Michael killed Mary

At one point in GF3 Michael says he would go to hell to protect his chidren. Then later, he says, 'Give me a chance to redeem myself, and I will sin no more.'

And ... ?

I think I know what FrankieFiveAngels is referring to. At an early point in the movie, Michael tells Mary, "I would burn in hell to keep you safe." Much later, when praying beside the body of Don Tommasino, Michael implores, "I swear, on the lives of my children: Give me a chance to redeem myself, and I will sin no more."

This is an apparent contradiction. If he is willing to "burn in hell," it sounds like Michael would commit any grievous sin, even an act deserving of hell's punishment, for the sake of his children. That is, he would do whatever it takes -- good or evil -- to protect them. Yet he later vows to sin no more. Did he have a change of heart? Does he want to have it both ways? Is he just spouting empty words and figures of speech?

Looking at it in a Biblical way, Michael has the audacity to make a bargain with God: Give me this chance to redeem myself. If I don't use this chance to live a sinless life, then the lives of my children are in your hands. God obliges. He sends Vincent with the dire news of a slew of enemies he's uncovered. What does Michael do with this "chance"? He implicitly gives Vincent the order to kill each enemy, thinking that this one-step removal from the crime leaves him innocent. We know and God knows that it does not work that way. God exacts his payment by taking Mary.

So Frankie, I don't know if this is exactly the interpretation you had in mind; but I guess it's one way of looking at it. Mary's death was divine retribution for Michael's sins, particularly for his continuing to sin.

I think your analysis is too complicated. People often say what appear to be contradictory things. He was expressing his love for his daughter. Simple as that. Later, the pathos that accrue to a life such as he led start to ovewhelm him. His words serve to assuage him. Obviously it is just a temporary repentence; he orders aditonal murders.

That's good, but actually I meant it differently. He says he is willing to go to hell to protect his daughter. Then when he says he will sin no more, and wishes to redeem himself, he has already 'killed' his daughter. No test is needed, because he has ALREADY contradicted himself, his desire to protect his daughter. By asking for a chance to redeem himself, he is no longer going all out to protect his daughter. That was his defense all along, that he 'spent his life protecting my family.', 'They'll kill pop.', etc.

OK, I think I see what you mean. When Michael says he wants to be redeemed and sin no more, it's a given that he wouldn't want to do anything evil enough to sentence himself to hell -- not even if that something evil will protect Mary or Anthony. But I certainly don't think that means "the heck with protecting Mary." It simply means he won't use evil means to protect her, or anyone.

All in all, those are just words, and Michael's words don't kill Mary. It's his actions that cause her death. And note that Michael's actions are the opposite of his words. "By asking for a chance to redeem himself, he is no longer going all out to protect his daughter." On the contrary: He breaks his vow to redeem himself so he CAN (in his mind, anyway) protect his family (among other interests).

He sanctions murder through Vincent, giving him the order to kill his enemies so his family will be safe. The irony is that Michael has rationalized murder before by claiming it was to protect his family and it has NEVER protected them. It has only led to more endangerment and more murder. Michael fails to see that the true danger is his consorting with dangerous criminals. If Michael had gotten out of the mafia business in the first place, Mary would never have been accidentally killed.

This is like a Greek tragedy. Everything Michael says is a foreshadowing of Mary's death. She loves him unconditionally, and she is clearly his favored child. Hetells Mary he would burn in hell before he would see her hurt. He repeatedly tries to justify himself to Kay (and to himself) by claiming the life he lived was "to protect my family." His advice to Vincent? "They'll come after what you love the most." Then when he goes to confession and eventually repents over the corpse of Don Tomasso, he says if he is given a chance to redeem himself he will "sin no more." Well! There is a price to pay for redemption, and Michael's price was watching his daughter get murdered. It lays bare his rationalizations, and not only does he lose his child, he finally sees that the life he chose...the life of crime...was a meaningless life. That everything he did all the scheming, all the anger, the killing, the manipulating, the accumulation of wealth meant nothing. That is why he dies a broken man, alone in a dusty garden in Sicily.

You know, after all of these Godfather years and movies, I don't recall reading anywhere except on this website a psychological analysis of its characters. Has anyone offered one in a book, etc?