The Inheritance was a perfect example of how work life cannot only inhibit your everyday decisions and actions but also greatly impact relationships with individuals in your life. The movie demonstrates a roller coaster of emotions especially concerning Christoffer and his wife Maria. Pre-inheritance they were madly in love, living a simple yet sweet life. Instantly, conflict arises between the two when Christoffer announces he is taking position of Board of Director. Even though there seems to be evidence of succession planning (Ulrick taking the position) a major pivot is made and decisions are changed without even discussing matters with the entire family. This lack of communication and openness is the downfall not only in the marriage but also in the family. It even extends as far as family friends and other individuals involved in the business (i.e. layoffs). Christoffer seems to allow his job to cloud his judgment and makes major decisions/actions that keep his spiraling downfall continuing at a rapid speed.
One specific incident that intrigued me about women’s roles involved the scene when the mother finds Chistoffer asleep outside. She screams to Christoffer, “you are like me, your sister is weak like your father!” This scene mixed with the way she involves herself in the business makes me wonder why she did no just take over herself. The only conclusion that I can come to is that it would not seem suitable for a woman to take over the company. Not only would it be seen that way but I am sure the bank would not support the decision either. This plays into the idea of gender roles. The wife is involved in the business for support and back-up not to eventually run it, that position is for the son.
That scene where the mom runs to the son and shows a brief moment of concern for his well-being stood out to me also. However, it didn’t occur to me the option of having the mother run the business. Yet, I don’t think she took on the role as a wife who is “involved in the business for support and back-up.” I think she was realizing that she too was getting older and needs to eventually slow down. I saw her moving out of their family home and not taking the complete hands on role in the company as a way to back away from the hectic culture she created in the business. She seemed to want to maintain the culture she helped to create within the business without actually having to endure it.
I also think her comment of “your sister is weak just like your father” was extremely powerful in that it showed the root of why “work life cannot only inhibit your everyday decisions and actions but also greatly impact relationships with individuals in your life” just as you stated. If the mother didn’t continue on with this mindset, I think the health of the business would have been much better off. If she had the nerve to say that to her son about his deceased father, I’m sure she jumped at the chances to tell Aksel that while still alive and in the privacy of their home. Living in that sort of environment can truly damage the mind of individuals. She probably pushed him to commit the fraud of covering up the deficit the company had to the banks as well. Manipulation seems to be in her character rather than “support and back-up.”
Yeah I also thought instead of Ulrick, why didn’t the mother take over? She seemed more than suitable. But you bring up a good point about gender roles and how women weren’t looked as powerful enough to own a business. Even though she was basiclly runnign the show behind the scenes, who knows how the company would have ended up if she had taken over. Gender roles played an important part in this movie, with the mother being very powerful and influential, but on the other hand, Maria showed less influence because of the fact Christopher basically chose the family and business over her.
I agree with both of you: I found the comment “your sister is weak just like your father” very powerful but also true about the sister and her personality; also I did ask myself the same question about why didn’t the mother take over the business instead of convincing Christopher he was the right one, the only one. I really believe she knew the company needed the figure, the charisma and the power of a man, which is often seen much stronger than a woman (even if not necessarily true); yet she still wanted to orchestrate the scene from a secondary position and that is what she ultimately did. However as the move turns out I think it was probably the right decision for the company, but for sure not the best one for the future of Christopher and his own family.
I thought the same thing during that scene. If she was so strong why didn’t she just take over instead of forcing Christoffer into it? You bring up an interesting point about gender roles and that is probably why she didn’t; regardless it’s clear that she is basically running the show both before and after Aksel’s death.