Throughout history, the role of women has transformed greatly. In modern society, women have successfully achieved a balance between their careers and family obligations. However, this was not always the case. In The Godfather film, women had a distinct role that differed significantly from today’s societal norms. Their main duty revolved around caring for the family and they held less significance in comparison to men. This perspective is clearly portrayed through the treatment of Okay and Connie characters in the movie.
The main focus of women in this film is to fulfill familial duties, such as managing the household, tending to the children, and taking care of the men. This is evident in The Godfather when Don Cicerone becomes hospitalized and a female nurse assumes responsibility for his well-being. It is clear that one of the roles portrayed by women in this movie involves providing care for the male characters. Another instance highlighting women’s role as caretakers takes place when the Cicerone family visits Don at the hospital; during this scene, women bring their children to see Don and subsequently accompany them out again.
This scene illustrates how the women were expected to nurture the children in the film, emphasizing their role as caretakers in The Godfather. Additionally, an implicit role of women in the movie is that the men perceive them to be of lesser significance in their lives. This notion is evident through the treatment of Okay and Connie. A prime example of how Okay’s treatment underscores this role is when Michael relocates to Italy without maintaining contact with Okay for more than a year, only to return and anticipate her acceptance of his proposal.
This example highlights the lack of importance given to women in The Godfather, as shown through Michael’s neglect of Okay for an entire year. If Michael truly valued Okay, he wouldn’t have allowed such a long period of detachment between them. Besides Okay, Connie also suffered mistreatment from the men in the film. A clear instance of this was when Connie, who was pregnant at the time, was subjected to physical abuse from her husband due to her distress after a woman contacted their home in search of her husband. This particular example further emphasizes the disregard for women’s significance to men, as Sconce’s husband would never have acted aggressively towards her, especially during pregnancy, if he genuinely cared.
Today, women’s role is significantly different compared to how they were portrayed in The Godfather. This transformation is widely perceived as a positive progress. In the movie, women were primarily expected to take care of men and children, while being largely neglected by men. These two notions combined indicate that in The Godfather, women were tasked with catering to the needs of men and children, without much consideration for their own welfare.
