Category Archives: Secondary Character

May 25, 2013

Secondary Character Saturday: Sean Bean:Eddard “Ned” Stark

By ritalovestowrite

Alas today is the final Saturday in a month full of Sean Bean. Sorry ladies.

Click here to read about his work as Odysseus, Boromir, and as Ian Howe.

Winter Is Coming

Winter Is Coming (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

WHO: Eddark Stark

Bran’s father sat solemnly on his horse, long brown hair stirring in the wind. His closely trimmed beard was shot with white, making him look older than his thirty-five years. He had a grim cast to his grey eyes this day, and he seemed not at all the man who would sit before the fire in the evening and talk softly of the age of heroes and the children of the forest. He had taken off Father’s face, Bran thought and donned the face of Lord Stark of Winterfell. [A Game of Thrones, George R. R. Martin, Bantam Books, New York, New York]

Dust slipcase and title page of George R.r. Martin's A Game of Thrones.

Dust slipcase and title page of George R.r. Martin’s A Game of Thrones.

FROM: Game of Thrones

BY: George R. R. Martin

RELEASED: The book was released in 1996. The HBO mini series premiered in 2011

Game of Thrones (soundtrack)

Game of Thrones (soundtrack) (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

PROS: Ned Stark is a stand up guy. He loves his family deeply and would do anything for them. He’s a strong leader and has a highly defined set of morals. He is honorable and honest. He is a loyal friend. “Stoic, duty-bound and honorable, Ned Stark embodied the values of the north.” [HBO Game of Thrones viewer’s Guide]

Direwolf illustration from the book. Teh Direwolf is the symbol for House Stark.

Direwolf illustration from the book. Teh Direwolf is the symbol for House Stark.

CONS: He is too much of a stickler for the rules to get along in the political cest pool of Kings Landing. He is cold and unbending to those who don’t know him. He holds a grudge.

QUOTE: “Winter is coming”

MOST SHINING MOMENT: Forced with the choice between honor and truth (and death) or saving his daughters and lying (thus condemning himself to a life in the Night Watch) he goes breaks his very moral code for the sake of the girls. Oh, that every one in Kings Landing were as honorable.

Direwolf illustration from the HBO miniseries

Direwolf illustration from the HBO miniseries

LEAST SHINING MOMENT: Lord Stark is both the strongest and most gullible character in the book. He’s an incredible role model for his family, but sadly, not every one is playing by his rules. So I guess Ned’s least shining moments happen when he assumes that other characters will act as nobly as he has acted toward them. Most notably when he tells Cersie that he knows none of her children are legitimate.

So his most shining moment and least shining moment result in the same thing… when asked what madness lead him to tell the queen that he’d unearthed the truth about Prince Joffrey’s birth, honorable Ned Stark replies “The madness of mercy. That she might save her children.” Oh, Ned, will you never learn?

End paper from A Game of Thrones showing a map of the North. The Starks live in Winterfell which is about center on the map.

End paper from A Game of Thrones showing a map of the North. The Starks live in Winterfell which is about center on the map.

This may just be Sean Bean’s most noble role to date. And he wears every minute of stress and responsiblity of leadership  on his weathered face. The range of interactions from how he treats his family to how he deals with the small council is a joy to watch. I  have other problems with the production (as usual with HBO there’s too much graphic…well everything) but I have no problem with the honorable Ned Stark… or the man who plays him.

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2 Comments   |  tags: , , , | posted in Game of Thrones, Ned Stark, postaday, Sean Bean, Secondary Character, Thought of the Day

May 18, 2013

Secondary Character Saturday: Sean Bean: Odysseus

By ritalovestowrite

Today is week three of Sean Bean month on Secondary Character Saturday! . Click HERE  to see the blog on Boromir or HERE for the bog on Ian Howe (from National Treasure). Today’s blog owes a special thanks to my rather amusing and sarcastic family. They had a lot of fun “helping” me write all about Odysseus. Enjoy!

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Speak to me oh sages, oh great Athena, Keeper of Wisdom, that my words may bring to life the tale of  (Sean Bean as) Odysseus, that hero of old.

WHO:  Odysseus

[Image courtesy Fanpop.com]
[Image courtesy Fanpop.com]

FROM: The Iliad and The Odyssey and the movie TROY

BY The Iliad and The Odyssey were written by Homer,  The Iliad was roughly adapted  for the screen and renamed “Troy” by  David Benioff

WRITTEN / RELEASED:  The epic poems were “written 800 B.C.E” [The Internet Classics ]; The movie came out in 2004.

