Today’s challenge: choose protagonists from two different books or movies- have them meet for the first time.
I considered the following protagonists: Pip from “Great Expectations”, Santiago from “The Alchemist”, Pi from “Life of Pi”. These young men each go on a journey, and eventually find themselves. While I think they’d be great friends, I’m bored.
As usual, I disregard the particulars of the assignment. I choose three characters, not two, an antagonist, a protagonist, and another antagonist. These are tragic women of a certain age who have been disappointed in love and life.
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Miss Havisham–
“Great Expectations” -Charles Dickens
A wealthy spinster who lives in a decaying mansion -Satis House, whose clocks stopped at the moment she received a dear john letter from the man she was to marry. He swindled her and left her at the alter. She never removes her wedding dress, and wears only one shoe. The cake remains on her wedding table as if she expects him to reconsider and return these many years later. She takes in a young girl Estella, and lives to teach Estella to break hearts in vengeance of her own heartbreak.
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Blanch Dubois
“Streetcar Named Desire”- Tennessee Williams
After her marriage ends tragically, and a series of unfortunate events render her penniless, and without her family home- Blanche moves to New Orleans to live with her sister Stella, and her sisters violent husband Stanley Kowalski. Blanche is a true faded flower, a deeply insecure southern belle who lives in a state of perpetual panic about her fading beauty. She begins to date a friend of Stanley’s until her post marriage encounters with men are brought to his attention. She is dumped as a woman of loose morals. At this point she starts to drink heavily. While not exactly a wedding dress, this description of her attire is reminiscent of Miss Havisham’s “She had decked herself out in a somewhat soiled and crumpled white satin evening gown and a pair of scuffed silver slippers with brilliants set in their heels.” After a traumatic violent encounter with Stanly, she loses all touch with reality.
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Mrs. Robinson
“The Graduate” Charles Webb
She seduces recent college graduate Benjamin Braddock, the son of her husbands business partner. A neglected depressed alcohol abusing suburban housewife who has been in a loveless marriage since becoming pregnant with her now college age daughter.
Benjamin then proceeds to fall in love with Mrs. Robinson’s daughter. Mrs Robinson does her worst, to separate the two… unsuccessfully.
Perhaps these three are original desperate housewives? Let’s do lunch ladies.
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The Daily Post
Daily Prompt
Pleased to Meet You
Write a post in which the protagonists of two different books or movies meet for the first time. How do they react to each other? Do they get along?
Jan 18, 2015
<a href="http://Pleased to Meet You“>Pleased to Meet You
I’m sure they will find much in common! I wonder who will pick up the check.
well done, Lydia!
This is a great triumvirate! Each is a stock character–frustrated older woman, unhappy in love and menacing over younger men. And yet, each author has given his female protagonist a unique twist which makes them especially real and brilliant in their respective works of literature (if The Graduate was a book before it was a movie?). I’m delighted with your imaginative lunch bunch!
Thank you, I love these characters! Interesting that they were all created by men.