mona lisa smile essay

• Essay Editor

“Mona Lisa Smile” Movie Analysis Essay

1. introduction.

It will review and reflect on what the movie is about. How people perceive the arts or any other subject having to do with change of knowledge. This is all focused around the way gender ideology is being challenged by both a young, free-spirited teacher Katherine Watson and the women that attend Wellesley College. At the time when this was written in the 1950s, it was an era of war, political change, and struggle. Behavioral values and norms were to be loyal to the man, bear children, and be a housewife taking the role of motherhood. However, this movie displays how that concept was beginning to be challenged. Women of higher-class society were still pressured with having to go to a great college and obtain a degree for a better chance to marry a successful and educated man. Wellesley College is where the movie takes place, and the time period of which it is focused on is when there is major change and opposition towards the time period. The synopsis of this film is not one that can be jumbled up and half explained. There are too many fact-hiding moments and symbols that make it what it truly is. But for the most part, this film revolves around the 4 main characters and the teacher who leads them to have an awakening about life and knowledge. Mona Lisa Smile's main character is Katherine Watson, played by Julia Roberts. She is a UCLA graduate and has set forth to teach at Wellesley College. This is a first-time experience for her, leaving her small, traditional California roots to a place so different as New England. Her free spirit, open-mindedness, and new approaches to learning cause her to be shunned by an environment that has been enclosed by judgment and a static learning environment. Because of her lone wolf ideology and how feminism was challenged both by time and her own character, she becomes a well-representative symbol throughout the entire movie.

1.1. Background of the movie

Mona Lisa Smile is a film that revolves around Katherine Watson, who is a free-spirited graduate student who accepts a teaching post at Wellesley College in New England, year 1953. In the movie, Katherine, played by Julia Roberts, is disappointed when her students embrace the conventional norms of society and she decides to do her best to change their way of thinking, even though it puts her career in jeopardy. At the time that Katherine arrives at Wellesley College, the nation is in a time of change, and many opportunities are opening to the people. This includes women, who are now being given the chance to study in higher education. However, this is all against the ideas of changing from the conventional enough to be noticed in society. At the beginning, Katherine is excited to teach at Wellesley College because it is an environment that will allow her to change. When Katherine realizes that the students are willing to conform to the pressure of parents and society, she is disappointed because she knows that these young, bright women have the potential to become much more than what they are expected to be. The film revolves around the societal expectations and the changing roles of women at the time during the early 1950s in American society. This is shown through the representation of the different female characters in the movie. All of these characters are students at Wellesley College, each from a different financial and social background. The difference in backgrounds has shown to have little effect on the choice in careers of the students. This is indicative of the 1950s America. A time where the social norm was that women would get an education but get no more than a good MRS. degree. During the first half of the century, there had been an increase in the number of women going to higher education, and this began to be viewed as a woman trying to complete herself and prepare herself for a job, while at the same time getting an education just as men had. This was a time where the role of women began to change, and the societal expectations began to rise at the same time. This is what ultimately leads to Katherine's disappointment.

1.2. Synopsis of "Mona Lisa Smile"

Katherine Watson (Julia Roberts), a young, idealistic, and liberal arts history professor, accepts a teaching post at Wellesley College for women in the fall of 1953 simply because, in her words, "the salary was of supreme interest." At her first class, Katherine discovers that the girls are bright and motivated but that the college is intent on turning these girls into conventional and repressed wives, mothers, and homemakers. Katherine also learns that life at the college is that of a lingering prep school where the female students merely go through the motions without truly recognizing their own ability. This fact is exemplified by the ongoing discussions of whether the girls should aim for a career or family and other trivial topics; the real travesty is that these girls who bothered to get into Wellesley not only waste their own potential but completely take it for granted. Julia, who is intent on awakening these girls to a higher begin teaching art history. As she attempts to help these girls think on their own higher plane of existence, meets resistance from both students and faculty. One student, Joan Brandwyn (Juliet Stevenson) is on the verge of forsaking the love of education for the sake of marrying a young doctor. Although Joan is bright and hardworking, she is far too conventional and does not yet see the value of her own potential. Another student, Giselle Levy (Maggie Gyllenhaal) is openly hostile to Katherine because she does not see the value of art through the ages, despite Katherine's concerns that Giselle is throwing her own potential away and is living for the moment at the expense of her own future.

2. Themes and Messages

2.1. Feminism and gender roles: One of the movie's prominent themes is the feminist perspective. Katherine Watson wants to encourage the girls not to see a man as a plan to their happiness. This was much the custom of the time. The girls are constantly told that their main job is to find a husband. In the 1950s, marriage was very important to a woman's social status. This is reflected in the first class that Katherine Watson teaches. The students are to introduce themselves and state their husbands' names. This backward introduction has a huge impact on Watson. She becomes determined to give these girls an understanding of their own selves and to broaden their minds. This causes much tension between Watson and the students' families, as the families just want Watson to teach the girls the ways of finding a husband. Watson wants to introduce the class to the real-life experiences of women and to give them a broader understanding of their own selves and place in the world. 2.2. Societal expectations and conformity: Societal expectations and conformity are key issues confronted in Mona Lisa Smile. The film has several references to "The ideal woman" and is a reflection on the ability of people to mold and influence others to its preferred outcome. The film explores this through the traditional womanly expected roles and conformity to an easier set way of life, and ultimately the power people have and that is used to control others and facilitate change the change of those around them. The School President, Amanda, has her wedding called off and then instead of following her original plan to marry a man of wealth and have children, decides to remain at college and get her degree and more from life. Amanda performs all this to the disdain and anger of her parents and is later disowned by them for not following her of their choice expected path for their daughter. Watson also has difficulty in getting her students to question the traditional roles of women and what lies beyond them as seen in the class where Watson asks about the mating habits of the students' mothers and if in their own homes their mothers do not give them instructions that would today be considered a career.

