

79) Finally, with the Atlantic serving as a bulwark against temptation, Jefferson was at last able to close a letter to Maria Cosway, now safely domesticated by motherhood, with the candid declaration "je vous aimerai toujours" -- I will always love you. Nearly five years passed before he wrote her again.
Jon Kukla, "Maria Cosway" (in Mr. Jefferson's Women) 108

80) Ultimately, the film failed to deliver the emotionally riveting conversation between Jefferson and Hemings in which Jefferson begged for Hemings to come back to the States with him. Instead, the interaction was portrayed in a sort of bland compromise that really did not bring to the table the sort of emotional sacrifice we were led to believe that Jefferson made to Hemings and the suffering his family, especially his daughter, went through with his conflicting romances.
Daniel Enny, Lehigh University

81) Already an emotional catastrophe for Jefferson, Maria Cosway's visit ended early in December on a particularly sour note. On Friday evening, December 7, the very eve of her return to London, Jefferson was finally able to engage her for the breakfast a l'anglaise he had suggested months earlier. Apparently on her initiative, their date was set for the next morning. Jefferson arrived on time, and Mrs. Cosway stood him up.
Jon Kukla, "Maria Cosway" (in Mr. Jefferson's Women) 105

82) Do we believe for a moment that Nick Nolte is the man who wrote a treatise "dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal"? I had trouble believing that he was a football coach at a real high school in "Prince of Tides." But even the treatment of Jefferson's love, Maria Cosway (Greta Scacchi), is strangely vacant. Jefferson falls for the wife of the evidently gay English painter Richard Cosway (beautifully performed by the underused Simon Callow), a woman who is a foolish, goofy, spoiled child. What the two see in each other must have been information that was cut out of a previous draft of the script.
Barbara Shulgasser

83) With all of the writing and phrasing that Thomas Jefferson did through letters and political documents, how could he have difficulty explaining the concept of slavery to Maria Cosway? While watching Jefferson in Paris and hearing the hesitant Jefferson attempt to explain the idea of having slaves to Maria Cosway, I initially questioned the accuracy of the actor's performance. But then I began thinking beyond the film and into Jefferson's real world. It must have been hard for him to describe the idea of having slaves to Maria because he himself was uncertain of what his attitude towards his slaves truly was. At first, he described how he "inherited" Sally Hemings and her family, objectifying them and dehumanizing them. At that point, they were merely pieces of technology that he used at Monticello. However, when Maria was stunned by the description, he tried to relinquish his previous words and introduce the idea that the slaves were like "family." With these two tremendously contradictory concepts of slavery, Jefferson, who was known to be an honest man, must have been undecided and confused about this. This seemingly insignificant exchange of information between Cosway and Jefferson was not just an attempt to win over Cosway's heart. This is the point that Jefferson admits to himself that he is unaware of his personal view on slavery.
Danielle Heymann, Lehigh University

84) Had the Merchant-Ivory team chosen to make that forbidden, mixed-race love their focus, and not gotten sidetracked with all of Jefferson's silly mooning over the pretentious Maria Cosway, the "Jefferson in Paris" might have come to life.
Edward Guthmann

85) By retaining a file copy of his "Dialogue Between My Head and My Heart," Jefferson indicated that it expressed something other than deeply private romantic love. It became, rather, the record of a process by which Jefferson sorted out all the disorderly passions that had erupted as he and Maria Cosway rambled through Paris. By the bottom of the fourth page, Jefferson had tamed his adulterous longings for Maria Cosway, transforming his unruly emotions into lofty sentiments of friendship toward her and her husband. Then, for good measure, he diluted the intensity of those feeling in generalized reflections about humanity. Having reimposed a measure of self-control over his emotions through the vehicle of the dialogue, Jefferson made a copy of the document for himself and posted the original to Maria Cosway.
Jon Kukla, "Maria Cosway" (in Mr. Jefferson's Women) 98

86) While I disliked the film's tendency to dodge the love between Jefferson and Hemings, I enjoyed its additional focus, although limited, on Martha "Patsy" Jefferson. Viewers get the sense that Patsy knows what her father is doing with Sally Hemings; she is ashamed and decides to recite her vows in the convent. Initially sympathetic for Sally in the scene where Patsy slaps her, I considered what it would be like for Patsy to feel neglected by her father's love. After losing her mother, Patsy became the rock that held her family together, taking care of both her father and younger sister. It is one thing to lose your mother and another thing to have your father courting other women. However, I cannot even imagine what it was like for Patsy to know that one of those other women was a Negro slave. Although I continue to respect Jefferson and understand his love for Sally, I cannot help but consider him to be selfish.
Hannah Masse, Lehigh University

