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FMS 200 - Film and Media History
Arizona State University-Tempe Campus
December 17, 2021
Family Ties in the Film The Sound of Music: Love, Faith, and Defiance
Introduction
The sound of music is a film produced in 1965 in Austria. The time the events take place
is in the 1930s before World War 2. According to Bonker (2), this was an extremely tense period
as Adolf Hitler prepared to wage war on the rest of Europe. Most people had taken sides by this
time or at least knew whether or not they were on Hitler’s side because no one knew who the
main combatants would be and as such could not rally any support for the other side. The war
came abruptly and sooner than most people expected. The Von Trapp family also fell victim to
the abruptness of the war. When the war started, the family escaped abroad to avoid the effects
of the war and succeeded to become a great musical family which even performed in the USA.
Familial ties are the strongest ties in the film despite the hard political times and difficulties
experienced in maintaining the ties.
The movie's portrayal of the family is not solely focused on the love that was shared
within the home but also served as an indirect representation of the moral anxieties that
characterized the twentieth century. Referencing the film, Grube (112) says, "The Sound of
Music offered to the viewers a tamed dream which was a total contrast to the unrest that existed
during the sixties." The contradistinction of the political tension in Austria in the 1930s to the
cultural upheaval in America in the 1960s makes the Von Trapp family's home a haven story
against the instability of the modern world. Grube (115) is also of the opinion that the emphasis
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of the movie on "obedience, unity, and innocence as a counter-narrative to the growing
individualism of the period," which means that social disintegration through the medium of the
harmonious family. Hirsch (42) concurs and adds that the production design, warm interiors, and
countryside shots were deliberate decisions to convey to the viewers a feeling of safety and
moral order despite the imminent danger. In line with this, the film employs nostalgia not for the
purpose of escapism but rather as an ethical stance: it once again positions the family as the
refuge of stability in the middle of a world experiencing a crisis. By way of this allegory, The
Sound of Music, to some extent, equates familial love with the universal moral ideal of
resistance against the forces of disorder, thereby suggesting that love and loyalty, rather than
nationalism, are what keep the human spirit intact amidst chaos (Grube 118).
One of the key elements of the film 'The Sound of Music' is the use of the music that
portrays an emotional language. The emotional language of the music is capable of restoring the
lost coherence in the lives which, due to the political intrusion and the loss, have been fractured.
As per Zittoun (23), the musical experience is one that "creates continuity between past and
present selves by providing emotional frameworks for transformation", a concept which is
clearly demonstrated in the Von Trapps' transition from silence to song. Music becomes the
family's psychological reordering through their rediscovery, the haunting melodies of the past
become their bridges to emotional rupture. Pretorius (175) observes that Julie Andrews’
portrayal “the therapeutic power of performance,” initiating the process of transforming private
pain into shared joy. The power of music to heal a fractured psychological reality through shared
emotional experience is one which the film enacts explicitly. This similarity between arts reveals
Zittoun’s (27) argument that music specially is a mediating agent of "cultural belonging through
collective participation," thus singing together enables the reconfirming of identity in the face of
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uncertainty. Hirsch (59) is also of the opinion that the film score, which is a combination of
European folk and Hollywood orchestration, depicts the family's migration and adaptation. When
looked at from this perspective, music turns into something more than just a beautiful art form; it
becomes a means of survival, a tool of resilience that connects the individual's emotional
expression with the community's continuing existence. So, the Von Trapps’ musical interludes
become a sort of philosophy of survival, the skill of maintaining one's humanity through sound
when words and politics are powerless.
Maria’s character in the movie exemplifies a teaching system that combines ethical
teaching with the freeing of the feelings. Zhang (65) states that Maria’s education "melds love,
spontaneity, and ethical guidance" thus giving education a new meaning as the exchange of love
between people rather than the control of a higher authority. Her music lessons not only break
the Captain’s strict patriarchal order but also introduce him to empathetic discipline. Pretorius
(178) states that as a result of Maria’s influence "authority is 'unveiled' by the process of
humanization" thus the transformation of her guidance into control being replaced by the shared
engagement of discovery is a feature of their interactions. Such a transition is consistent with
Zittoun’s (30) idea of "creative involvement leading to psychological development through
relational exchange," as the children carry away not only the tunes but also their self-esteem.
Moreover, Zhang (67) indicates that Maria’s instruction is an ideal of "love-based teaching,"
loving being the source as well as the end. By this integration, the movie suggests that real
learning, just like the growth of the family bond, is not without the necessary traits of
vulnerability, patience, and imagination. Therefore the Von Trapp family becomes a sort of a
school of life where love is the subject and music, the means of revelation. Besides order,
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Maria’s education returns emotional literacy as well demonstrating that family care can be the
most powerful form of education.
Historical Context and Thematic Overview
The location during The Sound of Music, the 1930s, puts this story in a period of moral
conflict, when personal allegiances went against national ideology. According to Hirsch (34), the
movie transforms the fall of the Austrian nation into a promise of family drama of conscience
and bravery, and transforms the tragedy of history into a moral parable of morality, into the
personal shadow and light. This changes enable the audience to experience history through
feelings and not political dimensions and to redefine the idea of resistance using love as the core
of opposition instead of defiance. According to Johnson (18), this emotional translation sugar-
coats the violence of Nazi menace by prisming it through musical expression since it allows the
moral unconscious to cogitate without rejection by popular audience. The conflict between
naivety and oppression is turned into a dramatic effect, to be lost in sympathy to those characters
who are having to make a decision between safety and uprightness. In this regard, the historical
setting is not a background, but more moral trial, forcing every single character of the Von Trapp
family to establish freedom as loyalty, to the family, to music, and to the truth.
