Anne Forsyte's accent
I know it is supposed to be American, but she sounds more Scottish in places.
Love is never having to say you're sober.
Anne's accent was certainly weird. This was a case of an English actress trying to sound American and not quite pulling it off. I've heard other Brits mimic the accent very well, but not in this case. Of course we Americans don't always do THEIR accent any better.
But the actress who played Anne was pretty and more than adequate in the role otherwise, I thought. She demonstrated how incompatible Jon and Fleur would have been as a married couple. Unlike Fleur, Anne liked exactly what Jon liked---the country, horses, farming life---and she shared his goals. Can you picture Fleur ever doing that? Fleur liked the city, excitement, high society and being the center of attention. She got a very good deal when she married Michael, spoiled ungrateful brat that she was!
Anne was deliberately trying to sound English, for Jon's sake...do they mention that or discuss it?
Though you're right about Anne liking some of the things Jon likes and that Fleur prefers the city and parties, I don't think that makes her an ungrateful brat! Soames spoiled her horribly and she is still suffering from the fact that Jon just dumped her for his mother's sake.
It's not fair that she should suffer for Soames crime and Irene's mistake! I feel sorry for her and often wish that Jon had been man enough to defy his parents and marry her. But he's a mama's boy, a wimp and basically someone who jumps into relationships without thinking. It's not Fleur's fault that things turned out as they did, but mostly everyone else's!
She deserves her revenge, and we deserve to die.
It's more than a year later, so please forgive this last posting.
Jon and Fleur would have been completely wrong for each other no matter what happened in their parents' generation. Fleur would have become bored with him very quickly and he would have been irritated with her pretentiousness and social activities. He also didn't like living in the city.
Their parents all handled this badly; they should have told them the truth far earlier. Soames might never have admitted to raping Irene and he remained selfish about her to the end. Perhaps he never knew that she used him in a "jailbreak" marriage to escape the predatory intentions of her stepmother's new husband. We have only his word that she made no effort to make their marriage work. He reneged on his promise to set her free if it didn't work out.
In short, there was probably no other way this could have played out.
The Fabio Principle: Puffy shirts look best on men who look even better without them.
Thanks for posting! I was pleasantly surprised by this, since I had forgotten about this topic (here, not in my reading).
I think that this idea is at least partly true, but then, Jon and Fleur never had the chance to find out what would have happened if they had married.
Jon and Fleur would have been completely wrong for each other no matter what happened in their parents' generation. Fleur would have become bored with him very quickly and he would have been irritated with her pretentiousness and social activities. He also didn't like living in the city.
I think that, as 18-19 year-olds, they were quite different, but remember, very immature! Both were quite dominated by one parent, influenced and pushed around. They also loved said parents and wanted to please them, especially Jon. I don't think it's wrong to say that Jon's attachment to Irene (and hers to him) really approached unhealthy levels of control and devotion. Though she told Jon to "do as you wish", that was, in my view, a trick. She knew quite well that he would never want to hurt her, a thing she made very clear would happen if he married Fleur.
As for their interests, I never felt that Jon's interest in Nature translated that well into his being a gentleman farmer. First he starts out in British Columbia, then North Carolina and finally W. Sussex. He can't seem to settle on anything! In a way, Fleur is the same with her social whirl. She keeps changing her decor and her crowds of friends. What both seem to be doing is dashing around, looking for anything to fill the hole left by their being torn apart!
And, I don't view Anne as Jon's "true love". She is just easier to deal with. He is a LOT like his father, who wanted a family but didn't want to work too hard at keeping it together! Jolyon barely acknowledged his first three children and even with Jon, leaves most of the affection and guidance to Irene. I see Jon this way as well; he doesn't want anyone to challenge him too much, to disagree to the point at which he might have to change his living in a daydream. After all, he is a Forsyte! Fleur challenges him almost from the start. She would definitely NOT be the sweet, deferential "little wife" that Anne is! And I think that would actually be good for Jon.
Likewise, his love of nature, beauty and a sense of solidity and tradition might help Fleur to grow up. With Jon, who knows? She might have settled down, not into a social butterfly and the "snob" she is called by Marjorie Ferrar, but into a responsible, relaxed and more settled wife, if not exactly a farmer! She could have become more like Holly, learning to influence her husband more subtly and turn her intelligence to social works and creativity instead of parties.
Remember that first walk on the Downs at Wansdon, when Fleur and Jon go exploring in the morning? Fleur seemed quite impressed with nature and the country. I think that could have been cultivated if she had married Jon.
I'm not saying that this would definitely have worked, but at least they would be together. Many couples who love passionately DO remain together, often fighting, splitting up but unable to stay away. I could see Jon and Fleur like this. Marriage is (or should be) more than what Galsworthy calls "a humdrum mateship", more than just getting along and thinking and liking all the same things! Difference creates interest and can keep that first spark alive.
As Nicholas Cage's character, Ronnie, tells Cher's closed-off "Loretta" in "Moonstruck" (I'm paraphrasing a bit): "Love ain't how they told you it is in books....we're not perfect. We were put here to love the wrong person, break our hearts and DIE." He doesn't care about compatibility; he's in it for the passion. Not everyone has the strength to deal with this kind of combustible love, but I think Jon and Fleur DO. I've been a marriage like that for over 20 years (dissimilar people but madly in love) and I wouldn't trade it for anything!
Just my take on it! Thanks for the thoughtful post!
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".....to escape the predatory intentions of her stepmother's new husband." (Venus above).
I think I'm right in saying that that was an invention by the BBC and was not mentioned by Galsworthy.