87) Thomas Jefferson's romantic outings with Maria Cosway ended painfully just two weeks after they met.
Jon Kukla, "Maria Cosway" (in Mr. Jefferson's Women) 95

88) Rumors about the relationship have been a part of the Jefferson biography for so long that they could scarcely be considered revelatory. Yet by casting speculation as established fact, Ivory and screenwriter Ruth Prawer Jhabvala unveil this supposed contradiction in the great man's life as if the were outing him. At the same time, though, the filmmakers seem to want to have their hero and dis him too. Though they point to the relationship -- which supposedly resulted in six offspring, all born into slavery -- as proof that, indeed, the gods have feet of clay, when the actual romance begins, it's depicted as being so natural and tender that he seems completely blameless. So what exactly is the point? Does Jefferson's treatment of Sally Hemings establish his racism or his instinctive color-blindness? Unfortunately, the picture is so unfocused and tumbles so rapidly from one event to another that it's difficult to tell. Also, while all this is going on, a great deal of screen time is spent on the romance between Jefferson and the beautiful painter and musician Maria Cosway (Greta Scacchi) -- a relationship that goes nowhere and reveals almost nothing about either party.
Hal Hinson

89) Sally is presented as not only the pusher of the relationship but also very unintelligent. Where was the woman who had studied in France and had developed into a mesmerizing, well-rounded individual? Furthermore, the final scene of the movie was not what I had anticipated; it came off very corny and overdone. While I was expecting Jefferson to beg Sally to return home with him as he supposedly did, we are presented with a completely different argument. First, Jefferson didn't have to beg Sally, and the debate is actually between James and Jefferson. Second, instead of a back and forth quarrel, it's more of a cease fire as incentives and agreement are proposed and achieved quickly.
Ann O'Connell, Lehigh University

90) Amazingly, Ivory allows an hour to elapse before Jefferson's alleged mistress Sally Hemings (Thandie Newton) actually appears. When she does, there is rather less sexual chemistry between her and her owner-employer than between Minnie and Mickey Mouse. We are allowed no glimpse of Sally's feelings (duty? Respect? Lust? Resentment?). Nor does Jefferson seem to feel the slightest guilt at seducing a girl with the mental powers of a child, to whom he is effectively in loco parentis. The relationship -- whether true or fictitious -- might have been used to explore the sexual hypocrisy and racial politics of the 18th century. Instead, it is merely a bland backdrop to the main business of the film â€" which appears to be, as in all the worst Merchant Ivory pictures, a minute study of interior design.
Christopher Tookey

91) The downside is that Ivory's reticence makes it additionally tough for an emotionally remote figure like Jefferson to come alive onscreen. Not that one wants to see the future third president of the United States thrashing around in the sack, but Ivory is so discreet about his protagonist's amorous activities that one never knows how physical his relations with Maria ever become, nor precisely when things begin with Sally. As someone says of Jefferson's heart, "He wears it under a suit of armor," and one only rarely hears it beating.
Todd McCarthy

92) The portrayal of the Jefferson-Hemings affair was wrong on so many levels. The viewer was never really given insight into the nature of the relationship. It seemed as though every time Jefferson and Sally were getting intimate, the director would cut to another scene, giving us access only to their "shallow" moments. I was hoping for the opportunity to witness deeper conversations between the two lovebirds than Sally discussing her fake phobia of ghosts. The worst part, though, was, in the rare glimpses we were able to catch Jefferson and Sally together, how mismatched the pair seemed. The film made the relationship out as awkward and unbelievable -- Sally was so immature and Jefferson was so sophisticated. The two were undoubtedly from different worlds and the movie reflects this, but it does little to reconcile this fact and make the pairing seem natural or understandable to viewers. I guess some things are just better left to the imagination. . . .
Jennifer Markham, Lehigh University

93) Only in the very last scenes does the movie begin to focus on something: the pathetic absurdity of Sally Hemings's place in the Jefferson household. For some mild familiarity her face is slapped by Patsy Jefferson. It's one teen-aged girl slapping another, a mistress slapping her slave, and a girl slapping her own aunt: for Sally is the illegitimate daughter of Patsy's grandfather, Thomas's father-in-law. Not only do we know this but both girls know it, too. And the final moment is poignant: Sally, offered her freedom, bursts into tears because she is bewildered, even terrified, by the possibility of freedom in a land that has no use for free blacks. But, by this time, it is too late to make this movie be about Sally. The last close-up of her tear-stained face is moving but frustrating. It's a fragment of a movie we haven't seen.
Richard Alleva

