Author Topic: How would Lureen have reacted if she had caught JACK  (Read 9207 times)

Offline Kd5000

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How would Lureen have reacted if she had caught JACK
« on: December 16, 2006, 11:16:39 pm »
with Ennis. She was more liberated and certainly more economically independent then Alma. Do you think she would have confronted Jack the very next day and not waited around bitting her nails, hedging her options.   Maybe this topic has already been covered before, but I would still be interested in hearing what other Brokies  have to think.

Here's my thoughts. 

Most likely scenario
A) She would have had an explosive blow-up with him, telling him to get out right away and never come back.  Alll the while crying on the inside. 
or
B) She would have slowly come around to confronting Jack.  Jack, are you gay?  How long has this been going on.  How will we protect Bobby from this. Why didn't you tell me this before we got married, etc.
or
C) She would have called her mother the very next day, confided in her what she had seen, pleaded with her mom not to tell her dad.  Calculated what's in her best interest, asked Jack for a divorce not mentioning what she had witnessed.
or
D) Act like nothing has happened. She might start seeing another man on the side. They would have an open marriage where she and Jack would show up together but she would know not to expect any sexual relations with her husband. 


Offline Bucky

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Re: How would Lureen have reacted if she had caught JACK
« Reply #1 on: December 17, 2006, 03:52:20 am »
I think Lureen probably suspected that Jack was not the macho type anyway and she had to almost force herself on Jack to have sex with him.  I am sure she wondered why Jack went up to Wyoming three or four times a year but his "buddy" never came to Texas.  Actually she said as much in the movie when Jack was looking for his blue parka.

Lureen knew that Jack was the butt of jokes among some of the people of Childress, Texas I think.  I know she over heard some man say to her father  "isn't that the pissant that used to ride the bulls."  Her father replied with a put down of Jack by saying "he used to try."  I really don't think Lureen would have been that surprised if she had seen Jack kissing Ennis.  I don't think Lureen would have fretted and grieved over it like Alma did but then Lureen was more sophiscated than Alma and probably knew more about the world than Alma.  I think she would tell Jack that it didn't surprise her because she had suspected that he was gay for some time.  What she would have done about it I couldn't guess but I think she would have stayed married to him for Bobby and the sake of appearing to have a normal family. 

Offline Faye92

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Re: How would Lureen have reacted if she had caught JACK
« Reply #2 on: December 21, 2006, 08:17:54 pm »
That's a good question. I believe Lureen would have blown up about the entire scene but she would have kept it away from her parents to protect their reputation as well as she and Jack's. I don't believe she would have initiated a divorce though, even though she had the financial means to sustain and support a decent standard of living for she and her son. For some reason, I don't feel that she thought too highly of her father (hence the bashful smiling at the Thanksgiving dinner table scene when Jack put her father in his place) but that's just me. Perhaps out of inner spite, she would have stayed with him, keeping the secret between the two of them.

Lureen was such a trailblazer, I wouldn't even doubt that she would have encouraged Jack to pursue a relationship with Ennis protecting and supporting him, if you will, along the way. I need to watch the film again though and focus on her a bit to say for sure. She appeared extremely liberal to me.

Offline Katie77

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Re: How would Lureen have reacted if she had caught JACK
« Reply #3 on: December 21, 2006, 09:17:13 pm »

D) Act like nothing has happened. She might start seeing another man on the side. They would have an open marriage where she and Jack would show up together but she would know not to expect any sexual relations with her husband. 



That one seems to me to be the more likely.....She became very business orientated, and I'm sure she would not have said anything, that may have been heard by her father.

It seems in the marriage, that she was the dominant partner anyway....and even in their first meeting she was the agressor.....She was a lot stronger willed and stronger nature than alma, and I think she probably guessed that there was something "different" about Jack.....I do think though that she loved him for who he was, and she was so proud of him when he stood up to her overbearing father, and I think if she had "caught Jack", it probably would have answered all her doubts about him, and I think too, that she would have carried on with her life the same way as she did.....

I some ways, when Ennis rang her after Jack died, I think a lot of her questions were answered, and a lot of her doubts confirmed.......
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Offline jpwagoneer1964

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Re: How would Lureen have reacted if she had caught JACK
« Reply #4 on: December 21, 2006, 09:45:50 pm »
That one seems to me to be the more likely.....She became very business orientated, and I'm sure she would not have said anything, that may have been heard by her father.

