women in john ford films

Ford was known as a ‘mans’ director that made films for a basically male audience. However his films still contained some talented and exceptional female characters. In this essay, I will discuss the role of women in a selection of John Ford films (namely The Quiet Man, The Grapes of Wrath, Seven Women and Young Mr Lincoln). I will also discuss how John Ford reached his opinion of women, who influenced him, the women that he approves of most in his films and what role they play in his films. Ford displays a wide variety of women in his films. They range from maternal mothers such as Ma Joad in Grapes of Wrath, to fiery temptresses such as Mary Kate in The Quiet Man. He even goes as far as to introduce us to a suppressed lesbian character such as Dr. Cartwright in Seven Women.
The type of women Ford used were attractive ones, “they were presented as physically attractive within the conventions of time”. (Spittle, Brian, “John Ford” Essex: Pearson Ed Ltd, 2002, p114). While ...