Gabriel Wolfe
During the beginning of the 20th century in France, dolls were clothed with miniature versions of what the women of a certain province and/or class typically wore. Many dolls were made with the intention of “faithfully reproducing” the attitudes of the people that the doll represents. The main doll in the film wears an extravagant white dress and matching accessories, representing the typical and expected outfit of upper class women. This image contrasts the plain black dress Madame Beudet wears throughout the film, and instead better parallels Madame Labas’ large and over the top dress.
The only connection Madame Beudet has with the doll is the blank facial expression. Both are silent and passive. Despite the similarity, Madame Beudet has and uses the power to try and escape her dull, still life while the doll is eternally trapped in its stoic position. When Monsieur Beudet accidentally destroys the doll in his hands, it signals his inability to understand the fragility of women, in this case his own wife, just as many upper class French husbands at the time did not realize the damage they were causing their spouses.
The dolls return again at the very end of the film. As Monsieur Beudet comforts Madame Beudet after he misunderstands the bullet in his gun as his wife wanting to kill herself, the dolls appear in the mirror in the background. This time the dolls clearly represent Madame and Monsieur Beudet. Madame Beudet spends the whole film trying not to become the typical French housewife doll, but nevertheless ends up trapped in that position.
Paris Bureau Women’s Wear. “Dolls Wear Costumes Of French Provinces: French Doll Designer Displays Collection Of Costumes For Exposition At Ghent.” Women’s Wear 28.131 (1924): 2.ProQuest. Fairchild Fashion Media. Web. 28 Oct. 2015.