PROS: Odysseus is …brave, smart, creative, loyal, realistic, cunning, and an eloquent speaker. He’s good with a weapon and never gave up. He (at least as played by Sean Bean) looks fine in a leather skirt. And he had a large book written about him that we got to read in high school.

The Resourceful Odysseus,… was the trusted advisor and chief lieutenant of Kings Menelaus and Agamemnon throughout the course of the war.  He would fight at the forefront of battle, restore order to the camp when necessary, and his speeches strengthened the resolve of the Greek soldiers to continue their struggle against the Trojans.  When Achilles fell in battle, it was Odysseus who fought his way through the hordes of enemy soldiers and retrieved his body.  At the funeral games following Achilles’ burial, Odysseus defeated Ajax the Greater in a wrestling match to win the title “Bravest of the Greeks”. [Bad Ass of the Week]

CONS: He’s stubborn and a bit quick tempered (just ask the suitors). He went over budget on the Trojan “Horse”  and it doesn’t even LOOK real. He gets along a little too well with the “ladies.” He doesn’t eat bacon — when any chef can tell you EVERYTHING is more epic with bacon. He had a large book written about him that we  HAD to read in high school.

Dispute between Ajax and Odysseus for Achilles...
Dispute between Ajax and Odysseus for Achilles’ armour. Attic black-figure oinochoe, ca. 520 BC. Kalos inscription. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

MOST SHINING MOMENT: By inventing the Trojan Horse and bravely leading the men inside it he was the game changer in the Trojan War. One does not simple walk into the gates of Troy, you need a plan, and, Odysseus’ plan was both bold and brilliant.

LEAST SHINING MOMENT: Getting drunk with Calypso. Doh!

WHY SEAN BEAN IS SO GOOD IN THE ROLE: In the movie TROY the focus and camera stay sharply on a buffed and bulging muscles of Brad Pitt and the dark eyes of Eric Bana. Our boy Sean Bean just barely makes secondary character status. But when he IS on screen he steals the scene. He’s the one person on the shores of Turkey who seems in touch with reality. And in a movie that strives for epic status he gives a very human performance. He’s open with his emotions. You can see every bit of angst on his face. With Pitt there  is a blankness akin to blandness (that led me, at least,  to boredom.) Maybe that was an acting choice on Pitt’s part — play the demi god with an air of detachment — but for me? I’d rather watch more of Odysseus’s story.

To read the Iliad on line click HERE.

To read the Odyssey on line click HERE.

3 Comments   |  tags: , , , | posted in Brad Pitt, Eric Bana, Film, Homer, postaday, Sean Bean, Secondary Character, Thought of the Day

May 11, 2013

Secondary Character Saturday: Sean Bean: Ian Howe

By ritalovestowrite

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Today we celebrate the second saturday in the merry month of May, AKA Sean Bean month. Click HERE  to see last week’s blog on Boromir
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[Image courtesy: Wikipedia]

Bean as Ian Howe [Image courtesy: Wikipedia]

WHO: Ian Howe

FROM: National Treasure

BY:  Jim Kouf, Ted Elliott, Terry Rossio, Cormac Wibberley, and Marianne Wibberley

RELEASED: 2004

PROS: Ian has nearly unlimited resources, and he’s smart.  He can be charming. He’s crafty. Oh, and he looks great in a white parka.

[Image courtesy: Ponderings]

[Nick Cage and Sean Bean look at map on the back of the Declaration of Independence. Image courtesy: Ponderings]

CONS: Cunning, ruthless, greedy, driven, sociopath.

QUOTE: “You know the key to running a convincing bluff? Every once in a while you have to be holding all the cards”

MOST SHINING MOMENT:Well, he is a villain, so it is tough to find a “shining moment” for Ian Howe. I’d like to think he feels remorse when his side kick Shaw dies. But…hmmm… not so much.

LEAST SHINING MOMENT: Kidnapping the heroes and stranding them beneath Old North Church in Boston (essential burying them alive).

WHY SEAN BEAN IS SO GOOD IN THE ROLE: For the record if I’m every going to go on a treasure hunt with a sociopath I’d really prefer it be with Sean Bean. Sure he’ll step over your dead cold body to get what he wants, but he probably wont kill you if he doesn’t have to.

Bean straddles  the line between being charming and being creepy all through this movie. And he’s a ton of fun to watch. You never root for him, but it sure is fun to root against him.

