I re-watched my wives and daughters DVD last night... and started to think.... at the end, when Molly and Roger were married... you can easily see it in Roger's eyes that he had strong feelings for Molly.... but... well, Molly seemed "glad".. but not happy...it made me feel that Molly didn't love Roger as much as she used to. I just wonder why... Anyway feels the same way as I do?
shareI think that that's just the way she is. I haven't actually read the book yet, but I think that Molly is a bit more reserved than say Cynthia so she won't be flouncing around and showing off how much in love they are. I think that she appreciates it quietly.
shareI didn't get that impression at all. I think her demeanor reflected her maturity, not to mention her position as daughter-in-law to the Squire of Hamley Hall.
Additionally, Molly was not the type to draw attention to herself in public.
And finally, the screenwriters botched up the ending by not writing in a kiss! (I think the proposal scene was perfect without one, but I would have liked to see a kiss in Africa, just as Roger helps her up that embankment!)
:-)
I absolutely agree!! Every time I watch the DVD, I lament the fact that Roger and Molly never kiss. After all, he kissed Cynthia (awkward though it may have looked ...!) - I would think the screenwriters could toss us a bone and have Roger kiss Molly at least once. I still love the movie, of course, but an African kiss would have made all the difference. :o)
shareI didn't care for the ending much. Not due to the lack of a kiss, but because it seemed implausible. I can accept that Roger would embark on another trip to Africa, despite the fact that he lost his first fiancée during his previous adventure, and despite the fact that he nearly lost his life on that prior trip as well. But why would he subject Molly to such peril?
Her love for him was clearly true and would have endured his absence, as would his love for her have remained alive, since he came to the realization that it was Molly whom he truly loved all along.
I'm no historian, but it seems to me that it would not have been quite common, nor proper, for English gentlemen of that day to go gallavanting across the African countryside with their brides in tow.
I wonder about the end too. Of course there is none in the novel, but my problem with it is that Molly was always sort of weak and her health wouldn't seem to allow it. But I don't think that part is intregal at all. It just wrapped things up and gave a nice scene. I of course wish there was a kiss! The proposal is so sweet but a kiss later would be nice. You know there is a kiss filmed for Sense and Sensibility that was editted out of the film and a kiss always seems like a good idea. :-)
We're here; we're clear; we don't want anymore bears!
I have to comment to this because I LOVED this scene and what it was saying. The whole way through, as Roger kept sharing of his passions with an enthralled Molly (even when he was engaged to Cynthia), the story that is building is this: Molly is Roger's perfect match. She shares his heart and passions. The two of them could be blissfully content for hours and days on end with nothing but bugs, beetles, and themselves to keep them company. The ending is displaying just that; that Roger's heart really was in Africa, studying and exploring the science he found there, and that Molly's heart was there right along with him. He would have left again for Africa, I think, and if he did, Molly would have gone right along with him. I think it much more unlikely that one or both would have been content to stay 'safe at home' in England. So I think it is entirely plausible that this may have really happened. It was certainly not common (isn't today even) but definitely plausible.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Well Jane? Are you overwhelmed?"
~Mr Rochester
Jane Eyre 2006
[deleted]
I wasn't thrilled with the ending either. Molly spent years pining after Roger and when he came back, it was like they switched the show from her POV to his.
So we see Roger telling his father that he thinks of Molly as a "sister", he is definitely not interested in her and then in the next scene, BAM, he's suddenly in love with her. That was quick!
And then he & Molly have two conversations and the only thing she says is "Yes" or she nods her head. That was weak interaction IMO.
I believe that they loved each other but it felt rushed. I thought the writers could've added more. Hey I would've loved to watch an extra hour...
And yeah I couldn't believe they didn't kiss! Where was the KISS we were all waiting for?!
