A Look at Come In Spinner
A 1988 interview with Florence James, co-author with Dymphna Cusack of Come in Spinner (1951) offers some insight into the original aims of the book. We found that our concerns about women and social justice were parallel and we said: 'Why don't we tell the truth through fiction? Nobody wants to read straight-out essays on the subject..... we wanted to get at the truth ..... we tried to weave together social expectations and what women were really like'. This is the key to understanding the central concerns behind Spinner, set in war-time Sydney during 1944: James and Cusack were intent on writing something which illuminated the truthful position of women in society during that time. They did not produce an essay, but their purpose was similar: not just to entertain, but also to inform, to offer a different and challenging perspective. A review in the Daily Telegraph described their efforts as a 'remarkably vivid and real picture of Sydney in war-time'.The question then is whether director Robert Marchand's interpretation of Spinner has remained true to this original objective. While the original text contains a greater amount of detail on the peripheral characters, Marchand chooses to focus mainly on the three
But as is evident from the way Calvin and his friends threat Monnie and Shirley, and from observing how Kim's friends stood simply looking at the women in the nightclub, the role of a woman appears not to have moved any great distance beyond that of a sexual object. Perhaps Anne Summers touches upon the core of this issue in her study of Australian women in society, Damned Whores and God's Police (1975). Yet it seems that a little of her independence and empowerment is somehow suppressed when she first meets the Colonel - and as we see the shot of her peering out the car window amidst the flowers of her white dress, she seems oddly like a trapped bride' as if the car door that he has closed on her has temporarily quelled some of the vibrance and assertiveness we admire her for. who would? Would you?' Would any of the women at the Coconut Grove, dancing in the arms of attractive yanks or other men in uniform, roam from what society presented to them as their chance at happiness - a man, a romance, a home?It seems that Marchand, and indeed Cusack and James, are infact questioning the nature of the new independence gained by women during war-time: are any of the women we see truly empowered? Is it not a paradox of sorts that the greater freedom offered to women by a relaxation of strict moral codes still does not venture far beyond the realm of a relationship with a man? Perhaps the best example of this contradiction is Claire: we see that she seems to be benefiting from one such aspect of freedom, in having an affair with the married Nigel. In an instant Marchand has set up a situation where even Guinea, who seems to have something of the bold and emancipated women about her, is dependent on this figure of manly protectorship, if only for a moment. However, it is the detail he has included that helps us greatly as viewers to understand the challenges women faced - whether it be the fact that women are constantly show besides, or standing a little behind a man, as Mrs D'Arcy Twyning does with her husband at the ball; or Alfalfa's very whistle at Guinea, we begin to appreciate the suggestive position that women continued to be contained in by a largely male dominated society. Marchand reflects this idea in his interpretation of Spinner, exploring how men continued to play some part in the very identity of a woman and her feelings of self-worth. Thus Marchand has fulfilled the original objective of the writing of Cusack and James. Women, too, believed that a certain completeness would be achieved if they could just find that illusive ideal male partner: as Lola sings in the club, 'someday he'll come along . Summers has denied them cultural potency and economic independence and hence has prevented [them] from being able to construct their own identities'. This seems to reflect how he may see himself in the role of the male protector, and how he considers it his duty to look after the younger, more vulnerable, and above all female, Monnie. Marchand's interpretation reflects particularly on the patriarchal values and defined gender roles which premised during this time, and the way in which women both challenged and accepted them. But there is a certain firmness in her tone when she tells him that her apartment is 'off limits to married men', and she initiates their move towards the door in response to his hopeful suggestion that 'a guy could get lucky?' Here she represents the greater confidence of women to make choices about their actions and to avert their position on issues which directly affect them. Similarly the Coconut Grove appears to encapsulate the new opportunities offered to young women by the war - we see young couples dancing in the dimly lit nightclub the seductive jazz, apparently capitalising on their liberation from pre-war moral constraints. The camera looks down a little onto her face, and she looks so much like a desperate, frightened but hopeful child.
Common topics in this essay:
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Monnie Shirley,
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God's Police,
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Acceptance Essays
