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Catherine (Jeanne Moreau) in Francois Truffaut’s Jules and Jim (1962), a modern woman driven only by her desires, appealed to plenty of girls in the freewheeling early ‘60s as an image of spirited abandon. Despite the film’s male-centric title, Catherine is the focal point, and a wrench perpetually stuck in the cogs of a lifelong friendship/courtship. She was a big hit at the time of the film’s release and her legacy exists as part of a cinematic movement that produced legendary pictures and changed filmmaking forever.

50 years later, reception to Catherine’s behavior is different. Her character and actions raise many questions, chief among them being: Why exactly are these men, Jules (Oskar Wener) and Jim (Henri Serre), so willing to sacrifice themselves for her? Surely, she is liberated and lives according to her own design, but her self-serving philosophy appears to be driven by narcissism and a genuine disregard for the mistreatment of others. What is her character really trying to say? What is her true purpose? The answer may change from person to person, as Catherine can be viewed both as a true female love interest and as a symbol of hindered homosocial and homosexual feelings.

Catherine’s spontaneity and playfulness make her alluring. Jules and Jim both love her, both marry her, and it is arguable if Catherine ever loved either of them. The men begin the film as individuals who find pleasure in each other through mutual tastes and intellect. Their closeness is immediate, intimate, and rich with the value of companionship. Many read them as homosexuals living in denial, unable to marry one another and thus developing a system to bind their lives through the social acceptability of a woman. When they meet Catherine, the men become defined by their respective roles within the trio, and how they relate to Catherine (and thus, to each other) at any particular point in time throughout their entwined courtship.

The Guardian writes, “Moreau’s performance is spectacular, but the part can hardly be described as a character. The essence of the portrayal is contradiction and inconsistency. Her behaviour is both inexplicable and unforgivable; the wonder of it is that Jules and Jim forgive it. That is the plot; Catherine’s inner life has nothing to do with it. For all we know, she is both frigid and miserable, and her joie de vivre is yet another virtuoso performance. Discussions of the film too often centre on explanations of her behaviour, as if she were a case study in psychology rather than a part in a film. Catherine treats her own face as a mask, the mask of the female, in Baudelaire’s words as quoted by Jules, ‘scarecrow, monster, enemy of art, numbskull and trollop’, but adorable, n’est-ce pas.”

The Dissolve describes Catherine as “a woman who follows her desires and not the rules, a sexual conqueror and tyrant, and a drama queen who finds her power in dominating others, in always claiming the center of attention, not caring whether she’s unsympathetic. Like the siren of Greek mythology, Catherine draws men to her. She pulls Jules and Jim out of smoke-filled cafes into the fresh air. The men abandon their philosophical debates to follow her as she instigates footraces, bicycle rides, mayhem, and music. In this pas de trois, she leads, they follow.”