I think rush on the revelation of love on Roger's side is merely due to the fact that Elizabeth Gaskell was never able to put the finishing touches--meaning a definitive ending--on the book before she died. Sure, of the particulars such as whether or not Molly & Roger get together is quite certain and that he loves her is also certain, but perhaps she would have written or re-written some of these scenes had she lived to do so. Nevertheless, perhaps she means that Roger should discover his love so quickly. He seems the very type to be enthusiastic about one thing after another has finished. It seems very true to his character that after seeing the error of his "boyish first love" to see the charms of Molly--especially since she (according to the novel) suddendly has grown into a graceful and beautiful creature in the two years he was away.
Calling her a "sister" is perhaps a defensive move on his part to sort out his feeling. It's as when he says, "But I think of her as a sister," he is thinking "I have these feelings for her now--but before I had such brotherly warmth for her. What has changed? "
Any strangeness of their nuptuals and thereafter we see in the film must be attributed to the filmakers. I'm sure Elizabeth Gaskell would have ended it so much more gracefully and certainly (if not more) satisfyingly.
Don't be discouraged about the lack of a kiss; I appreciate that more than I can say in these period pieces. I'm not exactly sure of English standards of conduct but they can not be too far off from early American of ediquette. It would have been highly improper for her to have kissed him--even if she was married to him--in a public place. Remember how they reacted to the suppositions of the clandestine association with Mr. Preston and all she was seen to have been doing was meeting with him. I hate it when people suppose that they, just because we do now, would have shared kisses so liberally. I guess I could see Cynthia doing that but never Molly. She was too proper and too aware of standards. Kissing was reserved for private; public displays of a affection were taken as highly improper--even among married couples! A lady would never even think of recieving a kiss from someone who she was not engaged to--she wouldn't even hold his hand until they had been engaged. Sure, seems a little too much for today's standards but that is how it was.
I felt Roger's love for Molly was pretty sudden too, like all she had to do was dress up a bit and then he would take notice. Her love for him, however, is so obvious and proven again and again all throughout. I'd have liked to think that she realized his shallowness or something towards the end and didn't love him as much anymore lol. But aww.. who can hate Roger Hamley?
shareI disagree. I think it made him see her in a different light. and it also made him realize she is very eligible and he could lose her. That was Lady Harriets plan, I think. Its kind of cold, but make someone think that an item on a shelf is a hot ticket item and on sale, then the one whos been eying it for a while wouldnt hesitate to take it.
shareIn the scenes where Molly runs after Roger's carriage in the rain, then accepts Roger's proposal of marriage whilst standing in the rain, Molly seemed completely sure of her feelings, and unhesitatingly accepted Roger's proposal, to his complete surprise and delight. I believe right there, Molly pretty much let her feelings out and be known.
Sexy actors are the frosting on the cake of life.
That scene made me cry and cry and cry. A kiss please, how cliche. It was understated. I loved this show. It makes you laugh at all the madcap characters like the mothr and then with truthful moments like that it mkes you cry.
shareI think the ending was perfect in it's subtlety. I never questioned Molly's love for Roger, or vice versa.
As for taking Molly to Africa, whilst it might have been uncommon it was not unheard of for ladies to make these sorts of trips and Roger and Molly were not always bound by convention. I cannot imagine Molly being content to be left behind and she is as interested in Africa as her husband.
Insolent piece of crockery!
In answer to the subject of this post I think there is no question of how much Molly loved Roger. Sure she didn't like him at first because she thought he was a tattle tale on Osbourne failing university. But when he comforted her after she found out his father was getting remarried she grew to like him.And then she fell in love with him and his science. She had repressed love for him for years! And he broke her heart by asking Cynthia to marry him. Who can blame her for being a little distant to him when she sees him at the ball at the Cumnors! But it's very obvious she loves him. I think the scene near the end shows her maturity and how content she is. she looks very satisfied with her life.
as far as there being no kissing scene I was a little disappointed too. But the scene where he bumps Molly's head by accident and then cups her face in his hands and looks into her eyes was pretty darn romantic!