The transformation of the prewar Austria in the movie provides an analysis on how art
can be used to recreate history using emotional realism. According to Flinn (42), The Sound of
Music tries to make sentimentality a language of politics by transforming affection into a
fighting instrument. Instead of conflict being directed at them through violence, the movie shifts
the conflict to the element of home feeling, whereby love is used as ethical weapon. According
to Harper, Doughty, and Eisentraut (29), the soundscape of cinema tends to take the group fear
and translates it into reassuring rhythm and can be traced in the musical cadences of the film
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which transform anxiety into music. These sonic resolutions allude to the existence of an ideal to
the discord of history. This type of harmonization of trauma into song, as Hirsch (56) notes, is a
sign of Hollywood hope in art as some form of redemptive account. The movie reenacting the
decline of Austria into fascism is thus the corruption of the human ability to be humane to the
dehumanizing era of time.
The political background of the story also suggests the concept of cultural self-repair of
the postwar Europe and America. As Grube (110) notes, viewers of 1965 transferred their social
disintegration fears onto the survival of the Austrian family, and in the unity of the Von Trapping
family, they saw a vision of the perfect home life. This prophecy made historical memory a
medium of moral consolation. Johnson (21) argues that the movie fills the gap between nostalgia
and propaganda through aestheticizing family loyalty as civil rightfulness, indiscriminately
between individual heart and collective morality. In this perspective, it makes the story a myth of
moral rebirth, implying that it is not force that restores order, but love. Mera, Sadoff and Winters
(37) also add to this by stating that the orchestral textures in the movie breathe ideological
coherence into musical consonance, literally scoring politics with music. The family sound,
accordingly, is harmonized, and therefore represents the hopes of healing of the collective in the
postwar time. The film turns the idea of history into one of consolation, with its romantic
elements of history combined with the melodic beauty the film creates; viewers are entitled to
imagine that good can be believed in as a sound.
The domestic intimacy is placed in the background of global warfare as The Sound of
Music develops the home as a mini-cosm of moral civilization. As Flinn (53) notes, the mise-en-
scene in the film transforms the domestic interior into a moral fortress by noting that the
beginning of clarifying morality is in the intimate life of a person. This symbolism makes the
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most usual activities of the family a form of silent heroism. According to Harper et al. (42), this
visual framing, which frames cinematic space with emotional security, encodes the moral
security through the use of light, texture and sound. Johnson (26) extends this claim by
indicating that the home presented in the film is like an acoustic refuge, whereby the soul is
isolated by music against the noise of ideology. These aesthetic techniques make individual love
a societal ideology- an ideology which awards the pliability over orthodoxy. The domestic is
politicized not by proclamation, but the subjugation which is offered in regard to emotional
consistency. Home in this moral architecture is not where it is safe, but where integrity learns to
sing.
The opposition of sound and silence has additional commentary on the history.
According to Tieber and Windisch (61), silence in the cinema can be a sign of repression or
suppressed conflict, which is an effect the movie aims to depict regarding the political hush in
Austria before it was annexed. According to Hirsch (68), the initial denial of music by the
Captain represents a metaphor of a society in its denial of impending doom, privately mute to the
society in fear. And it is on this silence that the singing of Maria is aimed, a kind of rebirth to
suppressed conscience. According to Merra et al. (49), musical motifs transform the
unarticulated trauma into sound, which implies the sound is a moral confession. That transition
into harmony reflects thus the transition of a nation of denial to one of awakening. Every note
that transcends the silence is a statement of moral awakening that even music can testify of the
unsealed truths of history.
The way the film is put in the music also shows the ideological concerns of the time on
gender and power. According to Flinn (74), The Sound of Music tames the rebellion using
feminine expression transforming Maria into a femininity of morality. Instead of confronting
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patriarchy, she changes it with love and music. Hirsch (91) further says that there is a sense of
discipline that remains an element of warmth in the way Andrews performs, which brings out a
charm that fuses obedience and autonomy. This description puts virtue in a new perspective of
emotional intelligence but not submissiveness. Harper et al. (55) goes on to add that these images
resonated with post war notions of moderate womanhood- self-reliant yet nurturing. The movie,
via Maria, expresses a vision of gendered resistance where the equilibrium takes the place of
aggression and caring is an ethical position. The history of patriarchy rule is thereby smoothed
into collaboration, which shows that cultural change can also start with tone, not instruction.
Landscape and sound design is one more way in which the film develop political tension.
According to Johnson (27) it is the aestheticization of the Austrian geography into a moral
topography whereby the mountains represent purity and freedom and the cities are a
representation of moral decay. According to Mera et al. (53), these natural spaces are
orchestrated to amplify its sound and the scenery becomes a sort of moral acoustics. Hirsch (102)
remarks, that the iconic opening of the hilltop envisions liberty, spatial and spiritual ascent to the
point where moral transcendence is rooted in physical elevation. These geometries of meanings
transform geography into theology, the open hills are reflexions of open conscience. The fact that
such scenic landscapes were lost in the history to the occupation by political authorities, and
therewith, enhances the even more heartrending effect of the visual rhetoric of the film.
Combining sound, setting, and spirituality, the movie will give the viewer permission to listen to
freedom as a sound, not as a philosophy but as the echo of conscience that is not frightened.
