Digging Deeper: The Misleading Nature of Face Value

A defining theme of the movie “All about my Mother” is the importance of appearance. In scene after scene, Manuela, the main character, is misjudged – judged a prostitute, an overambitious aspiring actress, or even as a drug addict. Although she is a respectable and honorable woman, she is judged to be otherwise by people who know her not. In several ways, this parallels Dionysus’ existence in the Bacchae. Both Dionysus and Manuela are held back from their rightful places in society by people holding erroneous preconceptions. Although Manuela and Dionysus take different routes to overcome these obstacles, both works stress the importance of not judging someone by their appearance.

                All about my Mother includes many characters who are misjudged, but few are more misjudged than Manuela herself. Manuela herself is initially presented as a nurse, a relatively respectable position in society. As the plot develops and she travels to Barcelona, however, we learn that earlier in her life she was a prostitute that had travelled to Madrid as a way to erase her earlier life. In contrast, the Bacchae opens telling us who Dionysus is, a god, and then goes on to tell us how he hides his divinity. Both plots open with the main character taking on the appearance of something new. Both characters go on to interact with people that judge them based solely off their appearance. When Manuela goes to take the job at Rosa’s mother’s house, she is dismissed immediately based on her attire. Rosa’s mother’s prejudice blinds her to Manuela’s capable skills and reformed nature, which she could have deduced with a few simple questions. In the same way, Pentheus dismisses Dionysus when the god’s appearance doesn’t match his own ideals of manhood (let alone godhood). If he had listened to the god’s preaching or even requested for a small miracle as proof, he might have saved himself as well as his city. Both Pentheus and Rosa’s mother take the main characters at face value, without taking the time to ascertain whether their appearance hid something more.

                Ultimately, both Manuela and Dionysus manage to disprove the stereotypes through their actions, ensuring a happy ending for them, but their detractors suffer as a result of their preconceived ideals. Manuela’s good treatment of Rosa finally convinces Rosa’s mother as to her goodness, but because of her initial disbelief she misses out on the last few months’ of her own daughter’s life, forced to watch a stranger do what she should have done herself. Similarly, Pentheus’ disbelief leads to the destruction of his family and his city as well as his own death. Their preconceptions, while doubtlessly valid in some cases, ultimately harmed them.