The Quiet Man is based off of a story written by Maurice Walsh in 1933. It is not surprisingly one of my eldest brother’s favorite short stories. The main character is a former pugilist and the story contains one of the most realist depictions of an encounter with someone who knows how to box vs someone who does not (my brother’s a boxing fanatic). The story says a lot about patience and self-control, especially in regards to Biblical love. Let’s delve into the film’s character portrayal and storytelling vs the original short story.

The character of Sean Thornton (played by John Wayne): Sean, a retired boxer, returns to his hometown in Ireland to buy back his family’s land. Will Danaher, a wealthy ranch owner and well known bully, also wishes to purchase the land but the widow in charge of the property accepts Thornton’s bid over his. This creates conflict:

-Danaher wants to marry the wealthy widow so he hates her showing favor to Thornton.

-Danaher also loves money and he hates to lose so he sees Thornton’s acquisition of the land as him being showed up. He’s also out of a potential investment.

So, when Sean wants to court Danaher’s sister, naturally, her brother refuses. This sets the stage for the start of the film. I will get into the relationship between Sean and Mary Kate later on and we’ll see what struggles they both face there a well. Right now, let’s stick to Sean’s struggles before marriage.

-We see he has no interest in fighting (though we aren’t told why until later on in the film) when he refuses to fight an angry Danaher in a bar after buying back his family’s land.

-His interests are simple in farming a small plot of land and his approach to courting Mary Kate straightforward since he’s been in the states for a long time. He just wants to ask her out and show up at her house with flowers. He only cares if she says yes, but at this time in 1920’s Ireland she needs her brother’s approval.

-Others scheme to get Danaher to give him the approval to court his sister, but Sean doesn’t.

Finally, the townspeople convince Danaher the widow will only marry him if he marries off his sister. So, Sean is allowed to court and marry Mary Kate.

 Vs. the character in the story (Shawn Kelvin): In the story, we are told right away that Shawn is thirty-five years of age, a former boxer, returning to Ireland from having been away in the states for 10 years.

- John Wayne is significantly taller and larger than his character in the story. Shawn is described as a small man, 40 pounds lighter than a 200 pound O’Grady (Danaher). They are not even in the same weight class; whereas, in the movie, they had to try hard to find a man that could dwarf John Wayne (6’4).   

- Kelvin doesn’t want his land back. This immediately makes him an object of scorn for the townsfolk because he wasn’t “man enough” to fight for his family’s land which O’Grady won “meanly.”

-Shawn does not pursue a relationship with Ellen (Mary Kate) until O’Grady basically offers her to him, and then he wants to know what she thinks about the idea first. His approach (or lack thereof) is certainly more timid than the forward John Wayne who kisses Maureen O’Hara when they haven’t even spoken.

-John Wayne’s character also seems to be drawn to Maureen O’Hara’s fiery spirit and beauty, but in the story, Shawn takes notice of her praying in Church and doesn’t even get a good look at her face until several Sundays later.    

The character of Mary Kate Danaher: What is her character? What is her struggle?

-Mary Kate lives in a family of aggressive men where she is basically their cook and slave.

-She takes an interest in Thornton after she hears of him showing up her brother in buying back the property. However, in 1920’s Ireland she has no say in her courtship or occupation.

-It is even mentioned that while men find her beautiful, she’s considered a crazy red head, not to mention no one wants to deal with her brother.   

Vs. the character in the story (Ellen O’Grady): Ellen, like Shawn, is more modest in the original story.

-There is no mention of her fiery temper (that is more of a trait Maureen O’Hara brought to the screen and was famous for).

-She is not taken or impressed with Shawn or the match initially, but accepts his hand for lack of nothing better.  

The Stages and development of the Relationship in the Film: How does it start? What is the conflict?  In what ways is the relationship unique and demonstrate Biblical love?

-As stated earlier, the feelings are mutual from the start. Both Sean and Mary Kate like each other instantaneously and want to pursue a courtship.

-The first conflict is that Mary Kate’s brother won’t allow them to see each other.

-The second, and longest lasting conflict, is when Danaher won’t give up Mary Kate’s dowry (the money she is supposed to bring into the marriage) as was the custom of the times. This conflict lasts the rest of the movie and this is where character traits are revealed:

·  Mary Kate refuses to consummate the marriage until her brother hands over her dowry. Naturally, Sean is not a happy with this but he agrees.

·  The money doesn’t mean anything to him and isn’t why he married her. Some men back then would marry women for their dowries so it’s important for him to say he didn’t marry her for her money.