Probably most noticeable, the historical echo of the film lingers, since it becomes the
ability to turn disaster into fellowship. According to Grube (120), the Von Trapp story provides a
redemption of collective nature wherein existence is depicted as a communal aesthetic process.
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This concept reinvents the concept of family unity as both moral consolation and creative
cooperation. This is attributed to the Americanization of the European trauma in the musical
described by Johnson (29) as the popular culture healing historical wounds via art. Mera et al.
(61) build on this concept, proposing that film concord enables the replacement of political
reconciliation by cinematic concord and inviting viewers to engage themselves emotionally in
healing. Combining these lessons, The Sound of Music is a monument and a guide to the world;
a note to the reader that empathy, performed in music and gesture can bring back what ideology
undermines. What made the film so powerful in history, then, is not accuracy but resonance itself
and it is a symphony of moral survival.
Captain Von Trapp: Discipline, Grief, and Redemption
One of the main protagonists of the film, Captain Von Trapp seems to be a politically
decisive man and seems to know so much about politics. Having been a naval captain for quite a
long time, he must have travelled a lot and met many people, however, the loss of his wife
changes his life completely. Captain Von Trapp even bans music and fun in his house, he seems
to be in mourning ever since his wife passed on. It can be deduced that Captain Von Trapp must
have been a great lover for his maritime job from the way he handles the affairs of his house, the
neatness, discipline and all. He lost his job because Austria lost its coast to Germany during the
war and as such did not require a navy anymore (Bonker 2). Despite his seeming love for his loss
and the subsequent loss of the same, it does not remain entrenched in his heart for as long as the
loss of his wife does. It is not very normal for a man to change his way of life as much as the
captain did considering the many things the captain had involved himself in before. He could
have perhaps been consumed by politics or would be having several women around him
considering the great wealth he had amassed.
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The emotional containment and authoritarian nature of Captain von trapp may be viewed
through the prism of postwar masculine vulnerability. As Hirsch (77) notes, he is as stiff as
boards, and that personification signifies the moral stuttering of men who have defined virtue
through control as opposed to compassion, and that his discipline does not imply strength as
much as it means emotional self-defense. This repression is in line with the explanation of the
film by Johnson who (20) believes that music in the film serves the purpose of expression of
repressed feeling into audible expression, and thus even when the Captain invests in music later
on it is a way of confession. His lack of singing shows a man who loves to be vulnerable as weak
which is amplified by the militaristic etiquette of his home. But the authority, as Zhang (65)
observes, in the pedagogy of Maria changes by empathy as Maria provokes him to feel without
losing dignity. His rediscovery of music is then a reflection of his hardening out of his rigidity to
redemption. The Captain is restored to his humanity, through song, making command care. His
leadership turned sane is the moral thesis in the film: the discipline, re-oriented in the love, is a
power of healing rather than coercion.
The Captain's sorrow also functions as a psycholanalytical critique of patriarchal silence
and the ethical costs of repression. Tieber and Windisch (93) elaborate that "cinematic silence
can articulate trauma more powerfully than dialogue, and Von Trapp's silence is his both
mourning and denial. Mera, Sadoff, and Winters (54) argue that soundtracks in musical cinema
externalize interior emotion, converting private suffering into communal resonance, which is a
process clearly visible when the father finally sings with his family. The transformation from
silence to solidarity through this gesture signifies not only the return of the emotional
equilibrium but also the unification with the group. Hirsch (85) sees his change as a
reconciliation between public duty and private feeling, thus suggesting that the Captain's
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salvation is about finding the balance between moral principle and emotional honesty. His move
towards opening up challenges conventionally representations of masculine stoicism, thereby
revealing the film's subtle humanism. Through breaking the silence, he not only gains the power
of the father but also that of a citizen thus becoming a person of moral worth who is loyal to
himself rather than to the authoritarian regime and at the same time redefines power as
gentleness.
The Children’s Unity and Discipline
The bond between the children is so strong that they team up to chase away governesses
who came before Maria. One of the reasons the children manage to form a successful band is
because of their strong ties. The children have been through a lot by the time Maria arrives at the
house of Captain Von Trapp. Having to learn the call signals of the father and having to come to
terms with the loss of their mother coupled with having to welcome eight different governesses
within a relatively short period of time must have been the reason behind their strong ties.
Imperative to note is the fact that no disagreement whatsoever was ever seen between the kids,
whether or not it was also due to the discipline instilled in them is difficult to say but this was
also a sign of a strong tie (Cuordileone 348). The children seem to do everything together, they
are seen together in every scene even moving around together; Cuordileone (348) explains that
such was the culture of children in the 1940s. The children love their father and even want to get
his attention even when their father does not want to be around them as they remind him of his
wife. Maria informs the captain in the confrontation of the love the children have for him only he
does not want to reciprocate. For such small children to love someone who does not love them
back, the bond between the two groups has to be very strong and that is what the relationship
between the children and their father.
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Even though the captain remains an extremely tough father, he still loves his children
dearly. When Maria tells the captain that she wanted to make clothes for the children using the
old draper, the captain behaves in a manner that suggests he would not want his children to wear
such pathetic clothes. It is important to understand that even though the captain’s decision to
train the children in a military manner may be due to his former job’s influence, he may not see it
as unfair and perhaps thinks it is what is best for his children(Lispector 62). This is evident in the
way he sees the children atop a forest of trees as he comes from Austria with the baroness. The
captain looks at the children with a very spiteful glance oblivious of the fact they are his
children. This tells us that the captain would sincerely hate to see his children do such things at
that point of the film. This is a strong tie between the children and their father, that no matter
how harsh he may be, he does what he knows is right with the lives of his children.
