conclude that the lady in red is the object or cause of the duel. This is artwork placed in a romantic period film, the proper setting for a duel over a woman, but as we discover, in this society, fights are not won with the sword but with the whisper. Like Archer, the man in white, will duel over the woman in red (Ellen) only to be defeated by the well dressed men who represent the conformity that will inevitably kill Archer's spirit. Scorcese uses this obvious classical romantic symbol of a duel to counterbalance the subtle and restrained actions of the characters.
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