Did anyone think that Evelyn had been in love with Owen? Maybe I'm imagining it but I thought I caught something along those lines.
shareIt was obvious from the beginning that she was pregnant. By why did Joseph think that anyone could be the father? The speech he gave made it sound like she had a habit of getting pregnant and "traveling" in order to take care of the pregnancies. But there was no evidence of that. The only evidence was that they had a budding romance. There was no explanation for why she thought he would never marry her and had to find someone who would.
shareI read Dolly's question as "Would you marry me even though the child is not yours." I got the impression that Joseph completely understood the situation, and he felt betrayed. Poor guy.
share****Contains Spoilers***
You mention that it seemed that she had traveled around getting rid of pregnancies. My understanding is that in the novella, Joseph states that Dolly ran to Albania because she was pregnant and actually had twins. The timing of the event, though, is improbable, which is why some novella readers believe that Joseph's whole final speech is nothing more than lashing out at Mrs. Thatcham, and that Dolly isn't even pregnant (the only real proof of the pregnancy either audience has is Joseph's claims).
That said, I like the change for the movie. First, Dolly has to be pregnant. What else explains the rushed wedding? It's also clear that Dolly is having morning sickness at the beginning of the movie (although it's passed off as nerves). Second, Dolly is not stuck upstairs choosing between two men, but has made her choice and is getting up the (liquid) courage to carry it through. During her fitting, Dolly is shown reading Tolstoy's novella "Family Happiness," which is about a young woman marrying for necessity and finding happiness in things other than her marriage. Dolly is in the same boat -- she is marrying because she has to and she needs to be reassured that her life isn't over. Third, Dolly chooses Owen because Joseph will not marry her as he affirms in the library. Dolly earlier states that she isn't sure she wouldn't run off with him if he asked her, but she knows he won't. I believe it is because the baby is Owen's. I think Dolly gave up on Joseph and tried to mend her broken heart by having an affair with Owen in Albania, and got pregnant. I believe this for two reasons: (1) because it seems like it's been more than a couple of months since her affair with Joseph and (2) because it explains why Joseph will not marry her.
Of course, Joseph has no one to blame but himself. "Time and tide wait for no man..."
In reference to "Family Happiness", are you certain that the young lady marries "for necessity"?
Other than that point, I agree with your comments.
I also liked the recurring symbolism of (1) Joseph stirs up hornets nests, then, goes and hides, and, (2) quite literally, he is left with a tortoise (which moves slowly, sort of his critical flaw).
Finally, there are parallel scenes: When Dolly gets in the boat, Joseph says, "Why did you push off without me?" Dolly answers, "I wanted you to come after me." The parallel scene is that Dolly wants Joseph to come after her at the wedding ("take me away at the back door of the church").
Really good movie.
And the actress who plays Kitty is delightful.
Fair cop, regarding "Family Happiness." Let me revise to say, it's about a woman who resigns herself to a loveless marriage (even if she was in love when she got married). I think the point remains the same -- Dolly was justifying her marriage without love.
Nice catch on the tortoise. I'm actually embarrassed that it did not occur to me, since I was actually confused as to the animal's purpose.
I think this story, as someone else wrote, was brilliantly understated. What initially resembles a simple country wedding story, turns into somewhat of a mystery that really doesn't have any definitive answer. We simply don't know what happened between the time Joseph left and the day of the wedding. It's putting together the clues that make the story so interesting.
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Interesting symbolism of the turtle.
shareYou say..
.Second, Dolly is not stuck upstairs choosing between two men, but has made her choice and is getting up the (liquid) courage to carry it through. During her fitting, Dolly is shown reading Tolstoy's novella "Family Happiness," which is about a young woman marrying for necessity and finding happiness in things other than her marriage. Dolly is in the same boat -- she is marrying because she has to and she needs to be reassured that her life isn't over
I think she did love her fiance. I also felt the book represented things one considers when in doubt. She had her doubts about being tied down and marriage in general. Not to mention unresolved feelings for her former guy.