Little do they know that Stewart isn’t the kind of overpowering figure they were expecting, his biggest surprise being his new wife’s height. Little Flora declares “I’m not going to call him Papa, I’m not going to call him anything”, about Stewart, giving herself the liberty to forge her own fate on the new land. We sense that Ada and Flora are not average women in how they seem so unconventional and outspoken (no pun intended). This was the time during which the Brontë sisters had to write under male pseudonyms and the idea of women voting was thought to be unholy.Īda has so little power over her own life that her father marries her to Stewart (Sam Neill), a man she’s never met, and ships her and her daughter Flora (Anna Paquin) to New Zealand to reunite with him. Women were still regarded as inferior beings whose only purpose was to procreate and raise children. Ada reveals that she has found a different kind of voice, through her beloved piano which has become an extension of her body.Īlmost instantly we understand that for all its poetic content, Ada’s silence was perhaps a generalized condition for women during the era. GradeSaver, 10 September 2017 Web.“The voice you hear is not my speaking voice, but my mind’s voice”, so begins Jane Campion’s The Piano, the voice in question belonging to Ada McGrath (Holly Hunter), a 19th-century Irish woman who stopped speaking as a child and has never felt the need to utter another word. Next Section Analysis Previous Section Themes How To Cite in MLA Format Anonymous 'The Piano Quotes'. Will review the submission and either publish your submission or provide feedback. You can help us out by revising, improving and updatingĪfter you claim a section you’ll have 24 hours to send in a draft. He is being quite literal about their walk to his home, but it also is an implication of the story that is to unfold for her in this new place. Stewart says this to Ada after picking her up from the sea shore. 'Might I suggest that you prepare yourself for a difficult journey.' Stewart People wonder why she cannot talk or how she can bear the silence, but from her silence she knows that everyone in some way must bear it in whatever form it comes. 'For silence affects everyone in the end.' AdaĪda says this in a narration at the beginning of the film. Ada tells her this as their relationship was one that did not need words, it was much deeper than that. I could lay thoughts out in his mind like they were a sheet.' AdaĪda says this to Flora, her daughter who asks her how she spoke to him. Written by people who wish to remain anonymous We are thankful for their contributions and encourage you to make your own. These notes were contributed by members of the GradeSaver community.

The piano by jane campion