#goncharovposting

[When] Katya draws the gun and shoots Joe, we cannot see her eyes. They are covered by the brim of Goncharov's fedora, literally and figuratively casting her into his shadow, as the flames of Goncharov's hearth crackle in the background. The film implies that the fire Goncharov searches for in Katya is only present in this moment, in her imitation of masculinity and of Goncharov himself. This is Katya's central tragedy: as much as her husband insists that they are ill-matched, that Katya will be forever sealed off behind a wall of ice, she is more like him than he can imagine…

[Katya] paradoxically proves the men in her life both right and wrong: her quiet, cold exterior is a veneer, but rather than concealing the softness that Joe hopes to find, there is only a twisted reflection of Goncharov, who, hearing about Joe's death, can only chuckle. It is exactly what he would have done…

…Unlike many of the other works discussed, to commit this violent act, Katya becomes neither hyper-feminine (i.e., wicked temptress) nor is she “unsexed”; rather, she is heavily gendered, specifically masculine, not neuter. The hat over her eyes and the suit jacket draped over her shoulders imply that this is a further performance and not the core through which the aptly-named Ice Pick Joe hoped to break, but the flames say otherwise.