I think that Molly loved Roger very much, but in comparison to Cynthia's character, it would seem that she was lukewarm in her feelings for him. I don't think that was the case, but it could definately look that way. She just expressed herself in a more reserved fashion than Cynthia.
"I'll think of it tomorrow."
how could anyone think that Molly didn't love roger? What about all the letters she writes him when he's in Africa, the way she always enquires about him from Cynthia, how she is more concerned than Cynthia when he falls in Africa, How she smiles when her father tells him that Roger is home and repeats to herself "roger is home". How she cries when she finds out that he is engaged to cynthia, or how she runs from window to window to catch a last glimpse of him before he goes to Africa, or how about the fact she runs after him in the pouring rain.
I always felt that Roger didn't deserve Molly's constancy. In the book even when he returns home from Africa he still hopes that Cynthia will marry him, and begins to think of Molly when all his hopes upon Cynthia are dashed. And in the programme I think his feelings are projected as more lukewarm than hers. He only begins to notice her when she is paid attention to by another guy!
I thought Molly's love for Roger was so strong; I could feel it all the time. I ached for her when she realized that it was Cynthia he was besotted with. I thought it was beautiful the way she ran from window to window, watching him for every moment she could get before he went away to Africa. I also thought the scene in the rain said more words than a kiss could.
shareThat scene--running from window to window when he left--was masterfully written and directed. Absolutely stunning.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Well Jane? Are you overwhelmed?"
~Mr Rochester
Jane Eyre 2006
Sorry, this is a repost, but applies to this thread as well...
Both times I watched it, it seemed clear to me that the effect the director (and perhaps writer as well - i don't know where the book stopped) wanted was of restrained intensity... for this reason the quarantine 'love' scene, the lack of a kiss... it's clear (to me at least)how intensely she loves him - this has been made clear throughout the movie... but she is used to putting others fisrt and so her feelings are not on the outside so much. Even when she can express (in the rain scene), circumstances prevent her and so she must, again, use a restrained form of expression and put her father's directive first. Btw, if you watch the very very end of the Africa scene (which I loved even though it was a cheezy ending :-), you can see him embrace her as they walk - its a payoff for those who wait till the very end of the show - like Molly herself who waits till the very end for her reward...
In regards to the original poster's question as to whether Molly didn't really love Roger that much, I'd have to say it was quite the opposite. She loved Roger so deeply and for a long time. You see early on how she takes an interest in the things Roger is interested in (although much of that is her own natural curiosity for insects). And when Roger becomes attracted to Cynthia and eventually engaged, you can see how it crushes Molly. Molly is so interested in all of Roger's goings on, from the Geographical Society meetings, to word of his travels in Africa. She even studied the geography of the area Roger was traveling in and kept a map of his journey. Towards the end of the series when Roger is surprised that Molly remembered his drawing of a specimen she was viewing under a microscope and Molly replies that she remembered everything he ever said to her- you see just how deep her adoration for Roger is.
In regards to Roger's sudden interest in Molly when he sees her at the Tower after 2 years, I think the filmakers failed to give Molly a dramatic enough transformation to take her from a young girl 2 years ago to a beautiful attractive women that Roger sees. That would have helped to make more sense of Roger's change in interest at the end. Her physical appearance would have turned Roger's head and made him view her in a different way.
In regards to Roger's sudden interest in Molly when he sees her at the Tower after 2 years, I think the filmakers failed to give Molly a dramatic enough transformation to take her from a young girl 2 years ago to a beautiful attractive women that Roger sees.I agree. And I think most of the issue with that was in her dress. At least for me. What were they thinking with those gigantic puffed sleeves on such a tiny girl? They made her look like a frosted cupcake. Simply the wrong costuming there, in my opinion.
Yes, I did feel the key was that 2 years ago he thought of her as his kid sister, sweet but kind of wrong to 'want' her in that way. The dress was the equivalent of wearing fashionable make-up etc - amongst other things, it reminds others that she is an adult now, even if she might look better without it.
shareJust my 2 cents, but I think the fact that Molly was all dressed up got Roger thinking and it was seeing her with another fellow that put him over the top. And it was Lady Harriet who masterminded the whole thing including setting Molly up with her cousin.
