Very sad tale

He said from the very beginning to the very end that he didn't believe that she had been unfaithful him, but the fact that despite his objections, she continued to receive the Colonel and refused to stop was what he considered betrayl. I mean if you knew that a man had ruined marriages before, was visting your wife everyday and using her Christian name in letters, especially back in those days, you can understand how the seeds of jealousy and insecurity can fester and explode.

Using her first name in Victorian times would be the equivelent of saying Dear Sweetheart or Dear Lover in today's world. Don't forget the rigid society that this is based in.

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In the television version Louis is clearly insane;if it had not been the colonel, he would have been jealous of someone else to the point of madness.

I just finished watching this mini series today and I guess the intent is that we should feel that Louis is a raving jealous lunatic and Emily is as innocent as a new born baby. That was not at all what I got from this. I have not read the book so I cannot say what happens there but in the miniseries, Emily is no innocent bystander. I feel that she very much instigated the situation, though unknowningly. Col. Osbourne seemed to me a lecherous old man who would manipulate situations and circumstances simply for his own amusement. Why I ask should a man call on his so called god daughter almost everyday? What is so important that he needed to visit so often? Even a biological parent would not visit that much, it was absolutely ridiculous. Yes, Emily was raised away from England and may not have realized the talk that her actions, by allowing Osbourne to visit so much, would create, but when she realized both by her husband telling her and in associating with other ladies at court, she should have realized the gravity of her actions. I find it hard to believe she was that oblivious. If she was then she was the worst kind of simpleton. Also I have no idea why everyone sees this as some sort of feminist struggle. I failed to see that at all, seeing it more as people being stubborn and not valuing their love for each other enough. As to the arguement that he should have just taken her word for it when she said she was faithful to him, please remember that back then, people married on very little aquintance. He had only been married to her for about a year when all this nonsense began, so he had not known enough of her character to just take her at her word. Also please remember that Col Osbourne was known to have almost caused the break up of a marriage before and the man had to move his family away from the country in order to escape Osbourne and his predatory behavior. Therefore Louis's fears or concerns were not unfounded.

Also the claim that Louis would have still be jealous over someone else is unsubstantiated. Where is the evidence of this? If he had shown earlier tendencies then I certainly did not see it in the movie. If he had a pattern of telling her who she could and could not associate with, then I would buy that arguement. To me it really seemed like this was one of the few things that he had ever asked her for, why not just acquiesce to keep the peace and show your husband you trust his judgement.

Louis's biggest problem was that he failed to really understand the woman he married. Like many men, he saw certain personality traits in Emily and thought those traits were "exotic" or "cute" (in that condescending sort of way). But he did not understand how different she was from most English women raised in England. He paid dearly for his mistake because though they were very happy in the beginning, her so called free spirit would eventually create this situation. The whole situation reminds me of something a married friend told me a long time ago, "Many times in marriage/relationships, one person may start out being wrong but the other person's reactions and responses many times make them just as wrong as the offender". This is exactly what happened here. Louis was so incensed by what he saw as Emily's betrayal that he went overboard. I certainly believe that there was an inherent weakness in his personality that allowed him to become that obssessed with the situation. If he has asked her , commanded her and pleaded with her to not see Col. Osbourne and she persisted, the next step should have been to divorce her and be done with the mess. He ran himself ragged for no reason whatsoever. In my opinion, it was not worth it.

All in all I liked Emily but I felt that she did not respect her husband and did not really understand what marriage entailed. She thought she could always get her way and that was her undoing. She stuck to her guns and at the end of the day, what did she gain? Absolutely nothing. She still ended up without the man she loved. As for Louis, he is a shinning example that jealous never did anyone any good.

By the end of the whole thing, though I liked the miniseries, I found that the main characters annoyed me more than anything and I was rooting more for Dolly and Brooke. I wish they had been the main characters. I even found myself more interested in the French girls and crazy Gibson. Nora and Stanburg's romance was...I lack the words. Lets just say that I wanted them to get together on the general principle of it but not because I really cared. They both lacked a certain chemistry. Infact thinking about it, I think the biggest problem with them was that they acted like the knew they were a supporting act. Let me explain...most characters in movies/books/miniseries who are supporting casts go about their business like they are the main characters because its their life and to them, they are the main character. It is only us the viewer/reader that realizes that they are the supporting cast. But in Nora and her beau, you got the sense that they knew that they were just there to move the story along.

And don't even get me started on those American women. They were caricatures of God knows what. I foud them to be painfully annoying and I was beyond pleased that they were miniscule characters. I am an American and I kept trying to stuff my ear with cotton everytime they spoke.

Anyway that's my opinion.

PS: I am a woman so no one think this is some man trying to stand up for men everywhere.

Great analyses people. One of the saddest films I've seen in a long time. The portrayals were all superb, and I especially liked the two nutty sisters and their mother, the minister, and Col. Osborne who all brought some comic relief, thank goodness. I'm a big fan of Billy Nighy and he never fails to deliver, however subtly.

I fully agree with devan's idea that there are multiple players involved in the unraveling of this marriage. I do think that's what Trollepe (and Andrew Davis as screenwriter) were getting at - that a person's missteps and flaws, whether justifiable or not, can contribute to a situation way beyond what was intended or imagined. This makes the story much more tragic. I am surprised that no one has brought up Bozzle's role. He fed Louis' paranoia, quite deliberately at first (probably motivated by keeping the case alive so as to continue to make a profit) and only backed down when he saw Louis' mental deterioration and heard his wife's continued pleas for reason. Had Bozzle not been around, Louis' jealousy might have died out sooner.

Anyway, great show, was even better the 2nd time around!