Sexuality in Fingersmith

In this clip the audience are presented with the issue of women, the time period that this clip appears to be set in, around the Victorian era, where same sex relationships were not allowed.  The use of voice overs has been used to give the audience a special relationship with Maude which makes the audience feel sympathetic towards her because she is having to contain her feelings and cannot let the be shown, the voice over also makes the audience feel like Maude is entrusting the audience with all her feelings that she has not told anyone else. The use of non-diegetic sounds of instruments such as a piano and a violin are used to show that there is a sense of desire from Maude to the other women, this gives the audience the idea the Maude is a homosexual. The scene where the two women are in the bed, the use of the white glove is used to show that Maude is pure and innocent and has never interacted with a person in the way she is, the fact that Maude is also only skimming over the other woman’s body also suggests to the audience that Maude know what she is doing is considered wrong however she wants to do it anyway. The zoom in the follow Maude’s hand down the other lady is used to show that Maude is resisting temptation and not touching her however the fact that they are so close to each other reinforces the fact that Maude has romantic feelings towards the woman. The fact that Maude is still wearing her glove in bed and when she is trying to touch the other women could highlight the fact that she has to keep her sexuality hidden and cannot let it be seen. A fade is used to transition from one scene to another, the fade has been used to provide sympathy towards Maude because she cannot be who she wants to be the fade out may also suggest to the audience that something else happened. The next scene begins with a close up of Maude used to show the emotion on her face as appears to be painting and looking at the woman asleep in the sun, the fact that Maude is painting a natural setting could suggest that her feelings towards the other females character are also natural. The introduction of a male character now gives the audience the idea that a heterosexual relationship could occur as the only romantic relationship the audience has been give up to this point is a homosexual  relationship. The close up of the back of Maude’s body when the man goes to touch her is used to show her flinch and move away from him suggesting that she is uncomfortable with being touched by him and does not want him anywhere near her, this also reinforces the fact that she appears to be heterosexual. The use of the words ‘she must think we love one another’ suggests to the audience that either he knows she is a homosexual or is suspicious of why she is not interested in him, as she continuous to ignore he begins to get more annoyed with this may give the audience the idea that something bad may happen between the two of them.  The first time we heard Maude speak to the male character it is about the other female character showing the audience that she cares about the other female character but not so much the male character as she does not speak to him. The shot reverse shot between the sleeping woman and Maude reinforces the idea that Maude is a homosexual due to the fact that the she is looking at her chest and her hands that close up of Maude’s face allows the audience to see her reaction of what she is looking at. The medium shot of the man looking at Maude shows his reaction when he sees Maude looking at the other female character. The shot reverse shot sequence between Maude, Maude’s dress, the other female character and the male character has been used to make it clear what each character is looking at it, it has also been used to allow the audience to see the multiple things going on in the scene in a very short amount of time. The red paint dripping onto her dress could be foreshadowing that something bad or dangerous is going to happen to Maude as bad and dangerous are both connotations of the colour red. The tracking shot of the man pulling Maude away from the painting has been used to show the haste that the man is pulling Maude away with, like he needs to talk to her urgently.  The man places his hand around Maude’s neck showing that danger that was foreshadowed just a few shots before.  The medium close up of the male character going into kiss Maude and her turning her head shows that she is only doing this so that he does not out her to the other female character, the fact that she will not let him kiss her reinforces to the audience that she is homosexual and does not want to be involved in a heterosexual relationship. As the man removes Maude’s glove it is as though he is riding her of her innocence and purity, however the glove is not fully removed from Maude’s hand suggesting that not all of her innocence and purity have been taken away some of her innocence and purity still remains. The shot reverse shot has been used again here to go from the man to Maude and then back to the man has been used to show how uncomfortable she is with the situation that she is. The scene then fades out to another scene where a point of view shot has been used to show the audience exactly what Maude is looking at, the clip then changes angles to Maude so that the audience it is Maude looking at the girl before returning to the shot of the other woman. The scene ends with a close up of Maude with her gloved hand in front of her face which seems to suggest that she wishes she had her innocence back and had not let the man take it.