MovieChat Forums > Wives and Daughters (2002) Discussion > How do you think it would have ended?

How do you think it would have ended?

posted 13 years ago by rebkad
7 replies | jump to latest

Mrs Gaskell died before finishing the novel. The TV adaptation ties up Molly and Roger very nicely, but what else do you think would have happened?
Just a bit of a game to start off 2011!!

I think Osborne's poems might have met with moderate success, as would the drainage scheme.

What would have happened to Mr Preston? Little Osborne? Was he going to die of the scarlet fever, or maybe the mum? Mrs Gaskell was very into killing off her characters.

I think Roger would have given a big talk in London, Molly would have been visiting Cynthia but Lady Harriet would have taken her to see him. Then he'd show her the rose that he'd carry all the way round Africa. The scene in the rain was great though, got everything out of the way nicely without interfering too much with the novel.

[–] Jenn25 13 years ago

So how unfinished was the novel exactly? Did it cut off shortly after Osbourne's death?

[–] rebkad 13 years ago

In the film version, there is a very subtle fade-out when Mrs Gibson is speaking about the soldier who stood outside her house etc. That is the point that the book breaks off because Mrs Gaskell died. It means the final proposal in the rain scene is an invention! lol

I played this game with a group of my friends who had all read the novel. They thought the French woman and Roger's father were going to marry !!eurgh!! and that the little boy was going to die so that Roger could inherit. The film ending gives you a mixture of ideas - Lady Harriet suggests Little Osborne might die at one point, but he is still healthy and happy so it could go either way. They describe Molly as mistress of Hamley as well, but I remember reading that Mrs G's plan had been to have Molly living in London with Roger as a public intellectual.

[–] Jenn25 13 years ago

Oh thanks for the info! I would love to the read the novel but it makes me so sad that Gaskell died before finishing. It's nice to know what some of her intentions were. I always thought Molly going to Africa was a little far-fetched. But the rain scene was a great invention!

[–] 13 years ago

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[–] randommovies2002 12 years ago

Memory is vague, but I think I read somewhere that while the novel was unfinished they did have some notes from Wharton or something to go on when finishing it.

I think you're right about that. IIRC, Wharton's notes indicated that she'd intended Laura Testvalley to end up alone, sans the traditional "happy ending."

[–] rebkad 12 years ago

yes, I think quite a few writers get an ending that seems to make them more acceptable to a modern audience if they don't manage to get there themselves. If you saw The Mystery of Edwin Drood, they went the other way actually - they got rid of the more obvious happy ending Dickens would have plumped for and left a less resolved one.

[–] chrystal71061 11 years ago

I feel the loose ends were tied up nicely and in accordance with how all the story lines were playing out. The only criticism I have is the shocking lack of dialog for the Molly character in the final scenes. She was the main character, the speaker for the novel and to end it with her voice silent, was puzzling. Except for the odd yes, yes, and yes, I will speech, in the rain, she just wandered around with some kind of weird Mona Lisa smile. So I suppose that I would have ended the movie with the additional dialog in Africa, something like this:

Roger: And this is the spot where I fell ill. They had to carry me all the way back down. Do you remember? I thought my days were numbered. (laughs)

Molly: Of course I remember, how would you think I wouldn't? You know, I remembered everything you wrote in your letters... (smiles back) Even the parts were your good English legs gave out.

Roger: (takes her in his arms) It is like seeing it for the first time again, here with you.

Molly: I thought I would never be happy again, what a child I was.... I hope that our child will always feel safe and happy in your arms, as I do... and loved.

Roger: Child?? Oh Molly! (kisses her and smiles as he looks at truely the most beautiful girl he has ever seen)