wood sculpture


why do you think the father did not give Madeliene the wood sculpture in the end?

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I strongly disagree. Remember the scene when Eugene sat outside and held Madeline as she cried over the loss of the baby. I think he knew exactly how she felt about the whole thing and I think it was thrown in by the director for us to ask why, but with no real explanation. I also agree that it was pretty lame.

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What wood sculpture does the OP mean? The little wooden horse Eugene gave to Peg at the end of the movie?

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I thought it was a little wooden bird? I think he always intended to give it to Peg (possibly as a "replacement" for the ceramic bird that had been broken), but was going to show it to Maddy since she kept asking to see his work. Maybe he decided against it because a)he was too insecure about showing his private passion to an "expert"; or b) maybe he was afraid she would think it was wonderful and want to arrange showing his work to the public.

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I thought he decided to no longer show her the wooden sculputure because had he done that, her visit and time with George's family would have been complete. She would leave with closure and not have something to look forward to with the family - no real purpose for coming back. After Madeline finds his screwdriver this secures his admiration for her, he welcomes her into their family by proposing the idea he show her his work the next time they visit. I viewed his invitation to see his wood work on her next vist as a "decoy" for her to look forward to with George's family because he accepts her. Either that or the act of hiding the wooden bird parallels his theory expressed earlier in the film relating to Peg, on the secrets people keep and how people act differently inside than they do outside.

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I think he intended to give her the figurine as a gesture of familial love, but when she gave him the screwdriver, he told her "I must have screwed something in this room." He was commenting on her relationship to George - they didn't make love, they screwed.



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jozielee wrote:

but when she gave him the screwdriver, he told her "I must have screwed something in this room."
Actually, what Eugene says is
I have done some screwing in here, I guess.
That is an, undoubtedly unintentional, double entendre, but it does show what is on his mind.

Madeleine, on the floor half under the dresser or whatever it is, is quite sexy. I do believe that Eugene has "committed adultery in [his] heart" as Jimmy Carter put it. Of course he's never going to act on his sexual feelings — lust — toward Madeleine, but just having them makes him very nervous.

If he gave the bird to Madeleine, Eugene would feel that he was being unfaithful in some way to his wife. And he does love his wife in spite of the way that she is.
He was commenting on her relationship to George - they didn't make love, they screwed.
I don't think that you can tell the difference, in so far as there is a difference, by listening or looking. If they are both aroused, the actual act of sex is pretty much the same regardless of the underlying emotions.

I am quite amazed at how many people think that their marriage is doomed because they have good sex. And there is no reason to believe that sex is all that they have in common.



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At the start he says about Madeline, "I'm going to carve her a bird,"

Why he slips it in his back pocket when he walks in the bedroom and she finds the screw is unclear to me.

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brockmeeks wrote:

Why he slips it in his back pocket when he walks in the bedroom and she finds the screw is unclear to me.
See the post right before this one. Briefly, Eugene is sexually attracted to Madeleine, and he feels that he is being unfaithful to his wife. That is why he gives the bird to Peg and not to Madeleine.

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