2.1. Feminism and gender roles

The awakening these women experience is most specifically tied to personal issues. Joan, for example, is experiencing the backlash of her own paramour's infidelity and swears to exact revenge in a discreetly low-key, yet personal manner. She becomes the first one to confront Katherine Watson about her opinions and teaching style, as she attempts to subtly apologize for downplaying Katherine's own opinions. Other characters undergo a more dramatic crisis, but all of the personal unfolding that occurs ties right back to feminism and the belief in the personal strengths and ambitions of women. Joan's act of defiance is a loud proclamation of her belief in a woman's ability to control a relationship of any nature with a man, and it is one of the only scenes in the movie in which a man is referred to as being subservient to a woman when her plan unfolds successfully. Lucy's pursuit of marriage to the best possible candidate becomes prey to public opinion and her own misogynist self-examination when she uncharacteristically pushes away a simple man with a good heart to make a failed attempt at securing a man who has previously spurned her. This event culminates in a heart-wrenching late-night meeting with Watson, during which Watson's genuine concern is not welcomed, and the truth of Lucy's own self-loathing and fear of a repeat at Mona Lisa Smile's portrayal of female regression is made painfully apparent. Caroline's old money upbringing and the snobbery it inspired is a constant thorn that affects her ability to get close to her classmates and go against the prejudiced grain, culminating in a display of outright racism that finally reveals her disdain for being upstaged by others after she forsakes a maid she regarded as a friend in order to get housekeeping services she doesn't really need.

2.2. Societal expectations and conformity

In 1953, societal expectations and pressures, often around for centuries, played a starring role in determining the futures of the female students at Wellesley University. A great percentage of the female population was thought to be taken up with the role of wife and mother. (Joan, a student at the time, refers to a government study showing that 92% of women's energy is focused on the duties of housewife and mother), although this was primarily due to the fact that women were rarely allowed to hold high-paying or high-prestige jobs. The consensus of opinion at the time was that as women were only going to be indulging in further education as a back-up until they had landed a husband, the education would be a waste. We see a clear example of this attitude in President Jocelyn Carr's (played by Kirsten Dunst) final speech to the student body at the graduation ceremony. The whole faculty was hoping for an insightful speech that would go on to show the ability of the Wellesley students and the success of the school; however, they were stunned into an awed silence when Jocelyn began her speech with a rendition of a bible verse that ended up hinting that it is an educated woman's place to support her husband. She had badgered a speech into an unwitting endorsement of the dichotomy between masculinity and femininity and the fact that women have no time for both careers and families. The attitude is exemplified later when Betty is preparing for her wedding, she has a genuine breakdown and cries on the bed out of the sudden realization that she has no idea what she is doing and what will become of her, even though she is fully aware of her emotional state, societal pressures guide her to turn down an offer for marriage and end up with someone on her level, and so with this she stays married to her emotionally abusive and unappreciative husband. Society made it shameful for Betty to even think of leaving him and page the maid to give hope of a brighter future for women. (The maid was a black woman and the way it was worded offended her and made Betty feel more ashamed). With the given information, it is clear to see that the prevailing attitude of the time succeeded in manipulating women to bend to the will of society as opposed to being independent to seek their own fortunes and happiness.

2.3. Pursuit of personal fulfillment

1. Ideal vs. Reality – In the Personal Fulfillment chapter, Partridge begins by exposing the reader to the harsh reality that many of us do not realize what personal fulfillment means to us until late in life. Partridge uses a factual account from the Victorian writer Margaret Oliphant who discovers too late the true meaning of personal fulfillment. Throughout this chapter, Partridge references previous writing throughout the coursework. He talks about how Aristotle and Plato had very differing ideals about personal fulfillment. Aristotle being the higher of the two, believing that in order to achieve personal fulfillment, one must do something with their lives. That for an intangible activity, there is an additional end in the form of a product or result. This he believes is Action. Partridge states this better in his conclusion: Aristotle has a teleological worldview according to which all activity is done for a purpose and could only be seen as being fulfilled by achieving that purpose. Ideal and reality have subsequently their own teleological moments. Outcome, therefore, is very much tied into one person's ideal of their life. Plato, on the other hand, had no room for outcome. He believed in a form of happiness, which was supreme, totally distinct from all other forms of happiness and denoted by a single end. This only happened once, retrospectively implying that the only way of knowing if one had achieved personal fulfillment was to reach the end of their life and look back.

3. Character Analysis

Mona Lisa Smile is a film which truly explores the concept of gender in a very progressive manner through the various kinds of women that exist in the movie. This has been portrayed through the various in-depth characters of the movie. These characters not only reveal the ideals and values of contemporary women in society, but also help to map out stereotypes, revealing the social philosophy of genders in the 1950s. This is perhaps most tangible in the distinct characterization of the five main women in the movie, each quintessence pertaining to a certain breed of women. To accurately analyze the effect these characters have on the viewer, we must return to the "social role" of each woman and her relevance to the idea of progressiveness in society, also taking into consideration the social class and the ideological values placed upon by society itself. First and foremost, the movie's protagonist, Katherine Watson (Julia Roberts), is an Art History professor who has emanated from Oakland in California. This is her first teaching assignment after attaining a Master's degree at the University of California, and she is a woman who wants more than the customary marriage and family, who sees herself as a trailblazer for social change. Her character certainly represents a woman who has broken out of the social clutches and defied the ideologies of the typical contemporary woman. Her appointment at Wellesley was perceived as highly unconventional and many of the administration's old guard feel that she was not suited to teach at the college. This is implicit of the fact that she is not the traditional "lady" and her free-thinking mind and intellect alienates from the ideals of a "Stepford wife" educator. Watson finds herself teaching in an institution that was designed to ready young women for "traditional roles" and her views alienate from the vast majority of the college's faculty. This ultimately leads her to make her students question attitudes and beliefs, the start of a very powerful move for social change in these young women, with some resistance and criticism from the college environment.

3.1. Katherine Watson

Katherine Watson is a new art history professor at Wellesley College, a prestigious but conservative women's private school. She comes to Wellesley eyeing a job at a university, but the only opening is at the all-girls college. Having had significant teaching experience at Oakland State, she thought this job would merely be backup experience for the job she truly desired at a more prestigious university. She quickly becomes well-liked by her students. However, she finds that she is not accepted by the other faculty, who consider her to be a mere 'in-betweener' until she settles for marriage. Katherine Watson is a very liberal character which creates problems for her throughout the movie, as change is not beneficial for a good portion of the characters. Katherine Watson's main principle is that of a contemporary feminist. At the time this movie was set, the late 50's to early 60's, it is still an era where a typical woman was looked upon to marry a respectable man, be a good housewife and mother, and generally live the life that is described in the cult classic 50's sitcom "Leave it to Beaver." Although times were changing, a good amount of women were not changing with them. This begins the root of Katherine's problems. She is absolutely stunned to learn that her students are done going through the motions of college to occupy the time until they get their "MRS." degree (while they were really hoping it would be from a doctor). She finds it a complete waste of talent in which she frequently discusses with her students and presses them to reconsider their goals of domesticity.

