An Eden Lost
By Ryan Burns, with comments by Zachary Rubin, Tanya Saleh, and Haydn Galloway
[1] Pocahontas holds “the first†of many titles in American history. Most notably, she is known as the first Native American who was successfully converted to Christianity in the New World. Therefore, it becomes understandable why a modern filmmaker would depict the heroine in a fashion that is parallel to the first female of the world, according to the Christian religion. The portrayal of Pocahontas in Terrence Malick’s film The New World presents a Pocahontas character that is similar to the persona of Eve in the Bible.
[2] One of the first ways in which Malick presents his analogy to viewers in a comprehensible manner is through the actions of Pocahontas. For instance, the writer created a scene in which Pocahontas takes the breath from John Smith’s mouth and places it into her mouth with her hand (33:34). This action is able to communicate two ideas to the audience. The first and most obvious aspect that is being displayed is an intimate exchange between the two lovers. However, it appears that the writer had a larger purpose for creating this scene. Malick is using this relationship between Smith and Pocahontas to reflect the legend of Eve’s creation from Adam. According to the Old Testament, Eve is brought to life from Adam’s body. In this moment of the film, the symbolic meaning behind Smith and Pocahontas sharing breaths seems to imply that Pocahontas is an Eve-like figure. She has been enlightened by Smith’s love and affection. She has been reborn. The filmmaker accentuates this point of rebirth in a following scene in which we are shown Pocahontas asleep in the grass. Smith is gently stroking her wrist, while her chest noticeably undulates up and down, her lungs full of air and her life now changed (33:58). (comment by Haydn Galloway) (see comment by Tanya Saleh)
[3] The other method that is used by Malick to impart his idea of this Indian princess resembling Eve is done through a voiceover by Pocahontas. The staccato rhythm of her narration reveals the irresolute and conflicted feelings she is experiencing. She is enamored with Smith and feels a temptation to succumb to her desire. Pocahontas describes her love with the remark, “Oh, to be given to you. You to me†(39:15). It is this statement that provides viewers with a contextual clue that would indicate Malick’s objective to the audience. Pocahontas regards her lover as a companion, a gift that was given to her by a higher power -- Chief Powhatan. The movie confirms this notion to viewers once more when Pocahontas states, “Two no more. One. One. I am. I am†(39:53). This uniting image that is presented through Pocahontas’s expression is similar to the description of the relationship between Adam and Eve, who were united and “became one flesh†(Genesis 2:24).
[4] Malick enlarges this comparison between the two young lovers by including an earlier moment in the scene in which she makes solemn promise to a higher power -- Chief Powhatan. However, though the promise that Pocahontas makes to Powhatan does not directly follow the events of the Bible, nonetheless it is similar in context. For example, Powhatan recognizes that his daughter is being enticed by Smith and becoming a potential danger for the Powhatan tribe. Pocahontas’s knowledge of love could lead her away or provide Smith with a reason not to return to England in the spring. So Powhatan orders his daughter, in a deep and commanding tone, “promise me . . . you will put your people before all else†(34:33). Pocahontas humbly accepts his command and demonstrates to the audience the godlike authority of Powhatan, by looking-up out of the shot to signify his powerful presence to everyone.
[5] However, Pocahontas’s agreement with her father and her infatuation with Smith create an emotional conflict for the princess. She, like Eve, is being tempted by an outside being that eventually leads to her demise. At one point during her exposition she prays for guidance expressing that she is “afraid of myself†(38:34). The princess feels that loving Smith is wrong. Furthermore, she tries to hide her romance with Smith from her people. For example, Pocahontas poses the question “Do they suspect†at the same moment that the camera shot changes to focus upon members of the Powhatan tribe (39:04). Her desire to conceal her actions from her tribe is reminiscent of Eve, who hid from God after succumbing to her temptation.
[6] It seems that Malick’s intention of representing Pocahontas in this distinctly different manner was meant to communicate his poetic message to viewers. It appears that Malick believes that the lifestyle of the Native American culture was, as Smith mentions, “loving, gentle, faithful . . . lacking in all guile and trickery†(32:38). It was an idyllic world -- a Garden of Eden -- that was led to ruin by the temptation of one woman. (comment by Zachary Rubin)
Comments
While the information presented by Ryan Burns in this particular essay is accurate and it is plausible that one can compare Pocahontas to Eve, I find it highly unlikely that Malick was intentionally trying to make such a comparison. Malick, first and foremost, is a visceral, transcendental director. In the creation and production of his films, his major focus is that of editing, lighting, and cinematography. If one has the ability to see any of his other films, including the critically acclaimed Badlands and The Thin Red Line, it is evident that Malick focuses more on the visual appeal of his work rather than making allusions to religious or historical figures other than those presented on the screen. Thus, if Malick was really trying to compare Pocahontas to Eve, I would be shocked.
I completely agree with Ryan's idea that Malick depicts Pocahontas as the biblical character Eve. This is shown not only in numerous moments in the film but also in the historical context. Pocahontas and John Rolfe are seen as the first family of Jamestown, and many Americans trace the ancestors back to them to show sense of national purity. However, I feel that Ryan has underestimated Pocahontas's abilities. I feel like Eve is a rather weak biblical character, whereas Pocahontas I see as a heroine. Ryan writes that there are numerous moments where Smith looks as if he is giving life back to Pocahontas, especially in the scene where Pocahontas breathes his breath. I feel like Ryan forgets the one crucial moment where Pocahontas saves Smith from certain death. In this sense, the roles are reversed, and it Pocahontas who is giving Smith life, rather than the other way around. Ryan's view of Pocahontas as Eve seems to be viewed from the side that her own native Indian world was destroyed. If you look at it from the side that Pocahontas, by saving Smith's life, helped to basically start up America through Smith's saving of Jamestown, Pocahontas becomes the heroine.
I agree that the scenes of close touching and affection between Pocahontas and Smith enhance the feeling of "rebirth" as Burns does, but I interpreted this sense as omnipresent and shared between the two characters. As Burgoyne notes in his essay, many of the native-English interactions are imbued with the shocking element of encounter and discovery. The intimate nature of interaction between Pocahontas and Smith seems to add a dimension of elation and introspection to the pervasive sense of "discovery," which likely accounts for the sense of "rebirth" felt by each. The intimate scenes of Smith and Pocahontas touching and familiarizing themselves with one another definitely resemble the "Adam and Eve" concept of man and woman discovering one another, but I think the purpose of alluding to this metaphor is not so much to relate Pocahontas to Eve as it is to serve as a rawer, microcosmic metaphor of the Old World discovering the New World. This sort of idea is addressed by Burgoyne who hypothesizes that all of the interactions, "the whole is visible in all of the parts, and . . . events and actions move in coordinated fashion toward a defined end point."
