Sleeping with the Enemy

Sleeping With the Enemy

Summary

Oppression of women in our patriarchal society is seen daily. Men dominate women in so many ways it becomes hard to distinguish one form of oppression from another. In the movie Sleeping With the Enemy, a young woman battles daily with an abusive, domineering husband. Although the outside world may view Laura's life as perfect, the viewer sees the whole truth. Laura's perfect life consists of an attractive, wealthy husband who would do anything for her-even kill. They live in a beautiful mansion on the coast, and Laura does not have to work if she so chooses. Every day Laura is tortured and ridiculed and criticized by her husband. Her husband, Martin Burns, is obsessed about keeping the household in perfect condition. If one towel is out of line, one can out of order in the cupboard, or if dinner is slightly late, Laura receives a severe beating. The only way for Laura to escape from her tyrannical husband is by staging her own death.

Laura takes her husband and neighbor out on a sailboat one stormy evening to execute her plan of escape. She "falls" off the boat and swims to shore. Her husband believes that Laura dies at sea because she could not swim. Secretly, though, Laura had been taking swimming lessons at the YWCA in order to facilitate her plan. After packing a small bag with some personal items and money, Laura Burns abandons her abusive husband and leaves her miserable life behind. Thus begins Laura Burns' new life as Sara Waters. She changes her name, location, situation, and is reborn.

In Laura's new life, she works at a library and starts to date again. As Sara, she is able to enjoy life and be free. Sara rebuilds her self-esteem, is able to spend more time with her mother, and can relax without being afraid of whether the shelves in the kitchen will meet her husband's standards. The escape seemed foolproof, until Martin found a piece of evidence that proves Laura is still alive. (Laura had thrown her wedding ring in the toilet and Martin finally sees it.) After weeks of searching, Martin is able to hunt down his wife. He feels that if he cannot have her, then no one will. Sara does not want to return to the terrible oppressive lifestyle she was trapped in before. Instead of giving up her new life, she shoots the "intruder" in her house and puts an end to her husband's reign of terror over her. After killing her husband in self-defense, she is able to be truly free and live her life.

Characters

The main character is Laura Burns/Sara Waters. In the beginning of the movie, she is a young wife who is constantly demoralized and exploited by her husband. The only life she has is in striving to please him, a man who will never be satisfied. After almost four years of living in daily fear of her husband, Laura changes from being victimized to becoming a strong survivor. Martin Burns plays the overbearing, domineering, psychotic husband. He has obsessive-compulsive disorder and regularly beats his wife. After relentlessly searching for his wife, she kills him in a moment of intrusion and fear. The third main character in the movie Sleeping With the Enemy is Ben, who plays the role of Sara's neighbor. He sweeps Sara Waters off her feet with his charm and helps her to overcome her feelings of insecurity that came from living with an abusive husband. Ben helps Sara learn to live again.

The Focus

Everyday women are faced with abusive situations and dominating husbands. This movie gives an inside perspective of the emotional and physical effects such abuse has on an individual. In the beginning of the movie, Martin tries to control the way Laura looks, dresses, and acts. She is battered for disagreeing with him, and ridiculed for not completing tasks the way he wants them done. For example, Laura refuses to go boating with her husband because she is scared of the water, and because she disagrees with him, Martin strikes her across the face, knocks her to the floor, and kicks Laura in her stomach and ribs.

Dialogue is also a key feature when portraying spousal abuse in movies. The directors use words that create desired reactions from the viewers to create emotional responses to each character. Martin's character speaks in angry, dominating tones, and we are afraid for Laura. Martin speaks to his wife as if he owned her, rather than as an equal and a life partner. Throughout the movie, Laura speaks cautiously, timidly, and quietly, which shows the viewer that she has been abused for long enough to wear at her self-esteem. It is typical of a woman in an abusive situation to speak with timidity for fear of what the reaction to