Arrogance in the example of “Dogville”

I think that life has at least two faces that should be appreciated together, not separately.

As we have in the East, "every night has another day ahead". But, the East is not yet the full side of life, since in this example there are still other options such as "every day has another night ahead", "every day has another sunrise, sunset", etc., right?

The character from the film I am going to talk, apparently, expects one face of life or even, perhaps, herself and her nature, which she calls mercy.

I think that life has at least two faces. Just as every night has a day, so every day has a night. And I don't even count sunrise, sunset and other faces of the day.

The following content contains spoilers for “Dogville”. If you haven't seen/read it yet, you might want to skip this!

Grace: so what is it, thing you do not like about me?

Father: you called me arrogant. But that is exactly what I don’t like about you. It’s you that is arrogant.

Grace: that‘s what you came here to say? I am not the one passing judgement, daddy, you are.

Father: no, you do not pass judgment, because you sympathize with them. A deprived childhood and a homicide isn’t necessarily a homicide, right? The only thing you can blame is circumstances. Rapists and murderers may be the victims, according to you, but I, I call them dogs. And if they’re lapping up their own vomit, the only way to stop them is with a lash.

Grace: but dogs only obey their own nature, so why shouldn’t we forgive them?

Father: dogs can be taught many useful things, but not if we forgive them every time they obey their own nature.

Grace: so, I’m arrogant. I’m arrogant because I forgive people.

Father: my god, can’t you see how condescending you are when you say that? I mean you have, you have this preconceived notion that nobody – listen – that nobody can possibly attain the same high ethical standards as you, so you exonerate them. I cannot think of anything more arrogant than that. You, my child, my dear child, you forgive others with excuses that you would never in the world permit for yourself.

Grace: why shouldn’t I be merciful? Why?

Father: no, no, no, you should, you should be merciful, when there’s time to be merciful. But you must maintain your own standards. You owe them that. The penalty you deserve for your transgression, they deserve for their transgressions.

Grace: they’re human beings, dad.

Father: no, no, no, of course, but does every human being need to be accountable for their actions? - Of course they do, but you don’t even give them that chance. And that is extremely arrogant. I love you, I love you to death. But you are the most arrogant person I have ever met. And you call me arrogant... I have no more to say.

Grace: the people living here are doing their best under very hard circumstances.

Father: but, is their best really good enough?

"Dogville - LARS VON TRIER" by Laurie Cuvilliez

This dialogue from the movie 'Dogville' which I watched last year, at first gave me the same feeling of arrogance from my conversation partner, just like Grace. But as the conversation went on, it felt like a slap in the face. Pride and arrogance, like other emotions, aren't really foreign to people, are they?

But this film not only touches on the feeling of arrogance, but also on justice, injustice, peace and war and many emotional seasons that a person can experience.

Justifying people with roughly equal opportunities to yourself without reason is also a form of injustice and, in Grace’s case, a sign of arrogance. Especially when you never forgive yourself for the same mistakes, making efforts to justify others is a kind of unfair approach or submission to existing injustice, contributing to that injustice.

In the example of the movie 'Dogville,' we see that Grace’s overly forgiving attitude toward people ends with ruthless revenge at the end of the story. Some critics view Grace’s action as irrelevant, while others see it as fair.

However, let’s try to look from Grace's perspective. She perhaps does not have a burden like justice or mercy. Her true value is hidden in the steps she takes. If there is something she firmly holds on to, it is the cruelty itself, which is cloaked in two different masks (one is her own mercy, the face her father calls arrogance, and the second is the mask she wears when she chooses to take revenge). This cruelty must be experienced by either herself or others, but definitely by someone.

It is possible to see that Grace, from the very beginning, is very unforgiving toward herself while being excessively accommodating to others. By showing excessive mercy to others, she deprives herself of mercy.

The events in the story can also be viewed as bullying. Bullying is not a one-sided event; it has various influences and also various ways out. While the target of bullying may not always have the power to stop it, in the case of Grace in 'Dogville,' she is not a helpless victim in terms of strength; she is simply a victim of her own arrogance.

Could everything have been different? Perhaps it could have been. Maybe this conversation with her father led to her enlightenment simply because it was solidified by experience. In her conversation with her father, Grace becomes acquainted with the other face of her inherent mercy—arrogance

However, enlightenment still could not change anything in the face of life's reality, leaving her powerless. Once, Grace justified people’s cruelty toward her, but now she herself issues the death sentence for those same people in the name of restoring justice. Consequently, despite being aware of her arrogance, Grace still did not let go of her inherent nature. This time, in the name of justice (or whatever she chooses to call this motive), she chooses cruelty against cruelty.

One who oppresses himself has the potential to oppress others.