Albert Nobbs actually lead a pretty good life!

... I must be the only one to feel this way. But, I really don't see his life as very tragic. In fact, I wouldn't mind being him! Why? How can I possibly feel this way? Well, it's simple: he had a great working environment and he was making an independent living.

So what if he had to dress up in disguise himself? I do it every day more or less; we might not all masquerade as another gender, but we all modify ourselves for society, in some way or another (either visually, verbally, behaviorally, or otherwise). And what a society he lived in! It was beautiful, mannered, and yes, people talk about the struggles of women -- but what makes anyone think that we struggle any less today? We just have different kinds of struggles is all... And if I were going to struggle, I would much rather struggle in the mannered, visually stunning society like that, than in an unsophisticated, crude one like the one we live in today.

And yes, I realize that he had a difficult start in life -- being raped by a group of men under a stairs. But, again, we all have our sob stories, don't we? Maybe I would feel worse about it, if it was an ongoing occurrence, or if he was stuck with a baby afterwards. But no, it happened once, and that was it. It was traumatic for him, sure. But, so is any number of things for other people... and yes, he lost his mother at an early age, but, some of us come from broken families, and feel like we don't have parents, even when we do. Some of us come from perfect families. I think as long as he was raised with food, and a roof over his head, it really wasn't that bad. The worst part of it was not that he didn't get to know his mother, but that a woman was actually being paid to raise him. I would always question her care for me, knowing that she was paid. In fact, it is that which I think is the most tragic of his story. Not the rape, not the death of his mother, not the cross-dressing -- but the lack of secure knowledge that one is loved. Therein, lies the real tragedy.

And, I don't mind saying that I do get angry when I read how most people come away from this movie with a sense of pity that Albert was forced to live like a man, in such a "cruel, uncaring world, unfair to females". I have even read that Glenn Close held this movie dear to her heart, and was instrumental in getting it made. It certainly irritates me to think that she holds such an opinion. Because I have a feeling that those who hold such an opinion are looking at this film through 21st-century eyes, rather than seeing it from a 19th century perspective. It wasn't that bad back then. It was just life... Albert stood out, because he took a different route from others, and he was brave in doing so. But he certainly wasn't the only one. In fact, it was more common than we might like to admit. I took a feminism class once, and I've since learned even more about it. It was certainly not uncommon.

Think about it, was Albert really all that tragic? He had hope. The most tragic people have none. He had ambitious goals and plans of how to achieve them. He was levelheaded. And he even fell in love -- which is more than some of us can say, which is more than some people could ever say! Some people live their whole lives without a single kiss. And we call Albert tragic?! The guy was positively giddy over his own plans -- it made me feel exhilarating, just watching him dream of them! To me, tragic people are those who go around moping about life. Albert didn't do that.

I guess it was sad when that disease came to town. Of course, it's a tragedy. But people die every day. It's just a fact of nature. And someday, we all lose our loved ones as well. Our loved ones will lose us as well. The point is to be happy while we have each other, and accept what life brings us with dignity and fairness. There's no reason to look at this whole movie in a dark tragic way, just because some bitter tragedies were in it. In fact, I say "bitter tragedies" so that this will translate to the people who actually believe them to be so, but I watched this just seeing it as regular life stuff. What person does not deal with something hard or unfair? What person does not deal with drama? Who among us will live forever? No one.

So, that being said, I think that Albert Nobbs is a very positive character, and this story is a very positive story. I don't think that living in Ireland at that time would be all that bad. In fact I think it would've been wonderful! Had Albert lived, he would have gotten his dream of the tobacco shop, and he would have gotten Helen -- because remember, by the end, Helen was coming around to caring about him. She no longer wanted Joe, and makes perfect sense to conceive that she would've ended up with Albert. So, let's look at it like this -- we've got a person who's hopeful, who is enthusiastic, who knows exactly what he wants, and who is ready to love. There is absolutely nothing tragic about that whatsoever! In other words, the problem with people who called this movie tragic is that they're dwelling on little details which really don't amount to a hill of beans were Albert's overall plans in life are concerned...

Had things worked out and the typical bittersweet European ending was not tacked onto the conclusion of this film, "Albert Nobbs" would have been a positive success story. And that's how I basically see it. Even though he didn't live long enough for everything to come to fruition, he lived long enough to feel it -- to feel that it would happen, in his heart. So he died, with a positive view of life (yes, even though he just got rejected by Helen -- I have a feeling that he wasn't too worried about that -- that he believed she would come around regardless -- because we're talking about a character whose whole life was based on the hope that things would work out -- that's the whole reason he saved money in the first place, remember?). And that's what counts.

I am like everyone else, in the sense that I think it was tragic that he died at the end, but I don't really feel sorry for him, because I know that everyone dies. But I do resent the timing of the death -- because I know what could've been. But at the same time, the positive energy that flowed throughout the film up to that point is enough to make up for it. As I said, he died with hope. That in and of itself makes him not a tragic character.

I think that Albert Nobbs lived a great life -- a life that I wouldn't mind living myself!



Please excuse typos/funny wording; I use speech-recognition that doesn't always recognize!