The absence of the children's mother creates a void in their hearts that connects them with
each other through silent understanding and shared sorrow. Flinn states that the family's silence
before Maria's arrival is their way of showing how the sorrow was kept inside a house that had
lost its source of care (Flinn 82). The children’s behavior thus becomes an embodiment of the
emotional lack, which is their substitute language. The children’s solidarity, initially manifested
in mischievous revolt, is a psychological shield against the unpredictability of loss. Harper,
Doughty, and Eisentraut assert that the film’s sound design becomes emotional through a
collective rhythm, thus sorrow gets translated into sharing a tempo (Harper et al. 117). This
concept sheds light on how the children’s synchronization of the movements and the support
from each other is an unspoken search for equilibrium. Magee states that film scoring is often a
revelation of the hidden emotional work and is an externalized version of the internal struggle
(Magee 91). Their bond thus becomes a kind of silent music, an unspoken agreement among the
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trauma. The siblings, through mutual support, change grief to cooperation, thus emotional
survival in The Sound of Music is made possible through collective resilience. The children’s
unity stands for the reorganization of the loss into love and of the grief into bond rather than
mere discipline.
Maria’s coming back emotionally connects father and children again to the
communication by combining love with order. Using empathy and music, she shows that
discipline can be given along with love. LaFave recognizes that in musical storytelling, song is
the means by which protagonist connects with authority and emotional truth (LaFave 104). The
connection between control and feeling is the main point of Maria’s impact on the family’s
change. She makes the home a place not of limitation, but of involvement and love. Simpson
argues that her arrival changes Captain von Trapp’s authority by turning command into
friendship (Simpson 142). The children’s laughter and song become a means through which their
father is invited into a shared humanity that softens his rigidity. This coming back is a moral
change, where compassion takes the place of fear as the main principle of the home. With the
help of music, which she makes a daily practice, Maria brings back the family’s emotional life
and changes leadership into care. Her instruction reveals that it is love, not obedience, which has
the greatest power to mend the wounds made by silence and distance.
The song Do-Re-Mi serves as the metaphorical centre of the family’s coming back to life,
changing the process of learning to something fun and the authority to something like
cooperation. Besides its upbeat rhythm, it stands for a way of reconnecting again, where every
single note represents a shared contribution to the overall harmony. Williams states that repeated
melodies in group singing help to establish a sense of belonging as they emotionally engage the
participants with the coordinated action (Williams 11). The performance on top of the mountain
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is a vivid example of this idea, thus making music a social language of recovery. Smith notes
that film sound can be viewed as a main thread which helps to unite the scattered emotional arcs
of the characters and thus lead to coherence (Smith 79). Consequently, the song welds the
separated family members together into an emotionally integrated unit. Flinn remarks that the
depiction of the scene in the liberation from the repressive and isolating condition is the very
moment when they achieve harmony (Flinn 96). By means of their shared singing the children
become the owners of that emotional space which had previously been ruled by silence. Do-Re-
Mi evolves beyond mere rehearsal; it is the family’s anthem of self-renewal. It was the moment
when sorrow was transformed into inventiveness and past became present in the form of music
thus conveying the ethical victory of love through sound.
Maria and the Abbey: The Search for Spiritual Family
The nuns at the abbey are what Maria may call family because she does not seem to have
any other family. Maria is a great nuisance to the other nuns as she is described by the Mother-
Superior at the abbey as a free soul who cannot be tamed. The decision to even send her as a
governess to captain Von Trapp is a decision that is meant to help her get whatever she wants in
life, even though she is adamant to leave at first. We see in the effort made to search for Maria in
the abbey that they love her just the way she is, in the song by the nuns about how difficult it is
to tame Maria, they all agree Maria is a difficult girl but they still love her. After Maria arrives at
the convent from the Captain’s house, the Reverend Mother reacts in a very worried tone asking
her if she had been mistreated at the captain’s house, this shows how much they care for each
other. The first person Maria told about her growing love for the captain was the Reverend
Mother. Considering how the life at the abbey would play out for a young blooming girl like
Maria with its conservatism, the move to come back and tell the Reverend mother about her love
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was a great move and a great display of familial tie because as Savin (278) explains, other girls
of that era would not likely ever come back. The nuns did not deny Maria the chance to follow
her heart even though they knew she was leaving the abbey and in a way betraying their code.
Instead, they were happy for her and gladly sent her back to the house of Von Trapp. When the
family of Von Trapp is planning to escape, the nuns allow them to hide in the abbey’s cemetery
yet in actuality, religious people are not supposed to tell any lie especially to the
authorities(Cuordileone 348). This is a bond within the family of von trap, that of the abbey and
between the two families. From this act, I would say familial ties are the strongest ties in the film
despite the difficulties and hurdles.
