This paper will discuss how Bruner’s fifth narrative feature, canonicity and breach, functions within the original version of the film, The Stepford Wives (1975).
As an introduction to the paper, the following is a brief synopsis of the film.
Joanna and Walter Eberhart have just moved from the ‘big city’ to the small town of Stepford, Connecticut. Joanna’s best friend, Bobbie Markowe, and Bobbie’s husband, Dave, have also recently made the move. When Joanna and Bobbie meet the other women of Stepford, they discover that they are all throwbacks to another era – meticulously-groomed, “perpetually happy” housewives who derive pleasure from cooking, cleaning, caring for their children, and pleasing their husbands. However, Joanna and Bobbie do find one “normal” woman in Stepford, named Charmaine Wimperis, and the three women form a bond. When Charmaine is transformed into a “perpetually happy” housewife, Joanna and Bobbie realize that the women of Stepford change after they arrive. When Bobbie undergoes the same transformation, Joanna is convinced that the local Men’s Club, to which her husband belongs, is responsible for what is happening to the women. Joanna investigates the men of Stepford and discovers that they all have technical expertise, which she believes they are using to turn the women into robots. Joanna tries to flee Stepford, but is stopped by her husband who convinces her that the theory is absurd. Joanna’s trust in her husband is her downfall since her theory about the Stepford wives is correct and she is destined to become the next “gynoid.”
Bruner’s concept of canonicity in narrative deals with the background elements of the story that do not have to be told because they are already known or assumed based on the cultural and social expectations of the reader. For example, the institution of marriage presupposes the people involved love and respect each other, support and take care of one another, and choose to share their lives. Bruner’s concept of canonicity is further reinforced through his reference to a Schank-Abelson script, which is defined as “a set of expectations about what will happen next in a well-understood situation.” For example, most everyone has first-hand knowledge or can at least relate to moving to a place where you know no one. Therefore, “what will happen next” involves the mundane tasks of unpacking, getting essential services established, and learning the layout of the new area. Moving also involves establishing new relationships. Therefore, we expect people who move to a new place to seek out friends and acquaintances in order to become part of the community.
It is through social and marital relationships that three plot lines of The Stepford Wives demonstrate Bruner’s narrative feature of canonicity and breach.
The first plot line involves the relationships between the characters. The story begins with Joanna and Walter (and Bobbie and Dave) moving to a town where they are expected to meet and develop friendships with the people who live there. Walter and Dave join the local Men’s Club and develop friendships with the men, as expected. The breach of canonicity occurs when Joanna and Bobbie are unwilling to develop friendships with the other Stepford wives. However, the breach is not a conventional breach since a conventional breach would be the inability to form relationships due to a lack of common interests, incompatibility, and differences in life styles, social status, background, and the like. The breach is unconventional since Joanna and Bobbie fail to form friendships with the Stepford women since they see perceive them to be inhuman – i.e., perfectly quaffed, Martha Stewart zombies.
The second plot line involves marriage and everything that the institution implies. While we witness arguments between Joanna and Walter, we are led to believe through their interactions that they love and respect each other. Therefore, we expect both parties to honor their marriage vows to “love, comfort, keep… for richer or for poorer… in sickness and in health...as long as they both shall live.” The breach of canonicity occurs when Walter agrees to turn Joanna into a Stepford wife by murdering her and replacing her with a robot. Again, this is not a conventional breach since a conventional marriage breach would be manifested as a separation, divorce, or adulterous affair. This unconventional breach “provides rich ground for innovative storytelling” because the breach involves the unique concept of replacing a living, breathing, intelligent, independent wife with a lifelike, look-alike robot whose only purpose is to serve. One cannot help but think that this innovative concept, which first appeared in a novel by Ira Levin in 1972, is an overreaction to the Women’s Liberation Movement of the 1960’s.
The third plot line involves both the setting and characters of the story. The Stepford Wives is classified as a science fiction movie. However, we normally think of science fiction movies as taking place in the future (The Matrix) or on another planet (Star Wars). We also expect these types of movies to involve strange characters (Frankenstein) or take place in a post-apocalyptic world (On The Beach). The breach of canonicity occurs when science fiction invades the life of ordinary people in a small town in Connecticut in 1975. Like the breaches in the two previous examples, it is an unconventional breach since the technology for creating robots with the degree of sophistication suggested by the movie was not possible then – in fact, it is not even possible today.
In summary, the canonicity and unconventional breach found in all three plot lines enhanced the narrative of the film by providing a unique and innovative story. The unconventional breach in marriage vows, which results in the death of the protagonist (Joanna), heightens empathy for her, and therefore, it could be argued that her death degraded the narrative. However, I believe that the narrative was at least sustained for two reasons. First, her death was not shown in the film. If it had been, then showing Joanna die would certainly have degraded the narrative. Secondly, Joanna is seen in the last scene of the film, providing us with proof that she lived on in some “form.”
