A Happy Ending?
By Stephanie DeLuca, with comments by Catherine Willard, Karen Haberland, Adrianna Abreu, and Morgan Christopher
[1] The final moments of Malick’s New World sends a message that Pocahontas’s life was complete before her death. There is an incredibly happy image of her, something the audience has been anticipating throughout the obstacles in her life. However, Mattaponi oral history violently contrasts with her triumphant and happy ending in the film, and Smith’s account in his Generall Historie also raises questions about the accuracy of the film’s portrayal of Pocahontas.
[2] Malick’s Pocahontas struggles with loyalty -- she is torn between her love for her people and her love for Smith. Early in the film, Pocahontas’s father asks her to promise him that she will remain loyal to her people and warns her that Smith is not one of them. Being the generous young girl she is, however, Pocahontas gives the English seeds and fresh food to help them make it through the cold winter months, and later she comes to the fort to warn Smith of the approaching attack caused by her disloyalty to Powhatan. In his Jamestown narrative, Smith validates Pocahontas’s rescuing actions and even precisely describes her risking her life to warn of an attack: “With the tears running down her cheeks she said she durst not be seen to have any [gifts from Smith for warning them], for if Powhatan should know it, she were but dead and so she ran away by herself as she came.†In the film Powhatan disapproves of Pocahontas’s loyalty to Smith and the English and exiles her from the tribe.
[3] Malick shows Pocahontas deeply in love with Smith throughout the film and heartbroken when she finds out he has died. Later, her husband John Rolfe recognizes Pocahontas’s sense of confusion when she finds out Smith’s death was fabricated, and he allows her to meet with Smith in England. Pocahontas now struggles with loyalty to Smith and Rolfe, eventually siding with verbal recognition of her marriage to Rolfe in the “My Husband†scene -- saying “my husband†parallels “I do†in typical marriage ceremonies, and the kiss following this recognition solidifies the union. Pocahontas’s smile tells us she is pleased. She is finally happy. (see comment by Adrianna Abreu)
[4] An outsider without historical knowledge of Pocahontas’s life would assume her to be happy and content with the way her life played out in Malick’s film. There is an especially heartwarming scene following her death in which we see her happily skipping outside, cartwheeling and almost dancing to soft music. She seems like a little kid again -- free and happy. She cheerfully plays with her son, adores her husband, and self-reflects with a smile. Rolfe even conveys her complacency towards death: “She gently reminded me that all things must live and die.†Most interestingly, in her later and more “civilized†years by English standards, she still had the spirited and girlish liveliness that she had as a younger child so memorably described by William Stratchey (from which Malick must have drawn for his cartwheel scene): “Pocahontas, a well featured but wanton yong girlie . . . of the age then of eleven or twelve years, [would] get the boyes forth with her in the market place, and make them wheele, falling on their hands, turning their heels upward, whome she would follow and wheele so herself, naked as she was, all the fort over.†Her charm in the beginning of her life parallels the charm and spirit she possessed in her final moments. Now adorned in English attire at the age of twenty, she had a large list of accomplishments to be proud of. She was accepted into Christianity through baptism and became a princess in society, and people today still consider her such a prominent woman in history. She developed into an impressive young woman. As she had done happily as a child, she did as an adult -- something those knowledgeable of her history can find wonderfully poetic.
[5] Unfortunately, there are accounts of history that do not recall her later moments to be as satisfying as we’d hope and as the film depicts. In the Generall Historie Smith affirms his meeting with Pocahontas in England. We assume Rolfe was present at their meeting as well. In his re-creation of their reunion, Smith mentions that she did “not seem well contented†and was initially too angry to speak. Pocahontas obviously expected him to do something he did not do. According to Smith’s Generall Historie she was angry for the way her people had been lied to and taken advantage of. And in Mattaponi oral history, we are told she had been enraged with the betrayal of her people and the deceit Smith perpetrated on Powhatan. Malick’s version, then, takes the romance angle and focuses on the trouble between Rolfe and Smith. It is clear Malick wants to end on a high note, but the two sources that speak of this event, the English and Mattaponi perspectives, both suggest that Pocahontas had not been in high spirits.
[6] Also according to Mattaponi history, Governor Dale, Rolfe, and Reverend Whitaker all had very close ties with one another, and their actions directly affected Pocahontas. Dale and Whitaker wished for an “agreement of peace†with the Indians, which is what could be reached through marriage. The Mattaponi believe the marriage was a concerted plan to use Pocahontas:
Dale eventually took custody of Pocahontas after Argall took her to Jamestown. Whitaker maintained Pocahontas’ house arrest and surveillance. All three sought to convert Pocahontas to Christianity. Rolfe married Pocahontas. Dale provided a large tract of land for Rolfe to grow tobacco. (Custalow and Daniel xx)
The weight put on the marriage is evident from a cinematic standpoint as well. The camera pans in on the wedding ring, which had clearly become a focal point in her life (2:07) and death (2:09:22). If we believe Mattaponi oral history to be reliable, how can we believe that Pocahontas could have been happy after being held ransom? They say that in March of 1614 she had been taken to one of the villages to settle her ransom. This was already one year after her abduction. Just one month later, she and Rolfe marry in Jamestown. Could a girl so young be as happy as Malick proposes after being held hostage and then married to a stranger.
