Nights of Cabiria - Mary Walker

Federico Fellini's Nights of Cabiria depicts the story of a streetwalker named Cabiria living in Rome. The film illustrates the idea of the cliché golden-hearted prostitute, but Cabiria exceeds this idea in her own way. She has an innocent soul, but on the outside she is callous and ill tempered. Despite this, the events of the movie prevent her from having the typical happy ending we see in these movies.

A typical golden-hearted prostitute in a film is a good person with a rough past who often becomes a love interest for another main character. Cabiria fits this role in that she is sweet and believes in love. This is shown during the magic show scene when Cabiria is hypnotized and thinks she is talking to a man named Oscar. She talks about her youth when she was eighteen and how she wishes he had met her then before she became a prostitute. She obviously believes in love and wishes she could find true love, but back in reality when she is not hypnotized she would never share these feelings. Cabiria has developed a tough exterior to avoid those feeling and getting hurt.

Even though Cabiria fits the idea of the golden-hearted prostitute, she meets men who are not like the typical love interests. At the beginning of the film we see Cabiria and Giorgio. It’s easy to assume they are a normal couple in love. When he steals her purse, pushes her in the river, and runs off we realize that this is not a typical love story. Cabiria realizes what happened after she is revived, and from then on she is very cautious with the men she encounters.

She meets the famous actor named Alberto Lazzari who picks her up and takes her out to a nightclub, but ends up treating her poorly. He hides her in the bathroom when his girlfriend comes back and then has to sneak her out in the morning. Cabiria is cautious with him, and doesn’t know what to expect that night. She doesn’t seem to be too upset about the events of the night because of this.

Cabiria also meets Oscar. At first, he seems like the typical love interest that she’s been waiting for. She is also cautious with him and keeps wondering what he wants from her. He is loving and affectionate and convinces her that he loves her. He doesn’t want to know about her past or how she earns her living. He fools everyone, however, and turns out just like Giorgio. Once she realizes it has happened again, she decides to change her own life, instead of waiting for a miracle or for the Madonna to do it for her.

In the end, the golden-hearted prostitute exceeds the cliché and walks away without a man. She is still the tough, callous woman from before, but now she is able to decide her own fate. It is not the typical happy ending love story that is expected, but it shows that things doesn’t always end up perfect, and we have the power to decide our own lives.