Wednesday, March 12, 2008

Wives and Daughters by Elizabeth Gaskell, Part 2





Roger tells Molly, "A man needs the companionship of a woman."



Here's the picture of Roger trying to console Molly when she fell apart emotionally after the news that her father was going to marry. "It doesn't do any good," he said, "to pre-judge people. It will all work out for the best."









In the previous episodes (based on the reading of the book which I obtained free online, and the set of 4 movie episodes), Molly, a motherless girl, gained a new Mama, a new friend in Mrs. Hamley, plus her husband, Squire Hamley and their two very nice sons, Osbourne and Roger. Later she gains a stepsister.






Her losses began with the loss of her mother, then she, through her father's marriage, loses her place in his life (or so she thinks) and her mother's things, which are removed by the new Mrs. Gibson.






In episode 2, Molly meets her new step-sister, a social butterfly named Cynthia, who enjoys capturing the attention of any young man around, even allowing herself to be engaged, sometimes to more than one person at a time. Molly does not seem to be influenced by this but is often saddened at the way Cynthia wins people's hearts and then lets them down.






Mr. Gibson doesn't like foolishness at all, and he lectures Cynthia about her ways.






Mrs. Hamley, whom Molly has grown to love as a mother, dies, adding another loss. Yet through this she gains the love and respect of all the Hamley family. Roger tells her "I think of you as a sister."








5 comments:

Deborah Swinson said...

Well you have caused me to want to see this movie again. It has been several years, so I have ordered it from my library and will pick it up tomorrow. : ) I might just have to buy it and add it to my video library.

Thanks for the uplifting blog. I enjoy reading every week.
Deborah

Mimi said...

Can't wait to read the book and see the movie.

Lydia said...

I quite like the idea that the houses all seemed to have a path to the village, and that the village people were enriched by the goings on of the rich, and vice versa. Everyone knew who everyone was, and Lady Harriet took an interest in Molly, even though she was not as rich. The village system is so interesting the way the people interacted with each other.

I like Roger's quote in these scenes: "Do you like my sermons?"

Lydia said...

For anyone who needs to know: I don't operate this blog entirely by myself. My grown children help me with some of the technical things and also with the subject matter.

Anonymous said...

Nicely summarized. Calling Cynthia a "social butterfly" is spot on. I never really warmed to her. I like dear, sweet, truthful Molly much better. But so do all W&D fans, I think. :)

I also like Squire Hamley's lines during Molly's first evening at Hamely Hall.
"I'll do that for you," says Molly, seeing the Squire peeling an orange.
"Oh, no, not tonight, anyway," says Squire Hamley. "Tonight, you're a guest. *Tomorrow* I'll send you on errands and call you by your Christian name." :)

-Christine from Arizona