Helen McCrory's Aunt Polly in Peaky Blinders represented a trope in television history that has not been explored as vastly as possible: women as gangsters. While women were part of criminal gangster dramas and movies before, their roles were mostly redundant, often acting as trophy wives for their rich gangster husbands, who mostly called the shots.
While Cillian Murphy's Tommy Shelby is the leading man of the BBC's crime drama, Aunt Polly is his right-hand woman, who works in the shadows.
Set in the post-First World War Birmingham, where women were seldom in charge, Aunt Polly assumed the responsibility of the Shelby family and raised Tommy and his brothers like her own. Aunt Polly has been a misfortunate woman since the beginning, but this only made her stronger.
Her instinct, fearless spirit, and fierce protection over her family made her a pivotal part of the gang.
More on Aunt Polly in Peaky Blinders in our story.
Aunt Polly in Peaky Blinders —a mother, gangster, and Tommy Shelby's right hand woman
Aunt Polly has been the matriarch of the Peaky Blinders since Season 1. She played a pivotal role in shaping the gang, even though she hardly called the shots.
While Tommy Shelby is the badass and ruthless leader of the gang, nobody can doubt Aunt Polly's autonomy when it comes to the gang. A man like Tommy, who rarely needed advice, often came to Polly in a crisis, hinting at her role in the Shelby family.
While Tommy and his brothers took over the Shelby business after returning from WW1, it was Aunt Polly and strong women like her who kept the world working while their sons and men were at war, as she rightly says in Peaky Blinders Season 1:
“This whole bloody enterprise was women’s business while you boys were away at war.”
Aunt Polly defied all odds and fought for her family in a time period that did not recognize women. Be it her authority over Tommy or taking a major family decision, it is clear that even when Tommy called the shots, it was Aunt Polly's influence over him.
A man like Tommy was also blinded by love and could not see Grace's betrayal in Peaky Blinders Season 1, but Aunt Polly saw through her lies and confronted her. While her instinct told her that Grace actually loved Tommy, Polly was too smart a woman to trust a betrayer.
Be it the killing of Inspector Campbell or going against her own son Michael, Aunt Polly stopped at nothing to ensure that her family and Tommy were always safe. She is one of the very few female characters who would stand out even in a room full of men and let her presence be known.
A tribute to Helen McCrory—Aunt Polly of Peaky Blinders
While McCrory's demise is a significant loss to her family and the Peaky Blinders fandom, she did give us an iconic character to cherish and remember her by.
Talking about the women of his show, particularly Polly, Steven Knight said (via The Sunday Times):
“The women ruled the roost. During the First World War, when the men were away, women did everything. So the idea that you’d have this environment where the women were completely subservient? Nonsense. It isn’t like that. And it wasn’t like that. It’s just a question of reflecting reality.”
McCrory's portrayal of a strong woman character will forever be iconic, and addressing the actress's tragic death, Knight further said:
“Tommy, Arthur and Polly are the heart of Peaky and she was so brilliant as an actor. So brilliant as a human being. It was a terrible, terrible loss.''
While the loss is tragic, Aunt Polly's character did pave the way for strong female characters who are just as capable as their male counterparts.
Also Read: Now we know why this Peaky Blinders death was absolutely necessary
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