Die Arbeit befasst sich mit dem Film "The Draughtsman’s Contract" von Peter Greenaway, analysiert dessen Inhalt in Korrelation mit Paradigmenwechsel der Gartenarchitektur. Insbesonderes Augenmerk liegt auf dem Wechsel des Barockgartens hin zu dem Englischen Landschaftsgarten.
Table of Contents
I. Introduction
II. Main Body
1. Peter Greenaway
2. The Draughtsman’s Contract
3. Garden Architecture and The Draughtsman’s Contract
a. The Gardens of Baroque
aa. Women as gardens and men as gardeners
b. The English Landscape Garden
c. Criticism
III. Conclusion
Research Objectives and Topics
This work examines Peter Greenaway’s film The Draughtsman’s Contract by analyzing the intersection of narrative plot, gender dynamics, and historical garden architecture. The study explores how the transition from the rigid geometry of the French Baroque garden to the principles of the English landscape garden serves as an allegorical framework to critique social structures, patriarchal power, and the perceived sterility of absolute systems.
- Analysis of Peter Greenaway’s auteur cinema and visual aesthetics.
- Examination of garden design history as a metaphorical device in film.
- Investigation of gender roles, inheritance, and power dynamics in the film.
- Deconstruction of political and social paradigms through gardening symbolism.
- Evaluation of the film's narrative evolution from a murder mystery to a philosophical critique.
Excerpt from the Book
aa. Women as gardens and men as gardeners
Greenaway’s carefully crafted plot starts with a contract between Mrs. Herbert and Mr. Neville, with the latter’s intentions in mind to have free access to Mr. Herbert’s property, including the garden and thus also naturally Mrs. Herbert.
Women were always identified with nature, whereas men were identified with the realm of the mental, or in other words, women being the inferior nature, while men were seen as the superior, the culture. Throughout the film the narrative tells stories about women as fruits or gardens, objectifying the whole gender and making it subject to men’s desire and power.
Mr. Noyes retells a story that a man planted fruit trees every time his wife conceived, and every time she miscarried or one of the children died the trees thrived. This already shows that the state of the garden and trees is the one of women. When Mr. Noyes continues by saying that the husband knows all the trees by their Christian names, but in the end it is the family name, and thus the male’s name that counts, the hierarchical position of the female gender is clearly illustrated. In a broader sense one is able to say that women were possessions of men, who acted in a metaphorical sense as gardeners, while women are objects or in other terms the garden the gardener took possession of and formed to his will and none else’s. As the new “gardener” the draughtsman is able to impose his own ideas on the garden, and when he says:
The trees have been poorly cared for. The angle between the branches and the main trunk is too steep, but the original work is good.
He for one talks about the garden, and with his mind of a draughtsman set on straight geometrical lines, about the soon to be outdated, but by him cherished forms of the geometrical garden of Le Notre. Secondly, he is talking about Mrs. Herbert’s body he has now taken possession of that needs to come back to shape, since maturity lets beauty, in the sense of geometry, fade away.
Summary of Chapters
I. Introduction: This chapter introduces the theoretical framework of garden architecture and outlines the film's significance within the context of British auteur cinema.
II. Main Body: This central section explores Greenaway's background as a painterly filmmaker, provides a plot synopsis of the film, and conducts a deep analysis of Baroque versus Landscape gardening as symbols for political and social critique.
III. Conclusion: The final section summarizes how Greenaway utilizes the visual language of gardens to demonstrate the triumph of natural evolution over artificial, sterile human constructs.
Keywords
Peter Greenaway, The Draughtsman’s Contract, Garden Architecture, French Baroque, English Landscape Garden, Auteur Cinema, Gender Roles, Symbolism, Patriarchy, Nature vs Culture, Genius Loci, Visual Aesthetics, Film Theory, Power Dynamics, Modernity.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the core focus of this academic work?
The paper focuses on interpreting Peter Greenaway’s film The Draughtsman’s Contract through the lens of historical garden architecture and its underlying metaphorical and sociopolitical implications.
What are the primary thematic areas explored?
The main themes include the clash between the French Baroque garden and the English landscape garden, gender objectification, patriarchal power, and the symbolic representation of social and political paradigms.
What is the primary objective of this research?
The goal is to demonstrate that the film’s narrative is deeply rooted in complex historical and artistic allusions, positioning the garden as a key device for understanding characters and social power struggles.
What scientific methodology is applied?
The work employs a film-analytical and cultural-historical methodology, utilizing primary film analysis supported by art-historical and landscape design theory to decode allegorical layers.
What topics are discussed in the main section?
The main section covers Peter Greenaway’s career as an auteur, the plot mechanics of the film, and detailed contrasts between formalist Baroque architecture and the naturalistic, irregular English style.
Which keywords best characterize the work?
Key terms include Peter Greenaway, garden architecture, visual aesthetics, gender dynamics, and metaphorical film analysis.
How does the author define the relationship between the characters and the gardens?
The author argues that characters like Mrs. Herbert and Mrs. Talman are symbolically equated with the gardens they inhabit, where men act as the "gardeners" attempting to exert control and impose geometry on nature, representing patriarchal authority.
Why is the "genius loci" term relevant to the analysis?
The term "genius loci" (spirit of the place) is used to link the statues and architectural elements in the film to the historical garden movement, specifically noting Alexander Pope’s influence and Greenaway’s intentional use of it to comment on the environment.
How does the film’s title in French inform the author's interpretation?
The French title, Meurtre dans un jardin anglais (Murder in an English Garden), serves as evidence for the author that the death of Mr. Herbert symbolizes not just a physical crime, but the perishing of old, absolute principles and values in favor of new, emerging social paradigms.
- Arbeit zitieren
- Christian Günther (Autor:in), 2016, Garden Architecture in Peter Greenaway’s "The Draughtsman’s Contract", München, GRIN Verlag, https://www.hausarbeiten.de/document/373213
