Who else dislikes Annabelle?

pity the poor girl who marries you, Rayeurth, if that's your approach to dealing with an upset spouse.

Nan was not only sexually innocent, as was normal for a young girl in her era, she was also very naive about the lifestyle, codes of conduct and values of the class into which she was marrying. To go from middle-class American (which was her background, despite the fact that her Daddy had made money on Wall Street) to upper-class British was a huge and seemingly irrevocable step, one for which she simply wasn't prepared. And anyone who could have warned her of what it might be like (Miss Testvalley or Miss March, most likely) were too dazzled by the glories of the match to voice any reservations.

As you point out, her mother-in-law (there is no stepmother in the story) observes that she doesn't understand the seriousness of her role. But is that her fault? She's still a teenager!

Julius was warned that she was too young and naive to marry, but he did it anyway because he found her amusing. She was a silly girl who had no idea about the responsibilities of marriage, and certainly not the responsibility of her title. Bad decisions all around, but at least Annabelle had youth and inexperience as an excuse.

We gotta travel by day so..lets go

I'm still watching this but I agree only partially with your assessment. She probably did over-react when he knocked her down, but you must understand she's still very young. I don't know how old she is in the book, but I can see her as being around 20-22 at the time. She probably married when she was a teenager and given her upbringing, was still not very knowledgeable about men. Besides, to go from a more or less carefree existence in America to being a duchess in upper British society must have been a real jolt to her sense of who she was. And as Laura wisely told the Duke, she needed time to grow up and experience life before he married her.

On further thought, I don't like the implication that just because they were married, and he needed an heir, that he was entitled to rape her. Besides raping her even within marriage does make him a monster-despite his protests.

Her husband is a closet homosexual (in the film), cheating on her with a man. I don't think he holds the moral high ground position, here.

I know this is an old thread, but I cannot resist responding. First of all, the Duke is cold and indifferent. His mother warned him when she said, "women are more complicated than clocks" or something like that. At one point, he was shown staring at the stable boy's bum (and it looked like the stable boy winked at him) hint hint.

I think he found her attractive at first. But, after they were married, he showed her no affection (not even a kiss) and after making her wait and wait, he acted like a boar. He does not know how to show tender, genuine affection to his wife, who is inexperienced herself. She is a bit of a dreamer and married him on the rebound. Neither one of them were prepared for marriage.

Yeah, Julius was a real winner. Such a poor misunderstood soul.

Let's see:

1. He's aggrogant and ill tempered.

2. His idea of intimacy is to rape his wife.

3. He's insensitive. When Nan urges him to check the living conditions of the tenants because their child is terminally ill, he whines about it being wet and chooses to play with his clocks.

4. He forbids Gertrude (his sister) to marry her true love because he says she's too old and that it 'smacks' of desperation.

5. He's stingy with money. Annabelle has to practically beg him for a loan after her father's misfortune renders him destitute. And in true pimp fashion, he advances her the money so long as she promises to sleep with him so that she may bear his demon spawn.

6. He's an elitist snob. When Guy speaks of the aristocracy's exploitation of the working classes, he threatens not to back him in Parlament.

7. Oh, did I fail to mention the fact that he's a closet homosexual.


Yes, Annabelle was quite unreasonable. She definitely should have made more of an effort to understand this heartless rat bastard.

I have to admit, I don't care for Nan at all (tho I do like the actor who has the thankless task of portraying her) -- I just watched this and found her childish, self-indulgent, melodramatic and, worst of all, silly. Her behavior if often weird and inexplicable, and I hope that in the book it's better explained. Wharton is one of my favorite novelists and this story and character seem very unlike her writing.


_______________________________________
Sandy

I'm almost done watching the series and I have to respectfully disagree. I honestly felt terrible for Annabelle. In some ways I feel bad for Julius, too, but ultimately less so. The rape scene caught me completely off guard. Honestly, I think most people when cornered by their rapist (I could care less that he's her husband, it's rape and it's vile) and asked "Do you want me to force you?" followed by cursing and knocking over a table would be traumatized and I honestly can't blame her for screaming hysterically.

Annabelle shouldn't have accepted his proposal, but she was young and disappointed when Guy announced he was leaving the country. She didn't understand what she was getting into, but given the situation, I don't think many women in her shoes would have either.

No I think not. It's never to become...for I am not the one.