[7] It would be discouraging to believe that the real life Pocahontas was not the cheerful young woman that we have seen in New World. But after the movie was made, the Mattaponi history proclaimed that Pocahontas had actually been poisoned and murdered on her trip home. It would be interesting to see how Malick would have interpreted and applied those “facts†from the Mattaponi in his recreation of history. (comment by Catherine Willard) (comment by Morgan Christopher)
Comments
DeLuca raises several good points about the controversial historical context that surrounds this film but misses several interesting aspects in Malick's cinematography. Everything about the last scene exudes freedom at last for Pocahontas. As she runs through the garden, she does cartwheels as if celebrating the peace of mind that she now has in her own "new world." Still dressed in traditional European clothes, she enters the pond and throws water all over herself. She raises her hands and looks to the sky, a scene reminiscent of the opening scenes where the viewers are first introduced to her character. Immediately the scene cuts to a clip of a bird flying in the open sky, as if to suggest that Pocahontas, herself, is a free bird. The music is triumphant and awe-inspiring as Malick continues the use of metaphor, like that of a free bird, to indicate Pocahontas's story is drawing to a close. He shows a ship setting sail into the horizon and uses this as a transition into several clips of running water.
Stephanie references the multiple accounts used to create Malick’s New World, particularly John Smith’s Generall Historie and Mattaponi historical records. I’m not sure it will ever be possible to reconcile the two accounts because all are based on emotion not fact. When a couple argues and you listen to both sides, each individual spends more time talking about how the other made them feel, not what actually happened. I would imagine John Smith’s recounts of Pocahontas would be no different. Similarly, the Mattaponi oral history is biased because of the hatred towards the people trying to colonize their land. Because of the irreconcilable differences in the two different stories, Malick takes it upon himself to pick and choose which elements of history would make an interesting and crowd-pleasing film. Just like Stephanie said, “It would be discouraging to believe that the real life Pocahontas was not the cheerful young woman that we have seen in New World,†so Malick creates a story in which she is happy. John Smith learns a hard lesson in love; after seeing him she finally finds peace, and sweet Rolfe gets the loving marriage he deserves. Love triangles have made interesting stories since the beginning of oral traditions in storytelling. Also, in reference to Stephanie’s comments about Pocahontas’s success as a young woman being accepted into the Christian community and the royal court, this is another archetype in the stories contemporary Americans want to see. It is the same as human interest pieces celebrating those who have escaped poverty and the inner city or trailer park. Society is not interested in whether or not that person lived a happy life despite having no money or living in a dilapidated area; we want to see “them†become like “us.†Malick’s portrayal of Pocahontas does just this. She was happy with her people, but, like Stephanie said, we celebrate her so-called achievements in Western society.
Within the last few frames of the film, audiences witness Pocahontas's affection toward her husband. She caresses his arm and walks along with him and then turns toward him, says "my husband," and plants a gentle kiss on his lips. A perfect scene that tells all audiences where Pocahontas's heart lies. It is just slightly awkward that it took this long for at least myself to feel comfortable with Rolfe and Pocahontas's relationship. Even Rolfe states that "In my vanity, I thought I could make you love me, and one cannot do that, or should not." Which clearly states that he himself is uncomfortable with knowing that Pocahontas may still be in love with Smith. Also while in Jamestown, while Rolfe was "courting" Pocahontas, they always seemed to interact as if she were the child and he the caregiver. Whether it was at the point where he would turn the pages of a book for her or teach her how many minutes are in an hour. He would follow her around at a safe distance. But unlike her interaction with Smith, when she would turn around to face him she never seemed happy or smiling. When he asked her to marry him, she never gave a yes, only "if you like." There is no doubt in question that Rolfe showed his love toward Pocahontas. Director Terrence Malick gives audiences half the movie to be witnesses of Smith and Pocahontas's budding relationship. Watching Rolfe and Pocahontas's relationship just seems unnatural. (see comment by Karen Haberland)
I didn't have as much trouble believing the Rolfe and Pocahontas relationship as others did. Rolfe was there for her in a way Smith never was. Smith never came to her rescue, and he fabricated a lie in order to stay away from her. Knowing that, I think anyone would realize he wasn't "the one." Rolfe, on the other hand, was supportive and brought her out of the silent darkness in which she had buried herself. Pocahontas may not have danced and flitted about quite as much with Rolfe, but she did laugh again. And she was happy in the end.