The Von Trapp family with Maria is a very united family. When they are planning their
escape following Captain Von Trapp’s commissioning, they are found by the German SS officers
pushing their car. The captain comes up with a faux story that they are only going to perform at
the concert. Maria knowing fully well what the German officers want of her husband, goes on to
beef up the false story and even tells the soldiers that the clothes they are wearing are their
costumes yet in real sense are what they had put on to escape. According to Savin (278), such
solidarity is a sign of a strong familial tie in a difficult time. The family goes through all the
ordeals of escaping together yet it is a very large family. During World War 2, such a big number
of people moving around trying to find a way to escape could not go unnoticed, worse still is the
fact that the captain was needed for service by the German forces. Maria’s family at the abbey
helped Maria and her other family to hide from the German officers. The fact that the nuns were
willing to break their code and come between armed soldiers and people they are searching for is
reason enough to see the strong ties between the family members at the abbey. It is important to
understand that very many families in Europe were separated by the two great wars.
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Maria’s life among the nuns is her first real experience of belonging, a refuge that not
only comforts but also educates her about love and community. Hirsch points out that the scenes
of the abbey in The Sound of Music visually represent a calm flow which corresponds to Maria’s
quest for stability and acceptance (Hirsch 47). Through this calm, which gives her a moral
guidance, she acquires compassion, discipline, and service. Maria, in the convent’s regulated
surroundings, comes to know that love and obedience are not mutually exclusive. Grube argues
that the film depicts the religious community as an emotional family which helps Maria to
experience communal care for the first time (Grube 114). This feeling of belonging, however, is
not merely reception; it inculcates in her the emotional language of faith and humility. Zittoun
believes that musical engagement can frequently be a “social anchor,” that helps people to build
their identity through shared experience (Zittoun 27). The hymns and the daily schedule of the
abbey become the beat that defines Maria’s inner world. Her relationship with the nuns is,
therefore, a coming rehearsal for the love of the Von Trapp family which she links with spiritual
devotion as well as human intimacy.
Maria's voyage is a turbulent one as she had to decide between her religious obligation
and her romantic love which was a clash that helped her grow morally and emotionally. Zhang
contends that Maria's pedagogical method is an integration of moral obligation and emotional
freedom, thus, re-interpreting obedience as a revelation to oneself (Zhang 66). Hence, her
predicament of choosing whether to remain in the convent or to go with her heart can be seen as
a metaphor for the age-old conflict between being true to oneself and being loyal to an
institution. Pretorius comments that the lovable awakening of Maria through the power of love is
her transition from the strict ascetic life to the gentle emotional involvement with life (Pretorius
176). The change she makes is not giving up her faith but rather turning it into a practical one
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that is based on love. Johnson proposes that the movie presents the struggle of the characters’
morals as one of the forms of music, thus, the inner turmoil becoming a harmonization through
singing and gestures (Johnson 25). The act of Maria walking away from the abbey is a clear
indication that moral maturity oftentimes requires the taking of risks and having faith in oneself.
Her fight is not against religion but rather an unfolding of its significance showing that belief,
similar to music, has to be done by following one's own inner voice.
The Reverend Mother is Maria’s guiding maternal figure who, with her wisdom and
courage, helps her to recognize and follow her true calling. Hirsch highlights that love replaces
the spiritual hierarchy after the Reverend Mother’s advice (Hirsch 53). Instead of being cold or
strict, she is warm and gentle, and she helps Maria to develop her own personality. Grube sees
this guidance as a gesture of handing down the moral and ethical heritage from one generation to
another, where the authority becomes empathy instead of domination (Grube 120). Her
suggestion to Maria to confront life with love and not with fear is, in fact, the film’s ethical core.
Mera, Sadoff, and Winters state that, in spiritual contexts, music is an emotional conversation
between the teacher and the learner that happens through empathy (Mera et al. 62). This situation
is also evident in the relationship when the song of the Reverend Mother’s guidance inspires
Maria to follow her heart. With this maternal guidance, the abbey becomes more than just a
religious institution, it is a place for emotional growth. The Reverend Mother teaches that God’s
love is not something that has to be kept in the cloisters but, rather, it should be expressed
through human relationships and moral freedom.
Maria’s Love and the Rebirth of the Von Trapp Family
The family of Capt. Von Trapp after his marriage with Maria had a much stronger tie
than how it was before. When someone new comes into a life of one who had sought
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psychological solace in loneliness, there are very high chances this man’s life could be changed
(Sorys 23). From the relationship between the captain and the baroness, it is very easy to tell that
the baroness would not have managed to care for the kids. She was just a spoilt wealthy woman
who could not even play with the kids. At the scene when they were taking pink lemonade with
Max, Max asks her how she plans to take care of the seven kids, the baroness tells her that she
would just have to take them to boarding school. The relationship between the kids and Fraulein
Maria is a much different one, she thinks of the kids all the time and the kids too love her to the
point they went to look for her at the abbey when she had unexpectedly left. The children readily
began to call her mother even without being forced to do so but for the baroness, the children had
to be forced to accept her and the fact that she would be their new mother. Perhaps the reason the
children accepted Maria more was because of her genuine love which made them family.
In order to create a close knit family, one needs to be with someone they are truly in love
with (Lispector 62). The love between the captain and the baroness was not very genuine, as they
break up, the baroness tells him she wants a man who would so desperately need her and her
money whereas the Captain is not this type. The captain seems too independent for her. On his
part, the captain tells her that he has been dishonest with her about his love. When the captain
finally falls in love with Maria and they are married, they build a stable close knit family and the
children remain at home, they are not taken to boarding school as the baroness would have done.
