Jefferson's Other Intimate Relationship in Paris

By Kevin Campbell

[1] “You shall always, always above anything be first in my life; I vow to you now as you vowed to momma.” This powerful quote starts off the scene of Jefferson and Patsy dealing with the death of Lucy that seems as though there should be Jefferson’s lover in front of him instead of Patsy, his daughter (1:04:40). We can imagine “as you vowed to momma” being replaced with “my love” and find it to be perfectly acceptable were it said by someone else. This scene opens up a strange array of emotions between Jefferson and his daughter that seem to run right up to the line of indecency, if not passing it. From this small clip we see that Jefferson, instead of only being in relationships with the two women Maria Cosway and Sally Hemings, also is struggling with his feelings on a third, even more inappropriate one. The subject of Jefferson’s relationship with Patsy shows up many times in the film. This scene is the first glimpse at this very intimate father-daughter bond that influences Jefferson throughout the film.

[2] In the scene, Patsy, who looks like a wet rag for all the crying she is doing, tries to comfort Jefferson as much he does her. She claims that she will be her father’s “everything.” She will be Polly’s mother, sister, nurse, and everything, just like she will be Jefferson’s everything. Here we can guess that maybe the previous interactions were just bad writing. It is natural for an eldest daughter to wish to fill in the hole in the family after the death of the mother. She seems to be only trying to comfort her father and make sure the family stays sound. Viewed on its own, this vow by Patsy seems perfectly acceptable and their relationship unquestionably a strong bond between a father and his daughter. This, however, is not the only thing happening at the time.

[3] If we look at what Jefferson says before Patsy tries to take on the maternal role of the family, we see that Jefferson tells her that “no one will ever come between us.” By first instinct, the initial thought here is that no one really means death or hardship or tragedy, and that would stick if the scene were viewed by someone who is blind. The look that Jefferson gives Patsy when he says nothing will come between them and the way Patsy lifts her head up to him makes it seem like he was saying “I love you more than anything in the world” to a lover. As a blind person would see nothing wrong with this scene in terms of inappropriateness between a father and daughter, if a deaf person were to watch this scene, he or she would believe the two of them to be in love, possibly married. The largest alarm is set off, however, in what happens in the few seconds to follow Patsy’s rise to maternal figure.

[4] There is no way to describe or view these few seconds as anything but an attempted kiss. Jefferson has his hand on Patsy’s cheek. He is looking down into her eyes, and she up into his. It is an emotionally tense moment. Both their heads tilt, and Patsy moves in as Jefferson does. Their lips get mere inches apart before they recoil, perhaps because of Jefferson hurting his wrist, as is said in the movie, or more likely because of their realization of what was just about to happen. It is hard to tell whether or not Jefferson knows that he was doing something morally wrong. When he hugs her at the end of the scene, there is almost a look of regret on his face, like he wishes that there hadn’t been an excuse like his wrist pain for Patsy to pull away. It almost seems like if there wasn’t that excuse, we would have seen a very awkward kiss between an almost elderly man and a girl somewhere in her teens. The movie definitely portrays Jefferson in a light in which no American is used to seeing him. We revere him as a great man of justice and virtue. Despite this, here we see him nearly kissing his daughter. There is no possible way to see what happens here but as Jefferson in love with a person equally, if not more inappropriate and untouchable than Sally Hemings.

[5] This scene is a true marvel. We already know about Jefferson’s courting Maria Cosway and are about to learn about how he is in a relationship with Sally Hemings. It would seem as though every female he comes into contact with he has to be intimate with, even if it is his own flesh and blood. It is hard to know whether or not Patsy wanted it as well or if Jefferson was encouraging her while she was in a state of extreme need. Jefferson in Paris turns our American Jefferson into a man who evokes a feeling of spite, disgust, and maybe even hate from the audience for what he does to the women in his life. This is not at all how any American would picture Jefferson. No man is perfect, but lusting after three women at the same time and leading all of them to believe they are the only ones for him is beyond normal human behavior. To think that one of these women is his daughter is reviling. This scene of “comforting” because of the loss of a family member shows a lot about Jefferson’s character in the movie and sets up how he will act towards all the women in his life. Jefferson crosses a line of indecency and inappropriateness with his actions and words here and continues to do so for the remainder of the film.