Ambition v. Tradition for Women
The film suggests that for a woman to be ambitious pursue career goals and attain success, she must sacrifice her traditional domestic role as wife and mother. Margo Channing winds up engaged to Bill by the end of the movie, thus suggesting that her career is effectively over and now she can get back to the business of living out conventional gender expectations.
Arguably however the film does subvert gender roles to some extent as while the men are powerful characters the women wield significant status and authority. The women are complex, individualistic and ambitious- all generally seen as male qualities, especially in the 50's. While the film does push these boundaries by the conclusion things return to the status quo as it is implied there should be a limit on female ambition. Eve's scheming is punished, DeWitt claiming she now belongs to him. Meanwhile Margo removed herself from the clashes within the theatre industry for a life as a wife and homemaker. She is seen to be happier due to this choice but by the end of the film both women (Margo and Eve) are depicted as living lavish lifestyles thus while the film appears to imply women pursuing traditional roles will bring joy it also depicts the material and social benefits of being self centered and ambitious.
The Treatment of Aging Actresses
Worth remembering is that Margo Channing is not yet even 50 years old in the movie, yet her career as a leading lady is assumed over. The success of women actors is therefore uniquely and irretrievably tied to their appearance. Never is it suggested that Margo’s talent that made her a star has faded; only the beauty of youth.
Paradise Lost
Take another look at the title of the film. The movie is all about how paradise built by men for men is poisoned by the influence of a scheming woman. A woman who is tempted by a serpent in Eden. Eve Harrington’s ambition is the serpent biting everyone she comes into contact with and injecting poison into the system.
The Cyclical Nature of Fame
The closing scenes of the film present the potential for a sequel that never happened. In fact, the closing scenes present the potential for a series of sequels in which each new “Eve” is supplanted by the next. The film opens with Margo as the star who inspires Eve to pursue her ambition to replace her and ends with Eve as the star who has been targeted by young Phoebe for future replacement. And on it goes.
Theatre V Hollywood
Throughout the film Theatre and Hollywood are contrasted. Theatre is seen as authentic and true art while Hollywood is vapid and less substantive. Characters dismiss Hollywood on several occasions- notably Eve. This contempt is seen in the party for Bill’s return in which Marilyn Monroe's character is referred to as ‘some Hollywood movie star’ and is depicted as glamorous yet slightly ditzy. Additionally after discovering the new guest Margo remarks ‘Shucks. And my autograph book is at the cleaners.’
Mentions of Hollywood also seem to coincide with revelations about Eve’s character. She starts as initially dismissive in the first meeting, then shows an interest at Bill's party, after her performance as the understudy she meets a Hollywood talent scout and eventually ends up doing a movie in Hollywood. Eve’s shifting opinion reflects her change in temperament on screen arguably her change brings her more in line with a Hollywood diva herself.
There is also a rather meta element of a Hollywood film dismissing film and Hollywood. While Eve going to Hollywood at the end of the film could be seen as a victory for the medium, the writer and director Mankiewicz also drops some other hints showing the audience the benefits of film over theatre. The clearest example of this is when Eve is first introduced to the group in Margo’s changing room. As Eve tells her story of her lost love and idolization of Margo, the room becomes captivated however the scene is also accompanied with music, which signals to the audience that Eve should not be trusted. This demonstrates the impact of filmic techniques, some of which the theatre cannot possess. While the audience can sense something is off with Eve, Margo, Karen and Lloyd, all theater people become lost in the story telling implying that the romanticism of theater leads the characters to fall for Eve's deception.
