Father Melia Confession: What were the signs???

Ahh loads and loads of times! Right from the beginning you could tell I think. Then he went and told her he missed her when her marriage collapsed and she wouldn't go to Church. He told her about his childhood, told her she should find someone who appreciates her etc.

Intriguing question! This has had me thinking too.

On reflection there are earlier moments which might point to his having the potential for 'feelings' regarding Iris - it's kind of circumstantial evidence, (but that is the hallmark of good TV writing I think), so please bear with me!

First, there is the incident with the seven orphans, when he cites the Hardy novel, Far From the Madding Crowd - which of itself I found interesting about HIM, that he was drawn to the notion of romance, and steadfast romantic love, even though he cited Oak's words in a different context (his own troubled, loveless childhood) .... this is not a 'gesture' but a sign that he runs deep emotionally (more so than I expected at this point).

Second, amidst his anger and sadness about the treatment of the orphans (their being split up) he indulges in a rather strange outburst at Iris - which clearly confuses and upsets her too - when he tells her to go and find someone to love. This is prompted by her observing his unhappiness (and an empty cup, which I presumed indicated he had been drinking alcohol of some form). Notably, soon after this incident, when she asks after him in church one day, he claims he is now happy, that he offered up his sadness to God who took it away (paraphrasing badly here). My reading of this was that he had indeed felt himself longing for love, prompted mainly by the Orphan incident which re-opened up his old emotional wounds of insecurity and neediness, and in turn, he was then drawn to Iris ... who is clearly devoted to him. So he pushed her away, urging her to find someone else .... and I wasn't convinced by his sudden re-discovered joviality either, but this must have been the moment he referred to during confession, when he claimed he had effectively put a lid on any feelings he might have had for Iris.

Third, he warns Iris against her harsh judgements of May's behaviour in getting pregnant. Iris indulges in a particularly self-righteous tirade at this point, and he bids her look deep into her own heart, saying 'we all' have had these feelings. This is a flaky point in response to your question, but it does show, I feel, at this stage, that he has acknowledged his own 'failing' (potentially) in this department, that he has contemplated loving a woman, and I felt he was also warning Iris off again to a degree (the shame of mutual, unspoken knnowledge) - because for all her moralising bluster, she is a very sensuous woman .....

Which is borne out I think by the fourth key moment, which precedes Father Melia's confession. He is clearly moved, almost angered I thought, by Iris's confession of passionate love for Jesus. Why? Because her reasoning is clearly bogged in the sensual, even the sexual, not the spiritual, when she claims she thinks of Jesus constantly, loving him as a 'man.' At least that is how I think Father Melia takes it, and this, in combination with her decision to take orders (become a bride of Christ effectively) is what prompts what can only be termed an emotional panic! Basically, she has elicited an emotional response from him, when he thought he could handle it, had faced it off for good. And again, he pushes her away by lying to her, telling her she has a vocation. It is this lie, which prompts the greatest panic of all, because he has to reason with himself, understand his own motives for trying to persuade Iris to go away from him - hence his confession.

If anything, of course, Iris's attempt to kill herself (which is surely the subconscious reasoning behind her making the snake bite her - and great symbolism there of course), in offering herself a choice of death or voluntary incarceration, is surely symptomatic of unresolved depression and (sexual) truama, following the Domingo debacle. I think Father Melia knows Iris better than anyone else in Lilies - even her beloved sisters - and he has recognised her confusion in this regard. Which is why he does not trust her motives for wanting to take orders - they are the product of her unresolved feelings.

He knows her better too because he sees Iris in more depth and breadth, beyond the purely functional, the family's surrogate mother - he is also seeing her as a woman, a good, kind, loving woman, and he can't help responding to that, because he is a very passionate man (think of his anger at the orphanage).

Sorry for the hugely long-winded post! I think this series is beautifully written, very subtle, very wonderful. And I love these characterisations.


http://screenstories.blogspot.com

In purely TV serial terms, the guy is good looking, kind and they have a lot of on screen time together, which made it obvious from the start what would happen.

I love the show, haven't missed an episode, but it can be disappointingly clichéd. If the attraction had always been there but remained unspoken I think it would have been better, as soon as it is acknowledged it becomes a bit cheesy.