A Very Difficult Woman: The King and I

     Dear Rodgers and Hammerstein: We love you! For those of you who haven't met them, Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein were a great pair of musical writers. Some of their musical films are Oklahoma!, Carousel, and one of the most famous: The Sound of Music. But today were looking at Rodgers and Hammerstein's The King and I, based on the true story of Anna Leonowens and the King of Siam.  

Once upon a time, a widow named Mrs. Anna Leonowens and her son Louis arrive in Siam (Modern day Thailand,) in 1862. The King of Siam has chosen her to be his children and wives' teacher, and has promised Anna twenty pounds a month and a house of her own: "A brick residence adjoining the palace." But when Anna arrives at the palace, the King doesn't remember this promise. At the same time, a girl named Tuptim is finding a way to run away with her lover, Lun Tha. Will Tuptim be free, and will Anna receive a house of her own, or will she return to England?





    





     In The King and I, Anna is like a feminist icon. In the film, there are many examples of girls being viewed as lesser than men. In the beginning,  Tuptim was given to the King as a gift from the Prince of Burma. This sheds some light on the way men sometimes look at women like valuable "objects". 
     The King is used to his every command being obeyed without question. Anna has an attitude that the people in the Palace are not accustomed to. This leads the King to say to Anna, "You are very difficult woman!" when she refuses to grovel on the floor.  

The costumes in The King and I were extremely well made to fit the culture. In Siam or modern day Thailand, large head wear is sometimes worn. In the film's play performance of Uncle Tom's Cabin, a noticable thing is that the actors used their hands and fingers a lot in movement, which is indeed the case in Thai dancing.   


      The King's experiences with Anna practically changed him. He learned new forms of respect, such as allowing his son and heir Prince Chulalongkorn to proclaim there to be no more crouching on the floor. Instead, he commanded that they should stand respectfully with shoulders back. Judging on our first impression from the King, he was raised in a serious manner, and now does the same with his son. What you're like can depend on how much love you've been given. His head wife Lady Thiang truly cared for the King. When he was troubled, she sent Anna to the him because she knew Anna could help him better than she. "A man who needs your love can be wonderful."

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