Coco Chanel’s Character Development in Coco Avant Chanel
Wed. 3 April ‘24 20:26
At the beginning of the film Coco Before Chanel, Gabrielle “Coco” emerges as a scared girl abandoned by her father at an orphanage with her younger sister, in the rural countryside of France. Her father lets go of her hand when they enter the schoolhouse. He visits once and Coco eagerly meets him, but Coco’s sister chooses to stay in bed. The father never comes back and will never see his two daughters again. Later in the film, Gabrielle changes her name to Coco. She becomes a young woman working with her younger sister as a cabaret singer in a pub. She has no formal schooling, did not go on to study at a university, and has meager wages. She does not fit in with the rowdy crowd who enjoys drinking and lively dancing.
Gabrielle “Coco” is impolite to an older man, Balsan, in the pub, then grows close to him, seeking companionship. She spent the night with Balsan, connecting with the man over their troubled childhoods and shared desire for companionship. Coco works as a lowly subservient seamstress and sews hats and clothes for the affluent ladies who hire them. She stays at Balsan’s beautiful country house for several days, allowing her to meet the socialites and upper-class people. Coco befriends a lady named Emilienne. She makes hats for the actress and utilizes her seamstress skills. She entertains the audience at Balsan’s home by singing. She is the secret hidden mistress.
Gabriele falls in love with Boy Capel, an English friend of Balsan’s she met at his house. She begins an affair with Boy Capel. Later, she learns Boy Capel is engaged to a girl and will marry someone else. He tells her nothing will change between them and that marriage is a social construct meant to uphold their image for society. She decides to leave the old man’s house and make a fortune in Paris by making hats for ladies. Boy Capel financially supports Gabrielle “Coco” Chanel by paying for the materials, employees, rental space, and all other expenses to help Coco start her fashion brand. They continue their blissfully happy affair, and Boy Capel promises to return to Coco. He dies in a motorcycle/automobile accident soon after. His sudden, tragic death deeply impacted Coco Chanel, and it inspired her to create an entire haute couture collection within a short timeframe.
Balsan takes Coco to see the wrecked automobile on the side of the road. Coco feels shattered by her loss. She thought Boy Capel was the love of her life. She was passionately in love with Boy Capel, an unfelt feeling he evoked in her. She felt emotionally bound to the man, despite him being engaged and about to marry another woman. Gabrielle had never been in love with anyone the way she loved Boy Capel. Through the scenes of their kisses, viewers can see how much she adored the man. She was willing to share the man with his new wife because he made her feel alive. There was no way she would let that go. She viewed Balsan as a good confidante and companion, but she never loved Balsan the way she loved Boy Capel. She rejects Balsan’s proposal in the presence of Boy Capel by saying “She would never marry.” Boy Capel’s unfortunate tragic death led Gabrielle to become a famous fashion designer by her first runway show. High-society ladies loved to wear Chanel designs because it was a novel concept, with classy silhouettes, less sensual, simple, tailored lines, and reinvented womenswear for all modern women, with emerging ideas after the war. Chanel clothes are iconized as "the spirit of the modern woman." The film's final scene was filmed at the real location of Coco's fashion house. It signified how Coco eventually reached her dream.
In her private life, Coco never married and never had children. Her life consisted of drastic ups and downs. She never found another love like the love she lost when Boy Capel died. The film showed Chanel’s real fashion house to visualize the true impact of Coco Chanel. The final scene symbolizes a good ending because Coco never gave up her pursuit of starting a fashion line. Her dedication to fashion never ceased no matter what adversity she faced.
