What kind of marriage was it really? - Onegin (1999) Discussion

[–] Olivoljan 17 years ago

Uh I haven´t read the book but I´ve read info about this book on a site and it said that she married a prince and it was loveless(they don´t feel anything for eachother :( )But she loves Onegin but she wont leave the prince (but I think she should do that).
But I have seen this movie and I surpriced myself by loving this movie I usually hate drama and love/romantic movies but this oh I LOVE it.

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[–] librrra 17 years ago

Actually it can speak for itself:

``Bliss was so near, so altogether
attainable!... But now my lot
is firmly cast. I don't know whether
I acted thoughtlessly or not:
you see, with tears and incantation
mother implored me; my sad station
made all fates look the same... and so
I married. I beseech you, go;
I know your heart: it has a feeling
for honour, a straightforward pride.
I love you (what's the use to hide
behind deceit or double-dealing?)
but I've become another's wife --
and I'll be true to him, for life.''

Tatyana loved Onegin through all her life. But after she got married (she ended up with the nobleman) she kept a faith and respect for her husband - those were the only feelings that she had for him

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[–] Aulic Exclusiva 17 years ago

Tatiana's husband is an older and highly respectable man who loves her. She does not love him as she loves Onegin, but she respects and honours him, and will not hurt or insult him.

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

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[–] 17 years ago

[deleted]

[–] dawn_brown 16 years ago

I feel she loved her husband, she actually became very serene after her marriage, I doubt she would have been that way if she was not happy. I think she loved both of these men but in different ways.

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[–] ownerbluesky 16 years ago

if she left her husband for onegin, i believe she would regret it soon... ideas?

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[–] cgm2812 16 years ago

Perhaps it would've been another version of "Anna Karenina"...maybe not. We all like to imagine stories or their endings to be different; especially if we hate them. I absolutely hated how this story ends. The two of them (Evgeny and Tatiana) could've led a happy life in the country at the uncle's estate; she was happiest in the country. I like to imagine Tatiana absconding to the country on a "motherly visit", meeting up with Onegin at the estate...living a double life : p

Why be stuck in a loveless marriage? But if Onegin truly loved Tatiana, he would've staked his claim instead of wandering about the world aimlessly (for 6 years!).

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[–] vicky_lc2001-1 15 years ago

*SIGH* Why is it hard for you people to understand that there are people who put honour, integrity & word over everything else. I believe that she did love Evgeny & only him, she may not have loved her husband but it was the life or path she chose & she valued her integrity more than her love for Evgeny. I think Western culture today places value on selfish desires more than anything else (the culture of consumerism & individualism - ME ME ME, I I I), people on this board wonder why she stuck by her husband rather than fulfill her desire to marry the man she loved. Remmember her marriage vows? To some & many people, they still matter, a vow to your spouse or partner, or anyone really shouldn't be easily disregarded for self-gratification (there are exceptions like survival). We have to be responsible for our own actions, instead on bailing on ourselves & the people around us, everytime it becomes difficult or you want a newly flavored candy. Doesn't a promise mean anything to you guys anymore? Don't you value your word? Don't you try to keep your promises? That's why I respect people who refuse to marry instead of those who treat marriage like a flavor of the month. I wish they would implement 2 kinds of marriage vows; one where you have the option of the most difficult path - the traditional vow of 'ever after' & the other where you promise to stay w/ your partner only w/ 'IFs' clauses. I value institutions, especially marriage & people should be made aware of the importance of integrity & what they'll be expecting out of an 'ever after' or 'only & if' marriages, instead of being duped into believing it was the former.

By Grapthar's Hammer.......what a savings.

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[–] iseepinkelefants 13 years ago

That's because it's romantic idealism that places emphasis on honor and one's word. It has no place in modern society. It's an outdated view that most don't understand it. It was even idealistic in it's time.

If we don't believe in freedom of expression for people we despise, we don't believe in it at all

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[–] ninthgatefans 12 years ago

I completely agree with you. People in our society are selfish. Marriage and its wovs are sacred. Tatiana made the right choice. It is not good to break one's vows nor risk the safe known for the unknown.

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[–] claire1345 14 years ago

of course...She shouldn't have to go back to Onegin unless she was single but suppose she was, he wouldn't have thought to see her again...because this is man's nature, men like what they can't get..CHASING is in their blood... anyway, both of them made mistakes...she shouldn't have confessed her love for a such insecure man and he shouldn't have get back to see her after her marriage....

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[–] iseepinkelefants 13 years ago

I got the feeling she loved him as well. In fact I was disappointed when, in the end, she tells Onegin that she doesn't love her husband but loves Onegin. Not just because it felt that she loved her husband, but because I can't imagine someone falling in love briefly with a man who did not return her feelings and only wants her 6 years later when he sees that she is married.

But then again it was all very Russian and tragic, so it would only make sense to end it with her loving Onegin still and choosing her husband. The Russians have a flair for the tragic dramatic (which I love but not in this case).

It could have also been the movie that didn't explain it well. These characters were very rich and I get the sense that the book explores them differently. I didn't get that in the movie. The characters were not explored enough. They felt very flat. One minute we're not seeing any love between O&T and then in the end they're madly in love with each other? Maybe it was bad direction, bad writing or no chemistry and bad acting (which is odd for Fiennes, but not a rarity. There are two movies I can think of off the top of my head which I've disliked). Whatever it was it damaged the film, which was otherwise pretty good (in terms of visuals and music).

If we don't believe in freedom of expression for people we despise, we don't believe in it at all

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[–] laniset 16 years ago

Chapter 8 verse 44 line 9 of the Walter Arndt translation reads "My husband has been maimed in battle, The movie didn't follow the book very well. The character of Tatyana was not as rich as the book. You should try the book.

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[–] bittermilk2 14 years ago

found the book - yet not the answers (((

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[–] April-151-CT 12 years ago

Now see, i've watched this movie at least 2 dozen times since it 1st debuted in 2000. And altho i never read the novel, i always pictured Onegin and Tatianya eventually ending up together at some point after the end of the movie. I would imagine that since her husband was a soldier, that he would eventually have to go fight somewhere and then him being killed in action. Thereby leaving onegin and the widow tatianya free to marry and live happily at his uncles country estate. That always sounded good to me. :D ~~~~~~~~ April151CT

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[–] GYTrekker 16 years ago

It did seem like a marriage strictly for social propriety.... As Tatyana's aunt said, her only other choices were spinsterhood (leading to poverty, most likely) or to become a courtesan.
I was wondering though, if the novel specifies the age of Tatyana's husband... In the Tchaikovsky opera that character is a bass, Prince Gremin, and he's a fairly old man... Does Pushkin specifically say Tatyana marries an old wounded soldier? Just curious....
It's a beautifully filmed and acted movie however.

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[–] Bree_33 12 years ago

I loved this movie’s message. For once a woman who keeps her sacred vows, respects her marriage, her word to her husband! I wish there were more movies like this!

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~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~nec spe,nec metu

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[–] enneagram4 12 years ago

I dunno, maybe they should've cast someone dumpier than Martin Donovan to make the loveless message stronger, he's pretty dashing in this.

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[–] slimone (7996) 4 years ago

Martin Donovan was wonderful in this film!

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