kellerjami says > I loved this movie for years. She had been hurt so deeply it changed her to a cold person. She wanted to inflict pain on his heart and indeed she did just that. For its easier to die then to live with the pain of rejection.
I have to finally accept I must really be an oddball. I've read a lot of posts and most people are either in support of Catherine's treatment of Morris and/or would have liked for there to have been an ever more tragic ending.
I have never understood how people could behave so horribly towards someone they supposedly once loved. I know people can do hateful things that can cause someone to fall out of love with them but could it really have been true love if it brings out the worst of the person who once loved them?
Even if we believe the worst of Morris, Catherine did experience love because of him. She also experienced pain but that should have helped her grow as a person and find inner strength. She should have been happy that, at least, his departure kept her from making the mistake of marrying him.
That's why I say I must be an oddball because that's how I approach life. In my view, life is comprised of the good and the bad; there are ups and downs; happiness and pain. We have to navigate our way through it all; hopefully learning valuable lessons along the way. Even if we choose never to associate with someone again, we can forgive them for their shortcomings because we aren't perfect either. I believe getting revenge is childish. It's not as if Morris had committed a crime and injured Catherine. He may have hurt her feelings but basically he just changed his mind; which he had every right to do.
Letting what happened with Morris or her father cause he to become bitter, cruel, and spiteful does more harm to Catherine than to anyone else. The problem is she found it easier to blame others than to look at how she contributed to what happened. That's not to say no one else played a role in her unhappiness but she can't change them. She can only change aspects of her own life and personality that allowed those situations to occur. Not doing that will cause her to either isolate herself or keep repeating the same unfortunate scenarios over and over again.
Unfortunately, what the OP suggests is what a lot of people, especially these days, choose to do when dealing with the problems in their lives. Their only thought is to lash out violently against those they hold responsible for their misery instead of figuring out how they can overcome, persevere, and create the life they want. It's always easier to blame others than it is to own up to the ways in which we fail ourselves. In Catherine's case, she never seems to accept that her social awkwardness made her a big target. Had she not repelled other men, she might have learned along the way how to differentiate between true love and false pretense.
Later when Morris returned, perhaps she should have used that opportunity, not to do to him what she felt he had done to her but, to behave as she would have liked him to have treated her; with respect. Only then would I have seen her as triumphant. She should have said, Morris, I have heard you out and I want you to know that I did love you once but you have showed me by your actions that you are not the right man for me. I will not marry you and from this moment on want nothing more to do with you. Please do not come to my house or attempt to make contact with me again in any other way. Have a great life. Good bye!
The truth is she didn't really know if his intentions were true; she could never know that. What she did know was how he behaved towards her that one night. That alone made her distrust him and was reason enough not to want to marry him. It works both ways. I get equally frustrated with women who accept all kinds of bad behavior from men (and vice versa) in the name of love; saying... oh, but I love him. That's just as bad.
Woman, man! That's the way it should be Tarzan. [Tarzan and his mate]
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