3.2. Betty Warren

As a leading character in the film, Betty Warren is situated in the forefront of many contemporary debates regarding modern feminism. In the 1950s of American culture, the lives of many women took a fresh turn. Post-World War II affluence had been achieved in a time where traditional/conservative values were held strongly. It was, in fact, the start of the second wave of feminism. Betty, however, is a good representation of women who got caught up in these changes. Her character is a catch twenty-two situation that serves to reflect the weakness in modern feminist actions. On the one hand, Betty is a promising student for both the arts and law and is a very determined character. In one of her first episodes, she makes a bet with her friend that she can get a higher mark in her art history paper than a woman from Santa Monica College. Although it is a fight for existence, it is a push in the right direction where women are trying to compete with men in substantial careers. On the other hand, Betty portrays the weakness of women when social expectations are set too high. She is very dependent on her boyfriend, Spencer, and their relationship presents itself as a quick progression to marriage. So strong are the social values of the time, Betty has an exchange with Watson about having a career in law: "the only thing you need to be able to make is a good home-baked casserole." Near the end of the film, Betty becomes angry and distressed about the outcome of a fellow student's elopement, saying that a Supreme Court judge (the woman's father) would consider it a bad omen; it somehow relates to the quality of his career. In one scene, when Watson invites her to join a clique attempting to fight against the sexist attitudes at the school, she refuses. The simple reason is that she is too deeply engrossed in the traditional social system, which leads her in denial at the end of the film about what has happened to her friends and their teacher.

3.3. Joan Brandwyn

In contrast to her friends, Joan Brandwyn is the sweet and modest girl who is raised in a traditional, wealthy background. She is already engaged and is advised that university is not essential for her future role as a housewife and mother. She does not immediately tell her friends that she in fact has been attending law school and wishes to become a lawyer. The pressure of her friends leads her to breaking off her engagement and seeking the support of her friends and teacher to assist in her application for Yale Law School. She is the most supportive of Katherine at the end of the movie as she ends up marrying the Italian. Joan is an example of a young woman with much potential who gives up what she really wants because she feels the path laid out for her by society and family is more appropriate. The character of Joan epitomizes feminist ideas of the era and how these ideas began to surface. The character of Joan also can be seen to represent the fates of educated and career-oriented women after the war, wanting more than just marriage and children.

3.4. Giselle Levy

Giselle Levy symbolizes the character who goes out of the way to prove a point and to express that, it is her life to lead and she would love to lead it her way. Giselle Levy is not contented with her life. She has the aptitude to reach high marks in school and a good career ahead of her. However, she is not in the least interested in academics, her main ambition is to entice a wealthy man, get married and stay happy. She possesses the beauty, money and lifestyle and she does not believe in hard work and struggle like Katherine. To her, her way of life is modern and she does not wish to change this for any other way of life. Her thoughts on life are expressed when she says "I don't want to be a lawyer, I want to marry one". When describing her ambition to the others at a student-faculty gathering, she said that she was planning to be on the cover of "Cosmopolitan" magazine. Like Betty, Giselle is also stubborn and believes in what she wants for herself and she wants a stable lifestyle with someone whom she would adore and in return be adored back.

Recent articles

My family topic ideas to write about & essay samples.

1. Introduction In fact, our families are the most substantial part of our lives. We are born into a family, and it is where we go to when we die. Our families all love, trust, and care for each other. Don't you wish you knew what your parents went through when they were our age? Many people were not aware about the importance of a family, but it all comes down to becoming one of the best things that has ever happened in our lives. When we first start in life, family is the first thing that we ...

Definition essay about being a college student

1. Challenges of Being a College Student Balancing academics and social life: College students, specifically those who are going to school full time and trying to hold down a full-time job, have a very tough time maintaining a delicate balance between academics and social life. A college student ends up compromising one for the other: social life in lieu of academics or academics in lieu of social life. Social interactions are an essential part of growing and advancing in life. If one compromis ...

“Mona Lisa Smile” by Mike Newell Essay (Movie Review)

Introduction, movie information, character and plot summary, evaluation and critique of the movie.

Mental emancipation is one of the roles played by education. However, many people do not emancipate themselves because of preconceived ideas, beliefs, and values acquired from their parents.

Katherine’s efforts to emancipate girls from mental conditioning fail when Betty asks her to obey a decision of becoming a mother, and a wife after graduation. Katherine does not give up and continues to urge the girls to pursue careers instead of merely getting married and becoming wives.

Mona Lisa Smile is a drama film released in 2003. Revolution Studios and Columbia Studios produced it with help from Red Om Films Productions. Mike Newell directed the movie, which stars Julia Roberts, Julia Stiles, Maggie Gyllenhaal, and Kirsten Dunst.

It was written by Lawrence Konner and ran for 117 minutes. The title connotes the subject of an ancient painting by Leonardo da Vinci known as Mona Lisa.

The movie explores various contributions by social structures in shaping women’s lives in olden days by putting limits on their potential.

It also examines how girls replicate superficial attitudes in a society mainly controlled and subjugated by men. Also, it explores the expectations of girls concerning their lives after graduating from college.

The main character (Katherine) is very enthusiastic when she gets a job at Wellesley College. The private arts college admits women only, as well as promoting conservative ideals. She takes the job and starts teaching with great passion.

She sadly discovers that even though her students have memorized the whole syllabus, they cannot use their brains to make individual decisions. As a result, she spends ample time introducing them to modern art.

She disagrees with the College President for encouraging class discussions and failing to adhere to the syllabus in class. The President warns Katherine and orders her to follow the syllabus failure to which she would lose her job.

