Breakfast At Tiffany's Gender Roles

Female roles have always taken the backseat to those of their male counterparts, whether it be in a history textbook or showcased through films of different time periods. Being a commentary on the social aspects of the world, the production of a film exhibits the way humans act and react to one another and how female minorities are displayed. Released in October of 1961, Breakfast at Tiffany’s is about a young woman, Ms. Holly Golightly, who makes her own lavish lifestyle by having many trysts with wealthy suitors. Living alone, save for a single pet, Ms. Golightly is in essence the perfectly independent woman (Breakfast, 1961). Breakfast at Tiffany’s is a film that showcases the life of a capable woman who is fragile in her own way, while also demonstrating that a beautiful woman is capable of being more than just the life of the party. Other people within the film speak with an air of condescension to Holly, as if she is senseless because of the ambiguity in her responses and how she articulates her feelings. “I’m Sid. Sid Arbuck. You like me, remember?” (Breakfast, 1961) Sid Arbuck is one of the first male friends of Holly’s that is shown. Speaking to her as if she were a child who could not fathom their own likes and dislikes, Sid is the epitome of condescendence. Just because she is a woman Sid feels the need to speak to

She has manipulated the men in her life to bend to her every will, Sid Arbuck being one of them. “When you asked for change for the powder room, I gave you a fifty dollar bill. That gives me some rights” (Breakfast, 1961) from the beginning of Holly and Sid’s conversation, Holly was said to have left the powder room and never returned. As far as scam artists go, Holly is an excellent one. Not only does she con Arbuck out of his fifty dollars, but she keeps him wrapped around her finger, “I worship you, Mr. Arbuck. Goodnight, Mr. Arbuck.” (Breakfast,