I like how the movie takes a history field trip and turns it on its ear. Even though the whole thing is fiction it is fun to think that some one might have left all those clues and that they (the clues) are still out there waiting to be discovered.

(Thanks to my buddy Tom B. for contributing tho his blog.)

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3 Comments   |  tags: , , | posted in fictional character, National Treasure, Sean Bean, Secondary Character, Thought of the Day

May 4, 2013

Secondary Character Saturday: Sean Bean; Boromir

By ritalovestowrite

Those of you who have been reading this blog for a bit will recall that March featured Secondary Characters played by the wonderful Alan Rickman. This month I thought I’d focus on another terrific secondary character (mostly) player, Sean Bean.

Secondary Character Saturday: Sean Bean; Boromir

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Sean Bean as Boromir in Peter Jackson's live-a...
Sean Bean as Boromir in Peter Jackson’s live-action version of The Lord of the Rings. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

WHO: Boromir; Son of the Steward of Gonor, Captain of the White Tower

FROM: The Lord of the Rings

J.R.R. Tolkien's The Fellowship of the Ring is...
J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Fellowship of the Ring is by a Christian author, and contains Christian themes, Matthew T. Dickerson, Following Gandalf: Epic Battles and Moral Victory in The Lord of the Rings, Brazos Press, 2003, though its wide popularity means that many would not consider it a specifically Christian novel. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

BY: J.R.R. Tolkien

PUBLISHED: July 29, 1954

PROS: Boromir is honorable, noble, strong, brave, couragous , a natural leader, loyal to Gondor and a great big brother.

CONS: His single minded desire to protect his homeland blinds him to the dangers of the Ring. He questions Gandalf’s leadership of the Fellowship and Frodo‘s ability to carry out the task of destroying the Ring. He is stubborn, proud, arrogant. He’s afraid of the Elves of Lothlorien and things start to sour in his relationship with the Fellowship after they’ve passed through the forest.

MOST SHINING MOMENT: Fights to the death in an attempt to keep Merry and Pippin safe from the Orcs.

LEAST SHINING MOMENT: His attempt to take the RING from Frodo. His motive — to take the Ring to protect Gondor — may have been noble, but it is misguided. And he breaks the trust and the bond of friendship of the Fellowship when he tries to take the Ring from Frodo. At first he tries to cajole the hobbit into turning the Ring over, but when that doesn’t work he attempts to seize it physically. Frodo has to put the Ring on to escape (he disappears, but it also alerts the Orcs to his location.) Boromir recovers his senses, but the hobbit knows he can’t trust him anymore. Frodo must go forward on the quest alone. (Until, of course, his faithful servant/friend Sam tags along too.)

WHY SEAN BEAN IS SO GOOD IN THE ROLE: Despite the fact that Boromir dies a third of the way through The Lord of the Rings Trilogy he is still one of the most interesting characters. He’s a leader of men, but Tolkien hasn’t seemed to decide if MAN is really a redeemable species. If the battle for Middle Earth was between Hobbits / Elves  and  Orcs … things would be so much neater. The battles would be black and white. You’d know who to cheer for. But Tolkien throws in Dwarves and Men — greed, pride,  doubt, all kinds of deadly sins — and suddenly the lines are not so pristine. When Peter Jackson made is epic 2001 (yes it was 12 years ago!!!) movie of the book he couldn’t have picked a better actor to play Boromir.  Sean Bean has a look of tired conflict written all over his face. He’s not a  man to be messed with. He’s a soldier who has been fighting for decades to keep his country safe, and he will do anything to further that goal.

But Bean’s performance is multi layered too. He’s gentle, playful, and protective of  the hobbits as they take their long journey.

But there’s heart ache there too…

The perfect flawed hero. And a  truly human performance.

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What other Sean Bean roles do you think we should discuss? Drop me a line and let me know.

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4 Comments   |  tags: , , , , | posted in Film, JRR Tolkien, postaday, Sean Bean, Secondary Character, The Lord of the Rings, Thought of the Day

April 27, 2013

Secondary Character Saturday: Anita (West Side Story)

By ritalovestowrite

So… Tomorrow night I’m going to go see Romeo and Juliet at the  Baltimore Shakespeare Factory and that got me thinking about West Side  Story. And THAT got me thinking about one of my favorite Secondary Characters… Anita.