After getting used to her students, and realizing that their main agenda was to graduate and get married, she seeks to inspire them to do and achieve more with their lives. One of the students, Joan Brandwyn (Julia Stiles) had dreams of becoming a lawyer.

To inspire her, Katherine encourages Joan Brandwyn to apply for enrollment at Yale School of Law. Fortunately, she is offered an opportunity, but instead of joining, she elopes with her fiancé Tommy.

She derives much happiness from her relationship with Tommy and decides to become a wife after graduation. This realization prompts her to tell Katherine to stop talking to her about careers because she has already decided to become a wife.

Betty Warren (Kirsten Dunst) is a traditionalist who does not concur with Katherine’s ideas. She does not comprehend why Katherine is still single. She is responsible for the exit of Amanda Armstrong (Juliet Stevenson), the resident nurse.

Betty exposed Amanda for giving contraceptives to students in one of the two editorials that she wrote for the school magazine. In the other editorial, she attacks Katherine for telling the girls to pursue education to higher levels rather than becoming wives and mothers.

Betty is a victim of an arranged marriage because her parents have chosen Spencer (Jordan Bridges) to marry her. She expects exemption from attending classes, but Katherine insists that she will not be lenient in giving her a poor grade if she performs poorly.

Connie Baker (Ginnifer Goodwin) is in a tumultuous relationship. She is dating Betty’s cousin whose parents have chosen Deb to be his wife. Connie learns about the arrangement from Betty. Connie ends the relationship because she sees no future with Charlie.

However, they later reunite because Charlie does not intend to marry Deb because he does not love her as much as he loves Connie.

Giselle Levy (Maggie Gyllenhaal) thinks differently from the other girls. She concurs with Katherine’s views and ideas because she considers her as someone who has followed her desires and dreams.

Also, she agrees with her because she does not like the fact that she is among the Jewish minority in the school. Her liberal views are expressed in her relationship with a married professor.

Katherine opens up to the girls and explains how war separated her from her fiancé. Since then, she has been in several relationships. She turns down a proposal from her boyfriend and instead starts a relationship with Bill who is a professor at the college.

Katherine makes the professor promise that he will stop having affairs with students. Their relationship does not last for long because Katherine does not trust him.

On the other hand, the marriage between Betty and Spencer fails because Spencer concentrates on doing business rather than taking care of Betty. Moreover, Giselle tells Betty about Spencer’s extramarital affairs, which hungers her.

Betty’s mother tries to persuade her to remain married to Spencer to avoid being labeled scandalous. In response, Betty asks her if Mona Lisa’s smile is an expression of happiness. She goes on and divorces Spencer. Her mother learns of her divorce during graduation.

Betty also informs her mother that she was considering joining law school. The school management imposes strict rules o Katherine.

She is expected to strictly follow the syllabus that is approved by the college, prepare and present lesson plans for authorization, and desist from talking to the girls about anything else other than what is in the syllabus. Being a liberal woman, Katherine rejects the new rules.

The idea behind the movie is excellent. The efforts put forward by Katherine to emancipate the girls from narrow mindedness are commendable.

During her first day in class, she realizes that the girls were knowledgeable because of memorizing the syllabus but were unable to think constructively and critically. As a result, she decides to adopt a different teaching style to emancipate them from limited mindsets.

This scenario is common in today’s society where parents decide what their children become. Even though the students and administration reject her style and try hard to squash her determination, she does not give up. She continues to advocate for what is right based on her beliefs.

The movie is great, and I would recommend it to any movie enthusiast or curious learner. First, I like the movie because of its theme. Many children are victims of parental control and do not follow their dreams, but those of their parents.

Secondly, the depiction of different characters is in line with their thinking. They act according to their upbringing and stick to their ideals despite pressure from Katherine to change their views. However, the movie has several weaknesses.

The storyline is predictive, and the characters are very elusive. Despite the weaknesses, the characters display quality performances, and I think the movie is worth watching.

• Chicago (A-D)
• Chicago (N-B)

IvyPanda. (2023, October 29). "Mona Lisa Smile" by Mike Newell. https://ivypanda.com/essays/mona-lisa-smile-by-mike-newell/

""Mona Lisa Smile" by Mike Newell." IvyPanda , 29 Oct. 2023, ivypanda.com/essays/mona-lisa-smile-by-mike-newell/.

IvyPanda . (2023) '"Mona Lisa Smile" by Mike Newell'. 29 October.

IvyPanda . 2023. ""Mona Lisa Smile" by Mike Newell." October 29, 2023. https://ivypanda.com/essays/mona-lisa-smile-by-mike-newell/.

1. IvyPanda . ""Mona Lisa Smile" by Mike Newell." October 29, 2023. https://ivypanda.com/essays/mona-lisa-smile-by-mike-newell/.

Bibliography

IvyPanda . ""Mona Lisa Smile" by Mike Newell." October 29, 2023. https://ivypanda.com/essays/mona-lisa-smile-by-mike-newell/.

• The Disney Movie "Enchanted"
• The Giselle Ballet at the War Memorial Opera House
• Newell Company: Business Overview
• "Why CRM Doesn't Work: How to Win By Letting Customers Manage the Relationship" by Frederick Newell
• "Mona Lisa Smile" Movie Analysis
• Comparison of Orestes Brownson and Eugene Debs Socialistic Ideas
• Mona Lisa and the Last Supper Paintings
• Mona Lisa Smile
• The Ambiguity of Mona Lisa Painting
• “The Mona Lisa” and “Lavender Mist” Paintings Comparison
• "Black Robe" by Bruce Beresford
• People and Horses Relations: "Buck" by Cindy Meehl
• "Rise of the Planet of the Apes" by Rupert Wyatt
• "Lifted" by Lexi Alexander
• "Crash" by Paul Haggis

“Mona Lisa Smile”: Plot, Themes, and Influence

Mona Lisa Smile tells the story of feminist teacher Kathryn Ann Watson, who leaves her boyfriend in Los Angeles to teach at a conservative private women’s college. Instead of the bright minds of her generation, Kathryn meets girls with the primary life purpose to get married. Watson tries to convince her students that they are unrestricted to do whatever they desire with their lives. She encourages students to believe in themselves, learn to build professional careers, and secure their destinies. A young teacher uses her art lessons to demonstrate to girls that they shouldn’t stereotype women as housewives and mothers. Inspiring stories and powerful monologues help Kathryn reach the hearts of students; her narratives about strong women serve as an instance. Despite harsh criticism from the headmistress, teachers, and a barrier of incomprehension between students and her mindset, a huge faith in the future and a strong spirit helped Watson become the most favored teacher (Chao & Wang, 2021). She conveyed her message to the younger generation and inspired the girls for courage, brightness, and self-sufficiency.

