Summary

The story started with the protagonist Adaline Bowman working at a library as an
assistant. Afterwards her boss showed her some old tapes that were donations to the archive of
the library. She then watched those tapes that made her remind of the past.
She was married back then to Clarence James Prescott who was a young engineer. After
that they had a daughter who was named Fleming after Adaline’s paternal grandmother. Then the
unforeseen came when a terrible accident on the construction of Golden Gate Bridge in San
Francisco caused 8 workers and two engineers lost their lives. Among of the deceased was
Adaline’s husband. 10 months later, Adaline was driving north to her parent’s beach cottage
where 5 year old Fleming was waiting for her when an unusual phenomenon happened. Snow
suddenly fell at that time that caused her vision to be obstructed, leading to a car accident that
made her car fell on a frigid lake at that time. It was described how her bodily functions began to
cease because of the cold lake. Then as the unimaginable happened, lightning struck her car on
the lake which acted like a defibrillator and restarted all of her functions and she came back to
life. This was the phenomenon that led her aging halt.
Problems began to rise after that. There was one case that she was apprehended by her
driving. As the officer checked her license, it seemed odd that she doesn’t look like 45 years old.
Adaline moved back to San Francisco and took a clerical job at the School of Medicine. She took
every opportunity to research about her condition. The continuous run for her life started as she
was abducted by two FBI agents who wanted to take her on a plane for experimentation of her
condition. She was able to escape the car then she ran for her life.
That event started her routine of changing her identity every decade in hope of staying
anonymous to her pursuant.
One time she attended a party organized by her blind friend, who never noticed her look
in contrast of her age, on New Year’s. This is where she met Ellis Jones who is persistent on
getting to know her yet she brushed him off until she hailed a cab and ran off. Afterwards, just
having a simple day at work and by surprise, Ellis was there, seemingly on purpose saying to her
that he was there to “donate some books”, yet somehow tracking her down, still persistent to take
her out on a date after meeting her on that party. She then obliged on the offer of Ellis on taking
her on a place “she never went before”.
They went to a cave in which they found a shipwreck of a debris of it inside in which
Ellis told the history behind why was the debris was there in the first place. After that, Ellis
wants them to go on another date, they had a deal in which if she laughed on the joke she would
go to his place for a dinner. It was all about a baseball player and a horse wanting to join the
baseball team. Eventually she broke and she laughed about it.
Later then she arrived at Ellis’ apartment and he cooked dinner for the two of them where
they had their first kiss, with Jennifer (Adaline’s alas at that time), although having second
thoughts, gave in to the moment and they slept together.
 Morning on that day, Adaline arrived with her pet dog lying on the floor feeling severely
ill and unable to make a single move. After that, the vet told her that her dog, seemingly her only
companion at home, is now terminal and had to be put to sleep in order to end its suffering.
She was walking almost near to her apartment when Ellis showed near the entrance to her
apartment. She wasn’t on the mood to talk and she brushed off Ellis who was worried because
she wasn’t responding to his calls to her after that evening.
After that, she began packing all of her stuff, ready to go to Oregon and change her alias
once again with the help of her daughter which is already on her 60s at that time. Her daughter
told her to stop running away anymore because her life is not a life of someone living. She was
convinced and went to the place where Ellis was working to apologize for her mood last time
and that she would take him to a place that he “has never been to before”. They went to an
abandoned garage which seemed to have a lot of history in it and in the ceiling was a beautiful
artificial look of constellations. They had a talk in a car inside that garage while drinking wine.
That was the time Ellis offered her to come to his home to meet his parents.
As they arrived at Ellis’ home, her mother welcomed them inside and offered to take their
coats off. Ellis’ father, William, came in the scene and saw Adaline and spoke of her name,
meaning they had history together, yet Adaline insisted that was her “mother’s” name and she
was Jennifer. The nostalgia almost made the scene awkward enough that Ellis’ mother insisted
that they continue to dinner yet Ellis and Adaline told them that they were tired of the trip and
they wish to rest. Morning after that, William told how Adaline and him met way back then
which ensued tension on his wife because of the emotion portrayed by William while telling the
story of another girl from the past. The evening of that day Ellis told Adaline, who is still
Jennifer at that time, about his love for her yet it seemed that Adaline was reluctant to reply on
that gesture of love.
The morning after that evening, Adaline was looking for Ellis so she asked William
where they went. William then noticed the scar on her hand that was the same scar that Adaline
got on that hiking trip she had with William back then. William, on that realization, went to their
old warehouse and found a picture of them with Adaline’s hand in bandage because of the
wound she received that day. William then chased after Adaline while she was on a walk to
confront her of the truth. She told him of the truth about how she stopped aging and why she left
him before he could propose to her. She then ran away as William insisted that she stopped doing
so for the sake of Ellis, his son. She went back at the house and took all her things while Ellis
was taking a shower and left a note saying “Ellis I’m so sorry I can’t do this I can’t explain –
Jenny” then she ran off with her car. Ellis chased after her after confronting William about what
the letter meant. As she was driving she had the realization that she should stop running anymore
to live a life. As she was about to turn back, a tow truck hit her car which caused her car to
tumble down the hill off the road and threw her out of the car. Then the same phenomenon
