I saw "The Children's Hour" on TCM this evening.
It has many thoughtful and excellent reviews so I won't do another one. But I do want to raise another issue which intrigued me.
In the scene towards the end i.e. when Karen (played by Audrey Hepburn)repeatedly pushes Joe (played by James Garner) to ask the question whether he ever had any doubt about the nature of her and Martha's (played by Shirley MacLaine) relationship as has publicly come to be known. Joe repeatedly states that he has no such questions. But Karen won't take no for an answer and ultimately succeeds in getting him to ask the question. Then Karen tells Joe that the two women do not have such a relationship, but she still pushes Joe away and viewers are led to believe (esp. in the last scene) that they have parted forever.
Later when Martha asks Karen where Joe is as she has made dinner for the three of them, without any hesitation Karen tells her that Joe believed and/or had questions that the two of them (the women) had been in a lesbian relationship. The viewer gets some sense that Martha has guessed what may have happened (that Karen pushed the issue), but the conclusion is ambiguous.
To me what was most intriguing is that first Karen virtually browbeats Joe into asking the question whether or not the two women have been in a lesbian relationship. And even after he asks it, and Karen tells him they don't she insists he leave and they break up their relationship, telling him it's for a few weeks.
To me this provided an intriguing glimpse into Karen's psyche, that she has resolutely intuited that Joe has this question lurking somewhere in the back of his mind. This is perfectly reasonable to me. She then compels him to ask it, gives him an answer and then breaks their relationship up; later telling Martha that Joe had sought confirmation one way or another about the nature of the two womens' relationship.
I can understand Karen intuiting what she does. But I don't see any clarity or reasoning in why Karen is convinced that it requires her to end her relationship with Joe. Or withholding the fact that she was the one to push him to ask the question.
If any other reader/reviewer can explain what I am missing here I would very much appreciate that.
It has many thoughtful and excellent reviews so I won't do another one. But I do want to raise another issue which intrigued me.
In the scene towards the end i.e. when Karen (played by Audrey Hepburn)repeatedly pushes Joe (played by James Garner) to ask the question whether he ever had any doubt about the nature of her and Martha's (played by Shirley MacLaine) relationship as has publicly come to be known. Joe repeatedly states that he has no such questions. But Karen won't take no for an answer and ultimately succeeds in getting him to ask the question. Then Karen tells Joe that the two women do not have such a relationship, but she still pushes Joe away and viewers are led to believe (esp. in the last scene) that they have parted forever.
Later when Martha asks Karen where Joe is as she has made dinner for the three of them, without any hesitation Karen tells her that Joe believed and/or had questions that the two of them (the women) had been in a lesbian relationship. The viewer gets some sense that Martha has guessed what may have happened (that Karen pushed the issue), but the conclusion is ambiguous.
To me what was most intriguing is that first Karen virtually browbeats Joe into asking the question whether or not the two women have been in a lesbian relationship. And even after he asks it, and Karen tells him they don't she insists he leave and they break up their relationship, telling him it's for a few weeks.
To me this provided an intriguing glimpse into Karen's psyche, that she has resolutely intuited that Joe has this question lurking somewhere in the back of his mind. This is perfectly reasonable to me. She then compels him to ask it, gives him an answer and then breaks their relationship up; later telling Martha that Joe had sought confirmation one way or another about the nature of the two womens' relationship.
I can understand Karen intuiting what she does. But I don't see any clarity or reasoning in why Karen is convinced that it requires her to end her relationship with Joe. Or withholding the fact that she was the one to push him to ask the question.
If any other reader/reviewer can explain what I am missing here I would very much appreciate that.