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Who: Anita

From: West Side Story

West Side Story

West Side Story (Photo credit: thejcgerm)

By: Arthur Laurents, Stephen Sondheim,  and Leonard Bernstein

Produced: 1957 Broadway Premier / 1961 Film

Pros: feisty, spicy, self confident, beautiful, great dancer, great singer, realistic, loyal, great friend, gutsy,

Cons: A bit abrasive, assertive,  and hardly a saint.

Best Shining Moment: Singing AMERICA on the roof top. AND going into Jet territory to tell Tony to wait for Maria.

Least Shining Moment: When the Jets verbally, physically (and very nearly sexually) abuse her she lies to them (and thru them Tony) and tells them Maria is dead, setting up the tragic closing scenario. But that’s really on the Jets.

2 Comments   |  tags: , | posted in fictional character, New York, postaday, Rita Moreno, Romeo and Juliet, Secondary Character, Thought of the Day, West Side Story

April 20, 2013

Second Character Saturday: Glenda

By ritalovestowrite

“When all the stars have fallen down into the sea and on the ground, and angry voices carry on the wind, a beam of light will fill your head and you’ll remember what’s been said by all the good men this world’s ever known.”–Glinda the Good Witch

Cover of the Glinda of Oz

Cover of the Glinda of Oz (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Who: Glinda the Good Witch

From: The Wizard of Oz

By: L. Frank Baum

Published: 1900

The portrait of Glinda the Good appearing in G...

The portrait of Glinda the Good appearing in Glinda of Oz, by L. Frank Baum. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Pros: Kind, protective, wise, thoughtful, brave, magical, friendly, and a strong female role model — her court is almost entirely made up of women. Her leadership style involves letting people figure things out on their own. She keeps a careful eye on the situation and guides them as necessary but she lets them come to the conclusions on their own without spoon-feeding them the knowledge or answers. She’s also there to help when called on.

Why I chose Glinda: I choose her because my daughter recommended this TED talk. Although Mr. Stokes speaks to the Glinda character in the 1939 Movie (and I’m going back to the source Glinda in the book) I think he hits the nail on the head. And it inspired me to choose her for today’s Secondary Character.

http://www.wellhappypeaceful.com/glinda-the-good-witch/

Billie Burke as Glinda and Judy Garland as Dorothy in the 1939 movie of The Wizard of Oz [Image courtesy: Well Happy Peaceful]

Billie Burke as Glinda and Judy Garland as Dorothy in the 1939 movie of The Wizard of Oz [Image courtesy: Well Happy Peaceful]

2 Comments   |  tags: , , | posted in Fiction, fictional character, Film, Glinda the Good, L Frank Baum, postaday, Secondary Character, Thought of the Day, Wizard of Oz

April 13, 2013

Secondary Character Saturday: Aliena of Kingsbridge

By ritalovestowrite
Hayley Atwell as Aliena in the miniseries based on the book. [Image courtesy: Ken Follett.com]

Hayley Atwell as Aliena in the miniseries based on the book. [Image courtesy: Ken Follett.com]

Who: Aliena of Kingsbridge

From: Pillars of the Earth

Cover of "The Pillars of the Earth"

Cover of The Pillars of the Earth

By: Ken Follett

Written: 1989

Pros: Strong, compassionate, loving, determined, resourceful, intelligent, resilient, self-sacrificing.

Aliena has a tumbled mass of unruly dark curls, a straight, imperious nose, soft smooth cheeks, large dark eyes and full sensous lips. She is slim but full breasted, and careless in what she wears, often going barefoot. [Ken Follett.com]

Cons: Emotionally reserved, at times aloof, stubborn and short-tempered.

Donald Southerland as the Earl and Hayley Atwell as Aliena in the miniseries [Image courtesy: TV Somthing]
Donald Southerland as the Earl and Hayley Atwell as Aliena in the miniseries [Image courtesy: Locate TV]

Prior to the novel  Aliena leads a storybook life. Then things start to go wrong. In short order she finds her father, the Earl of Shiring, thrown out of his castle and held in jail for treason. She is raped and her younger brother, Richard, has his ear cut off  before they too  are thrown out of their castle. But having promised her father that Richard will one day take back the title of Earl of Shiring she does everything in her power to toughen the boy and build a fortune.  That means denying herself  her one true love so Richard can be outfitted as a Knight.

Publicity shot for Pillars of the Earth with Eddy Redmayne (Jack) and Hayley Atwell (Aliena) [Image courtesy: xyz]
Publicity shot for Pillars of the Earth with Eddy Redmayne (Jack) and Hayley Atwell (Aliena) [Image courtesy: Eddie Redmayne Forum.com]

Best Shining Moment: Traveling over most of Western Europe in search of Jack. Because true love is worth it.

