There are many famous literary woman characters who have become iconic and for a variety of reasons. Fifty-five years ago Truman Capote created Holly Golightly, who he felt was a symbol of all the “girls who come to New York and spin in the sun for a moment like May flies and then disappear.” He wanted one of those girls to be preserved for posterity and so the novella “Breakfast at Tiffany’s” was born.
Although written more than a half century ago, this story continues to inspire new readers. In an article in the NYT on Friday, March 15, Pat Ryan discusses the impact of Capote’s work, as well as the movie version. In the 1950s and 1960s, young women found Holly to be a liberated woman. Today, it seems women appreciate the character for the same reasons.
The novella and the movie screenplay do differ, especially in their endings. Because I had seen the movie first, I read the novella with Audrey Hepburn in my head. It made the story twice as enjoyable. The issue of whether Holly was more than a liberated woman–was she a prostitute, call girl, or simply a female companion, doesn’t seem to matter. Readers, then and now, see her as someone who has taken control of her life and is living it to its fullest extent.
I know I can’t pass Tiffany’s on Fifth Avenue without seeing Holly/Audrey in her basic black Givenchy dress and pearl necklace drinking from a paper cup of coffee. Iconic indeed.