I am very inspired by the image of such a teacher. I wish there were more educators like this in schools because sometimes I lack the motivation and the urge to explore. Such professionals leave memorable experiences and memory that remain in the heart for many years. I like it when teachers demonstrate a sincere intent to convey their words and idea to the world. Such an attitude towards work and students is a rare value in the modern education system. I like their strong sense of responsibility and the competent inclusion of personal experience into the teaching process. I am always waiting to listen to their stories, beliefs on global things, and thoughts on the future. It allows students to see the teacher as a wholesome person and feel more empathy and respect for him.

Chao, P., & Wang, Y. (2021). Women and matrimony: A study of Mona Lisa Smile . Journal of Language and Literature, 21 (2), 294-306.

Home — Essay Samples — Arts & Culture — Mona Lisa — The Mysterious Smile Of Da Vinci’s Mona Lisa

The Mysterious Smile of Da Vinci’s Mona Lisa

• Categories: Mona Lisa

About this sample

Words: 684 |

Published: Jun 9, 2021

Words: 684 | Pages: 2 | 4 min read

Cite this Essay

Let us write you an essay from scratch

• 450+ experts on 30 subjects ready to help
• Custom essay delivered in as few as 3 hours

Get high-quality help

Prof Ernest (PhD)

Verified writer

• Expert in: Arts & Culture

+ 120 experts online

By clicking “Check Writers’ Offers”, you agree to our terms of service and privacy policy . We’ll occasionally send you promo and account related email

No need to pay just yet!

Related Essays

2 pages / 687 words

2 pages / 1054 words

3 pages / 1174 words

2 pages / 822 words

Remember! This is just a sample.

You can get your custom paper by one of our expert writers.

121 writers online

Still can’t find what you need?

Browse our vast selection of original essay samples, each expertly formatted and styled

Related Essays on Mona Lisa

Collins, R. (1979). The Credential Society: An Historical Sociology of Education and Stratification. Academic Press.Durkheim, E. (1956). Education and Sociology. Free Press.Macionis, J. J., & Plummer, K. (2012). Sociology: A [...]

In our world, we had a lot of famous artists. Whenever people talk about painting one of the few paintings comes to their mind is the Mona Lisa or the Screaming. The painting I am going to discuss in my assignment is Mona Lisa. [...]

The Portrait of Lisa Gheradini, the wife of Francesco del Giocondo, is an oil painting. Leonardo da Vinci uses sfumato and composition arrangement while painting the Mona Lisa. One technique, Da Vinci used in his artwork was [...]

A masterpiece by Leonardo da Vinci, The Mona Lisa, showcases blend of elements and principles of art, used to contribute to its timeless allure.The Mona Lisa painting is a Renaissance art era portrait painted with oil on a [...]

What separates good art from convoluted, overpriced, and overrated ink blotches on a canvas? Is it the quality of the material? The application of hue and lighting? The variations of length and pressure attributed during brush [...]

“In the panel on which I am working, which I call Guernica, I clearly express my abhorrence of the military caste which has sunk Spain into an ocean of pain and death.”-Pablo Picasso How does protesting against a war [...]

Related Topics

By clicking “Send”, you agree to our Terms of service and Privacy statement . We will occasionally send you account related emails.

Where do you want us to send this sample?

By clicking “Continue”, you agree to our terms of service and privacy policy.

Be careful. This essay is not unique

This essay was donated by a student and is likely to have been used and submitted before

Download this Sample

Free samples may contain mistakes and not unique parts

Sorry, we could not paraphrase this essay. Our professional writers can rewrite it and get you a unique paper.

Please check your inbox.

We can write you a custom essay that will follow your exact instructions and meet the deadlines. Let's fix your grades together!

Get Your Personalized Essay in 3 Hours or Less!

We use cookies to personalyze your web-site experience. By continuing we’ll assume you board with our cookie policy .

• Instructions Followed To The Letter
• Deadlines Met At Every Stage
• Unique And Plagiarism Free

Movie Reviews

Tv/streaming, collections, great movies, chaz's journal, contributors, mona lisa smile.

Now streaming on:

I find it hard to believe that Wellesley College was as reactionary in the autumn of 1953 as "Mona Lisa Smile" says it is -- but then I wasn't there. Neither were the screenwriters, who reportedly based their screenplay on Hillary Clinton's experience at Wellesley in the early 1960s. The film shows a school which teaches, above all, that a woman's duty is to stand by her man, and if Clinton learned that, she also learned a good deal more. No doubt she had a teacher as inspiring as Katherine Watson ( Julia Roberts ), who trades in the bohemian freedom of Berkeley for a crack at Wellesley's future corporate wives.

This is the kind of school which actually offers classes in deportment, grooming and table setting, and the teacher of those classes, Nancy Abbey ( Marcia Gay Harden ) takes them so seriously that we begin to understand the system that produced Cathy Whitaker, Julianne Moore's showpiece wife in last year's "Far From Heaven." Watson finds her students scornful of her California background (every students makes it a point to be able to identify every slide of every painting in her first lecture), but she counterattacks with a blast of modern art, and there is a scene where she takes them to watch the uncrating of a new work by Jackson Pollock.

Of course the board of trustees is suspicious of Katherine Watson, modern art and everything else that is potentially "subversive," and resistance among the undergraduates is led by Betty ( Kirsten Dunst ), whose mother is a trustee, whose plans include marrying an upward-bound but morally shifty Harvard man, and whose editorials in the school paper suggest Watson is leading her girls in the direction of communism and, worse, promiscuity. (A school nurse who gives advice on contraception has to leave her job.)

