A Deceptive Cadence: Nineteenth-Century Property Law and Popular Culture's Perception of The Piano

Abstract

AbstractThe tale presented in the film The Piano is placed in mid-19th-century New Zealand and has been heralded by critics as a timeless love story, and described as erotic and romantic. A legal historical review of this time period, however, demonstrates that, upon marriage, women had very limited property rights and were entirely dependent upon men, whether their fathers, their husbands, or otherwise. In particular, personal objects such as a piano would become the property of the husband upon marriage. Hence, a married woman's access to the ability to express herself in this manner was not her own. The actions of the characters in this film are consistent with the law applicable to this time period. Ultimately, from this persective, the movie is about the abuses of this kind of culture and its inability to suppress the human spirit—the piano being a symbol of exactly that struggle. This paper compares the “modern” perception of this film to its historical context, with the objective of determining what this says about our present society and culture.