When I finished reading The Piano, I was sorry that I went through it so fast. It is a short book, the novelization of the sweeping Jane Campion film, which Jane Campion co-wrote with Kate Pullinger. But within those two hundred-something pages a woman’s life and liberation are captured.
Though faithful to the story portrayed in the film, the book has some distinct differences. The film was clearly symbolic. You have a strong woman, Ada, the mail-order bride of the distinguished-looking Stewart who knows nothing of her, does not even care to know anything about her. She has no physical voice, but others serve as her means of expression: her daughter, a precocious child, communicates with her mother in signs and expresses what is on Ada’s mind. But the piano is the source of her true voice, expressing her passions, dreams, and emotions. And the piano is neglected by her husband, who leaves it on the beach to suffer from the elements then easily trades it to a rugged neighbor named Baines for land. Stewart never even listens to his wife’s playing and even encourages her to give lessons to Baines to ensure that he won’t think better of the trade and give back the piano for the return of the land. Yet it is Baines who listens to Ada play, and falls in love with her true voice. He progresses to wanting her body.
At first they make a deal: each opportunity to touch would bring her beloved piano closer to Ada’s possession once more. One passion for another. Eventually, though, their passions become one. Unlike her husband who merely desires her services as a wife, Baines wants her. In the end, Ada wishes to be rid of the piano along with her husband. For though the piano is a medium of expression for her, it also weighs her down. It is open to usage and abuse. It had been used as a tool to bargain for her. And though it led her to find true love, what woman does not want to be loved for herself alone, and not for the manner in which she expresses herself? She could not be truly free and happy unless she knew that the man in her life recognized and loved her true identity whether there was an outward manifestation of it or not.
Quite clearly, this symbolizes how women’s voices so often go unheard and shows that men need to allow women to express their true selves rather than constantly demanding conventional behavior. True love is not possible where the identity of one is subsumed by the identity of the other, or where fixed, conventional roles are demanded.
The novel is consistent with the story and its symbolism and even extends it. It delves into the background of each of the characters and illuminates the motives for their actions. It explains the unconventional nature of Ada’s music, highlighting the wild streak in Ada’s nature. Ada’s daughter Flora becomes more than just a pert, adorable mouthpiece but a separate being in her own right. Although in many ways like her mother, she is already a little woman with a mind of her own, and her betrayal of her mother is not unthinking but a calculated action to make her importance realized.
The novel also brings out the contrast between Stewart and Baines. Stewart’s motives in taking a wife are coolly outlined. And yet Stewart can be sympathized with because it is shown that he is unaware of the folly of his expectations. He wants a wife to take care of all his needs – physical, social, sexual and emotional – without any idea that these duties cannot be forced but must be willingly assumed. It never occurs to him to court Ada or try to win her affection because they are already married and he takes it then for granted that she will behave like a conventional wife. He expects to get what he needs from his wife the way he does in other circumstances: through a rational bargain.
On the other hand, Baines, while asserting a measure of power over Ada, also acknowledges her power over him. Though he may seem to be taking advantage of her through their bargain, it is actually she who had more to gain from the start, for he never sought to possess her but merely to get to know her in his own peculiar way. She is able to gain possession of her piano, but she is not treated as a thing. She comes to belong to Baines only out of her own free will.
Other male characters who figure in Ada’s life are mentioned in the book. One is Ada’s father. He sincerely loves his daughter, but occasionally exerts his authority wrongly. He became the cause of her muteness when he punished her for talking back when she was six years old simply because he was embarrassed in front of his relations. Through this incident, we see the strength of Ada’s will even at the tender age of six. It was a will that seemed to be separate from herself, for despite all coaxing from her contrite father, she could not bring herself to speak. Ada’s father later arranges her marriage to Stewart because he thinks it his duty to make her and her illegitimate daughter respectable.
Then there is her tutor, Delwar Haussler, who recognizes her talent and guides its development. But he neither understands nor loves her music as it is. He does not recognize it as her true voice but as a mere technical skill which he wants her to cultivate. He loves her, but chooses not to make a commitment, apparently afraid of the overpowering effect of his feelings for her. He lets her be free, to be sure, but only because he desires freedom himself.
In contrast with all these men who are trapped by ideals and conventions into acting against the dictates of their emotions, Baines is the only one who is natural. He is the only one among the settlers who interacts comfortably with the New Zealand natives. He seems to prefer communing with the natives and nature than with the chilly society of his fellow white settlers. And so Ada’s untamed piano-playing touches a chord in him, while his more "civilized" neighbors never take the slightest interest in hearing her music. We can then see how compatible they really are though to all appearances the fragile-looking Ada and the muscular, outdoorsy Baines are contrasts. The film may show the fire of their passion, but the book proves that they are right for each other and explains their sentiments to show unmistakably that their relationship is a true romance and not merely a form of rebellion or an outlet for suppressed desires.
Thus, in the book the film’s characters become more than just symbols. They become real people experiencing fear, confusion, pain, passion, and joy. They are people through whose eyes we can seek the meanings of love, passion, marriage, family, and life itself. And not only do we see more when reading the book, but we hear more clearly the voices of all the characters’ minds and the voices of the hearts of the two lovers.
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