Jefferson in Paris: Mistresses Unite

By Kathryn Martin

[1] Anger can consume. Anger can destroy. If it is not properly expressed, it can lash out and harm others. Surprisingly, anger can also unite people. Such is the case in the historical movie Jefferson in Paris, which tells the story of Thomas Jefferson’s life in Paris. However, it is not Jefferson who makes this a thought-provoking movie. Instead, the interest lies in the interactions between Jefferson’s three “mistresses.” The first is his daughter, Martha Jefferson, a young woman desperate for her father’s love. Second is the married, sophisticated, and worldly Maria Cosway. And the last and the most controversial is his slave-lover, Sally Hemings. One of the most powerful scenes in this movie focuses on the relationship between Martha (Patsy) and Maria (1:45:26). Although this scene begins with Patsy revealing her desires to take her vows and remain at the convent in France, much deeper concepts are explored. As classmate Nelson Calero states, “This scene highlights Patsy’s views on slavery, and the start of Maria's slow realization of Jefferson's underlying interests," causing Maria and Patsy to develop a very strong bond created by their love for Jefferson and his betrayal of them with an "unspeakable act.”

[2] As Patsy confides to Maria that she wishes to take her vows and remain in the convent, she mechanically recites her father’s beliefs: “In matters of religion everyone must be free to follow their own conscience.” It is ironic that a few scenes later when Jefferson comes to pull Patsy out of the convent, he lectures the abbess, “Each man chooses his own religion according to his conscience . . . my daughter is too young to make such a judgment. Independence is not a toy for children to play with, but the privilege of a fully matured mind.” Therefore, because Patsy is not a “man” and is considered “too young,” she obviously cannot have a “fully matured mind.” Jefferson doesn’t consider anyone but himself to have a valuable opinion. As my classmate Chris “Thor” McHugh so precisely summarizes, “The beginning of this scene . . . portrays the relationship between Patsy and Jefferson. When discussing taking her vows, she explains her father's stated view on religion so vehemently that she seems to be trying to convince herself. It seems that she knows her father won't approve and, despite the supposed freedom of religion, he is still the master of the household (including over Patsy) and makes the final decision.” It is hard to believe Patsy would be willing to disobey her father because she wants to devote her life to God. Therefore, there must be, and is, a stronger reason for why Patsy wants to “leave her beautiful Monticello.”

[3] In this scene Patsy finally expresses her true feelings about her father’s relationship, making it clear this is the main cause for her desire to join the convent and never return to Monticello or the American culture of slavery. Even though she can never completely reveal her father’s “unspeakable” act to anyone, the burden of this pain and anger towards her father has to be relieved by someone, even if Patsy cannot fully explain. This is the reason that her anger toward her father and Sally’s relationship is not aimed directly at them. Instead, she channels her anger and hate towards larger themes, which represent these two traitors, the first of which is Sally.

[4] As Patsy turns to the fire, she speaks of her hatred of slaves, that “they are always there, watching everything we do and listening to everything we say and hating us. And I hate them.” However, this is not the complete truth. As much as Patsy “hates” slaves, she also states, “And yet I pity them for the misery of their lives and I wish from the bottom of my heart that all the Negroes could be free forever. But they have us and we have them.” Patsy does not wish slaves to be free because they are her equals. Instead, it is clear she wants them to be free so they will no longer be intruding into her family’s life, as she feels all slaves, and in particular, Sally, do. As the daughter of a slave owner, she has seen all sides of slavery. Yet the side that is most upsetting is the “affair” Jefferson is having with Sally. As my classmate Adam “Jo-Jo” Baker observes, “Patsy says she hates all slaves because they are representative of Sally.” He then goes on further to state, “She [Patsy] hates Monticello as a whole because it is representative of Thomas Jefferson.” The main reason why Patsy wishes to take her vows is because she cannot bear to return to Monticello, a location that accepts relationships like Jefferson and Sally’s. This is the first time “Patsy’s burning anger towards Sally is revealed . . . it’s not only verbalized, but materialized by how she stands in front of the fire during the climax of the scene. The light from the flames dancing on her face dramatizes the dark context of the scene” (classmate Greg Jakes).

[5] Not only do we learn more about Patsy’s true emotions, but we also witness Maria’s slow realization of Jefferson’s second love interest. Although Maria doesn’t see physical evidence of Jefferson and Sally’s relationship until a later garden scene, Patsy alludes to this “unspeakable act.” As Patsy explains the reality of the master and slave relationship, Maria’s facial expression is one of shock. As my classmate Jenna Goldenberg observes, “This is the first time Maria hears of the reality of slavery. Jefferson must have fabricated the reality of slavery to make Monticello and himself look more appealing.” Although this shocks Maria, she still attempts to salvage what Jefferson had told her about Monticello. As she states, “Your father told me it is more in the nature of a family relationship,” Patsy almost rolls her eyes in disgust. Maria is right; it is like a “family relationship,” everyone is related to everyone else at least three times. Maria then goes further to defend Jefferson’s equal treatment of his slaves. She mentions how well Jefferson seems to treat his slaves, especially Sally. With this comment Patsy completely snaps and physically, as well as mentally, separates herself from Maria.

[6] It is important to note in this scene that the physical closeness of Patsy and Maria’s relationship echoes their emotional and mental closeness. The minute Maria doesn’t understand Monticello’s “family” organization and Jefferson’s relationship with Sally, the director of Jefferson in Paris has the character of Patsy put physical space between them. This creation of distance happens multiple times, and each time Maria moves towards Patsy, attempting to comfort her. Maria’s role as a comforting, motherly figure is made obvious when Patsy sits defeated in a chair. Her eyes are downcast and her shoulders slouch. Maria attempts to relieve her sufferings by asking Patsy to speak to her. Patsy, in turn, begs, “Don’t ask me, don’t force me . . . I can’t speak because it’s unspeakable.” This scene shows the beginning of Maria’s realization “that Jefferson may actually be having a sexual relationship with Hemings, instead of a purely slave-master relationship” (Baker).

[7] Although Patsy alludes to Jefferson and Sally’s relationship, she still cannot bring herself to admit it to anyone. Patsy was raised to be the obedient daughter, and though she attempts it, she cannot betray her father, and she cannot disobey him. This is proven in later scenes when Jefferson convinces Patsy to return to Monticello, her home, because he “needs her there.” Jefferson plays with Patsy’s emotions to convince her that she will always be, and always has been, the one and only “mistress of Monticello.” However, in the present scene, Patsy’s heart has been broken by her father's newest love interest. Jefferson has replaced her with not only one, but with two new “mistresses.” Similarly, Jefferson’s actions have started to break Maria’s heart. Because of their feelings of anger and betrayal, these two “ex-mistresses of Monticello” identify with each other. They both understand what it is like to be loved by Jefferson and be considered his “mistress,” as well as knowing what it is like to be replaced by another in Jefferson’s heart.