Author Topic: Alma's feelings for Ennis  (Read 14505 times)

Offline HerrKaiser

  • BetterMost 1000+ Posts Club
  • ******
  • Posts: 1,708
Re: Alma's feelings for Ennis
« Reply #20 on: October 27, 2006, 09:02:33 pm »
Alma was the one person in the film I felt was least honest about her feelings to anyone, including herself. Even Ennis, who had immeasureble trouble being outward about his feelings, was able to find a work-around to attend to his separate life.

One one level, Alma must have felt Ennis was her whole life; her man, her world. the scene in the grocery when Ennis brings in the two kids tends to underscore this. On the other hand, she never ever did a single thing (other than divorce that I bet Ennis had no clue why) to try to win Ennis' attention back.

Alma, even 16 years after she witnessed Ennis and jack together in the stairwell and years of fishing trips, said "the girls and i think you should get married". And after she made a somewhat elaborate "gotcha" claim about the fishing tackle box and never coming home with fish, she failed to state affirmatively that she SAW the men together. Ennis never knows what Alma knows.

I think Alma's feelings for Ennis center on what she had hoped he'd be and what she dreamed she'd have. In the end, she allowed her anger and sense of rejection to build to a level of detest for both Ennis and Jack. 

Offline Brown Eyes

  • BetterMost Supporter!
  • BetterMost Moderator
  • The BetterMost 10,000 Post Club
  • *****
  • Posts: 10,377
Re: Alma's feelings for Ennis
« Reply #21 on: March 30, 2007, 02:15:47 pm »
Bumping some interesting old threads that have drifted a bit down the page list.

 :-*
the world was asleep to our latent fuss - bowie

Offline HerrKaiser

  • BetterMost 1000+ Posts Club
  • ******
  • Posts: 1,708
Re: Alma's feelings for Ennis
« Reply #22 on: March 31, 2007, 12:34:51 pm »
Even after 15 months of viewing, Alma remains to me the most pathetic figure and the person who held all the cards and did nothing with them. She could have helped Ennis' life; she did not. She could have been honest with Alma Jr; she was not. She could have made it on her own with Ennis' child suppor; she chose to hook up with Monroe which was clearly a match of convenience. Alma lived a life of bitterness and regret rather than facing the issues head on and creating positives rather than negatives.

Offline Brown Eyes

  • BetterMost Supporter!
  • BetterMost Moderator
  • The BetterMost 10,000 Post Club
  • *****
  • Posts: 10,377
Re: Alma's feelings for Ennis
« Reply #23 on: March 31, 2007, 10:02:20 pm »
Even after 15 months of viewing, Alma remains to me the most pathetic figure and the person who held all the cards and did nothing with them. She could have helped Ennis' life; she did not. She could have been honest with Alma Jr; she was not. She could have made it on her own with Ennis' child suppor; she chose to hook up with Monroe which was clearly a match of convenience. Alma lived a life of bitterness and regret rather than facing the issues head on and creating positives rather than negatives.

I agree with you.  I find Alma enormously frustrating for all the reasons you list.  I feel like around the time of the divorce there was a glimmer of hope for her.  She stood up for herself finally in bed with Ennis just prior to the divorce (which was long over due as far as I'm concerned) and probably given her time/ society/ circumstances filing for divorce was a pretty bold and independent move for her.  As much as I love Ennis, Alma was not in any kind of good situation (for her own sake) by staying with him.  But, I totally agree that she doesn't seem to have done much with her new-found opportunity/ freedom following the divorce.   He "Jack Nasty" rant seals the deal for me in totally disliking her character.
the world was asleep to our latent fuss - bowie