Moral perfectionism in Eric Rohmer's Ma nuit chez Maud

Abstract

This essay presents a new reading of Eric Rohmer's Ma nuit chez Maud (1969) which challenges the critical consensus that its depiction of religious faith and morality is ultimately ironic. The debate revolves around the protagonist's religious epiphany as to whom he is destined to marry. Critical consensus claims that this epiphany is sustained by lies and deceit, that the protagonist's religious faith is tainted by a self-deluded amour-propre, and that the film's ‘happy ending’ must therefore be read as ironic. Using Stanley Cavell's notion of ‘moral perfectionism’ as its guide, this essay reveals that Ma nuit chez Maud in fact takes a paradoxical attitude toward its protagonist's epiphany, one which mirrors the paradoxical nature of religious faith as evidenced in Pascal's wager. This argument is central to the film's moral outlook. This paradoxical attitude extends both to the film's temporal depiction of its protagonist's epiphany and to the so-called ‘lies and deceit’ with which he maintains his faith. Ultimately, this essay argues that the paradoxical nature of Ma nuit chez Maud allows the viewer to intuit the protagonist's epiphany as a moment lived under the transformative aegis of divine grace.