In “Fences,” Viola Davis plays Rose, a woman living in 1950s Pittsburgh whose husband, Troy (played by Denzel Washington), steps outside the marriage.Troy ultimately makes a decision that irrevocably changes their marriage and family forever.
Speaking with Thembi Banks and Ashley Chrisman of Blavity’s “Between Two Sistas,” Davis and Washington spoke about what differences, if any, there would have been in their marriage had Rose been a liberated, modern-day woman.
“Rose would have had more choices,” Davis said. “Your life is limited or expanded by the number of opportunities you have and choices,” she added.
But Davis also said she believes that despite her constraints, Rose is a liberated woman.
“I’ll tell you what liberates her: the fact that she can tell Troy exactly how she feels about him [and] she takes ownership of what she injected in the relationship that bit her in the behind in the end,” Davis explained.
“I think that’s liberating. I don’t think necessarily getting your master’s degree and going out there making your six figure salary a year means ‘I’m a liberated woman.’ What’s going on inside? How is your life getting any better by what you’re interjecting, in terms of your character?”
“Fences,” for which Davis received a Golden Globe nomination earlier this month, is set for release on Dec. 25.
Watch the interview in full on Blavity.
