Spinsters, Widows and Chars: The Ageing Woman in British Film

Claire Mortimer

Published by Edinburgh University Press 2021

Spinsters, Widows and Chars

The Ageing Woman in British Film

Claire Mortimer

https://doi.org/10.1515/9781474452847

Overview
Contents

About this book

Establishes the cultural and historical contexts for representations of female ageing in British film since the 1930s

Examines issues around ageing femininities using a range of case studies of films and actresses, both known and forgotten
Establishes the case for the importance of the character actress at the heart of the history of British cinema
Provides an overlooked historical context for considering ageing femininities in contemporary film

Actresses like Maggie Smith, Cicely Courtneidge and Sybil Thorndike have established the enduring appeal of the ageing actress in British film. Historicising and contextualising this archetypal figure, this book establishes a taxonomy of female ageing in British cinema, from the 1930s to the present day.

Arguing that the prevalence of various iterations of the character actress is essential in understanding the nature of British cinema, specifically in how it has developed to define itself against Hollywood, employing archetypes which draw on well-established mythologies regarding ageing femininities. The book centres on the analysis of a broad range of films, such as Blithe Spirit (1945), The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie (1968) and The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel (2012), as well as the work of selected actresses, considering them within the context of the broader historical factors which impacted on ageing femininities, including the Second World War, the post-war settlement, the Welfare State, and the implications for the women’s movement as a whole.

Topics

Frontmatter Publicly Available Download PDF	i
Contents Publicly Available Download PDF	v
List of Figures Publicly Available Download PDF	vi
Acknowledgements Publicly Available Download PDF	viii
1. Introduction: Ageing Women and British Cinema Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	1
2. Immobile Women? Ageing Women and Wartime Cinema Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	24
3. ‘It ain’t natural her not having a husband’: Spinsters and the Post-war Settlement Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	53
4. ‘Dangerous and unwholesome’: The Spinster Teacher Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	78
5. Battleaxes and Chars: Working-Class Matriarchs Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	98
6. ‘Not having it so good’: Widowhood, Anomalous Ageing and the Welfare State Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	124
7. ‘Infertile, domestically unnecessary and jealous’: Hags, Witches and the Magic Spinster Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	155
8. ‘Senior-bait cinema’: Female Ageing in Contemporary British Film Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	180
Bibliography Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	211
Index Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	227

(Deutsch)

Language: English
Publisher: Edinburgh University Press
Audience: College/higher education;
Pages
- Main content: 240
Illustrations
- Other: 16 B/W illustrations
Keywords: Film, Media & Cultural Studies

eBook

Published: April 5, 2022
ISBN: 9781474452847