The romance in the film serves not only to define what is an appropriate couple, but more importantly, it shows the importance of peace and unity among the northerners and southerners. In writing the book that inspired the film, Thomas Dixon, Jr. was focused on portraying the South in a more sympathetic light in the aftermath of the Civil War and the Reconstruction period; the KKK were the heroes combating the evil efforts of the carpetbaggers, scalawags, and blacks in support of the union. It is through this lens that the film hopes to spread the message of the unification of the North and South against the "disenfranchisement" and degradation of the whites. Harmony only occurs when the families of the North and South lay down their arms for a joint cause.
There are two couples that act as the focal point: Phil Stoneman with Margaret Cameron and Ben Cameron with Elsie Stoneman. Among both couples, there is an attraction that forms before the war, stemming from the friendship between their families. With the war, though, both families are split apart, and their losses culminate in the end of the war with the debunking of white supremacy. In the case of the first couple, there is a strain in their relationship as Margaret, representative of the South, cannot forget the tragedies experienced by her family. It is only once he shoots a black man in order to rescue her father from imprisonment that he restores order and proves his worth. In the case of Ben and Elsie, their romance is halted when she realizes that he is a member of the KKK. It is when she tries to plead for his father's freedom from Silas Lynch that she becomes in need of being rescued; Ben enters the scene leading the KKK, thus reviving their relationship. The couples are used as a metaphor, representing the film's broader message of the need of the reconciliation of the North and South to defend white supremacy. One of the slides clearly sums it up, stating, "The former enemies of North and South are united again in defense of their Aryan birthright."
There are two couples that act as the focal point: Phil Stoneman with Margaret Cameron and Ben Cameron with Elsie Stoneman. Among both couples, there is an attraction that forms before the war, stemming from the friendship between their families. With the war, though, both families are split apart, and their losses culminate in the end of the war with the debunking of white supremacy. In the case of the first couple, there is a strain in their relationship as Margaret, representative of the South, cannot forget the tragedies experienced by her family. It is only once he shoots a black man in order to rescue her father from imprisonment that he restores order and proves his worth. In the case of Ben and Elsie, their romance is halted when she realizes that he is a member of the KKK. It is when she tries to plead for his father's freedom from Silas Lynch that she becomes in need of being rescued; Ben enters the scene leading the KKK, thus reviving their relationship. The couples are used as a metaphor, representing the film's broader message of the need of the reconciliation of the North and South to defend white supremacy. One of the slides clearly sums it up, stating, "The former enemies of North and South are united again in defense of their Aryan birthright."