Savin (278) explains that boarding schools were not a very popular option for kids in Europe
during the 1930s due to the relatively poor living conditions in school. Maria naturally loves the
kids, the love of which was very instrumental in bringing together the captain and his children
once more. A memorable moment in the film where this love for the kids was best expressed was
when they were kissing for the first time in the shed across the garden, Maria tells the captain
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that they should first ask the kids for their consent of marriage. Despite the fact that Maria loves
the captain so much, she still remembers that the kids’ consent is important if they are to have a
united family. She also seeks the consent of the mother reverend to go to the man she loves. This
kind of connection between members of a family is what makes people feel they need to have
their families and in so doing increases the familial ties.
Maria loved the kids like they were her own. This is in fact the main reason why the
Captain’s family was reunited once again. Being a young and beautiful girl, Maria would have
chosen to get married to someone younger and without kids. Her big heart however chose to love
a much older but rich man although she was not after his wealth and she never seemed to value
the wealth at all unlike the baroness. Maria loved to be around the kids and she did not have to
force herself on the kids. One important ingredient of familial ties according to Lispector (62), is
the ability of the family to be united without having to be forced to do so and this was the case
both between Maria and the kids and also between the Captain and Maria. The kids were also
very glad to have Maria as their mother. The bond between the captain and his late wife must
have been a very strong bond seeing as how it has taken long for him to get over his loss. For
someone to decide they no longer want to hear the sound of music anymore, neither do they ever
want to see their children playing the loss must have been great for them. For the family to also
accept Maria wholeheartedly into their family, the stakes must have been very high. Familial ties
are so strong in this film that the whole film has been built around them.
Music as the Heartbeat of Family and Freedom
The bond that came with the decision of the Captain’s whole family to sing together is a
bond that would not have been achieved through any other way. Most of the songs the family
was singing in the film required the participation of each and every member of the family. An
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example of the need for the participation of each and every one of the members is the puppet
show the family organized for the captain and his guests. The show would not have been
performed if one of the children was not present. The fact that the family enjoyed the singing
sessions is more reason to give credence to the songs for contributing in the unity of the family.
It is also very likely that the family of nuns at the abbey was also united by music as they also
seem to need each other for a successful performance. Familial ties need something symbolic to
be strengthened (Lispector 62). When there is a common ground, it becomes much easier to
come together as one, this symbol in the film was the songs which strengthened the familial ties.
Music becomes the family's emotional language, literally translating their nonverbal
feelings into shared expression. Johnson-Laird and Oatley state that music in movies serves as a
coded system that reveals the emotional states of the characters even more than words.
According to Johnson-Laird and Oatley (83), such a revelation clarifies why the Von Trapp
family’s songs have an impact that goes beyond talking: they are the tools that allow love,
sorrow, and hope to exist together like a chord. In the film, the use of music as a medium of
communication among the members of the family is emphasized. According to Hesmondhalgh,
engagement in music can profoundly influence one’s emotional life and identification by
creating a shared feeling of community (Hesmondhalgh 107). Here the family’s mutual
performances become their healing and resurrection, thus converting personal feeling into shared
significance. Cespedes-Guevara and Eerola highlight that music is an extremely subtle affective
vessel that does not convey the same emotion always, thus allowing different people to have
different interpretations of the same piece of music (Cespedes-Guevara and Eerola 215). This
attribute is the reason for every member of the family to discover their individual voice in the
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unity of the song. By singing, the Von Trapps not only salvage but also deepen their emotional
connection, thus changing the hard tension into the beautiful harmony of the human bond.
The song Do-Re-Mi stands for the rediscovery of joy and the restoration of trust within
the family. Neumeyer points out that musical motifs in films are often structural metaphors that
refer to the development of characters and their eventual emotional resolution (Neumeyer 77).
The family’s ascent from mourning to togetherness is depicted through the rising notes of Do-
Re-Mi, thus the music becomes the medium of their communal transformation. Hesmondhalgh
states that music may become a way of embodied learning, where through repetition and rhythm
one is instructed in emotional intelligence (Hesmondhalgh 102). By means of Maria’s fun
instruction, the children do not only learn music but they also grow emotionally and become
more open which is the quality their father lacks Cespedes-Guevara and Eerola state that the
emotion in music is the result of patterns that the listeners recognize and interpret relationally
thus linking the melody with the listener’s experience (Cespedes-Guevara and Eerola 216). The
song thus becomes a shared exercise in empathy. It changes musical scales into moral symbols in
that each note being a reminder that harmony is created through cooperation. Through singing
together the family gets the skill of listening not only to each other but also to the emotional
truths which words cannot express.
The captain's last song, Edelweiss, is a classic example of how a deeply personal gesture
can be turned into a subtle act of resistance. Johnson-Laird and Oatley, in their book, argue that
one of the features of musical expression is the integration of different sets of conflicting
emotions, often in a single phrase, sorrow and pride being two such emotions balanced within
the phrase (Johnson-Laird and Oatley 90). The soothing tune of the song is at one time full of
longing and also of revolt, representing a love for the homeland that does not yield to the
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ideology. Neumeyer states that the use of musical motifs in a narrative film is a way of
implicitly introducing moral or political ideas (Neumeyer 129). In a similar vein, Edelweiss is
the one sending the message, expressing a desire for a world untainted and fair against the Nazi
takeover. Holtzman and Sharpe maintain that the use of music in films can alter the perception of
social messages, thus changing the nature of personal gestures into political ones (Holtzman and
Sharpe 211). At this point, the captain's performance, therefore, is an act of peaceful defiance, a
gesture affirming liberty through beauty rather than power. The turning of feeling into action that
the captain achieves through his singing and the family’s joining him in song, is what makes the
act a political one. Edelweiss thus becomes a moral anthem; a fragile yet enduring song of
conscience that connects private emotion to public courage.