It seems in the marriage, that she was the dominant partner anyway....and even in their first meeting she was the agressor.....She was a lot stronger willed and stronger nature than alma, and I think she probably guessed that there was something "different" about Jack.....I do think though that she loved him for who he was, and she was so proud of him when he stood up to her overbearing father, and I think if she had "caught Jack", it probably would have answered all her doubts about him, and I think too, that she would have carried on with her life the same way as she did.....

I some ways, when Ennis rang her after Jack died, I think a lot of her questions were answered, and a lot of her doubts confirmed.......
I'll go along with that.
Thank you Heath and Jake for showing us Ennis and Jack,  teaching us how much they loved one another.

Offline Brown Eyes

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Re: How would Lureen have reacted if she had caught JACK
« Reply #5 on: December 22, 2006, 04:07:51 pm »
This is a great topic for a thread!  I think our best clue is her reaction during the phone call (as has been suggested above).

I also think her reaction might have been different at different points in time.  Maybe if she had found out when they were all really young, her response might have been more explosive.  By the time we see her at the dinner with Randall and LaShawn, we can see her cynicism has taken on a more subtle tone... not explosive but subtly bitter.  If she had somehow outright caught Jack with Ennis, it's truly hard to predict her reaction.  But, again, it would probably depend on the point of time in the relationship.

I think her response on the phone is somewhat encouraging.  She did Ennis an enormous kindness in telling him about the ashes (and encouraging him to go get them) and in telling him that brokeback was Jack's favorite place (although she may not understand quite the significance of this herself).
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Offline bbm_stitchbuffyfan

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Re: How would Lureen have reacted if she had caught JACK
« Reply #6 on: December 31, 2006, 05:00:32 pm »
It is in my interpretation in the phone scene that she comes to understand the significance of Brokeback being Jack's favorite place. (That's one of the movie's most moving scenes for me.) I think the whole revelation here overwhelmed her, but I think she felt sympathetic for the both of them. I don't think Lureen would have been as hostile toward Jack as Alma was Ennis; I definitely think she would have kept it under wraps.
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Offline Katie77

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Re: How would Lureen have reacted if she had caught JACK
« Reply #7 on: December 31, 2006, 10:07:45 pm »
I don't think Lureen would have been as hostile toward Jack as Alma was Ennis; I definitely think she would have kept it under wraps.

Do you really think, Alma was "hostile" towards Ennis?.....she kept her secret of knowing quite a long time, obviously bottled it all up, and it was probably the straw that broke the camel's back as far as any chance that her marriage would survive, but it seems like a few years had passed before she finaly went "hostile" after the thanksgiving dinner....I think then, she felt "safe" being able to say something, she was now remarried, pregnant and was not as afraid of the repercussions of bringing it out into the open, as she would have been if she was still living with Ennis......I think she was remarkable, that she held it in for as long as she did...

If you notice what was said, between her and Ennis before she started on the "Jack Nasty" thing....she said to Ennis he should get married again, and his reply was "Once bitten"...which was a smart arse way of saying that SHE was the one who had turned him off women.....letting him know that she knew about him and Jack, was her way of saying, "its not my fault, have a look at what you have been doing"......and "I know too, what you have been doing"......she was letting him know, that she had no guilts about their marriage failing, and she wasnt going to let him blame her....she didnt threaten him with exposure or anything, she just wanted him to know that she knew, finally........

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Offline BBM-Cat

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Re: How would Lureen have reacted if she had caught JACK
« Reply #8 on: December 31, 2006, 11:23:24 pm »
This really is a great question to consider. I always imagine that if Lureen actually caught Jack and Ennis together, let's say, in an intimate or a compromising situation she would probably initially diffuse the situation by saying something clever and snippy like, 'Why Jack, I didn't know you were still riding bulls!' or, 'Jack, I just figured out why you never like to dance with your wife!'.  Then we'd probably hear 'An Angel went up in Flames' in the background...as she mutters to herself...asks for a divorce...storms off...Jack and Ennis comically trying to extricate themselves...LOL
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Offline Katie77

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Re: How would Lureen have reacted if she had caught JACK
« Reply #9 on: January 01, 2007, 12:13:36 am »
This is a good subject of discussion, and now I guess there are another question:

1....What do you think Ennis and Jack would have done if they had looked up and saw Alma looking at them thru the door??????????


My thought is that Ennis would have ran for his life, and Jack would have followed, trying to settle him down, and telling him that "maybe this is best, now she knows, we can be together"..................
Being happy doesn't mean everything is perfect.

It means you've decided to see beyond the imperfection