Least Shining Moment: Marrying Alfred (when she really loves Jack) because Alfred can outfit her brother as a Knight.

Why I chose Aliena: Aliena has the ability to look beyond appearances and see a person’s inner worth (or flaws).  She’s a hard worker who inspires the best in others. She’s not afraid to get her hands dirty, as she showed when helping to build the wall to protect the town. She knows her inner strength and she’s not afraid to use it.

Character relationship tree from Pillars of the Earth. [Image courtesy: Ken Follett.com]

Character relationship tree from Pillars of the Earth. [Image courtesy: Ken Follett.com]

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April 6, 2013

Secondary Character Saturday — Iago

By ritalovestowrite
Illustration of Othello and Iago

Illustration of Othello and Iago (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

“…What’s he then that says I play the villain?” — Iago

Who: Iago

From: Othello

By: William Shakespeare

Written: Around 1603

Pros: Intelligent, ambitious, funny. Although he is the play’s worst character, he is also its most interesting and complex by far… you can’t take your eyes off the scum ball.

Cons: Manipulative, abusive, sociopathic, vengeful, bitter, jealous, petty. He’s a liar and bully that will literally commit murder to get what he wants.

English: Carl Schurz as Iago from Shakespeare'...

English: Carl Schurz as Iago from Shakespeare’s play Othello, amidst his co-conspirators, prepares to enter the limelight. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Most Shining Moment: (Yeah, I’m leaving this one BLANK)

Least Shining Moment: So many to choose from. I’m going to go with killing his wife, Emilia. He’s treated her like dirt the entire play, and when she finally looses it and stands up to him he doesn’t think twice about running her through with a rapier.

Why I chose Iago: As you may have noticed most my Secondary Characters are pretty stand up guys. They all  have something going for them…maybe its charm… maybe they have good heart… but there is usually some nice feature that makes me like a character enough to give them the honored Saturday spot. Not so with Iago. Honestly I’m hard pressed to think of anything really nice to say about him. But…it is a really juicy role. He’s the one people remember. It is kind of the Darth Vader effect. You aren’t supposed to like him at all, but he’s the one whose theme song you remember.

English: Photographic full-length portrait of ...

English: Photographic full-length portrait of Edwin Booth as Iago in Shakespeare’s Othello, the Moor of Venice (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Is Iago a SECONDARY character: I often struggle with whether a character is indeed Secondary. And it is hard to make that case with Iago when he is on stage more than any other character in Othello.  (He has 1,070 lines.) Without his wicked machinations you’d have a very different/happier story so, unlike other Secondary Characters, he is pivotal to the plot. But, when it comes down to it, the play is called Othello, not Iago. So I’m giving the slimy little so-and-so the nod this week.

Othello (1995 film)

Othello (1995 film) (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

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I’m feeling very Shakespeare-y today. I had the good fortune to attend the Baltimore Shakespeare Factory‘s Bard’s Birthday Gala last night. We were treated to scenes from their upcoming production of Romeo and Juliet (April 6-27) as well as a 3 person / 20 minute version of Othello. It was a fabulous lesson in suspending disbelief as the actors literally transformed before your eyes from one character another, and it worked beautifully. With a handful of props, no set and no furniture these three actors told the this timeless story in an engaging, new way. Play on! Indeed!

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March 9, 2013

Secondary Character Saturday Alan Rickman: Colonel Brandon

By ritalovestowrite
[Courtesy Fan Pop]

[Click on the image for animated Alan; Image Courtesy Fan Pop]

Who: Colonel Brandon

 

From: Sense and Sensibility

 

Title page from the first edition of Jane Aust...

 

By: Jane Austen 

 

Published: 1811

 

Pros: Kind, considerate, thoughtful, decent, patient, gentle, faithful, honorable, sensitive, generous, caring… and , oh, yeah, RICH.

 

Although reserved and not passionate, he has a very good heart and helps out those in distress. His charitable behavior toward Eliza Williams and Edward Ferrars makes him the unnoticed knight in shining armor. [Book Rags.com]

 

Cons: Unromantic (on the surface at least), dull, remote, joyless, grave.  He appears stern and dour. especially when compared to Willoughby.

 

English: "when Colonel Brandon appeared i...

English: “when Colonel Brandon appeared it was too great a shock to be borne with calmness” – Marianne, expecting Willoughby, leaves after Colonel Brandon appears. Austen, Jane. Sense and Sensibility. London: George Allen, 1899. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

 

Most Shining Moment: Traveling from Cleveland to Barton Cottage overnight to fetch Mrs. Dashwood to Marianne’s sick-bed.

