MovieChat Forums > The Wicker Man (1974) Discussion > What made Howie a middle-aged virgin?

What made Howie a middle-aged virgin?

posted 8 years ago by zooeyhall
14 replies | jump to latest

One of the requirements for the villagers ritual was that the sacrificed person to be a virgin. Which is why they chose Howie.

I am wondering how many middle-aged men there really are who are committed virgins like Howie. There can't be many, I assume. I wonder what led him to adopt the celibate lifestyle? It's obvious he has sexual feelings, because he seemed to be extremely aroused by Willow's dance.

Was it a religious conviction? Was he just a shy guy who never had the time or inclination for women? Some deep-seated sexual hang-up? I seem to recall some dialogue where he thinks that sex outside of marriage is morally wrong.

I wonder what kind of psychology lies behind Howie's denial of sex.

It must have taken some real will power for him to resist "temptation".

Or did he have a fundamentalist religious view that women were the temptresses of the Devil?

Thoughts? Opinions?

[–] The_White_Hotel 8 years ago

It's pretty clear that he is a virgin because he is a devout christian and does not believe in sex before marriage. At the beginning he is engaged to be married but not yet married hence still a virgin.

These are the only words I have, I'm stuck with them, stuck in them

[–] 8 years ago

[deleted]

[–] Navaros 8 years ago

It doesn't matter if a cut includes the beginning or not - that's a moot point. Howie is a Christian in every cut and Christians do not believe in fornication.

For those reasons, the OP's question doesn't even make sense since the answer is blatantly obvious. It's like asking, "what color is the red apple?"

[–] ColumboKate (5788) a year ago

Agreed. His version of Christianity was "you procreate to have a baby" any thing else is a sin a definitely not allowed before marriage. Where does the OP think the missionary position came from? Zero stimulation for the female, and dominance and satisfaction for the male = submissive wife and children. This was taught to newlyweds in this faith til around mid 20th Century for these folk.

This was made in the 70s so his upbringing, in a remote area too, would have enforced these beliefs.

[–] BenStrousers (966) a year ago

Zero stimulation for the female? That's news to me.

[–] animal0mother (35) 2 years ago

The actual reason? He's uptight for some reason. Anal-retentive. Stick up his ass.
The reason to himself? At least partly his Christian identity

[–] Otter (24464) a year ago

There's a bigger question and it's this:

HOW did people living in an isolated backwater find out he's a virgin???

[–] AP (5295) a year ago

That’s the one that always bugged me. Somehow, they found the only virgin cop in the UK and had him show up.

And technically, he never claimed to be a virgin. He said he didn’t believe in sex before marriage buuuuuut we don’t know if he acquired that view after having been sexually active.

[–] FootOfDavros (8712) a year ago

This has been discussed a bit on some of the other threads:-

Basically - from the film's original cut - we know he, specifically, received a letter from the island. So that's why it was him showing up. We also see in the original cut that he was a devout Christian, who didn't believe in fornication, etc. And we see that he withstood Willow's attempted seduction.

So we don't know precisely how, but we do know that they know of him and his alleged "virgin" status, which they test out.

If you look at the original script and filmed scene shown in the Director's Cut, we see that he's teased behind his back by some other police officer and the postman about being a virgin. Therefore it seems straightforward enough to see if he's gossiped about on the nearest small town on the mainland, it's quite easily possible to imagine that gossip making its way to the island.

[–] Otter (24464) a year ago

Well, professing a belief that premarital sex is wrong doesn't mean that the people who say it were all virgins until their wedding night. In the US at least, most people who say that have had an adventurous youth, a slipup, have suffered an assault, or are in denial about same-sex activities. Many of them feel guilt or shame and wish they actually were virgins, but the majority are not, and I presume it was the same in 1970s UK.

So you have to assume that they've got a contact on the mainland who noticed the weirdo religious fanatic cop, but that's only an assumption. The assumption of virginity is absolutely not explained in the film, we just accept it because it's all about sexy paganism vs. sex-negative Christianity.

[–] EleazarHisSon (770) a year ago

There is a scene in the workprint that has been reinserted into the Director's Cut where some other cops make fun of Howie because he is saving himself for marriage. So it seemed to be known in the district.

[–] Martoto (5191) a year ago

We're not talking about the UK though. We're talking about a remote island in a remote part of Scotland. It would not be unlikely to have heard of the police sergeant in a neighbouring island and their devotion to the kirk.

Plus they tempted him with Willow and he resisted. Only a fanatic wishing to preserve their "purity" would have done so.

He should have shagged her.

[–] liscarkat (19427) a year ago

There are heterosexual guys who are not great looking and are too shy to approach women. If I hadn't met an aggressive "Mrs. Robinson" who got me started on my sex life when I was a young man I might still be a virgin today, in my old age. My celibacy up to that point had nothing to do with religion or lack of inclination; I was just afraid of women and rejection. I think a lot of guys experience the same thing.

[–] david80848688 (331) a year ago

In the book he's younger (aged 27) and has a fiancée he nearly fucks before going to the island.