MovieChat Forums > The Bridges of Madison County (1995) Discussion > what could she have done after Robert le...

what could she have done after Robert left?

posted 12 years ago by intofilm
3 replies | jump to latest

OK, she decided not to leave with Robert, because of her family responsibilities.
Now she is left in her dead end married life, with her inconsiderate children. No one seems to know anything about her or want to know anything.
What can she do to keep her life from being emotionally empty after Robert left?
Did everything have to go on as meaninglessly as before for her there on that farm?
Couldn't she have demanded her husband begin to see her as worthy of "courting"? Would he have responded to marriage counselling?
What if she insisted the family, instead of silently feeding their faces like animals at the trough, start having conversation at the dinner table, in which they showed an interest in one another, and were more considerate? (E.g., her daughter having to respect her choice of radio station instead of switching it over without a word, etc.)
Everyone in the family would have benefitted. Instead the husband and children go on oblivious, and the kids end up in lousy marriages anyway, because they never saw their parents model true romantic love and intimacy.
All this seeking after fulfilling marriage and family life actually became a concern of American society beginning in the late mid 1960's, so it wouldn't have been something unheard of, even in Iowa.

[–] Astrid2266 11 years ago

I kind of felt the same way--like it would have been nice to see a change in the way her and her family lived as a result of her relationship with Robert. Like it would have been nice to see her relationship with her husband become more passionate as a result but they just don't show much of how her and her family lived afterwards.

I do know that prior to the 60's Italian women were raised to be a certain way in marriage and that that and the raising of children are the primary things that women are meant to do so I think her decision to stay with them was the most logical outcome.

Her decision to tell her children, imo, was also meant to show them that they didn't have to continue in their own "lousy marriages" if they didn't want to. They could either try and fix whatever problems they had or get out. She didn't want them to end up unhappy in doing the "proper" thing.

Do ya love him Loretta?
Ah Ma I love im awful.
Oh God, you poor thing.

[–] sherineyousery 10 years ago

Of course not. I respect your opinion, but this is illogical.

It's not about marriage counselling and it's not about restoring the flame. The flame was never there. From your words, you clearly pay attention to the little details, so I think you noticed that when Robert asked her about her husband, she said he was very clean and she didn't really talk about the character or how much he loved him, the flame was never there. Moreover, Robert was her soul mate and now, she wouldn't love another the same way. I agree ,however, with the part regarding her children. They were very inconsiderate and undeserving of their kind lovable mother, the guy even refuses to honour his mother's wish and his mother's whole life when he found about an affair she had !

[–] redban (5223) 4 years ago

OP — there was a clear development in the children at the end. At first, in the beginning, they didn’t really care for the mother and they had lousy marriages themselves. But after reading the mother’s memoirs, they learn to care for the mother (eg - spread her ashes on the bridge, get the photo book from the woman, the daughter wears the dress etc). They also realize the need to energize their marriages, which we see in the scene where the son kisses his wife in the hotel room

The development / change in the siblings, after reading Francesca’s memoirs, signifies that Francesca made the right choice. She would not have had this effect on the children if she had left.