94) The film may, if it generates the audience, be controversial in another way as well. Mrs. Jabhvala, who wrote the screenplay and was inspired by a 1974 book by Fawn M. Brodie called "Thomas Jefferson: An Intimate History" has made Jefferson's supposed love affair with his slave Sally Hemings a main ingredient in the plot. The problem is that what "Jefferson in Paris" presents as vividly real, in the way only film has the power to, has long been viewed by most historians as a possibility at best or, very likely, pure invention.
Richard Bernstein

95) What I found to be most disappointing in the movie was the lack of romance scenes between Jefferson and Sally. Surely, we do receive a few hints of attraction between the two of them, but there are no love scenes, no scenes that make it clear that Sally and Jefferson embrace. The little affectionate scenes that we do get, however, portray Sally as the instigator and Jefferson as a mere victim. When Sally and Jefferson first come together in his room, Sally is the one who exposes her neckline to intrigue Jefferson, and in the next "love" scene, Sally is the one who initiates the romance yet again when she removes her "massah's" boot. In both instances, Jefferson does not make a move and is portrayed as a passive victim. Had the directors focused more on Sally and Jefferson's relationship, and had they presented a nuanced perspective on the matter, the film would have perhaps surpassed a mediocre rating.
Michelle Juarez, Lehigh University

96) The facts of Thomas Jefferson's life though they may be, there's a fundamental ugliness to them that no amount of pretty pictures can hide. History is history, but it's the desire to give that ugliness the "Merchant Ivory" treatment which makes Jefferson in Paris a failure and an insult.
Gary Dauphin

97) Most bizarrely, the movie nearly ignores the crucial paradox, that of the liberal icon Jefferson's purportedly taking teenage slave Sally Hemings (Thandie Newton) as mistress. Poor Sally's problematical existence is presumably the excuse for the story, which is told by her freed son (James Earl Jones, whose famous diction makes his "slave grammar" ridiculous). But this Sally is a simple-minded and sometimes sly flirt (the word "pickaninny" painfully comes to mind) incapable of inspiring such personally taboo passion. The resonance of Sally's being half-sister to Jefferson's sainted dead wife is unexplored. The drama this movie so obviously avoids-the rivalry of two intelligent, conventionally unacceptable women (the married Cosway and the black Hemings) for Jefferson's soul-is the only one that might have mattered.
Eve Zibart

98) "We are making entertainment films for theaters," explains James Ivory, director of the film. "We have a right to arrange our material in a way that is dramatic and artistic, and suits us, but it may not suit historians."
David Holmstrom

99) Newton's performance stands out but for a jarringly bad reason: Her "Stepin Fetchit" accent and manner may be historically accurate, but it's troubling to see that 1790s stereotype portrayed without some 1990s sensibility. Especially bothersome is a late scene when Jefferson â€" apparently depressed because he got dumped â€" is cheered by Sally's high-stepping plantation dance, then pulls her into bed. One close-up, one line of dialogue is all Ivory would need to convey her sad acceptance of subservience or his growing guilt. Instead, we get an unsavory sense of Mandingo and hear the vaunted Merchant-Ivory film franchise come crashing to Earth.
Steve Persall

100) Such flaws could easily be forgiven if "Jefferson in Paris" succeeded in its larger mission of capturing Jefferson the lover and slavemaster. Instead, this project is even more disappointing. Strong, masculine, and gallant of heart, Jefferson is oddly passive. Both Cosway and Hemings initiate the flirtations and practically seduce him. As improbable as such a turn of events might seem -- he did, after all, make a pass at his best friend's wife some years before -- Merchant and Ivory present these presumed facts without any explication and context. Why is Jefferson so passive in these encounters? What is the attraction for him? Cosway and Hemings are, in the film, strikingly similar. Petite, cute, vivacious, flirtatious, and even a tad ditzy, Jefferson's lovers are essentially emotionally immature teenage girls in their first flush of sexuality. Why are these women so attracted to this forty-something-year-old man, and what does it mean that he succumbs to their juvenile crushes? No explanation is offered. We are left to conclude that Jefferson was the strong silent type.
Darren Staloff

101) Which leaves the sex, or what there is of it. Scacchi is almost entirely forgotten about, and the movie lurches off, broken-backed, after another plot entirely, this one concerning Jefferson's sexual relations with his beautiful 15-year-old slave girl, Sally, who is also his dead wife's half-sister. Racy stuff, in more ways than one, but the movie doesn't spill the beans so much as spill them, apologise for having made a mess, and then make sure Jefferson's reputation is cleaned up and left just how they found it. Sally is played by Thandie Newton, a beautiful actress who first appeared in the film "Flirting," something she doesn't seem to have stopped doing. Newton flirts as if it were the most innocent thing in the world which, properly done, is exactly what it is and she threatens to tease the picture into life once more, but there's only so much she can do with a film as stiff-necked as this one. Ask yourself: How much erotic heat could you pack into the act of unbuckling Nick Nolte's left shoe? This element of the film has generated something of a scandal in America, although heaven knows why. The only scandal I could make out was what passes for insight into Jefferson's soul, which isn't nearly as easy to unbuckle. In fact, it leaves the script in knows: "Wherever he is, he is what he is," somebody concludes. Now they tell us. I don't wish to be impertinent, but why if Jefferson is what he is, wherever he is did we bother following the man to Paris in the first place? Why not just a movie called Jefferson?
Tom Shone

