MovieChat Forums > Legends of the Fall (1995) Discussion > Isabel is meant to still be a child. Wha...

Isabel is meant to still be a child. What tristan did was horrific!

posted 9 years ago by Fast_Eddie_Felson2011
12 replies | jump to latest

Some people here who advocate creepy age gaps are so in denial. TRISTAN had love for susannah. He did not even want to raise his children with isabel. He met lisbeth as a child and then married her when she was still developing.
isabel was nothing but sex. They had 2 kids and that is it.
The actress playing her is the same generation as brad is so this is just more hollywood conditioning that advocates for huge age gaps.

Nature is about two people the same age range getting together and staying together. Older men and younger women have been happening since Roman times. Not the beginning of time and still there were more same aged couples.

BUT grown men married kids. KIDS. Developing CHILDREN. It was encouraged by society and boys were indoctrinated to think it was OK. It was NEVER about love.

Sad how people cannot see the true love between susannah and tristan. Not raising his own kids with Isabel proved it. Don't worry people. It often happened a lot. Pocahontas was the same age as lisbeth and in REALITY she was not happy. The men "seemed" to be. But in this story it is very obvious tristan and susannah were made for each other. It's a different version of romeo and juliet..

Also, I also believe this movie could have been bigger than titanic if they'd cut the child marriage. Just made him look like a pig. Unconditional love for samuel? But can't stay in love with others for long? The native theme just became cheesy after too. The uncreative writers could have cut her out and made another little situation. The first half and last scenes were amazing.

They showed how happy he was when they forgot bootleggers were awful. They didn't show it for what it was.
And the sitting at Susannah's grave too. Could still have stayed a tragedy!
It seems Tristan wanted to spite Susannah by marrying and having kids AND stealing her idea of naming his son Samuel. She wanted to do that. Then left his kids.
And Susannah acted like she was happy with Alfred. Both lived a facade until the end.

In the book Isabel is 16. No love at all and that's a fact. She was throwing herself at Tristan LOL and was just a baby maker.
This had a lot of potential. The music made it better than it was.
The cinematography , Montana , main cast and music were lovely.

[–] beancrisp 9 years ago

Old enough to bleed old enough to breed.

[–] TheAcadian 8 years ago

You are a troll.

[–] sxymommacitaprincess_227 8 years ago

I agree with ya. Isabelle 2 was way to young for Tristan. I think the only reason he married her was because she could have children. He should never have left the ranch all those times abandoning Susannah.

[–] IcingOnTheCake 8 years ago

She was a child when he left and old enough when he returned. He wasn't there to watch her grow. He wasn't around for her transition and live as her brother type.

Tristan felt guilt and pain. The Oprah show wasn't yet around to teach him how to better express his feelings. Susannah was selfish. She should have left. Alfred definitely deserved better.

[–] TheAcadian 8 years ago

Isabel 2 was at least 13 when Tristan left. If he was gone for even as little as three (3) years, according to the custom of the day, Isabel 2 would have been more than old enough to marry.

But Tristan did not come right home after the war; came home for a short while then left again, so Isabel 2 was more than old enough to marry.

[–] IcingOnTheCake 8 years ago

She was 13 when Susannah met her. Samuel and Susannah became engaged in 1913 and the brothers went off to war in 1914. I believe those were the given years. Isabel Two was said to be 20 when she became engaged to Tristan. Years are mentioned throughout the film via the letters.

[–] SnapCrackledThePop 8 years ago

When the film opens Two is 13. The boys go off to war in 1914, about 6 months to a year later. In 1919 Tristan writes the letter to tell Susanna to marry another. This would put Two at the age of 18. By the time Tristan returns he's been told Susanna and Alfred have been married several years. This would put Two in her early 20s and Tristan wasn't around for the majority of her developing years.

Times were different back then too.

[–] robstott-20934 8 years ago

Did you listen to the movie, at all? They cleary say that she was 20 years old.

[–] Jingizu (30) 7 years ago

You are talking nonsense. In the movie, Isabel Two was clearly said to be TWENTY by the time Tristan returned to the ranch. She was 13 when he left, he was gone for 7 years during which she grew up into a woman.

Tristan's true love was for Isabel Two, not Suzanna. With Isabel Two he found peace and healing and happiness. Suzanna was too linked with Samuel in his mind, she was a way for him to still have a part of Samuel, because of his pain and guilt about Samuel's death.

Suzanna loved the idea of Tristan more than the man himself. Tristan represented freedom and wildness to Suzanna, and that is what she loved, and lost.

Even in the novella, if Isabel Two is sixteen, that is still old enough to get married in those days.

[–] TexasJack (12515) 6 years ago

I agree. Can’t speak for the book but I think you nailed the film characters perfectly.

[–] Bellison101219 (1) 6 months ago

Completely Agree Tristan's real love was Isabel he held onto Susanna because he felt guilty about Samuel their relationship was very unhealthy because he was trying to use her to fill the void of Samuel's death. Besides that if you look it up it says Tristan was born in 1893 and he married Isabel around 1921 so that would put him at 28 years old and her at 20 so its really not that big of an age gap.

[–] Druff (1447) 3 years ago

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