We are pretty sure what the story parabola of "Mona Lisa Smile" will be (the inspiring teacher will overcome adversity to enlighten and guide), but the movie is more observant and thoughtful than we expect. It doesn't just grind out the formula, but seems more like the record of an actual school year than about the needs of the plot. In the delicate dance of audience identification, we get to be both the teacher and her students -- to imagine ourselves as a free spirit in a closed system, and as a student whose life is forever changed by her.

But, you're wondering, how can I identify with a 30ish teacher and her 20ish female students? Don't you find yourself identifying with just about anybody on the screen, if the movie is really working? Katherine Watson is smart and brave and stands by her beliefs, and so of course she reminds us of ourselves.

Julia Roberts is above all an actress with a winning way; we like her, feel protective toward her, want her to prevail. In "Mona Lisa Smile," she is the conduit for the plot, which flows through her character. The major supporting roles are played by luminaries of the first post-Julia generation, including not only Dunst, but Julia Stiles as Joan Brandwyn, a girl smart enough to be accepted by Yale Law but perhaps not smart enough to choose it over marriage; Maggie Gyllenhaal as Giselle Levy, who is sexually advanced and has even, it is said, slept with the studly young Italian professor, and Ginnifer Goodwin as Constance Baker, who is too concerned about her looks.

"A few years from now," the Wellesley students are solemnly informed, "your sole responsibility will be taking care of your husband and children." This is not a priority Watson can agree with. She tells the competent but conservative school president ( Marian Seldes ), "I thought I was headed to a place that would turn out tomorrow's leaders -- not their wives." Unlike the typical heroes of movies about inspiring teachers, however, she doesn't think the answer lies in exuberance, freedom and letting it all hang out, but in actually studying and doing the work, and she despairs when competent students throw away their futures (as she sees it) for marriage to men who have already started to cheat before their wedding days.

Watson herself has a fairly lively love life, with a boyfriend in California ( John Slattery ) and now a warmth for the abovementioned studly Italian teacher ( Dominic West ), although it is probably not true, as a student rumor has it, that she had to come east because of a torrid affair with William Holden . The movie is not really about her romances at all, but about her function as a teacher and her determination to install feminism on the campus before that noun was widely in use. The movie, directed by Mike Newell , may be a little too aware of its sexual politics and might have been more absorbing if Katherine and her students were fighting their way together out of the chains of gender slavery. But the characters involve us, we sympathize with their dreams and despair of their matrimonial tunnel vision, and at the end we are relieved that we listened to Miss Watson and became the wonderful people who we are today.

Roger Ebert

Roger Ebert was the film critic of the Chicago Sun-Times from 1967 until his death in 2013. In 1975, he won the Pulitzer Prize for distinguished criticism.

Now playing

The First Omen

Tomris laffly.

Wicked Little Letters

Sheila o'malley.

Ricky Stanicky

Monica castillo.

Don't Tell Mom the Babysitter's Dead

Peyton robinson.

Space: The Longest Goodbye

Marya e. gates.

Glenn Kenny

Film credits.

Mona Lisa Smile (2003)

Rated PG-13 for sexual content and thematic issues

117 minutes

Julia Roberts as Katherine Watson

Kirsten Dunst as Betty Warren

Julia Stiles as Joan Brandwyn

Maggie Gyllenhaal as Giselle Levy

Ginnifer Goodwin as Constance Baker

Dominic West as Bill Dunbar

Juliet Stevenson as Amanda

John Slattery as Paul Moore

Marcia Gay Harden as Nancy Abbey

Directed by

• Mike Newell
• Lawrence Konner
• Mark Rosenthal

Latest blog posts

The Overlook Film Festival 2024 Highlights, Part 1: Fasterpiece Theater, Exhuma, All You Need is Death, Me

What You Do is Who You Are: Irena's Vow Screenwriter Dan Gordon on Telling the Story of a Teenager Who Saved Jews During the Holocaust

Chicago Critics Film Festival Announces Full 2024 Lineup with Sing Sing, Ghostlight, Babes, I Saw the TV Glow, More

Celebrating the Tenth Anniversary of Our Managing Editor Brian Tallerico at RogerEbert.com

Mona Lisa's smile: Interpreting emotion in Renaissance female portraits

Research output : Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

Mona Lisa's smile is quite an unusual expression of emotion in Renaissance female portraiture. Most past interpretations of her smile have been made using later emotional standards. Instead, this essay builds upon recent scholarship in die cultural history of emotions, which considers emotions and their meaning as socially constructed phenomena that differ relative to the norms of a particular time and place, and may further vary according to a person's age, gender, and social status. Using contemporary Renaissance sources, including artistic theory, natural philosophy, and conduct literature, this essay attempts to understand the socio-cultural significance of a woman's smile in the Florentine Renaissance and explain why the smile in Leonardo da Vinci's portrait of Mona Lisa was not immediately adopted in later Renaissance formal portraits of upper-class Florentine women.

Other files and links

• Link to publication in Scopus

Fingerprint

• Mona Lisa Arts & Humanities 100%
• Emotion Arts & Humanities 51%
• History of Emotions Arts & Humanities 31%
• Late Renaissance Arts & Humanities 29%
• Expression of Emotion Arts & Humanities 29%
• Leonardo Da Vinci Arts & Humanities 27%
• Portraiture Arts & Humanities 26%
• Cultural Significance Arts & Humanities 25%

T1 - Mona Lisa's smile

T2 - Interpreting emotion in Renaissance female portraits

AU - Flanigan, Theresa

N1 - Publisher Copyright: © 2019 Medieval Institute Press. All rights reserved.

N2 - Mona Lisa's smile is quite an unusual expression of emotion in Renaissance female portraiture. Most past interpretations of her smile have been made using later emotional standards. Instead, this essay builds upon recent scholarship in die cultural history of emotions, which considers emotions and their meaning as socially constructed phenomena that differ relative to the norms of a particular time and place, and may further vary according to a person's age, gender, and social status. Using contemporary Renaissance sources, including artistic theory, natural philosophy, and conduct literature, this essay attempts to understand the socio-cultural significance of a woman's smile in the Florentine Renaissance and explain why the smile in Leonardo da Vinci's portrait of Mona Lisa was not immediately adopted in later Renaissance formal portraits of upper-class Florentine women.

