Dona Flor and Her Two Husbands
Dona Flor and Her Two HusbandsWestern world convention dictates, primarily through religious teachings, that a marriage should be comprised of one male and one female. Polygamy is legal in some countries, under Islamic law, and in some African nations. Based upon their religious and cultural foundations, the system of polygamist marriages has stood successfully for centuries in those countries.
In Western culture, there have been attempts to establish polygamist groups, primarily based upon differing religious viewpoints; however, most of these have not been able to withstand the pressure applied by the religious and cultural majority. If one wants to live and prosper in a given society, it is not advantageous to swim too hard against the current.
In the movie, �Dona Flor and Her Two Husbands,� while it ends with the three main characters living together happily ever after, it is in a spiritual sense that they do so, rather than an actual polygamist relationship. Dona Flor�s first husband�s spirit remains with her during her second marriage to fill something lacking in her new relationship. In a sense, we all do this in our relationships. A bit of the essence of our past loves remains with us throughout our lives, filling whatever voids may be present in our current relationships. The only time I could see that as being a problem is when, in the current relationship, the voids outweigh the fulfillment and we put more emphasis on the ghost rather than the actual current relationship. In the film, after Flor married the intelligent but inexperienced and unexciting Doctor, she came to miss the passion and excitement from her first marriage. Her void, which she suffered silently, was filled by the presence of her ex-husband�s ghost, which provided her with the passion and excitement she so desperately needed.
Dona Flor wanted different things from each of her husbands. From Vadinho, she wanted passion and excitement. It did not matter to her that he was an alcoholic, abusive husband with an addiction to gambling and prostitutes. As long as she obtained the passion and excitement she craved from Vadinho, it was only her friends and family that objected to the relationship and tried to convince her to leave. She did not want to leave him; even after he beat her, stole her money, and left her for several days. She blamed herself and her inability to have children for much of their problems. Even after his death, she did not want to leave him and her first dream came immediately; it included singing, dancing, drinking, gambling, and wild, passionate sex. In spite of her hating the excessive drinking and gambling, she could only think, �Never again his lips!� Vadinho gave her all the passion and excitement Flor desired. So strong was this passion that it continued, even after his death.
From Dr. Teodoro,...
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