MovieChat Forums > Brief Encounter (1946) Discussion > Her husband knew and Doc was a cad

Her husband knew and Doc was a cad

posted 12 years ago by nutritionist
25 replies | jump to latest

Upon watching the movie a second time, I saw it from another angle:

First, I see that she was targeted and preyed upon by the caddish doctor on the make. He had a "delicate" wife, which in those days means she would have her own bedroom and not have any marital relations for fear of getting pregnant again and due to lots of headaches or other illnesses women in fragile "delicate" states had in those days after having done their duty in providing an heir and a spare.

Once he knew she was married he should have stopped his pursuit. He saw she was naively ripe for his romanticizing her. Also, having a tremendous ego, he didn't want to be the only cheating one, so a married woman would be equally sharing of any guilt. It was absolutely inappropriate for him to have gone to the movies with her and beg her to see him again the following week, and then taking off from the hospital again to go Rowing- that is courting behavior, and his colleagues too must have seen him shirking work every week.

At the very beginning of the film, we see her arriving home after just parting for the last time with Doc. Her husband calls to her as soon as she comes in, he is very attentive at dinner and in the library asks her a Crossword Puzzle question that I believe he had prepared. The answer was "Romance". I believe because he was a kind and gentle man, he would never have confronted her, he was using that question as a gentle opening- for her to spill the beans!

There is no way that her husband did not notice for five weeks that is wife had changed and was going through something very very tumultuous in her life. He was quiet and reserved and boring, but nothing about her husband had him being a complete fool. When he saw her acing very strangely, he must have remembered that she told him about going with "a strange man to the movies" "a doctor".

I think her husband must have quietly found out a little bit about a romance going on, he must have known that of course it was Thursdays. The scene where she was at home after a Thursday, sitting at her dressing table, and her husband came in and asked her about her day, and then asked did she go alone to the movies?, that extra question shows he knew something was going on. She must have been acting very strangely at home before and after Thursdays, we hear her saying how odd her husband didn't notice- Of course he did! But he is too kind a person to confront her, and he loved her and didn't want to lose her by pushing her away.

I think it's clear Her husband knew the doctor (Alec) was going to end it that Thursday because he found out the doc was moving away, either from someone he asked when he made inquiries, or he might even have spoken to the doctor himself, which helped the Doc to make a quick decision to get away.

I think that last Thursday, her husband called a friend of hers to meet her at the Train Station as a favor (not elaborating to the woman exactly why, maybe just that he was worried about her health), because he knew she would be distraught and didn't want her to be alone, and he turned out to be right- she might have killed herself had that woman not been there. I don't believe that it was a coincidence that the woman showed up by accident. The fact thAT THE DOCTOR DID NOT COME BACK IN OR DELAY HIS trip and left the country SO QUICKLY shows that the husband must have known and spoken to him. Also, the Doc had seen from his friend (steven) at the apartment that his colleagues would severely frown on his behavior and his reputation would be ruined. I don't think the Caddish Doc cared about her reputation at all due to his behavior the whole time.

When she called her husband very late from a pay phone after the Apartment incident was when her husband must decided it was getting out of hand and set into motion for the end of it-He must have called her alibi 'with the sick mother" and found out it was false- he must have called Doc demanding he get out of town right away.

It shows what a cad the doctor is that he had a job offer and knew he was going to leave eventually and yet still arranged for them to sleep together at the apartment. He knew he had an escape route from the beginning but he almost RUINED her life. But her husband cleverly saved her behind the scenes.

The fact that he thanked her for coming back to him SHOWS CLEARLY that he knew.

[–] spanishlatam 12 years ago

Your right... I noticed that the doc was a perv when he insisted too much on seeing her again while having dinner.

[–] steven-87 11 years ago

One of the first questions Alec asks Laura is "Mrs or Miss?"
No evidence, I know, but what a cad might ask!

[–] michael_wallace_ellwood 11 years ago

My wife thinks he's a bit of a cad, and led her on. I'm not so sure, but that's perhaps male solidarity kicking in.

I think he was very wrong to pursue it, and clearly he only decided to go to the cinema in order to try to get to know her better, and perhaps start an affair. It certainly wasn't a "coincidence" that he was going to the pictures.

And while one absence from duty might possibly be overlooked, his serial absences from the hospital must surely raise eyebrows. While I don't like the priggishness Steven Lynn displays about Alec bringing Laura back to the flat, he would have a right to be really annoyed that Alec has been playing truant when he was supposed to have been covering for Steven.

