BetterMost, Wyoming & Brokeback Mountain Forum
The World Beyond BetterMost => Women Today => Topic started by: Front-Ranger on November 05, 2015, 12:20:50 am
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The female characters of the movie Brokeback Mountain are very well formed, even though the story characters were mere mentions in many places. We can attribute the character development to Larry McMurtry who, even as his cowriter Diana Ossana has said, has fleshed out the women admirably. This is no surprise, since he created memorable women characters for "Last Picture Show", "Lonesome Dove", and, most notably "Terms of Endearment".
So, what was in the back of Larry's mind when he wrote dialogue like this between Lureen, Jack's wife, and LaShawn, a recent acquaintance of hers?
LaShawn : And then I pledged Tri Delt at SMU. And I sure never thought I'd end up in a poky little place like Childress. Then I met old Randall here at an Aggie game and he was an animal husbandry major. So we've been here for a month and he got the foreman job over at Roy Taylor's ranch. Like it or not, here I am!
Lureen : Was you Tri Delt? I was Kappa Phi myself.
LaShawn : Well, even though we ain't quite sorority sisters we just may have to dance with ourselves, Lureen. Our husbands ain't the least bit interested in dancin'. They ain't got a smidgen of rhythm between them.
I have two ideas: Hera, and Echo
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Oh, and I also wanted to ask this question: which woman of Brokeback Mountain are you? (Guys, you are welcome to answer also!)
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Oh, and I also wanted to ask this question: which woman of Brokeback Mountain are you? (Guys, you are welcome to answer also!)
Me? Mrs. Newsome, I'm afraid. :-\
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Mrs. Newsome? That's an interesting choice, Jeff! Let's hear more!
Now, here's LaShawn, whom I think is Larry's idea of a 1960s Echo. She was the beautiful sprite who chattered away at Hera while her husband Zeus was misbehaving with the other sprites. Hera was so p.o.ed that she condemned Echo to have the last word on everything, echoing what other people said instead of voicing her own ideas. Sound familiar?
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As evidence, please note LaShawn's dappled leaf print dress with the filmy floating fabric and the fluffy ruffles and hair waves.
While we're at it, Randall's costume is brilliant as well, with his tie, hat, shirt and lapels featuring multiple arrow and diagonal (pyramid or mountain type) shapes. Even his beard is like an arrow pointing to his mouth!
Oh, and do you see that triangular shape in the foreground, like a little volcano with the cigarette coming out the side? That's Jack's hand, LOL! ;) Is this scene starting to become clearer, or what!?!
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Mrs. Newsome? That's an interesting choice, Jeff! Let's hear more!
Aw, I was just funnin'.
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Well, I hope you had oodles of fun. Meanwhile, this little thread has had more than 100 views! So, I will press forward. In case anyone was wondering about the Greek goddess connection to the women of Brokeback Mountain, I present Evidence #1: please check out Lureen's outfit at the Childress fundraiser.
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Actually, Lureen suddenly reminds me of Ariadne. Presumably her marriage starts off at least sort-of good, and she ends up more-or-less abandoned by her husband. She might not really be abandoned before Jack's death, but clearly he isn't "there" for her. So I guess that's a kind of emotional abandonment.
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Very interesting. Must read up about Ariadne. As the spouse of Dionysus, that seems pretty exciting!
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Of course, Alma seems to be the epitome of Penelope, with her sewing machine, her suitor and her neverending patience.
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Oh, and I also wanted to ask this question: which woman of Brokeback Mountain are you? (Guys, you are welcome to answer also!)
I have to say, I'm not sure
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Actually, Lureen suddenly reminds me of Ariadne. Presumably her marriage starts off at least sort-of good, and she ends up more-or-less abandoned by her husband. She might not really be abandoned before Jack's death, but clearly he isn't "there" for her. So I guess that's a kind of emotional abandonment.
Very interesting. Must read up about Ariadne. As the spouse of Dionysus, that seems pretty exciting!
What I was actually thinking re: Ariadne was how she helped Theseus, and then he abandoned her. It made me think how Jack turned to Lureen to assuage his loneliness, but ultimately that didn't work and he (emotionally) abandoned her.
Maybe Lureen remarried after Jack's death. With that farm equipment business, I'm sure the Widow Twist was a catch.