Why was Lureen attracted to Jack?

[shortfiction]

     Really....why?   Because he appeared to be a gentleman by courteously picking up her fallen hat?   Or because she watched him ride the bull, win, and could therefore possibly make some money?     She came on to him in the bar.  Yes, he had asked the bartender about her, but had not made a move towards her.  She came on to him very forcefully in the car as well.

What do you think?

[moremojo]

I think it was a combination of factors. One big motivation was undoubtedly Jack's physical beauty...everyone around him must have picked up on that, even if not everyone appreciated it (like Jimbo). And yes, I think his gentlemanly gesture and bullriding bravado would have added to his allure for a Texas country girl (albeit a moneyed one) like Lureen.

[malina]

I think this is a really good question, and one I hadn't thought of before. Yes, of course, Jack has good looks and charm... presumabley, though, so do others, and Lureen seems to be a girl who could have anyone she wanted.

Still, maybe there's no real mystery as to why she was attracted to him initially. Possibly he did really stand out in that setting. But then, why did that attraction lead to marriage? Almost anything is possible:

1. Was it just a daliance during which she got knocked up?

2. Was she trying to rebel against daddy by choosing someone daddy would hate?

3. Did Jack deliberately charm and ensnare her, because he figured if he couldn't have Ennis, he might as well be well-off and comfortable?

4. Was she attacted to Jack's vulnerability and sadness, missing Ennis and never really fitting in, and, being a dominant sort of girl, did she want to sort him out, take care of him and give him a good life because he tugged at her heartstrings?

5. Did she 'recognize' him as someone who was a bit like herself - fun and highspirited, and also truly kind and a good friend? Did she recognize that, though it might not be true love with fireworks, she could do worse than to marry someone she liked so much?

hmmm.... I prefer #5. #4 would be my second choice.. I hope it's not 1 or 2... or, especially, 1.5, in which Lureen was already pregnant when she met Jack and was looking for someone to marry to pass the baby off as his and legitimate? But then, she wouldn't have been barrel riding would she? Unless that was Plan A, lose the baby?

I think we just don't know... and we could write a whole episode of The O.C. about it!

[serious crayons]

I think it's a little bit of all of the above. But mainly, I think it's that the pickins are probably slim in a poky little place like Childress. Jack is handsome, nice, gracious, fun, supportive, high-spirited, a lot like herself. If he can charm movie viewers from all over the world, I would assume he could do the same for a girl in a small Texas town. I don't see why she WOULDN'T go for him.

Rebellion might have been a factor, too. What child of an overbearing parent isn't tempted to find a mate they know the parent would hate? Being in a hurry for sex before she has to get the car back is a tipoff here -- obviously she knows Daddy would object. And maybe she did get pregnant (though I'm NOT in the maybe-she-was-already-pregnant camp).

The bigger question, to me, is why Jack went for Lureen. Here's where I agree with Malina's Reason No. 3. I think he figured he couldn't have Ennis, and in fact had been striking out in attempts to find other men (like Jimbo). He made $4,000 that year and nearly starved. And now here's this attractive, appealing, aggressive and not-incidentally affluent girl obviously fascinated in him. Might as well go for it.

[LauraGigs]

This is a great question. I have a lot to say about this but must be brief at the moment... the main reason IMO?

She had a big birthright coming to her: the Newsome family business, which she intended to hold on to and run. Although it may not have been foremost in her mind at the moment, she would need a spouse who would help her in that regard without taking it all over for himself (as many macho Texans in the 60s would try to do).

Jack picks up her hat, yet stays in the bar —> helpful, but essentially passive. Just what she needs for the long term.

(And so she then sees if he can satisfy her more short-term needs as well!     )

[serious crayons]

If only I were always as logical and practical in choosing my mates as we're crediting Lureen with being! 

[Scott6373]

I think she hooked up with Jack just to piss off daddy

[malina]

This is a great question. I have a lot to say about this but must be brief at the moment... the main reason IMO?

She had a big birthright coming to her: the Newsome family business, which she intended to hold on to and run. Although it may not have been foremost in her mind at the moment, she would need a spouse who would help her in that regard without taking it all over for himself (as many macho Texans in the 60s might tend to do).

Jack picks up her hat, yet stays in the bar —> helpful, but essentially passive. Just what she needs for the long term.

(And so she then sees if he can satisfy her more short-term needs as well!     )

Ohh... this is clever, Laura! And rings true...

[LauraGigs]

If only I were always as logical and practical in choosing my mates as we're crediting Lureen with being! 

I'm not saying 100% of her decision was cold and pragmatic — far from it. You can tell as they dance that she's falling hard! Jack has all the surface qualities: good looks, gallantry, fun, sensitivity, et cetera.

But I'm just saying that even as our conscious minds are doing one thing (falling hard in her case), the subconscious is at work too, planning ahead. (I always think of when Ennis fusses with the tent — 'tent don't look right' — even though he's not supposed to be sleeping there!)



Also, the theme of struggle between free will and outward (parental) control means many fictional characters act in a way that's a combination of loyalty/emulation and rebellion.

Jack: Lived several states away. Didn't let dad crush his dreams. = Rebellion
        Rode bulls like his dad. Returned home every year. = Loyalty/emulation

Junior: Wanted to move out of the house, in with Ennis = Rebellion
           Married young like her parents, stayed in town, involved family in wedding = Loyalty/emulation

In Lureen's case, she's going to fall right into the family plan of carrying on the Newsome business. But she's too high-spirited to let them completely dictate her personal choices. So I guess I agree to some extent that her choice of Jack seems to clash with what the Sr. Newsomes would have preferred. (But maybe LD would be obnoxious and put down anyone she married; we don't know.)

[serious crayons]

That sounds right.

And it's true, we do tend to get attracted to people -- or at least marry people  -- who seem to fit in with our long-term plans.