Symbolism in "The Marriage of Maria Braun"
By Jessica Schott
October 11, 2001

In 1978, Rainer W. Fassbinder directed a film called "The Marriage of Maria Braun". Fassbinder had a purpose and meaning for almost every element and aspect of his film. "The Marriage of Maria Braun", or "Die Ehe de Maria Braun" is a historical document of post-war Germany. It explored the destruction of morality, physical elements of society, such as buildings, and the economy. Fassbinder included several forms of symbolism, such as background noise, character names, and Maria, the main character.

Throughout the entire film, Fassbinder utilized background noises like radio announcements and construction noises. The background noises were used to represent the outside noises, or outside events, of the time period in which the film was set. In the beginning of the film, the names of the soldiers who had died or who were missing in action in the war were announced over the radio, which was heard in the background of several scenes. This represents World War II and the destruction of lives and towns in German society. Throughout the rest of the film, the background noise transforms from war announcements to the sound of reconstruction. Buildings were beginning to be reconstructed by the Trümmerfrauen or "Women of the Ruins". They were the widows of the men in postwar Germany who were left to rebuild the country. The function of the background noise was to express the mood and events of the postwar era without literally using images. The effectiveness of the outside noise juxtapose to the inside noise is apparent through the fact that the viewer can focus on the plot, but still be fully aware of the outside influences and situation.

Another form of symbolism Fassbinder used in his film pertained to the names of the actual characters. The names Fassbinder created for the film carried important significance. Maria’s husband, Hermann Braun, was significant in the aspect that his name can be broken into several meanings. Hermann, for instance, can be broken into "Herr", meaning master and "Mann" which translates to man. This strong Germanic name is symbolized as a German hero (Esa). His last name, Braun or "brown" in German symbolizes the Brown shirts or the Nazis (Esa). Fassbinder quite possibly developed the last name Braun as a representation of Eva Braun, one of Hitler’s mistresses. The significance of the name Maria lies in its biblical translation to Mary, the Virgin Mother. Maria, throughout the film, portrays herself as embodying Germany, which is known as the Motherland. This leads viewers to believe that Fassbinder gave thorough consideration to developing the names of his characters, instead of just making random names for his complex characters.

One of the main themes Fassbinder deliberately portrayed through Maria Braun was that she was a unique person, but ultimately embodied postwar Germany. The character Maria Braun was definitely an individual, but she carried the theme of survival over morality. Maria achieved survival and prosperity through several unorthodox methods, such as working at a bar, and using men to gain wealth and status. Postwar Germany was full of women who were left to rebuild and run society. Many of these women were willing to sacrifice their own morals in order to survive the hardships of living in Germany after 1945. Women of that time were strong trying to survive and rebuild for their future. Maria Braun’s will to survive was strong, which embodied the image and focus of the women of postwar Germany.

The utilization of symbolism in "The Marriage of Maria Braun" positively affected the meaning and quality of the film. Fassbinder’s consideration for minute detail and accuracy is rarely emulated. Background noise, symbolic character names, and the character of Maria were effective methods of symbolic expression. Few would argue that such a seemingly simple film could have been as meaningful and complex as Fassbinder’s "The Marriage of Maria Braun".
 

I have not given nor received any unauthorized aid on this piece of work, nor have I knowingly tolerated any violation of the Honor Code.