Perhaps more often than men, women in movies are depicted as being constrained by societal expectations even as they are expected not to be boringly ordinary. In the films "Queen Margot," "Camille Claudel," "Children of Paradise" and "Breathless," different leading actresses take on different parts. What these movies have in common are their portrayal of societies limits on women and at the same time, how women seem able to go around these limitations.
             "Queen Margot" is set in the 16th century, a time of political deception and religious persecution. Margot, in an effort to end the hostilities between two religious groups, is married to the opposition. Margot has no love or interest in her new husband, and despite her marriage vows, she finds a lover in La Mole. The significance of Margot's role in this film is how it portrays women at that time. Needless to say, her character was a bit on the promiscuous side. Not only was she sleeping with her brothers, but she was practically sleeping with anyone. This depicts a very non-representational view of women at that time. Although society at that time would frown upon actions taken by Margot, she found ways to live accordingly. At the same time, she had a reasonable amount of power. It is hard to categorize her with other women because she was royalty, but either way her brothers seemed to have the upper hand.
             Since ancient times, women artists have been creating alongside their male counterparts. Many of these women were highly successful during their lifetimes, yet have been omitted from art historical documentation. In the movie "Camille Claudel," Camille is always in her counterpart/lover's shadow. A logical explanation of why is because of the fact that she is a woman. Camille was seen as a "disgrace" to her society. She was not doing something that was accepted out of women. One part of the movie, she is actually called a witch for her work. At that own time, a woman who was i...