AB - Mona Lisa's smile is quite an unusual expression of emotion in Renaissance female portraiture. Most past interpretations of her smile have been made using later emotional standards. Instead, this essay builds upon recent scholarship in die cultural history of emotions, which considers emotions and their meaning as socially constructed phenomena that differ relative to the norms of a particular time and place, and may further vary according to a person's age, gender, and social status. Using contemporary Renaissance sources, including artistic theory, natural philosophy, and conduct literature, this essay attempts to understand the socio-cultural significance of a woman's smile in the Florentine Renaissance and explain why the smile in Leonardo da Vinci's portrait of Mona Lisa was not immediately adopted in later Renaissance formal portraits of upper-class Florentine women.

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85066752410&partnerID=8YFLogxK

M3 - Article

AN - SCOPUS:85066752410

SN - 0148-1029

JO - Studies in Iconography

JF - Studies in Iconography

• Essay Topic Generator
• Summary Generator
• Thesis Maker Academic
• Sentence Rephraser
• Read My Paper
• Hypothesis Generator
• Cover Page Generator
• Text Compactor
• Essay Scrambler
• Essay Plagiarism Checker
• Hook Generator
• AI Writing Checker
• Notes Maker
• Overnight Essay Writing
• Topic Ideas
• Writing Tips
• Essay Writing (by Genre)
• Essay Writing (by Topic)

Mona Lisa Smile Essay

Currently, “Mona Lisa” is one of the most famous paintings of the world. Who was she and why her smile is a secret for everyone? What makes this painting that significant and attractive? No one has managed to clear up the mystery yet.

You have a perfect opportunity to speculate about it in your Mona Lisa smile essay, where you will analyze different viewpoints on Mona Lisa and her beautiful smile and present your personal opinion about it. In this case, an approximate outline of your Mona Lisa smile essay will look like this:

• Introduction. Description of the painting should be included into the Introduction of your Mona Lisa smile essay. Actually, the first paragraph of the given article can serve you as a good basis for your Mona Lisa smile essay. Do not copy it out. Just retell it using your own essay writing style. The most important thing is to present a thesis statement in this part of your Mona Lisa essay – What is the secret of Mona Lisa smile?
• Main Body. In fact, the Body of your Mona Lisa smile essays will be devoted to consideration of different points of view on Mona Lisa smile. Some researchers believe that the secret of Mona Lisa smile is in the model’s positive and cheerful mood while musicians and clowns entertained her. According to this viewpoint, Leonardo da Vinci hired those musicians to create a real masterpiece. The others consider Mona Lisa to be da Vinci’s personal fantasy. Find more viewpoints on this problem and consider them in your Mona Lisa smile essay;
• Conclusion. Do not be too bold to tell that your point of view is the only right when presenting it in your Mona Lisa smile essay. Mona Lisa smile essay should be as enigmatic as Mona Lisa’s smile itself if you want it to be effective. Let your reader keep thinking about the problem after having read your Mona Lisa smile essay.

If you need help in writing the essay itself, the article “How to write an essay” can be much useful for you. Good luck with your Mona Lisa smile essay!

Essay on Mona Lisa

Students are often asked to write an essay on Mona Lisa in their schools and colleges. And if you’re also looking for the same, we have created 100-word, 250-word, and 500-word essays on the topic.

Let’s take a look…

100 Words Essay on Mona Lisa

The mona lisa’s mystery.

The Mona Lisa is a famous painting by Leonardo da Vinci. It shows a woman with a soft smile. People are curious about her smile. They also wonder who she is. Some think she is Lisa Gherardini, a merchant’s wife.

Leonardo da Vinci’s Masterpiece

Leonardo took many years to paint the Mona Lisa. He was very careful with details. The painting is small, but it is very valuable. It is kept in the Louvre Museum in Paris.

The Painting’s Fame

The Mona Lisa is well-known around the world. Many people visit the Louvre just to see it. The painting became even more famous when it was stolen in 1911. It was found and returned two years later.

250 Words Essay on Mona Lisa

Who is mona lisa.

The Mona Lisa is a world-famous painting by the Italian artist Leonardo da Vinci. It is a picture of a woman with a mysterious smile. This painting is special because many people are curious about who she was and why she is smiling. The woman in the painting is thought to be Lisa Gherardini, a lady from Florence, Italy.

Where Can You See Her?

You can find the Mona Lisa in a museum in Paris, France, called the Louvre. It is kept behind bulletproof glass to protect it because it is so precious. Every year, millions of people go to see this painting.

The Mystery of Her Smile

One of the reasons the Mona Lisa is so famous is because of her smile. It looks like it changes when you look at it from different angles. Some people think she is happy, while others think she might be sad. This mystery is part of what makes the painting interesting.

Why Is She Famous?

Besides her smile, the Mona Lisa is famous because Leonardo da Vinci was a very skilled painter. He used techniques that made her look real, like the way he painted her eyes and the light on her face. Also, the painting has been stolen in the past, which made it even more famous.

The Mona Lisa is not just a painting; it is a piece of history that has fascinated people for over 500 years. Its simplicity and mystery make it a masterpiece that people of all ages can appreciate.

500 Words Essay on Mona Lisa

Introduction to mona lisa.

The Mona Lisa is a world-famous painting by the Italian artist Leonardo da Vinci. It is often called the best-known, the most visited, and the most written about piece of art in the world. The painting shows a woman sitting with her hands folded, and she has a gentle smile on her face. The Mona Lisa is a treasure that has been admired for many years and is now in the Louvre Museum in Paris, France.

One of the most interesting things about the Mona Lisa is her smile. People often talk about how her smile seems to change when you look at it from different angles. Sometimes, it looks like she is smiling, and other times, it does not. This effect is because of Leonardo’s skillful painting technique. He was able to create this mysterious effect with his brushstrokes and the way he used light and shadow. This smile has made many people curious and has become a big reason why so many people love this painting.

The Woman in the Painting

The woman in the painting is believed to be Lisa Gherardini, the wife of a wealthy businessman from Florence, Italy. Her husband may have asked Leonardo to paint her portrait. Even though most people agree that it is Lisa in the painting, some still debate and come up with different ideas about who she might be. This adds to the mystery and interest in the Mona Lisa.

