Rachel Cooper is a major protagonist from the 1955 thriller-film noir classic The Night of the Hunter. She's the kindly, warmhearted, and benevolent old widowed matriarch of a group of orphaned kids who protects them from being homeless in the Great Depression and other forms of harm including from Harry Powell.
She was portrayed by the late Lillian Gish.
What Makes Her Pure Good?[]
- During the Great Depression, she did her part and took action, gathering up homeless and miserable orphans and runaways and bringing them into her home shelter, and feeding them, serving as the savior of these orphans of the storm, and their foster mother. She had done this with three kids prior to John and Pearl, and upon encountering them, she takes them in as well.
- Although it's been suggested through lines of dialogue that she had not-so-glamorous beginnings, and an estrangement from her son, not enough is known about this detail and it doesn't affect the story in any way, so it's not enough for it to truly be a corrupting factor for Rachel. Also, she seems to be looking after her adoptive kids as a way to make up for her previous actions hoping to amend her actions. This would only demonstrate that she's a better person than most of the other adults in the film. She knows she did something wrong and now she's trying to make it right by renouncing her previous life, and she doesn't deny her sins.
- She may occasionally be strict or stern with one of her adoptive kids, but she still means well and wants what's best for them and their safety and protection.
- During a scene where Ruby confesses that she has been lying about her whereabouts and sneaking around with the boys in town, and gave Harry Powell the information he needed to hunt John and Pearl down. Rather than get angry at Ruby, Rachel consoles and absolves her, expressing her tender concern that Ruby grow up properly guided and protected from making regretful mistakes.
- She has a shotgun, but only uses it when she has to, and only on truly despicable people (i.e. Harry Powell.)
- During to her belief in purity and knowledge and knowledge of the Scriptures she's immediately sees through Powell's fake religion claims and wastes no time in shooing him off, and preventing him from harming any of the kids.