This blog post follows Lily’s painful journey of self-discovery depicted in the film The Danish Girl, deeply exploring why the quest for identity demands life’s greatest courage and love.
The Danish Girl depicts the moving journey of Aina (Lily), who overcomes confusion about her gender identity to find her true self, showcasing remarkable courage. When I first saw the poster, I thought it was just a love story between two women. But upon watching it, I realized that Eina, born biologically male, spent his life as a painter depicting swamps, while internally, he hid his true self, ‘Lily,’ within the swamp of his own mind, tormented by this conflict. The trees in Eina’s paintings of the Vailé marsh sway and reflect distorted in the water, mirroring Eina’s own confused self-perception.
The landscape of Vaal River shown early in the film is the one Eina paints, and it is also his hometown. The sense of security and bittersweet memories evoked by this place of origin must have always stirred complex emotions within Eina. Especially, the memories with Hans, who first made him question his identity as a child, likely compelled him to continually capture this place in his paintings. Early in the film, seeing Eina inevitably painting the swampy landscape of Baile, Gerda remarks, “It feels like you’ll sink into the swamp and disappear.” To this, Eina replies, “The swamp is inside me.” This line can be seen as signifying that the swamp—his hometown Baile—and his true identity reside within him. At this moment, the audience realizes that Eina is not merely depicting nature, but projecting her own deep inner turmoil and conflict.
After trying on women’s stockings at her wife’s request, Eina begins cross-dressing playfully with her wife. Through this, she comes to recognize the inner woman she had vaguely sensed within herself—Lily. He subsequently becomes unable to stop living as Lily, and the film effectively captures the confusion and anguish that accompany this process. These scenes leave a deep impression, as they show Eina’s struggle transcends the anguish of a single individual, becoming a battle against the prejudices of the era. To preserve his relationship with his beloved wife Gerda, he consulted numerous doctors, attempting to suppress his femininity. This proved far from easy. Most doctors dismissed Eina’s gender identity confusion as mental illness, tried treatments bordering on superstition, and ultimately gave up. However, he finally met a doctor who understood him, leading Eina to decide to undergo surgery to remove his male genitalia in order to live as Lili.
This scene is particularly moving because it shows how much pain Ena endured to be accepted for her true self. Gerda’s response to Ena’s statement, “I think I’m a woman,”—“I think so too”—perfectly illustrates what true love and understanding are. Furthermore, the doctor’s affirmation, “I agree,” symbolizes a crucial moment where Ena finally gains the courage to embrace her identity.
Color also plays a significant role in the film. Perhaps because it’s a story about painters, the scenes are generally painted like a single canvas viewed through the artists’ eyes. Lily, who always wore monochrome clothing while living as Einar, frequently dons colorful outfits when wearing women’s clothing after rediscovering her true self. This visually symbolizes Lily embracing her identity and embarking on a new life. Notably, the yellow scarf gifted by Gerda appears to represent Lily herself. That scarf represents a crucial turning point in Lily’s journey of self-discovery while also symbolizing her inner light.
I also want to touch on Gerda’s love. Perhaps the most confused character after Eina was Gerda. Yet, her unwavering respect and support for Lily as she is showcases what true love truly is. Gerda’s very presence makes Lily a truly blessed woman. When her husband, with whom she lived, decided to become a woman, accepting that decision and choosing to stay with him couldn’t have been easy. The love Gerda showed wasn’t mere pity, but a love that truly understood and respected the other person, and this must have been a great strength for Lily in finding herself.
When Lily finally found her true self, she was truly free. Though the surgery ultimately led to her death, like the scarf fluttering freely in the final scene, Lily’s soul found true freedom grounded in love and courage. This is not merely a personal story, but a tale of self-discovery and true freedom we all seek, one that will linger long in memory.