Leonardo da Vinci’s Technique

Leonardo da Vinci was not just a painter; he was also a scientist and an inventor. He used his knowledge of the world to make his paintings look real. In the Mona Lisa, he used a technique called ‘sfumato’, which means ‘gone up in smoke’ in Italian. This technique makes the edges look soft and helps to create a more lifelike image. Leonardo’s skill in painting and his use of this technique make the Mona Lisa a very special artwork.

The Painting’s Journey

The Mona Lisa has had a long history. After Leonardo finished it, the painting was in the hands of many different people and even a king of France. It was stolen from the Louvre Museum in 1911 but was found and returned two years later. The painting has also been attacked and damaged, but it has been carefully fixed each time. Now, it is protected by bulletproof glass to keep it safe.

Why People Love the Mona Lisa

People from all over the world come to see the Mona Lisa. They might love it because of its mystery, the story behind it, or just because it is so famous. The painting is a piece of history and shows Leonardo da Vinci’s amazing talent. It is a symbol of how art can last for a very long time and still be important to many people.

The Mona Lisa is more than just a painting; it is a piece of human history that tells a story of art, mystery, and beauty. It shows Leonardo da Vinci’s incredible skill and reminds us why he is still known as one of the greatest artists ever. The Mona Lisa’s gentle smile will continue to fascinate and inspire people for many years to come.

That’s it! I hope the essay helped you.

If you’re looking for more, here are essays on other interesting topics:

• Essay on Moment That Changed My Life
• Essay on Fine Arts
• Essay on Modes Of Communication

Apart from these, you can look at all the essays by clicking here .

Happy studying!

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment.

We use cookies to enhance our website for you. Proceed if you agree to this policy or learn more about it.

• Essay Database >
• Essay Examples >
• Essays Topics >
• Essay on Leonardo Da Vinci

Mona Lisa Smile Essay Samples

Type of paper: Essay

Topic: Leonardo Da Vinci , Mona , Mona Lisa , Lisa , Painting , Smile , Assumptions , Being

Published: 05/29/2023

ORDER PAPER LIKE THIS

Heralded as one of the wonders of the art world, Da Vinci’s Mona Lisa has inspired artists and sparked debates for centuries. At a price point of about $787 million, one must wonder if this incredible price point is due to the ongoing mystery of what lies behind Mona Lisa’s smile. It is reported that Da Vinci played music for Mona Lisa while he painted her, however the validity of this is up for debate, much like the cause for the expression on her face. It is my personal opinion that the slight smile was due to a request from the artist, perhaps, because it is difficult to maintain anything other than a natural resting face position for long stretches of time. If this is not the case, I surmise the cause of her smile was because it is a great honor to be painted, especially during this time period where art was both heralded and commissioned in ways that were not done previously. The smile can also be interpreted as sarcastic, or annoyed. It looks as if Mona Lisa agreed to more than she’d bargained for, and was pained to find that she had to sit still for countless hours in order to create this now timeless work of art. Of course, I cannot say that any of my assumptions are fact. I don’t believe many things I have read about the Mona Lisa painting to be fact, simply because the historians who write about it, along with everyone else who currently writes about the painting, were not there to witness it. That being said, I do feel like her mood is one of both serenity and annoyance. Annoyance, again, because of sitting still, and serenity because it is a painting that you can get lost in. I feel like Mona Lisa may have gotten lost in sitting for the painting. Maybe she was thinking about a lengthy to-do list, her children, or the great demands that came with being a woman in a time period where women were severely disrespected and underprivileged. My limitations in drawing these assumptions about the painting are limitless. First, Mona Lisa is all but dust now, so all that remains is a painting that cannot talk back. However, for a dead woman, she has inspired music, movies, suicides (allegedly), poetry, and love notes in abundance. I cannot, you cannot, nor can anyone, ask Mona Lisa why her facial expression is so perplexing. I surmise that even if you could, she wouldn’t speak on it. I say this because nobody from the 16th century either bothered to ask her, or bothered to write down her response. I believe psychologists have severe limitations in making assumptions and drawing inferences because you can never truly know the reasons for a person’s actions or body language. Human beings are so complex that something such as Mona Lisa’s smile, pose, or mood she portrays can be attributed to a multitude of things, or nothing at all. Her face could have just been a serendipitous response to being painted and having to sit while her six children ran wild. The world will truly never know, and I am most perplexed as to why we are still talking about it.

Cite this page

Share with friends using:

Removal Request

Finished papers: 393

This paper is created by writer with

ID 287147099

If you want your paper to be:

Well-researched, fact-checked, and accurate

Original, fresh, based on current data

Eloquently written and immaculately formatted

275 words = 1 page double-spaced

Get your papers done by pros!

Other Pages

Economy theses, future theses, store research proposals, mercer essays, harlot essays, kingship essays, personal business essays, gape essays, microscopy essays, tax collection essays, rainy season essays, drinking glass essays, horlacher essays, survival of the fittest essays, garden of eden essays, owens illinois essays, rotisserie essays, traditional music essays, history of rome essays, public offerings essays, day return essays, renoir essays, zeolite essays, sulphide essays, methyl alcohol essays, ruthven essays, east berlin essays, example of essay on reaction paper sfard, example of balance sheet report, essay on the financial crisis and wealthy countries, example of process theory research proposal, free research paper on motivation in organizations, the nz flag exemplar essay to follow, disciplinary power vs biopower essay template for faster writing, proper essay example about paediatric ethical dilemma, analytical report proposal a sample essay for inspiration mimicking, inspiring essay about long range plans establishing and facilitating student achievement, essay on ricci vs destefano, write by example of this pietra rivoli travels of a t shirt in the global economy essay, write by example of this tecumseh and the prophet essay, child counseling play therapy essays example, managing diversity and equal opportunities reports example, a level report on referee report municipal house keeping for free use.

Password recovery email has been sent to [email protected]

Use your new password to log in

You are not register!

By clicking Register, you agree to our Terms of Service and that you have read our Privacy Policy .

Now you can download documents directly to your device!

Check your email! An email with your password has already been sent to you! Now you can download documents directly to your device.

or Use the QR code to Save this Paper to Your Phone

The sample is NOT original!

Short on a deadline?

Don't waste time. Get help with 11% off using code - GETWOWED

No, thanks! I'm fine with missing my deadline