102) "The Appearance of this letter will inform you," she [Maria Cosway] began, "that I have been left a widow. Poor Mr. Cosway was suddenly taken by an Apoplectic fit -- and being the third proved his last." After settling her husband's estate, she told Jefferson, "I shall retire from this bustling and insignificant world, to my favourite College at Lodi. . . . I wish Monticello was not so far!" her letter concluded: I would pay you a visit if it was ever so much out of my way, but it is impossible -- I long to hear from you -- the remembrance of a person I so highly esteem and venerate, affords me the happiest consolation and your Patriarcal situation delights me. . . . I wish you may still enjoy many years and feel the happiness of the Nation which produces such Caracters.
Jon Kukla, "Maria Cosway" (in Mr. Jefferson's Women) 110

103) Their [Maria and Richard Cosway] artistic biographies and reputations, when studied both separately and in conjunction, shed considerable light on the manners and taste of fashionable society during the period, as well as on some of the most famous and influential figures.
Stephen Lloyd 13

104) After the summer of 1790 the correspondence between Jefferson and Cosway entirely lapsed for nearly five years. Then they exchanged a total of fifteen letters between the winter of 1794 and Jefferson's death in 1826.
Jon Kukla, "Maria Cosway" (in Mr. Jefferson's Women) 103

105) Jefferson's involvement with Hemings has inspired every kind of discourse, from prurient gossip to earnest scholarship, in the years since it became widely known. Ivory is no prude -- films like "Quartet" and "Maurice" show him to be quite the opposite -- but in keeping with the civilized sensibility that always distinguishes his work, he and his collaborators refuse to capitalize on obvious possibilities for sensationalism. Their treatment shows a Jefferson motivated more by loneliness, insecurity, and the simple need for affection than by the lusts and aggressions so eagerly traded in by conventional movies. The filmmakers also dodge the temptation to moralize about the relationship in racial terms; instead they portray both white master and black subordinate (not technically a slave while on French territory) as people of their time, reaching to one another for reasons too intricate to explain.
David Sterritt

106) The inescapable conclusion is that although Jefferson may have wanted it otherwise -- that in fact he may have fallen "deeply in love," as Dumas Malone admitted -- the overall relationship between Jefferson and Maria Cosway was a flirtatious friendship enhanced by shared cultural interests rather than a passionately erotic affair.
Jon Kukla, "Maria Cosway" (in Mr. Jefferson's Women) 103

107) "Jefferson in Paris," the new film by the team of Ismail Merchant, James Ivory and Ruth Prawer Jhabvala, has no doubt that Jefferson fathered at least one child by Sally Hemings. What the movie doesn't know is what, if anything, he thought about it. The Jefferson in this movie is such a remote figure that you wonder, by the movie's end, if he actually knew he was having sex at the time.
Roger Ebert

108) The love stories are presented with gingerly discretion. Jefferson's affair with Maria is all arch, twittering banter in an antique style; nothing in it elevates their pulses (or the audience's). Hemings is presented as a wise, if untutored, child, more of a nursemaid to Jefferson than a believably sexual being. It's hard to see what he saw in either of them, and the script does not provide any fully developed scenes of dramatic conflict between them. Even Jefferson's endless intellectual curiosity is seen more as an eccentricity than a vital force--like his sexuality, muted and eventually strangled in fastidious gentility.
Richard Schickel

109) As beautifully staged as all Merchant-Ivory films, "Jefferson in Paris" is nevertheless a disaster, intellectually infuriating and thoughtlessly racist.
Eve Zibart

110) The seduction scene itself is carefully ambiguous; as Sally lingers over the sleeping Jefferson, she brushes an imaginary fly from his face and his now powerful hand shoots up to grab her wrist. Seduction? Rape? End scene. . . . as a serious film about race in America, the movie has less than nothing to say.
Andy Pawelczak

111) Jefferson in Paris catches a public figure with his pants down, and then can't bear to look.
Peter Travers

112) The fact that one of our nation's most articulate, indisputably heroic founding geniuses is played by an actor so oafish he could easily be mistaken for a delivery man accidentally stepping into the frame, makes the insult to the real Thomas Jefferson easier actually because it is so unintentionally comical.
William Hamilton