I just rewatched this and had not picked up on all of the subtleties in this film. It was brilliant.
So Lady Harriet deliberately set up the whole thing knowing that Roger and Molly loved each other?
Be kinder than necessary, for everyone you meet is fighting some kind of battle.
Yes
shareNo. Molly definitely loved Roger just as much or more than Roger loved her. They definitely loved each other as family. And she realized she loved him not like a sibling way before he got there. Like others said she loved him constantly even when he broke her heart going after her stepsister. Molly is just more reserved and proper. But we gets glimpses of her not being able to keep her feelings in.
As far as Roger. He probably loved Molly as much as she loved him. He just took longer to realize his real feelings. Like he said his boyish love for Cynthia. He was distracted by the flashy. And Lady Harriet realized a little flash from Molly would make him take notice of Molly. That though she was the same caring girl he always known and loved, she was also grown up, mature, and beautiful woman.
Regardless of the ending, she showed her love throughout the movie by all of her actions when he was away. She was reserved, but she obviously felt things deeply and I definitely felt her love for Roger.
I've heard it both ways
I agree!
shareAgreed, Like I posted earlier, Molly loved Roger deeply from almost the beginning. She did hide it under the guise of a "sisterly love" but her tears upon discovering that Roger loved Cynthia, and when seeing Roger courting Cynthia while she plays the piano, and later when Roger and Cynthia became engaged makes it clear that her (Molly's) love for Roger is anything but "sisterly", and certainly something much more.
shareI, actually, feel Roger didn't love Molly enough. It was clear that Molly loved Roger for a long time - somewhat obsessively the way she poured over maps and his letters - while Roger cared about her, but, was never really inlove with her until abruptly at the end. He seemed to have a friendly affection for her, but, forgot about her as soon as he clapped eyes on Cynthia. He proposed to Cynthia without seemingly a thought for Molly and, even when he returned home he told his father he loved her like a sister and seemed to genuinely mean it until he saw her and ended up inlove - at which point Molly seemed to have grown up and backed off abit. Roger just seemed a tad too fickle for me.
shareIn answer to the OP's question, there's not a doubt in my mind that Molly loved Roger. Just as everyone else on this thread said, there is a lot of evidence to back that up.
Regarding Roger's sudden change of heart, I completely believed it. It was abrupt, like others have said, but I think it's absolutely plausible. There are many people who have discovered deeper feelings for someone they previously considered a "brother" or "sister", just as Roger thought of Molly as his "sister". I think seeing her at the ball for the first time in 2 years and how grown up she had become really shocked him and he began to see her in a different light. And seeing her get all of that attention from another man really opened his eyes too.
We also can't disregard the fact that Roger was infatuated with Cynthia, during which time his true love for Molly was subconsciously buried. He genuinely believed he was in love with Cynthia. In the rain scene, he even says to Molly, "I should have seen it. It was you I truly loved even before... (insert Cynthia)". He realized she was the one who really loved him all along, not Cynthia, and that can be very powerful, as evidenced by the "bumping heads" scene where she says she remembered everything he wrote in his letters.
Overall, I thought the whole series was wonderful, and I wasn't even bothered by the fact that there wasn't a kiss. The rain scene in itself was so romantic even thought they never touched, and the fact that they went to Africa together was just perfection. I actually think it was really fitting for their relationship. They know they love each other and don't need to necessarily show it all the time. I was completely satisfied even without a kiss.
[deleted]
Spoiler alert for a program that's 13 years old? LOL, you've got to be kidding. If you want to avoid spoilers, you'd better stay off IMDb.
shareSpoiler alert for a program that's 13 years old? LOL, you've got to be kidding. If you want to avoid spoilers, you'd better stay off IMDb.
[deleted]
[deleted]