I thought of an alternative scenario that would not have made a very good film, but would have allowed Alec and Laura to carry on a mostly harmless flirtation, while keeping their marriages intact.

They could simply have carried on meeting for lunch together on Thursdays. Perfectly respectable. Both regularly took lunch at around the same time anyway. Not champagne lunches, of course. :-) Laura could perhaps have carried on having fantasies about him, but never doing anything about it. If Alec really was a cad, he probably would have made excuses and moved on in time, perhaps to pursue a nurse or something. But if he was the gentleman he seems to want everyone to believe his was, then he would also just be content to lunch with a charming and attractive woman, enjoy some good conversation, and then go back to the grind at the hospital with at least something to smile about.

[–] soleil_9992000 11 years ago

I believe Laura's husband suspected that something apart from the usual routine had occurred with his wife, but I don't think he was certain about what had occurred.

I didn't interpret Alec as a "cad." I think that he was drawn to Laura because she had a genuine sweetness about her. Yes, the physical attraction was present for both parties, but I think there was a bit more to it, even if it wasn't "true love." They enjoyed each others company. I don't think the doctor targeted Laura. I think the attraction between them was accidental and unexpected.

I think Laura made the right decision in not having an actual affair with Alec. I think she realized that she had a pretty good life with her husband and she did truly love him. She was tempted by another man who made her feel pretty and desirable. Sometimes when people have been married for a long time they tend to take each other a little bit for granted, even if they really do love one another.

Since we never see Alec's wife or see him interact with her, I suppose his marital relationship and motivation is open to the audience's interpretation.

[–] Clothes-Off 11 years ago

I can see how viewing it with 2012 eyes might result in the OP's interpretation, but in 1945 I believe the point was to show that this could happen to anyone, not just "cads" (male or female). It's probably why these particular actors were cast as well.

I know this wasn't the first film to deal with the subject matter, but I think this story stands out because so many people can see it happening to them.

"Well, for once the rich white man is in control!" C. M. Burns

[–] arthursoundtracksunlimited 11 years ago

I find most of this speculative moralizing here on this thread somewhat amusing but largely irrelevant. The only meaningful question one might ask (and I suppose the original poster has a definite affirmative but rather absurd answer to) is whether either of the two main characters had ulterior motives for their expressed feelings for one another. All of the evidence points to an unequivocal NO! Regardless of their other committed relationships when they fell in love with each other THEY FELL IN LOVE! The fact that one doesn't subtract from the other is the whole point of the story and what both characters struggle with, and desperately try to reconcile. BOTH selflessly sacrifice for others at the end. The Dr. only puts his hand on her shoulder and he's a cad? She contemplates suicide but doesn't fully reciprocate his feelings? Did I watch the same picture as most of you did??!!

[–] Jason_Radley 10 years ago

I think the husband is the villain here. He's married to one of the most scrumptious pieces of posh totty in Britain, and they're sleeping in separate beds!? Is he impotent, a homo or what? There's a key line that no-one else seems to have commented upon: Laura, lying in her bed, looks over to her husband's: 'That week was misery; I went through it in a sort of trance. How odd of you not to have noticed that you were living with a stranger in the house?' You can't blame the doctor for wishing to prescribe her a weekly course of injections.

[–] AmyLouise 9 years ago

Regarding the twin beds: At that time, the Hayes Code in Hollywood insisted on even married couples sleeping in separate beds. For the film to obtain a US release, any British film would have to follow the same code. It has nothing to do with Laura's relationship with her husband.

[–] whostercogburn 10 years ago

I think the first angle you watched this film from was better! It does read like a bit of a conspiracy theory type article, and I don't think there's much to support your claims. Laura's husband was totally oblivious to the whole thing right up until the final scene, and by thanking Laura "for coming back to him," made it very obvious to the audience that he knew something was going on. In all the previous scenes featuring Fred, he was always very charming, attentive and supportive of Laura. No man who suspects his wife of having an affair could behave in such a relaxed and nonchalant manner.

The only time I'd accuse Alec Harvey of being a bit of a cad was when he invited himself to join Laura at the movies. That was a bit naughty I agree, but it would've have ruined the film somewhat if he didn't!

[–] 10 years ago

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[–] suzanne-lawson1 9 years ago

I agree. I think the Dr was only after one thing and didn't really love her. He probably would have dumped her after he had what he wanted. Maybe that would have been better than her living in a fantasy of an imaginary life together which wouldn't have really happened.