The music in the movie is one of the main characters, although invisible, it plays the role
of the mediator between the two chords of emotional healing and moral resistance. In a study by
Pehrs and colleagues it is mentioned that music has a substantial influence on emotional
perception since it links auditory and affective brain regions which in turn shape empathy
through sounds (Pehrs et al. 1773). This neurological linkage is a reflection of the emotional
logic of the film: music helps to soften the human nature which is hard and sometimes shows
compassion unconsciously in a sort of awakening. Moreover, Hesmondhalgh argues that
listening to music is a safe and pleasant experience during which one can aesthetically come to
terms with his/her social anxiety (Hesmondhalgh 110). The singing of the Von Trapps’ was their
weapon to change fear into performance, to gain control over the unknown. Neumeyer maintains
that the use of music repetition in movies serves as a vehicle for emotional continuity in
situations of narrative disruption (Neumeyer 84). Through their shows, the family is still holding
together although they are living in the aftermath of their tragic story. The consonance which
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they bring about can thus be considered as emotional intelligence to be one of the very few
powerful forms of resistance. They did not use their music as a way of escaping danger but rather
as a means to it, thereby indicating that art when it is shared becomes not only a means but also a
strategy of survival.
Holtzman and Sharpe argue that in many instances, film music functions as a cultural
educator, imparting the moral quality of empathy through recognition (Holtzman and Sharpe
203). The Von Trapps’ songs are the perfect ethical examples that not only listening but also
transcending ideology can be learned from them. Becker argues that one of the primary reasons
music invokes emotion is because it 'activates learned associations with the source of the music,
strongly engaging a sociocultural framework necessary for the musical experience to occur'
(Becker 19). Cespedes-Guevara and Eerola suggest that the psychological effect of music is
determined by the social context in which it is interpreted, thus the community becomes the
'casters' of significance to sound through the shared experience (Cespedes-Guevara and Eerola
218). The audience inside the movie and the real audience are the people who followed the
musical message. Johnson-Laird and Oatley state that musical emotions promote solidarity
through the merging of individuals' physiological and imaginative experiences of music.
Johnson-Laird and Oatley (92) state that the film's final concert scene is a perfect example of this
when it brings together both, the performers and the audience, in a moment of shared
understanding. The harmonies of the family, resonating through the hall, do away with the
distinctions of the private and public sphere of feeling. Consequently, The Sound of Music is one
of those works which conveys the idea that the art of communion is transformed into empathy
which, in turn, is a new expression of freedom.
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The use of music in The Sound of Music not only makes it the spiritual refuge of the
family but also their instrument of survival. According to Neumeyer, in narrative film, music is
very often the means of going beyond the personal story towards the universal message
(Neumeyer 132). The Von Trapps’ songs are the vehicle of this change, thus becoming the
source of moral symbolism from the love of the household. Pehrs et al. argue that musical
emotion facilitates human connection because it enables affective responses of different listeners
to be synchronized (Pehrs et al. 1775). The family’s voices, perfectly united, are the on-screen
representation of this connection as well as the reception of the film by the audience.
Hesmondhalgh points out that when people join in a shared musical activity, they become
capable of regaining their power in an oppressive environment (Hesmondhalgh 112). The
performance of love through song by the Von Trapps turns out to be their last gesture of
independence. Their harmonies, thus, can be heard as a defiant plea for liberty while they are
escaping the advancing forces of oppression. Music becomes their language of courage which is
not uttered but is there nevertheless, expressing the faith that love-born unity is stronger than
fear.
Family as Resistance: Defiance through Love and Loyalty
The Von Trapp family's togetherness becomes a subdued but very powerful act of ethical
revolt against an evil power. Flinn explains that the movie domestic love turns into a symbolic
force against political repression, thus placing love as a moral ideology (Flinn 84). The family's
loyalty to each other becomes a testimony of honesty which defies the Nazi regime's indented
demand for conformity. Harper, Doughty, and Eisentraut in their paper, sound and image in
cinema can articulate resistance by framing tenderness as an aesthetic of defiance (Harper et al.
145) They. This interpretation of the family's musical unity as a political metaphor positions each
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shared tune as a proclamation that moral coherence survives where political order fails. Williams
goes on to say that the emotional power of music can allow resistance to surface as feeling rather
than confrontation (Williams 13). The Von Trapp family's choice to stay together, even if
threatened, changes the revolt concept to one of loyalty and love rather than of violence. Their
place turns into a sanctuary of moral integrity amidst a world that has lost its moral rhythm.
Captain Von Trapp’s refusal to serve the Third Reich is a demonstration of loyalty to
family rather than allegiance to nation. Simpson points out that the Captain's moral position is
his move to become a man of conscience from a man of authority (Simpson 158). Apart from
being a political defiance, the Captain's defiance is profoundly personal as it shows the victory of
ethical love over the militaristic duty. LaFave notes that the film score is often an expression of
the characters’ inner conflict between duty and feeling and thus, the audience can get access to
moral decision-making through sound (LaFave 109). This is the internal struggle that the Captain
experiences before he sings Edelweiss which is his silence. His decision to show his love for his
country in a song and at the same time not surrendering to the oppressors is an act of artistic
bravery. Flinn states that this act of his converts the song of patriotism into a spiritual revolt,
thus, saving the song's purity from being tainted by the corrupt. According to Flinn (102), by
rejecting Hitler’s offer, the Captain is making it clear that the real loyalty is to humanity and
family rather than to a certain political ideology. His revolt is a principled one where the moral
compass of love overrides the state laws.
