"That Obscure Object of Desire"

3. Why do you think Buñuel uses two actresses to play the part of Conchita? Refer to specific scenes in which one or the other appears to support your answer.


Bunuel uses two actresses to play the part of Conchita to represent the dichotomy which lies in the center of attraction and desire. That is, that desire is rooted in a yearning for a goal, but is dissipated immediately upon the satisfaction of that goal. The two actresses act alternatively fleeting and nurturing, as when Conchita (as Carole Bouquet) returns the 800F in the beginning of the movie, or when Conchita (as Angela Molina) puts on the impenetrable, what I would call 'chastity shorts' when Matthieu takes her to the campagne / countryside. It's my opinion that Bunuel's decision to cast two actresses as the same role in this film and his execution of role changes between the two actresses is the film's crowning achievement. It is Conchita as Angela Molina who taunts and belittles Matthieu as he watches from the gate when she makes love to the guitarist. The equivocation of whether Angela Molina or Carole Bouquet are acting as the "good" or "bad" mistress which further exemplifies the metaphor they are meant to represent. For instance, it is Carole Bouquet (formerly the nurturing Conchita) who returns to Matthieu to spite him further for "not having committed suicide", and it is Angela Molina (formerly the spurning Conchita) who first kisses him and sits on his lap. I guess, however, that Angela Molina consistently acts as a teasing female, showing false adoration towards Matthieu only to hurt him later by turning hateful towards him. 

4. What do you make of the animal imagery in the text (the mouse, the fly)?

The close up of the mouse caught in the trap immediately suggested to me that someone was getting destructively ensnared by one thing or another. I believe this occurs directly after Matthieu invites Conchita into his room for the first time, after asking his personal butler for the aphrodisiac drink. After having watched the entire film, the imagery of the mouse in the mouse trap represents, to me, Matthieu and Conchita's entire relationship. It is certainly confusing as to who is trapping whom, or if perhaps they are both trapped by a greater force, such as desire. It seems that at different times in the film, either Matthieu or Conchita are yearning for their other half, albeit that Conchita is maybe only after the money and Matthieu is merely in lust. For instance, Conchita spurns Matthieu by 'having sex' with the guitarist (Eduardo? Frederico?), and he leaves in a rage. Conchita now has a great level of economic freedom, with a house and the deed to the house entirely in her hands, but she still returns to Matthieu's house, and later meets him at the train after he thrashes her in the living room. It would make sense for her to return to continue to agitate him and cause pain if she is indeed an evil character, but the duality of her actions and her equivocation between the two roles (as exemplified by the two actresses playing her) muddle this point.