Last Thursday, I got to see the movie Carol at Cornell Cinema. The movie which stars Cate Blanchett, Rooney Mara, and Sarah Paulson focused mainly on the developing relationship between Carol and Therese throughout its entirety. I loved seeing Blanchett and Mara’s chemistry come to life on screen, watching how their characters initially meet to seeing their reunion at the end of the film.

There were one thing that bothered me about the film, however: the treatment of Blanchett’s character by her ex-husband Harge. By the looks of their estranged relationship, it seems as if they had conceived their daughter Rindy and had only gotten married and stayed together for her sake, not because they actually loved each other. And while this may be a real life scenario for many couples with children, I felt that her husband did not have a right to force her to stay married to him if only he was the one in love in the relationship. His forcing of the “morality clause” onto her speaks volumes not only on his abuse towards Carol, but also of his bigotry towards the LGBT community. Maybe it was because this film took place in 1952, but a woman’s sexuality does not and should not have an impact on her love for her daughter. Harge just dismissed Carol’s sexuality, acting as if he can’t have her, then no one else can.

I found myself rooting for Carol and Therese to be happy by the film’s end, even if there were a number of factors keeping them both apart.