Blythe a Day: L: Love Sick& N: New Love&T: True Love: Catherine Sloper and Morris Townsend in "The Heiress": Part 1
Emma as Catherine Sloper:
Olivia de Havilland won a Best Actress Oscar for the 1949 film "The Heiress," an adaptation of Henry James's novel "Washington Square," which focuses on Catherine Sloper, a rich woman in 19th century New York who is being romanced by a relatively poor young man played by the then amazingly handsome Montgomery Clift. Catherine's father, Dr. Sloper, believes that Morris is only interested in her wealth. Morris proposes to her, leading to dramatic and mysterious consequences for both...
19th Century New York:
It was a dreary, rain-swept day for what Catherine had expected to be the brightest day of her life. This day was momentous because she had decided to elope with Morris Townsend, a man whom her father detested, believing he only wanted Catherine for her money. Yet, Catherine was certain that Morris was her one true love and that there was no sense in thinking there might be another after him. Having complied with her father's wishes and spent months in Europe to test whether her--and Morris'--love could endure such a separation, Catherine vowed on her return to New York that she was finished with listening to her father's warnings.
Catherine: "I will not be held hostage by Father's doubts. In Europe, I thought I would become sick from being away from Morris. But I endured, and we love each other more than ever. Yet, Father is still adamantly opposed to my marrying Morris. I will not let Father stand in my way. Tonight, I shall become Mrs. Townsend, Father be damned!"
Catherine's strong will could not be deterred, as Morris would find out when they met to confirm what time that night he would come to take her away. They would wait until Dr. Sloper was asleep. That way, he would know nothing of the marriage until after it was too late to try to stop it...
When Morris arrived, he was excited as Catherine. At last, he would have his "heiress," as he routinely thought of Catherine. "My heiress," Morris thought. "No longer shall I be a man too poor for high society..."
Catherine flew into his arms and he shielded her from the increasingly pouring rain.
"Midnight," Catherine told him. "Father shall be asleep then. And we shall become man and wife. I shall be yours, Morris, not his. I don't care, in fact, if I never see him again. I don't even think he actually loves me."
"You may be upset with him now, Catherine," Morris replied, "but after we are married, I am sure we will both be in his good graces. He cannot deny his daughter his love, and he may accept me as his son."
Turning away from Morris, Catherine had a steely gaze as she stated, "No, Morris, I am ready to renounce Father and to renounce his fortune. My future inheritance from him is what he relies on to control me. My relationship with him has strings attached--strings that I breathe through. At midnight, that shall end. I shall be yours and my only fortune shall be your fortune--however meager or bountiful that may be."
That declaration of love was stated in such an unshakeable tone that Morris was taken aback. His fortune was meager indeed.
"I thought I was stepping up in life by marrying her," he said to himself. "It seems now, however, that I would be stepping unalterably down."
With that realization, his eyes grew as wide as a Basaak doll's!
His emotions were too tumultuous for him to put into words. Thus, he confirmed that he would return at midnight to take her away to their new life...
But would he?
TO BE CONTINUED.
Blythe a Day: L: Love Sick& N: New Love&T: True Love: Catherine Sloper and Morris Townsend in "The Heiress": Part 1
Emma as Catherine Sloper:
Olivia de Havilland won a Best Actress Oscar for the 1949 film "The Heiress," an adaptation of Henry James's novel "Washington Square," which focuses on Catherine Sloper, a rich woman in 19th century New York who is being romanced by a relatively poor young man played by the then amazingly handsome Montgomery Clift. Catherine's father, Dr. Sloper, believes that Morris is only interested in her wealth. Morris proposes to her, leading to dramatic and mysterious consequences for both...
19th Century New York:
It was a dreary, rain-swept day for what Catherine had expected to be the brightest day of her life. This day was momentous because she had decided to elope with Morris Townsend, a man whom her father detested, believing he only wanted Catherine for her money. Yet, Catherine was certain that Morris was her one true love and that there was no sense in thinking there might be another after him. Having complied with her father's wishes and spent months in Europe to test whether her--and Morris'--love could endure such a separation, Catherine vowed on her return to New York that she was finished with listening to her father's warnings.
Catherine: "I will not be held hostage by Father's doubts. In Europe, I thought I would become sick from being away from Morris. But I endured, and we love each other more than ever. Yet, Father is still adamantly opposed to my marrying Morris. I will not let Father stand in my way. Tonight, I shall become Mrs. Townsend, Father be damned!"
Catherine's strong will could not be deterred, as Morris would find out when they met to confirm what time that night he would come to take her away. They would wait until Dr. Sloper was asleep. That way, he would know nothing of the marriage until after it was too late to try to stop it...
When Morris arrived, he was excited as Catherine. At last, he would have his "heiress," as he routinely thought of Catherine. "My heiress," Morris thought. "No longer shall I be a man too poor for high society..."
Catherine flew into his arms and he shielded her from the increasingly pouring rain.
"Midnight," Catherine told him. "Father shall be asleep then. And we shall become man and wife. I shall be yours, Morris, not his. I don't care, in fact, if I never see him again. I don't even think he actually loves me."
"You may be upset with him now, Catherine," Morris replied, "but after we are married, I am sure we will both be in his good graces. He cannot deny his daughter his love, and he may accept me as his son."
Turning away from Morris, Catherine had a steely gaze as she stated, "No, Morris, I am ready to renounce Father and to renounce his fortune. My future inheritance from him is what he relies on to control me. My relationship with him has strings attached--strings that I breathe through. At midnight, that shall end. I shall be yours and my only fortune shall be your fortune--however meager or bountiful that may be."
That declaration of love was stated in such an unshakeable tone that Morris was taken aback. His fortune was meager indeed.
"I thought I was stepping up in life by marrying her," he said to himself. "It seems now, however, that I would be stepping unalterably down."
With that realization, his eyes grew as wide as a Basaak doll's!
His emotions were too tumultuous for him to put into words. Thus, he confirmed that he would return at midnight to take her away to their new life...
But would he?
TO BE CONTINUED.