 

Not a moment was lost in delay of any kind. The horses arrived, even before they were expected, and Colonel Brandon only pressing her hand with a look of solemnity, and a few words spoken too low to reach her ear, hurried into the carriage. It was then about twelve o’clock, and she returned to her sister’s apartment to wait for the arrival of the apothecary, and to watch by her the rest of the night. [Sense and Sensibility, Chapter 43]

 

Least Shining Moment: [I love Brandon, don’t get me wrong. I don’t know that there is a bigger Brandon fan out there than yours truly. BUT … ]  Marianne (rightly) thinks Brandon too old for her. His attraction to her is largely based on a decades old attraction to another woman, Eliza Williams*, to whom he was separated from when he was shipped off to the Army. Essentially he is in love with a ghost from his past.   I know we live a different times but… crushing on some one who is nearly 20 years your junior because they remind you of lost love is a bit creepy, isn’t it? .

Brandon and Marianne (Kate Winslett) in the 1995 movie version of Sense and Sensibility [Image Courtesy: Fan Pop]

Brandon and Marianne (Kate Winslet) in the 1995 movie version of Sense and Sensibility [Image Courtesy: Fan Pop]

It is as good for him as it is for Marianne that it takes them the entire novel to get together. He’s a very patient man. And in the time it takes for her to realize that he is actually a wonderful guy, he has learned to appreciate her for who she really is (and not just as a substitute for his long-lost Eliza.) I think at the end of the novel Brandon really does love Marianne for herself. Perhaps that is the sweetest journey of all in the book.

 

He has clearly already had his heart-broken, and the romantic Marianne believes that everyone is fated to only love once; she prefers the young, handsome, and spontaneous Willoughby, who eventually jilts her. Proving that patience is a virtue, Brandon remains on the perimeter until Marianne gets over being jilted. Brandon’s character and temperament conform to Austen’s and Elinor’s idea of sense rather than sensibility. [Book Rags.com]

 

Alan Rickman played as Colonel Brandon in the 1995 movie directed by Ang Lee, from a screenplay by Emma Thompson. It was “the first cinematic Jane Austen adaptation in 50 years” [IMDb Sense and Sensibility] I love the movie. Like most Austen adaptions it swings wildly away from the book at times, but, still, Ahhhhh… it is a delight. And Rickman’s pitch perfect Brandon is certainly a big part of why I’m so fond of the film. He’s soooo somber, and the poor guy never seems to get his timing right. He’s always walking in just as  Marianne is expecting the more pleasant company of Willoughby.

As Marianne languishes in the other room, Brandon begs for a commission from Elinore. She suggests he fetch her mother, Mrs. Dashwood to Cleveland. [Image Courtesy: Fan Pop]

As Marianne languishes in the other room, Brandon begs for a commission from Elinore. She suggests he fetch her mother, Mrs. Dashwood to Cleveland. [Image Courtesy: Fan Pop]

The comparison between the two men (sensible Brandon and sensual Willoughby) is a secondary theme  in the book (it echos the dichotomy of the sisters’ relationship) but  the movie gives it a wonderful treatment with almost identical scenes of the male character carrying Marianne to safety through the rain. Willoughby does so almost effortlessly towards the beginning of the movie. He puts her down on her mother’s couch as if she is light as a feather. The episode hardly cost him any effort and Marianne is instantly besotted with him.  For Brandon it is a different story. He falls to his knees when he makes to the main hall at Cleveland. He’s spent every ounce of his energy in the task of finding and rescuing Marianne.  But, as she is lifted out of his arms, she is too ill to notice, much less thank him. … SIGH… for those of us who like a tablespoon of  unrequited love in our fiction it is a lovely scene.

 

 

 

Brandon reads to a recovering Marianne (in the 1995 movie version of Sense and Sensibility) [Image Courtesy Fan Pop]

Brandon reads to a recovering Marianne (in the 1995 movie version of Sense and Sensibility) [Image Courtesy Fan Pop]

*BTW: The Brandon and Eliza back story would make such a lovely historically based novel. Some one get on that please.

 

 

 

7 Comments   |  tags: , , , | posted in Alan Rickman, books, Colonel Brandon, England, Fiction, fictional character, Film, Jane Austen, JASNA, postaday, Secondary Character, Sense and Sensiblity, Thought of the Day