happened during that time, snow fell once again which made all of her bodily functions to slowly
cease. Ellis, worried about her condition arrived at the scene noticing her car down on the hill
and her unconscious self near her car. And eventually, Adaline’s heart stop beating causing her
to be dead after 107 years. As the medical team arrived, they were able to put two defibrillator
paddles at her chest and they counted the prescribed 5 seconds interval before administering 750
volts of electricity which gave her consciousness with slow small breaths as a sign of living
again.
The paramedics rushed Adaline to the hospital. Ellis went to her room and Adaline
confessed about her condition causing her to run away. After a year, while preparing for an
event, as Adaline looked at the mirror she noticed a strand of gray hair. She regained the natural
course of aging.
Interpretation
The Age of Adaline illustrates an independent female protagonist yet longing for a
normal life and undergoes through the rejection of society due to her uncommon condition,
making it worthy of feminist interpretation.
The character Adaline is a simple, classy, feminine character that underwent a series of
changes in her life. The scenes showed her being born, falling in love for the first time, getting
married, falling in grief, then her life changed.
The narration of the author was melodramatic in a sense that the movie could be changed
into an empowering and strengthening movie yet it became sad and dramatic because of the
narrator’s tone. It affected the outlook to the whole movie and the emotional response of the
viewers towards the protagonist to be sympathetic towards her in sadness and loneliness instead
of being empathetic towards her in motivation of getting up from all the tribulations in her life
and getting empowered.
At the beginning of the movie there are scenes that portrayed men are empowered and
women are powerless. Adaline has no financial and political power to define herself. But despite
of that, the protagonist showed independency and courage to go against the patriarchal of a weak
and submissive woman. A woman, yet running in fear, doing her best to run off the unjust
society.
Adaline was overcome with grief with the loss of dog. This shows that the female is an
emotional person. This shows that even though that she was independent and tried to be strong
she had her breaking point. The melancholy she felt while looking at the pictures of the lost
companion she had showed that all along she was looking for someone to give her trust to.
The women’s perspectives and values existed in the movie. The factor of being the one
getting the pressure of answering the questions, “Do you love me?” or “Will you marry me?”
And the consequences of the actions that she had to portray like running away from William and
being reluctant to answer Ellis. Feeling unsafe every evening because of people from the dark
trying to do something to you as a woman. Somehow the small clue of a woman driver that
always leading to accidents as a subtle connotation and also the car problem with William being
needed as a man on the scene.
The usual stereotypical connotation of a being a “woman” driver is present yet subtle on
the scenes showing that every time Adaline drives, accident ensues. Also William’s joke about
“Women and boxing, its cute” and “Woman are pink” strengthening the stereotypical approach
to women that boxing is something only for “men” and cute when women try to meddle in the
case of it. The color pink being the feminine color only suited for women. Thus bringing the case
of machismo to the latter.
Living alone yet showing her potential of nurturing and care to her dog as a
characteristic of a woman. Also her daughter that even in long distances she manages to help her.
The characteristic of a woman to be nurturing and caring takes off its natural boundaries in this
film portraying the protagonist taking care both a human and an animal regardless of location
and condition they are in.
She was only forced in a lifestyle as a woman being chased by men every decade and end
up leaving them because of consequences. Similar to the fear that the early women back in the
days when feminist rights activists never existed yet. They “fear” the “consequences” of their
actions and must follow the rules of society in order to fit in and avoid getting taken out of the
equation.
The idea of masculinity was seen in William’s actions during their first meeting by fixing
her car and stitching her wound showing a man’s capability to support, supply, and sustain as
shown with Ellis’ actions in his apartment by cooking for Adaline. Both of them expressed
persistence towards her especially Ellis in hopes of getting to know her and taking her out such
as the hard-headedness of a man in every culture and perspective. This gives the supplementing
relationship of men and women in this film as their equal interaction is necessary and that both
male and female are capable of skills and knowledge, yet necessary for the existence of one
another. Just like what Ellis answered when William asked him how does he know that he loves
her, “Nothing makes sense without her.” That the coexistence of male and female is necessary.
Thus expressing that feminism is not just about women being strong and independent, it is the
necessary coexistence of both with equal capabilities and right for the life of one another.
The movie promoted social justice. The two FBI agents taking her away without her
consent. The distrust of the police officer in her driver’s license. And the driver of the tow truck
who hit and run her.
Judgement

Overall, feminism doesn’t mean that female characters need to be that strong and
capable. Considering the nature of our society, that’s entirely unrealistic, for both fictional
characters and for real women. Feminist nature of The Age of Adaline lies in the fact that
Adaline is actually lonely and needed a normal life. She struggled internally as well as
externally. And at the end of the movie, Adaline overcome her struggles. Because in the first
place feminism never came out to be one that shall develop a strong, independent woman but to
give the female species the actual right to live a normal and equal life among men. Not just the
strength but the liberty to do so. Adaline was forced in a corner where she had to be strong and
independent yet all she wanted in the first place was a life especially after her husband died.
 A Feminist Criticism on
“The Age of Adaline”

Submitted by:
Orlyn Joyce D. Esquivel
ABLL-2

Submitted to:
Prof. Mark Anthony G. Moyano Ph.D.