MovieChat Forums > Maurice (1987) Discussion > A few questions...

A few questions...

posted 18 years ago by il_mascalzone
9 replies | jump to latest

After recently watching this film for the first time (and being overwhelmingly impressed by it), I was left with a few questions:

In the description of the movie, Anne (Clive's wife) is described as being "shallow." I didn't think that she was shallow - rather, I thought that she was acting in a way that was expected of her by society (meaning that she expected every man to be heterosexual). Are there some aspects of her that I am not taking into consideration?

The music of Tchaikovsky has a big presence in this film. This is especially apparent in the beginning of the film when Clive and Maurice listen to (what I think was) Tchaikovsky's Symphony No.6. Does anyone think that the director chose to include this music due to Tchaikovsky's alleged homosexuality? Or was this music simply included to provide a contrast with the film's amazing music score, written by Richard Robbins?

I would hate to think that I'm picking apart a very good film for no reason at all, but I just couldn't help but ask these questions.

[–] ladytron72 18 years ago

I agree with you on thesubject of Clive's wife.
Her description in the book is of course more precise. She has a stronng education but also shares with Clive his culture, the boks he read and doesn't seem to need physical relation ship.

As for Tchaikovsky, it is indeed the 6th symphony, second movement Allegro con Grazia.
The idea doesn't come from James Ivory, it's directly inspired by the boook where the music has a very strong role to play. And of course, the choice of Tchaikovsky isn't random.

********
"I have of late, but wherefor I know not, lost all my mirth..."

[–] SirinJulia 18 years ago

And that symphony is widely known to describe Tchaikovsky own sufferings and his coming to terms with his homosexuality; he also dedicated it to his nephew with whom he was in love.

Aspire to climb as high as you can dream

[–] ladytron72 18 years ago

Exactly, thanx for adding this. ;-)

********
"I have of late, but wherefor I know not, lost all my mirth..."

[–] bejeezus2002 17 years ago

I'm so glad you said what you did about Anne. I read the liner notes accompanying the 2 DVD set and was truly appalled that the author would call Anne "silly" (or some similar attribution). She doesn't strike me as "silly" or "stupid" at all. Naive, perhaps, but that's to be understood, given the insular nature of her upbringing as a woman in Victorian/Edwardian England. It's true that she is probably NOT the brightest girl, but she is far from "stupid" or "silly." It would never have occurred to her that men could fall in love with other men, or that men could even enjoy each other sexually. I haven't read the book, but the movie makes it pretty clear that Anne and Clive's marriage is essentially a sexless one, perhaps even completely unconsummated.

Thanks for saying what you did about Anne. I completely agree!

JST

[–] sledzik 17 years ago

bejeezus - The book makes it clear that they consummate the marriage. But it also states that they never see each other naked.

About Anne being shallow or silly: I think she is, at least a little. More so in the movie than in the book, though. Think of the scene where she talks to Maurice about Clive's election campaign. She says, "And I do think it would be a good idea for the poor if he does get in, don't you? He's their best friend, if only they knew it." Moments later she states that Borenius comes "to scold Clive about the housing". Hello? ;-)
But I agree it's probably down to conventions etc. rather than her intellect.

[–] 17 years ago

[deleted]

[–] Aulic Exclusiva 17 years ago

I remember my great-grandmother once saying (I was listening under the table to women's conversation; they didn't know I was there) that "her husband had never seen her in her chemise".

(A chemise was a woman's loose-fitting, sleeveless undergarment, sort of like a shift, that was the ancestor of today's slip. The corset was worn directly on top of the chemise and, over it, the petticoat and the dress.)

I did not then understand what she meant (she died when I was 11.) But she said it somewhat grandly, as if a thing to be proud of.

I suspect that Victorian sex between married people of the upper class was a pretty restrained affair. Yet, they had several children, including my maternal grandmother!

If the Kingdom of Heaven is like a grain of mustard, It can also be like a chicken-pox mark.

[–] bitherwack 16 years ago

Ha Ha Haaa! (Imagine a big cackling belly laugh!)

The reason your great-grandmother said so proudly that
her husband had never seen her in her chemise, was
because

SHE HAD ALWAYS TAKEN IT OFF!

[–] opdiva 16 years ago

holy crap...okay, now i feel ignorant.

i was a music major in college and had no idea of tchaikovsky's homosexuality (or "alleged" homosexuality).