Language of the Gothic Woman:Jane Campion's The Piano

Abstract

Jane Campion’s 〈The Piano〉 is a well-known film for a number of reasons, such as for being an Oscar winner, for having been helmed by an emerging director from New Zealand, and for having the reputation of being a feminist film. In this paper, the first scene of 〈The Piano〉 was chosen to examine the heroine Ada’s language in terms of the gothic genre. Ada is a dumb woman who lives in the era of man’s language. She represents the women’s social position in the Victorian era but has her own and unique language for communicating with the outside world. The first scene of 〈The Piano〉 introduces Ada’s own language, using her fingers. Her fingers speak for her all the time instead of her mouth, and there is someone who can understand what she wants to say when all others cannot. How the film depicts Ada’s language and how the first scene well summarizes the film’s core are examined herein.