·  Sean still goes about his husbandly duties and doesn’t tell anyone that he and his wife are not sleeping together because she begs him not to so she won’t be shamed.

·  Sean tries to make the best of things by letting Mary Kate arrange the house while he tends to the farm.

·  He buys her a horse and buggy and lets her drive it. After which she hits him with a whip and leaves him to walk home because he refuses to confront her brother about the money.

·  After leaving him stranded, Mary Kate speaks to the Priest and confesses her bad behavior and treatment of her husband. The Priest reprimands her and she goes home assumingly convicted.

·  Sean also seeks advice from the local Minister before going home.

·  It is implied they consummate the marriage, and the next morning Mary Kate leaves Sean to board a train. This is when Sean snaps and drags her to the Danaher farm, threatening to give her back to her brother if he doesn’t pay up.

Throughout this relationship we see aspects of Biblical love demonstrated and the roles of husband and wife taken up.

1 Corinthians 13: 4-7

4 Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5 It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6 Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7 It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

-Sean is incredibly patient with his wife from the get go. She won’t sleep with him on their wedding night, and for God only knows how many weeks after, and yet he continues to serve her and not just think of what he wants. He also isn’t easily angered, though you could argue he has every reason to be: his wife won’t touch him, is constantly arguing with him. And, even after she leaves him stranded by the side of the rode, he doesn’t lose his temper with her. What is this if not perseverance as well? This is key in making the reader/viewer sympathize with the leading man. We need to see him setting aside his wants and desires for the sake of the leading lady (if the relationship is a healthy one).

Vs. The relationship in the short story:  They certainly Hollywoodized the movie. Maureen O’Hara’s relationship with John Wayne is more argumentative because that is the way their banter has been known to work on screen. Shawn’s relationship with Ellen is not so colorful in the original tale.

-First off, there was no mutual interest. So, unlike John Wayne and Maureen O’Hara, who want to be together and can’t because of her brother, Shawn knows Ellen doesn’t love him when she marries him. He still marries her because he knows he can show her love and she’ll be better off with him than with her brother.

-There is never any mention of his Ellen refusing to sleep with her husband because she doesn’t have her dowry.

-Sean has to work hard to get Ellen to fall in love with him, all by selfless means of putting her first and making her the queen of the house. Eventually, Ellen does fall “madly in love with her husband” and grow to admire and respect him, which the author says is a rare thing indeed between a husband and a wife.

-In the film, it seems as if Mary Kate can’t stop complaining about the money from the start, making it seem that’s all she cares about until the end where she makes a snap decision to side with her husband and throw the money in the fire. Ellen, on the other hand, doesn’t mention the money until after she and Shawn are happily married and then only because she feels her husband is being belittled by not standing up for himself. These are two very different motives:

·  Mary Kate seems to want money for the sake of money because it is where she places her value and worth. She doesn’t feel respected in her marriage or like she has any agency without bringing her own things into the home and the relationship.

·  Ellen wants her husband to prove himself and earn respect by getting the money from her brother.

This brings us to the last key message of both the film and short story, though more prevalent in the written version.

What is the point of the ending scene? If we miss this we miss the whole point of the story’s build up. Why does Shawn’s character throw the money into the fire and why does his wife jump to open the furnace door for him?

The whole movie/story Sean has been avoiding a confrontation with his wife’s brother.

·  In the film this is because he killed someone in the ring once.

·  In the story he’s trying to retire to a quiet life and he has nothing to prove. He also has self-control and doesn’t want to fight unless absolutely necessary.

He makes no defense against the insults thrown his way and he doesn’t try to get his wife’s money back. What changes?

-He realizes the only way to earn his wife’s respect, and get everyone off his back, is to stand up to Danaher. He demands the money but tosses it in the fire because it was never about the money—it was a matter of principal.

-His wife sees this too because she helps him.

-Shawn finally fights Danaher (if you could call it that, in the story the brother never lays a hand on him because “he knew not how”). 

The point is that Shawn didn’t need to prove anything for himself. He knew he could beat up his wife’s brother all along. He just didn’t need to until he discovers it’s the only way to earn respect with his wife and get people to leave him alone. Respect is key in a relationship. He may have earned his wife’s love and done right by her in everything else, but without respect she’d never consider him a true equal.  The quiet man does an excellent job of showing a couple transition not only from strangers to lovers, but from lovers to friends with a deep sense of respect. It’s key to understand what points in a story made your main couple go from tolerating each other to being madly in love, and some old classics like this one stand the test of time in giving us a good example.

-Hannah