Beyond Compromise: What 'The Heiress' Teaches Us About Options
This kicks off a series of politically charged films, leading up to Inauguration Day 2025. Each post will explore themes that shape and challenge our understanding of power, justice, and leadership.
“The Personal Is Political” © 1969 Carol Hanisch
The Heiress is the last film you’d expect in a series about politically charged stories. There’s no mention of politics or historical conflicts in this period drama. Yet, the decisions Catherine Sloper faces—whether to marry a man she knows may not love her or remain alone—are deeply political, reflecting the power dynamics of the time. Navigating personal boundaries within societal constraints is a political act.
Set in the 1840s, the story unfolds in New York City, where women like Catherine (Olivia de Havilland) were expected to marry well and conform to rigid roles. To defy that, even silently, is to challenge the system. Catherine is caught between two forms of patriarchal control: her emotionally cold father, Dr. Austin Sloper (Ralph Richardson), and the fortune-seeking Morris Townsend (Montgomery Clift). Both represent societal pressures women face—either submit to a loveless marriage or remain a societal outcast.
Despite her father’s disapproval, Catherine falls for Morris and plans to elope. However, when Dr. Sloper threatens to disinherit her, Morris abandons her. Heartbroken and wiser, Catherine eventually inherits her father's fortune. When Morris returns years later, seeking to rekindle their romance, she coldly rejects him, symbolizing her newfound independence.
As Catherine ascends the stairs during the film’s closing moments, rejecting Morris and the oppressive system that shaped her life, she embraces an uncertain but liberating future.
The image of Catherine holding the lantern echoes Columbia and the Statue of Liberty, iconic symbols of American freedom. This reminds us that personal liberation is, indeed, a political choice. Sometimes, the most powerful option is the one we create for ourselves. There is always another path, another hope, even when the choices seem limited or impossible.
Just as Catherine found her own way out of the narrow options society offered, we too can reject the notion that our choices are confined to the lesser of two evils. Choosing between two unworthy options is not real freedom. True liberation lies in rejecting those false choices and creating new possibilities.
There’s always something else—something better—if we’re brave enough to seek it.