Reinstituting Morality

In an unfair and judgmental world, widowed Cary Scott falls in love with her gardener, Ron Kirby. The problem is that Cary is wealthy, and is expected to marry a carbon-copy of her former husband. Even Cary’s best friend Sarah notes disapproval when she hears of the affair, since Ron is an earthy loner, whom Sarah believes is no match for her friend. But the more Cary learns about Ron’s life and philosophies, the more she is determined to commit to a relationship with him. However, when Cary’s children protest and threaten to abandon her, and she suffers potential social isolation, she breaks off the relationship. Only when she hears of Ron’s life-threatening accident does she realize her mistake and rush to his bedside, ready to commit to a relationship with him.

The underlying theme of the film, and of its melodrama genre, is the aspect of the social tension and corruption which hinders the couple’s relationship, and their attempt to reinstitute morality into a corrupt society. Thomas Schatz writes that melodrama is categorized by lovers being victimized by unfair social circumstances, which appropriately describes All That Heaven Allows. These unfair circumstances, although trying, allow the protagonists to rectify immoral societal values and norms. When word gets out, via Mona Plash, that Cary is dating a younger, handsome, middle-class man, the gossip spreads like wildfire. Cary is criticized behind her back and is the subject of many posh country club discussions. Even her own children turn on her, and Cary is literally alone, besides for Ron. She hasn’t done anything wrong; she is only letting herself fall in love, and yet she is ostracized from the community. When she defies social norms by rushing to Ron’s side after his accident, Cary proves that although she may be criticized, she is doing what is right and what she believes in. Steven Lipkin quotes Peter Brooks, who writes that the melodrama attempts to “resituate morality in a desacralized world (296)”. Truly, this is what the film is, at its essence: Cary and Ron prove to society that they will do the right thing, even if it’s not socially acceptable in an unethical culture.