Open the Door, but I Don't Need you to Open Doors

I appreciate and respect everything Gabrielle Chanel sacrificed and worked for to launch her career.  She epitomizes the stereotypical “American Dream” although she is French.  She begins as someone who fixes the work of other designer’s patrons and ends up being the designer herself.  It is no small feat and is truly remarkable.  Along with sharing this side of Chanel’s story, Coco Avant Chanel tackles many gendered arguments in the span of almost two hours.

From discussing the premise of this movie with my sister and watching it with my mom, they were both more invested and intrigued by the behavior of the men in this movie especially Etienne than in Chanel’s rise to fame.  My mom was particularly put off by the scene when Etienne is talking with Boy and says something to the effect of “I don’t know how you all treat your women in England, but we do not make them work in France, we still have some semblance of gallantry.”  I have tried to go back and find the exact wording of this quote and will post it in the comment section if I can, but it was something to this effect.  My mother was infuriated by the comment.  Why is it that allowing women to work is insulting to women and unbecoming of a gentleman?  Is it because working is too difficult for a woman, so a man must take charge?  Are women to dainty?  The rapid torrent of questions went on and on, etc. etc,.

At first glance, I agree with my mom.  It is insulting that a man allowing a woman not to work is considered chivalrous, yet while I suspect the comment was made by Etienne as a means to insult England rather than defend France’s virtue, I can see how from his perspective he was being chivalrous.  He probably truly believed women should not work because they were incapable.  It is clear this way of thinking is wrong but is his ignorance a valid excuse? 

Personally, I do not think so.  I am all for chivalry and think guys should open doors in the physical sense for me, but I do not need them to open what people refer to as the metaphorical doors for me.  Etienne offers to marry Coco in order to solve her problems and help her make a name for herself rather than support her dreams and recognize her talent.  His ignorance is not an excuse.  He should have recognized her gift and been able to understand that paired with her determination and perseverance Coco was more than capable of achieving success on her own.  There is a line between gallantry and pigheadedness that Etienne fails to recognize throughout the majority of the film, which is a shame as it is a very important line.