Lady Marian displays these virtues in the recent Robin Hood. Unlike other versions of the legend, in the 2010 film Lady Marian is not a maid, but a widow, having been married for one week before her husband went off to the Third Crusade. Lady Marian remains a faithful wife for the 10 years that her husband is away. She cares for her aging father-in-law and manages their property. As the wife of a landowner (who will lose the property if her father-in-law dies), she acts as a benefactor who cares for her people. Not once does Cate Blanchett's character mention needing to buy fabric for dresses, furniture, vacations, or jewelry. Instead, her concerns are food and medicine.
Lady Marian exhibits the virtues of a true and healthy aristocracy, a Lady by merit and not simply by birth. She is not above working in the fields, befriending peasants, or devoting time to the children of Nottingham. Even though her family is struggling to find food, she possesses a magnanimity that is not found in the bourgeois Sex and the City women, who actually have more time and money to give.
The female warrior is a common theme in Indo-European myths. In Norse legend, there are the Valkyries, and the war goddess Freyja. In Greek mythology, Athena was the goddess of war strategy and hunting, as long as there was a noble cause. The Hindu goddesses Durga and Kali are both connected to the warrior aspect of the Divine Mother. Others include Badb, a war goddess and "battle crow" in Ireland and Gaul; Macha, an Irish war goddess; and Brigid, a Celtic goddess with connections to war.
Since early accounts of the Robin Hood legend, Maid Marian also has been portrayed as a fighter. This is continued in the most recent Robin Hood, as Lady Marian is a skilled archer and fights in the final battle scene. She also displays the independence, strength, and courage associated with Indo-Europeans.
These traits have been misunderstood by some critics, notably Roger Ebert (a self-proclaimed secular humanist who once dated Oprah Winfrey). In his review, he described Marian as not "merry" and writes:
At one point she threatens to unman Robin with her dagger, which is unlike the Maid Marians I've known and loved. Blanchett plays the role with great class and breeding, which is all wrong ...
Rather than Marian, this interpretation says more about Ebert and the values that are expected from modern portrayals of women. Other Robin Hood films have portrayed Marian as charming and noble, though helpless (such as Olivia de Havilland in 1938's The Adventures of Robin Hood, and Audrey Hepburn in 1976's Robin and Marian). Though helplessness and stupidity may be charming at cocktail parties and in films, depiction of such traits does grave damage to a woman.
The virtues of Lady Marian in Robin Hood -- honesty, fidelity, magnanimity, and strength of body and character -- have been the virtues of Europeans throughout history. Only in modern times has the character of women been corrupted and replaced on-screen: First, the ideal of a helpless and naïve female became the norm; next came the oversexed, consumption- and career-oriented woman; and more recently, the female fighter has returned, with unrealistic skills and none of the other virtues of traditional Europeans. But by celebrating the honorable images of women presented in films like Robin Hood, and encouraging men and women to shun rather than idolize the character traits that are harmful, we can lay the groundwork for a resurgence of traditional European values.
