Ma Nuit chez Maud and the Moral Imagination: Rhymes, Symmetries, and Variations on an Ethical Theme

Abstract

Eric Rohmer’s films are often described (not always approvingly) as philosophical. But how is this so? Ma Nuit chez Maud (1969) is usually approached as a vehicle for Rohmer’s thoughts on Pascal’s Pensées and, as such, is found to be an explicit theological discourse on free will and determinism, on faith, grace, and personal morality, articulated in the dialogue of the characters. But this, I shall argue, misidentifies the participants in the debate and, therefore, falsely attributes to the film just the superficial and sophistical limitations in ethical thought that the series seeks to reveal.