There was only one scene in the movie, “Lincoln”, that stood out a ton to me. Its kind of strange that I felt so intrigued by the scene because what I found interesting about it really had little to do with the plot of the movie. The scene is the one with Lincoln and his wife Mary when he told her about his dream. Mary wanted her husband to be open with her and she wanted to share in his worries. It was very obvious that he wanted to keep his wife out.
The scene took place in Mary's room. It was filled with all of her possessions. The movie script described this scene, “The room's cozy, attractive, cluttered, part dressmaker's workshop, part repository of Mary's endless purchases:clothing, fabrics, knicknacks, carpets. Books everywhere.”. That image argued that Mary is a women with an interest in looks and comfort. She did not seem to lack anything, which is not surprising - seeing as she is first lady.
Lincoln told Mary a bit about his dream, “I reckon it's the speed that's strange to me. I'm used to going a deliberate pace”, which made it seem like he really did want to open up and talk about how he was feeling. It seemed that he noticed how stricken Mary looked from his words, so he changed his mind, “I should spare you. I shouldn't tell you my dreams.”. This was the beginning of the argument. Mary responded by telling him that she didn't want to be spared while he was in pain. She used a relationship argument tactic when she said, “Perhaps perhaps it's the assault on Wilmington port. You dream about the ship before a battle, usually.”. She was trying to make a connection with his uncomfortableness. It is obvious that Lincoln wants to spare his wife’s feelings. His wife’s encouragement of the conversation implies that she does not want her feelings spared.
Lincoln quickly changed the topic and asked about Mary. We can tell that he felt affectionately towards his wife and that he was a caring person. Mary didn't seem too comfortable talking about herself because she said, “Who wants to listen to a useless woman grouse about her carriage accident?” The way Lincoln responded to this is what really made an impact on me. His simple and sweet words, “I do”. This is an argument by Emotive Language. It is directly used to sway emotion.
I think in a modern day situation someone would be expected to respond by reassuring Mary that she was not useless and that she wasn't that old. They would probably add how beautiful she looked for her age. Lincoln didn’t need to do any of that. By telling his wife that even if she was old and useless he would still want to hear her rambles, he was able to convey so much love. She didn’t need to be reassured from him of anything else. He used a refutation tactic to disprove her argument that nobody cares about her.
They continue arguing about Lincoln's dream. Mary wanted to be more to him than a “soothsayer”. She tried so hard to get the conversation going and, ever so bluntly said, “It was an assassin. Whose intended target was you.” Unfortunately for her, Lincoln wasn't having it and his reaction was more docile than she anticipated, “How's the plans for the big shindy progressing?” He tried to finish her argument by rejecting it and changing the topic.
Next, Mary strung together another argument, also using relationship tactics, “I know...I know what it's about. The ship, it isn't Wilmington Port, it's not a military campaign! It's the amendment to abolish slavery! Why else would you force me to invite demented radicals into my home?... You're going to try to get the amendment passed in the House of Representatives, before the term ends, before the Inauguration.” Lincoln closed the argument altogether by ignoring what she said and responding, “Don't spend too much money on the flubdubs.”. Again he uses the rejection tactic by ignoring her argument and moving on to a much more light hearted topic.
Mary tells Lincoln how much he was loved. She wanted him to feel good about his accomplishments. She reminded him that their son was coming home, hoping that would inspire him. Right before he left the room she called to him, “That's the ship you're sailing on.The Thirteenth Amendment. You needn't tell me I'm right. I know I am.” She made her argument definitive. Lincoln didn't even respond but from the knowing smile on Mary’s face as he leaves the room, we know she felt she was right.
Mary and Lincoln had a rather typical style argument over a very non-typical topic. It has been and still is common for husbands to feel their wives couldn't handle their heavy burdens. Mary seemed a lot stronger than her husband wanted or expected her to be. This whole scene argues the idea that Lincoln loved his wife through protecting her from his troubles. It also made him seem human. He wanted to spare his wife’s feelings but he couldn't help mentioning the dream in the first place. This argues that he trusts his wife and has trouble not sharing his problems with her, even when he wants to spare her feelings.
Bibliography
Kushner, Tony. "The Internet Movie Script Database (IMSDb)." Lincoln Script at IMSDb.N.p., 20 Dec. 2011. Web. 14 Oct. 2013.