Women Without Men

Title: Women Without Men. 1965. GB. ENGLAND. Surrey. Brides of Christ - nuns on the day of their wedding to the Lord.

By: Eve Arnold

This photo jumped out at me from a page of colorful scenic thumbnails. I clicked on it because I thought it looked like spooky 19th century ghosts. It looked mysterious and unusual to me, and I was intrigued. When I first looked at the larger image, I thought, boring, it’s just brides. Then I read the caption and could not believe what was actually going on. I had heard of this concept before but I had no idea that nuns actually dressed up in a wedding gown and held a ceremony. I think this is a great documentary photo because it documents something that not many people are aware of. It does so in an intriguing and even misleading way. It is pleasing to the eye but also informational. 

Using John Szarkowski’s five elements, I will break down this photo:

“The thing itself” is a group of nuns in wedding dresses. “The thing itself” is what is documented, but the photographer provides context, commentary, and detail using the other 4 elements.“The detail” that the photographer recorded is not the ceremony itself, but just this specific group of women in this hallway. “The frame” places these women facing each other in the middle of a dark hallway. It is interesting that they are framed so that each woman shows one angle, making a whole; front (face), back, left side, right side. The white of their dresses is also almost blinding compared to the dark hallway. And they are standing in a tight circle talking amongst themselves. This could be symbolic of their sisterhood, their purity in a dark world, perhaps how each one is part of a larger whole. The exact moment that this photo captures was also a specific choice on the part of the photographer. “The time” shown here is a private moment amongst the “brides,” instead of the actual “wedding.” Finally, the “vantage point” influences the reading of this photo. Here the vantage point is relatively natural, like someone standing a few feet away, except slightly higher. The viewer is looking slightly down at these women, and is shut off from the group. I think this perspective emphasizes the youth of these women and also the viewer’s outsiderness. As a viewer, I feel removed from the scene and slightly judgmental.