We talked in class Wednesday about how Tom wanted to morph into Dickie, so I was thinking about how Tom resented Dickie for being well-off and having his own income, home, and career in Rome. Originally, Dickie and Marge are welcoming of Tom, but once Tom overstays his welcome, Marge and Dickie start to become annoyed by Tom. Tom had no real motive behind his resentment of Marge and Dickie, except for the fact that they had it better off than him. Tom feels a sense of jealousy towards Dickie for having so much expendable money and having a father who is loaded with cash.
Honestly, I think Dickie begins to resent Tom once Marge accuses Tom of being in love with Dickie. Tom begins mimicing Dickie's mannerisms and trying on his clothing, which really makes Dickie mad. Tom resents Marge for petty things, such as her appearance, which is "unsophisticated," her clingy nature, and just the fact that she is a blockade Tom has in spending all his time with Dickie. Marge and Dickie had a weird relationship, which made assessing both her and Dickie hard. Was she in love with Dickie, which is why she was so mad at Tom for taking Dickie away from her?
I think that Marge was very much interested in pursuing a relationship with Dickie, but the overall ambivalence Dickie and Marge had at times made me think they weren't at the 'i love you' point. I do think that they both wanted to get to that point as characters, but obviously never did.
ReplyDeleteLove itself plays a motive for her actions, but honestly I think she just hated Tom and saw him in a far less savory light then Dickie did. When Dickie started to get sick of Tom, he too began to see the various flaws of character in him, and thus Tom killed him.
I also think that Marge was in love with Dickie, but the bigger question to me is whether or not Dickie actually loved Marge back. I know that he says something to that effect to Tom, but he doesn't really have any reason to tell him the truth, either. It's ambiguous, I think, because he definitely has some sort of affection for her which moved beyond simple friendship, and Mingella, in the movie, interprets it as a physical relationship, which Dickie also denied in the book.
ReplyDeleteAs far as her view on Tom, I think it's just that she's able to see through him and see that he's actively trying to shut her out. That would make anyone angry. She can't quite see his true motives, but she does know that there's something strange, at least at the beginning.
I think Marge was definitely in love with Dickie even if it was just one of those loves because she appreciates him being the only one around all the time. I think she is the one that makes Dickie resent Tom and that the story would be very interesting if Marge was never there. Dickie could be gay for all we know and maybe he doesn't want to admit it to himself. He could have moved originally for the same reason Tom left America, to escape a society he does't feel welcome in. The novel gave me the feeling that Dickie didn't love Marge even though she was in love with him which I always thought was strange. It just would make sense if Dickie was gay that's why he didn't like Tom after Marge said something and why he never truly fell for Marge the way she fell for him.
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