MovieChat Forums > Total Eclipse (1995) Discussion > Verlaine's wife

Verlaine's wife

posted 17 years ago by am_buglet_82
5 replies | jump to latest

Near the beginning of the movie Paul says his wife is still basically a child, and Arthur says "So am I".
How old is she supposed to be?
Is she supposed to be around Arthur's age?

Also, do you suppose the Verlaine marriage was arranged?
Or is it possible they really were in love at the time of their marriage?

Paul does say he loves her body...could that mean their baby was just a product of his lust and her love?
I believe she loved him, even if he didn't really love her.

-Amanda

"She will remember your heart when men are fairy tales in storybooks written by rabbits"

[–] Aulic Exclusiva 17 years ago

I believe she was 18 when the baby was born. She was a couple of years older than Arthur and long survived both him and her husband.

It was supposedly a love match. Verlaine was 26 at the time of his marriage and 28 when he met Rimbaud.

She may have loved him, but in a very, very conventional way. She was a very conventionl girl from a very stodgy, upper middle class, pious family. That conventionality, as well as his many repressed needs, drove Verlaine to drink.

If the Kingdom of Heaven is like a grain of mustard, It can also be like a chicken-pox mark.

[–] am_buglet_82 17 years ago

Ok, thanks! :D

-Amanda

"She will remember your heart when men are fairy tales in storybooks written by rabbits"

[–] fishermi2 16 years ago

I do believe that Verlaine loved her when he married her, as he wrote many beautiful love poems to her when they were engaged. However, he seems to have preferred boys to women, and his love, or perhaps infatiaton, for Mathilde was rather short-lived. But whether she loved him, that's another question...

[–] am_buglet_82 16 years ago

I think she loved him, but just didn't like his friends :P.

-Amanda

"She will remember your heart when men are fairy tales in storybooks written by rabbits"

[–] redmama13 16 years ago

Yeah, I think she loved him as well. Otherwise she wouldn't put up with him for so long. I have no doubts though, that HE didn't love her, or their baby. He punched the poor little guy for God's sake! As for the beginning, it may have been infatuation, or lust, combined with her being the means of helping him out in his situation.