The Marriage Of Maria Braun, by Rainer Werner Fassbinder, is a complex depiction of post-war Germany. This film is filled with underlying meaning and open-ended interpretations in which the viewer must decide what is actually happening. One of the main themes that Fassbinder wants viewers to notice is the role of Maria and how she exemplifies the post-war German woman. Women in post-war Germany had to work hard to get their necessities and to make a better livelihood for themselves. In the absence of men, women were forced to take on the roles of German men while retaining their femininity. Maria is a prime example of a post-war German woman.
Maria is starting to learn what she must do to survive in post-war German society when she is introduced at the beginning of the film. Her family is suffering with the absence of men within their household. There is very little food in her home. Maria, her mother and her friend have old and tattered clothing. They are lacking the necessities that they need for living. Maria feels as though she must do something to help her family get the things that they are lacking. It is at this point that "Maria learns what aspects of feminine and masculine identity are worth something" (Haralovich, 381). She decides that if the men in her life cannot provide for her and her family due to the circumstances, that she must accept a more masculine role. The same was true with other German women during this time period. Their husbands were their caretakers and providers. These men were serving in the military or were even dead or missing due to the war. The German women’s survival depended upon their ability to adjust and take over the responsibilities of their husbands.
Maria quickly realizes that the most valuable commodities can be received based upon "her exchange value for the American soldiers" (Haralovich, 382). She works as a bar girl and begins to wear clothing that promotes her sexual appeal. Maria determines what she needs and decides that to obtain her needs she must redesign her sexual identity. In one scene, Maria tells Bill, "I want to look great right now" (Haralovich, 383). She uses her sexuality to attract American soldiers and prominent men. They give her gifts which are rare to the Germans at this time, such as cigarettes and nylon stockings. American soldiers and the wealthier men in the society could get these rare commodities easily. She becomes a material person while forgetting about her moral values. This was common among German women during this time period. The material possessions became so important that moral values were of lesser concern. The reaction of the people in the film to a package of cigarettes shows how reduced standards were during this time period. Cigarettes were a rarity that were extremely valuable to the Germans. Whenever they received a package of cigarettes they attacked it because they desperately needed to smoke. The desire for the material possessions took over their lives. Maria becomes such a possessive person that her desire for goods entirely reforms her moral standards of life.
The issue of loyalty in Maria’s life is a main theme within her inner reconstruction. She refuses to believe that her husband is dead. Many German women went through similar denial in order to have hope for the future. However, Maria performed acts which made her loyalty to her husband questionable. She performed intimate favors in return for gifts. The first person she approaches with these acts is an American soldier named Bill. This act puts her into a new realm of sexual politics. She explains that she is loyal because she is fond of Bill but she loves her husband (Haralovich, 383). This is her justification for being able to be intimate with other men while retaining loyalty to her husband, Hermann. Another proof of this loyalty is when she kills Bill, in the presence of Hermann, to show that her husband is more important to her than any other man. Hermann returns this loyalty by admitting to Bill’s murder and by going to prison for his wife’s crime. While Hermann is in prison, Maria meets another prominent man, Oswald, who becomes intimate with her and gives her a job as his personal assistant in his textile factory. It is through this job that Maria has achieved success and has received a means for providing for herself with no outside assistance. This was the goal of many German women. They needed to have a means for achieving their own success. It gave them a sense of self-achievement for being able to do things by themselves without relying on men.
Fassbinder ends this film with a plot twist that the viewer may interpret in many different ways. At the end of the film, Maria is finally reunited with her husband. All of the men that she has had relationships with are no longer a part of her life. Maria has become a hard and alienated person due to her drastic change in lifestyle. Maria even admits that she cannot even recognize the person that she has become. Oswald has perished and his will has revealed an interesting change in Maria’s life. Maria believed that she had control over her life. She believed that she had survived on her own and became a strong and independent female in a male dominated society. She finds out that this is not true. Oswald’s will is read revealing that "Hermann was to receive half of Oswald’s fortune for allowing Oswald to enjoy Maria until his death" (Kaes, 86). Maria then realizes that she did not have control over her own life. She finds that she was only "a mere object of exchange in a business transaction between two men" in the male dominated society. (Kaes, 86). This may also be indicative of German women during this time period. German women were very influential during the period of post-war reconstruction. However, the government was still being controlled by men. Despite the strength of the women in society at this time, men were still in control and they still had the power to make the most important decisions.
Maria Braun exemplifies the German woman during the post-war time period. Fassbinder uses Maria’s character to try to show the viewer what a German woman had to undergo during the reconstruction period. He also reveals the difficulties that German women had to face on their own during this era in Germany through the life of Maria Braun.
Haralovich, Mary Beth. "The Sexual Politics of The Marriage Of Maria
Braun"
Perspectives on German Cinema. Terri Ginsberg and Kirsten Moana Thompson,
eds. New York: G.K. Hall & Co., 1996. 378-390.
Kaes, Anton. "The Presence of the Past: Rainer Werner Fassbinder’s
The Marriage Of Maria Braun.". From Hitler To Heimat: The Return of History
as Film. Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1989. 73-103
The Marriage Of Maria Braun. Directed by Rainer Werner Fassbinder.
1978.