Examining the Reflection of "Time" in "The Piano"

Jane Campion’s The Piano (1993) explores the make-up of sexuality for the time in which it was set, the 19th Century in New Zealand. The film surrounds Ada, a mute Scotswoman who was married off by her father to a man in a different country without even having a say. Again, we are not even a full minute into the movie and the differentiation between our time and the early 19th Century is being demonstrated. These relations are often addressed throughout the film in one form or another. Many things are realized in this short period of viewing, the fact that she has a daughter, and the director never gives us a true explanation as to where or what happened to her father. The director leaves these questions unanswered and leaves us to purely speculate what happened to the girl’s father. Also, the girl not having a father has an effect on the man to which her mother is now married to and this plays a large part in the lack of development for a relationship between the mother and the now father.
The relationship status between Ada and her new husband never truly develops either and this leads to sexual tension between Ada and Baines. She has needs and although she shows resistance in reaction to the deal Baines offers her in order to get her piano back. Her reluctance eventually turns to desire, but she is a woman and both genders have sexual needs. Ada also doesn’t feel fully compelled to commit to her marriage because it was not her choice, so she may feel like she has more freedom to do what she wants to, even though she technically does not. Since the sexual tension between Ada and Baines starts to build, her husband begins to become suspicious to the fact that she is visiting Baines after the fact that he gave her piano back. This leads to jealousy and he boards Ada up in the house. Shortly after, Ada tries to have a sensual relationship with her husband, but only with her committing acts and not having him involved. He did not appreciate this approach and turned her away, showing how he always has to have a sense of control over everything. When Ada finally makes an attempt to send a piano key to Baines when her husband let’s her go, her daughter brings it to the husband instead. This leads to craziness among jealousy and leads to Ada getting her finger cut off and a confrontation in which her husband confronts Baines in his house with a loaded gun while he is sleeping. This is a sort of cowardly approach, but also an understandable one too.
Irony strikes on their way back to Scotland, as Ada demands that the piano be thrown overboard. After a long argument, it is agreed that the piano be thrown over the side of the boat, but as it falls it hooks on to her leg. There was irony in the fact that it was difficult for her to untie her legs as a result to her finger being cut off. All of these events tied together. However, she was able to kick her shoe off and swim to the top, and this moment was not a predictable one and had me on the edge of my seat. All in all, this film explores many options and did a fantastic job corresponding with the time frame that it was dealt.