The family escape itself, becomes the defiance of the people, the dance of the people that
follow the truth rather than their safety. Harper, Doughty, and Eisentraut mention that movies
portray the characters moving in sync and making a sound to show that the characters are united
in their resistance (Harper et al. 154). The Von Trapps’ flight coordinated with the music through
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the mountains is a visual representation of the musical harmony they had made together. Magee
believes that soundtracks have the power to change silence into moral resonance and give scenes
of courage lighter emotional connotation (Magee 118). The silence in the absence of dialogue
during their escape makes it more of a spiritual endurance, implying that love is the thing that
speaks the most when the risk is shared. Flinn sees the family's choice to run away as a symbol
of the victory of the moral side over the force (Flinn 98). Their leaving which is supported by
silence and trust, is a new chapter, not a retreat, but an affirmation that good still exists when it is
not willing to make a compromise. Thus, they turned fear into action and farewell into freedom,
together.
The nuns’ choice to give the family a hiding place turns religious faith into resistance
against the evil power. Harper, Doughty, and Eisentraut say that the use of sacred sound in the
film usually associates spirituality with the ethical courage (Harper et al. 132). The silent prayers
of the convent, unlike the violence of the regime, establish a sonic refuge where love conquers
the law. Flinn observes that the abbey turns into a moral chamber that reflects and deepens
mercy in revolt against fear (Flinn 90). Nuns’ act of damaging the Nazi vehicles, therefore,
shows that moral awareness may entail disobedience to save lives. Magee points out that musical
tone in the sacred area is the emotional code for the protector who is ready to sacrifice himself
(Magee 104). The low singing of the hymns during these moments speaks of the brave ones’
faith. By their behavior, the nuns assert that religious faith is not contradictory to resistance but
rather they are on the same side.
The film employs these elements to show how completely private virtues are connected
with collective defiance and, thus, family harmony becomes a kind of universal moral language.
Smith states that "sound in cinema serves as the medium that links emotion to ethics, thus letting
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the audiences experience justice through tone" (Smith 80). The Von Trapps’ harmonies, as the
political dissonance was raging around them, exemplate the emotional coherence as a force
against violence. Williams argues that "musical emotion is essentially a democratic one since it
can only invite participation, whereas domination is ruled out" (Williams 9). Therefore, each
song turns into an invocation of the mutual conscience, thus dissolving the border between art
and moral engagement. LaFave suggests that "melodic structure in the film is a reflection of the
ethical deliberation process and it moves the audience to empathy" (LaFave 116). The music of
the family serves the purpose of reminding the audience that resistance is not necessarily a show
of force; it is sometimes the act of keeping one's tenderness in a tough world. Their singing is
what keeps the moral tempo of hope going when silence would mean defeat.
The Sound of Music changes the family into a symbol of humanistic revolt, where love,
faith, and loyalty become the quiet bases of freedom. Flinn argues that the film's lasting power is
because it presents moral harmony as a replacement for political ideology (Flinn 115). Harper,
Doughty, and Eisentraut point out that the merging of sound and image in cinema creates a deep
feeling that is not bound by time and place (Harper et al. 161). Simpson sees the Von Trapps'
unity as a movie allegory of moral stamina, implying that love can be a powerful force when the
world is lacking in compassion (Simpson 163). Their journey is a lesson that moral defiance
starts inside the home rather than on the battlefield, in those who are capable of love. The family,
through music and faith, becomes the vehicle of freedom as the real experience of the voice
within the conscience. Hence, The Sound of Music is a love story from the family circle turned
to be the bravest political action and a redefinition of discord into the most lasting form of
resistance of humankind; the bond of love.
Conclusion
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The sound of music is a great musical film for any age, having received many accolades,
it is still a hit even to this day. Family ties resonates all through the film as the thread which
holds the few families together. Most of the plot has been developed through family ties and the
film is centered on the same. The film gives us a rough picture of how families managed to
maneuver through the challenges that the Great War brought about. Sacrifices had to be made in
most cases in order to hold the family together. In other cases, love stories were tragic and did
not end well as the love story of the characters in the film discussed in this paper. The film is
however one of the best depiction of the memories of the time before the Great War.
After all, The Sound of Music is not only remembered for the past and the feelings it
evoke, rather it is the first private love transformed into a very loud and clear message of
resilience. The movie, as Flinn remarks, turns its moral harmony into a hopeful allegory,
implying that one little ray of human kindness can even withstand the fall of entire nations (Flinn
117). Harper, Doughty, and Eisentraut argue that the movie’s integration of sound and picture
not only convinces the viewers to revere music as a supreme art form but also as a moral power
(Harper et al. 164). The connection gives the film the power to speak far beyond its time, telling
the new generation that kindness is the strongest weapon in the greatest times of crisis.
According to LaFave, the movie’s music is like an invitation to the audience’s feeling, and then
the viewers are led to a shared kind of thinking and healing (LaFave 113). Hence, The Sound of
Music is still very much alive as a moral reflection besides being a cultural classic, the one which
talks about how love, faith and unity can be a force against despair. It is through its songs and
relationships that it became a sort of bible, the family, the one held together by love and bravery,
is the greatest source of power that mankind has ever known.
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