Rosebud

An Essay Regarding Citizen Kane

What an individual might say before they pass away is often a great indication of what mattered most to them in life. This is true in the case of Charles Foster Kane, a man whose final statement before death is likely more famous than any other fictional characters’ supposed “famous” last words. Charlie Kane’s final statement was one word: Rosebud. So begins Orson Welles’ tour de force, Citizen Kane, which he starred in, co-wrote, produced, and directed. But who or what was Rosebud? That is what Mr. Ralwston wanted to know claiming, “It’ll probably turn out to be a very simple thing.” Indeed, Rosebud was a very simple thing however only we the audience ever discovered the true identity of Rosebud. According to Jerry Thompson, the reporter who was investigating Rosebud throughout the film, “Maybe Rosebud was something [Kane] couldn’t get or something he lost. Anyway, it wouldn’t have explained anything. I don’t think any word can explain a man’s life. No, I guess Rosebud is just a piece of a jigsaw puzzle; a missing piece.” I both agree and disagree with Thompson’s assessment of Rosebud. Rosebud was most certainly a missing piece, the missing piece in fact. However, I believe that missing puzzle piece could have explained everything and were Mr. Thompson to have discovered a child’s sled labled Rosebud perhaps he would have both understood and agreed.

Early on in Citizen Kane was a scene in which took place in 1871 during Kane’s childhood where we witnessed him being torn from his home. This scene set the stage for Kane’s actions throughout the rest of the film. When watching that scene I couldn’t help but feel sympathetic for Kane. Though his mother is sent him away with Thatcher to protect him from his likely abusive father she seemed detached and emotionless, not at all affected by losing her son. Kane’s father seemed at first to care for his boy, passionately arguing against sending him away. However when Mr. Thatcher mentioned the $50,000 a year Mr. and Mrs. Kane would be receiving Mr. Kane changed his tune completely and began encouraging his son about the trip. I believe this flashback scene clearly showed that Charles Foster Kane had always longed for love, something he didn’t even receive from his own parents. This need to be loved is what crippled him throughout life and drove away the few people who really did love him. Thus the significance of Rosebud, which was the one thing Charlie Kane loved that did not judge or abandon him. Rosebud was Kane’s lost love. This makes the scene where Mr. Thatcher presents Kane with a new sled, The Crusader, even more ironic as we witness Kane being given a fancy duplicate of his one true love.

The last shot we saw in Colorado is of Rosebud on the ground slowly being covered by snow and quickly forgotten. Charles Kane never wanted to be rich; he only wanted to live a simple life surrounded by those who loved him (or those he thought loved him). He claimed, “Well, I always gagged on that silver spoon.” Throughout the movie Kane attempts to make it clear how much he hates his riches. However, as much as he may have detested his wealth he used it to try to buy love his entire life. Mr. Thatcher told Kane, “You never made a single investment. You always used money to…” and Kane responded, “…to buy things.” Kane spent a million dollars one year to keep the Inquirer open, and fully intended to spend that much money every year for decades. He was trying to buy the love of the people of New York by fighting against the big, evil corporations such as Traction Trust. Perhaps his most frivolous obsession was his constant purchasing of statues from all over the world. I think that this hobby is very telling of what Charles Kane wanted most out of life. He spent millions and millions of dollars to acquire hundreds of these statues. Kane created a small world in Xanadu where he was surrounded by statues who loved him, did not judge him, and would never leave him. That is why it was so devastating to him that Susan walked out on him. In Kane’s mind she was just another statue, lacking the ability to move or make decisions, but when he claimed that she couldn’t do that to him she shattered his illusion by claiming, “Oh yes I can!” Kane promptly tears apart her room giving the audience a very real, physical example of his shattered illusion.

It is a shame that Charles Kane tried so hard to be loved and admired by everyone because it was his ego and obsessive need to be loved that drove away the few people that did in fact truly love him. About midway through the film there is a sequence of scenes showing Kane at breakfast with his first wife Emily. In the first scene they are sitting very close to each other at a small table and having playful banter. I could tell they were very much in love. However, over the course of the next few clips they begin to speak less to each other and when they do speak it is more argumentative. At the end of the sequence no words are exchange we simply see Charles and Emily sitting at the table reading their papers. Emily had become fed up with Charles’ devotion to the newspaper and their relationship had gone downhill. Ironically while Charles is obviously reading the daily edition of the Inquirer, Emily has taken to reading the Chronicle which is an indication that she has become just as much of a rival to Kane as the Chronicle. Her demand to be his sole love and interest conflicts with his need to be loved by those read the newspaper. The sequence finishes by panning out to show that they are now seated at opposite ends of a very long table fully establishing the demise of their relationship.

Charles Kane’s relationship with his friend Jedediah Leland did not end much better. Jedediah seemed to always be somewhat skeptical of Kane’s intergrity, so much so that he even asked to keep the original Declaration of Principles as a souvenir, perhaps knowing that one day he would need to use it to make a point. Leland’s last straw came after Kane lost the election because of his affair with Susan Alexander. Leland got himself drunk so that he could tell Kane how he really felt informing him, “You just want to persuade people that you love them so much that they ought to love you back. Only you want love on your own terms.” I think this statement best exemplifies the Achilles’ heel of Charles Foster Kane, the fact that he pretends to love in order to gain the love of others. Love on Kane’s terms. Kane’s problem with Leland was that he was devoted to the truth, not Kane. This was later evidenced with Jed began writing a scathing review of Susan’s premiere in Chicago. Charles chose to finish the review himself in order to prove that he is still devoted to integrity and truth however I saw through the ruse once he fired Leland out of spite. The final correspondence between these two friends was the letter sent to Kane from Leland containing a torn up check and the Declaration of Principle Kane had written so long ago. The scene where Charles tears up the Declaration made very clear the fact that he cared mored about himself and what others thought of him then he did of telling the truth. Ironically the other torn up piece of paper was the check Leland had torn up showing the Leland did not value money like Kane did, but rather he valued his integrity, showing just how different these two men really were.

My favorite quote from Citizen Kane was said by the title character himself, perhaps the truest thing he said in the entire film. Charles Foster Kane said, “If I hadn’t been very rich, I might’ve been a really great man.” I think I agree with Mr. Kane when said that. Most of us have been abandoned at one point in our lives, but we move forward and grow because of it. Charles, on the other hand, remained in a state of arrested development trying to use his riches to fix his loss. If Charlie Kane had not been rich I imagine he might have shared many more winters with his Rosebud. He might have grown up to be quite a lot like Jedediah Leland, a man of integrity who could not be bought. Perhaps that is why Mr. Kane’s famous last word was Rosebud. His life flashed before his eyes and he realized that had he stayed in Colorado with Rosebud his life would have been vastly different. However when he was taken from Rosebud his childhood was lost, which we see mirrored on his deathbed by his final statement “Rosebud” and the subsequent destruction of a snowglobe which looked oddly similar to Ma Kane’s boarding house in Colorado.