She Loves Who?

Arguably the greatest film of all time, Casablanca leaves its audience with one issue unresolved by leaving one question unanswered: Does Ilsa love Rick of Victor Laszlo more? Or does it? Is this question really unanswered or has the answer, so obvious to audiences of the period, simply become unanswerable through a contemporary lens? Let’s be frank. With more than fifty percent of marriages ending in divorce, marriage is not what it used to be. Marriage is no longer viewed as a sacred institution necessary for survival. Bearing children is no longer a necessary step toward a successful marriage. In the nineteen forties, when Casablanca was released, divorce was a sin committed rarely by immoral people. Marriage was about duty to God and humanity. Today, marriage is about finding someone who makes you happy, nurturing a romantic love for each other, and maybe having children. For the original audience of Casablanca, Rick was a jaded, cynical anti-hero. He was a saloon owner and a lothario. While Rick was cool and seductive and even a man with a good heart, he was not the model of a good father. On the other hand, Victor Laszlo was the pillar of moral fortitude. He was a man who worked and fought tirelessly with great personal sacrifice for what he believed in. Victor Laszlo is the model of a good provider and a good father. Someone who is totally dependable and loyal to his kin. While he lacks the style and charm of Rick, these qualities would make him less noble. Victor Laszlo keeps faith with his beliefs, his comrades, and his wife even in the face of brutal torture at the hands of his Nazi captors. He is unyielding in his commitment and even impresses Rick. Rick on the other hand is selfish. He abandoned his beliefs when they became too difficult and turns his back on the world. He drunkenly curses Ilsa and implies that the woman he loves is a whore. For Ilsa and a World War 2-era audience, Rick is an escape from the troubles of the world. He is a lover with whom she escapes emotionally; however, in doing so she runs from her problems. For people of the period, the relevant question was who is the better husband. Clearly, the answer is Victor Laszlo. The film leaves us not with an unresolved question but with Rick facing the fact that he is not ready to be a husband and a father. We are left with Rick and Louis as two boys beginning their journey to become men, and Victor and Ilsa as husband and wife on their way to becoming father and mother.