The scene that is the most sympathetic is when Alma reveals to Ennis in the kitchen that she knew what was going on between him and Jack. Before that point, Alma had been reserved and quiet about the whole situation. I felt that she should have revealed her frustration and anger to Ennis the next day after she witnessed them embrace and kiss outside their home.
I don't think that any married woman can withstand her husband embrace and kiss another man or woman in the manner that Ennis and Jack greeted each other. Although her reaction of their scandalous behavior was belated, she was right to confront Ennis. I think that she needed time to heal and gain the courage to reveal what she knew about them.
The reason why I think she needed time to develop courage is because she had never referred to Jack Twist as "Jack Nasty" in the past. Whenever Ennis spoke of Jack, Alma would refer to him as his friend. Despite the fact that she knew what was going on between the two of them, she never referred to Jack or Ennis in a derogatory manner.
Alma knew that Ennis would get angry when she slandered Jack's name. Furthermore, she wanted to let Ennis know that he was never fooling her. I think it angered Alma to know that he perceived her as ignorant and stupid.
What I took from that scene was that Ennis lost his cool and threatened to harm Alma while her husband and their daughters were present. Ennis yelled at Alma and stormed out of the house without giving any explanation to his daughters. This type of behavior would make any parent look bad in the eyes of his or her children.
I think that Alma planned it this way so Ennis can blow up and their daughters, along with her husband, can see that Ennis is temperamental. It serves him right since he committed adultery for such a long time with another man, notwithstanding, she was expected to have his children and work. I'm glad that she unleashed her anger because this may have been her way of gaining some piece of mind after all those years of neglect.
3 comments:
I agree that Alma should have voiced her concern at the very moment that Ennis kissed Jack right in front of her. It was a complete violation of trust, and he had a lot of audacity to do that while she was present. The problem is that back in that time period it was not as easy to leave your husband as it is now. A woman with 2 kids and hardly any money is not exactly a “hot commodity.” I wonder if she would have responded differently, though, if she had caught her husband kissing another woman. Maybe she would have been more “justified” with her outrage in the public's eye. The possibility that must also be considered is the credibility (or lack thereof) she has as she accuses her husband of adultery with another man. It would have been her word against his, and in the ‘60s that is a win for the man 10/10 times.
With regards to why it took so long for her to summon the courage to leave him, I think she was just waiting until she found a man that was willing to accept her and her 2 daughters in to his house. Having children, she can’t afford the luxury of leaving her husband on the spot without a plan B.
I agree with Baker, as far as why Alma may have not voiced her opinion as soon as she witnessed the deception of Ennis with Jack, Alma was concerned with finding someone else who was willing to accept her with two kids. Due to the fact that in those days, men were very much so superior to women, Alma had no choice but to stay with Ennis because she alone, would have been unable to provide for her family. Incidents as such had conformed Alma into the norms of the society of that time. Men taking advantage of the superiority they had because of the power struggle women had. In todays' society, men are still superior to women, but women have gained enough power to learn to become independent of men.
Although homosexuality is still not completely accepted in the world today, or politically correct according to some, it to has grown to be more accepted now then before, allowing people like Jack and Ennis to be proud of who they are, and creating a sense of ease as to not having to live a double life just to meet the standards of society.
Not trying to make the world sound so perfect, because some gays are still struggle as Jack and Ennis did, but there are also a lot of gays who are proud of being gay and aren't worried about the standards of society.
Some excellent ideas about developing courage. Remember that Alma has always been poor, so it took her awhile to realize she was strong enough to be on her own. Also, she married young, but she soon realized that Ennis did not love her, but her second husband does. That is why she confronts Ennis at his house.
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