Hi guys. I saw this movie recently and was wondering if Tom was married when he had that affair? The affair was (i am assuming) 10+ years ago, and his kids all look like they are under the age of 10, so there was a big enough time gap for him to go back home and start a family. Perhaps his wife was upset that he never told her or that he cheated on her while they were engaged.
shareAccording to the scene with Maria (their last day together)she implies she knows he's married when she tells him she's pregnant. And from the reaction from his wife when he tells her about the kid indicates they were married before he went off to war.
shareThank you very much!
shareI didn't get that he was married at the time. I thought he was engaged to his future wife, or at least in a serious relationship. I could be wrong, though.
No, he was married, Maria uses the word wife when referring to her.
shareI missed that. Thanks for telling me. That makes his character a bit darker and probably more interesting.
Darker? This was a man whose life had been shreaded by war and despair. I don't think he was out to have a 'dark' affair. It...just happened that way while awakening somewhat to the human spirit amidst the very 'dark' reality of war and of little hope of survival.
shareDarker probably isn't the right word. Maybe, it adds an extra dimension to the character? You are right, though, that he would be looking for something comfortable and sane during that time.
"Psychos do not explode when sun light hits them, I don't give a *beep* how crazy they are!"
I don't recall Maria speaking of his "wife." But Tom does ask Maria if she would like to be his "widow," i.e. he asks her to marry him. She doesn't take him seriously, but I don't suppose that he was contemplating bigamy.
I had the impression that he was either engaged to Betsy when he went off to war or they had an understanding (i.e. were in a very serious relationship that would lead to marriage).
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I had previously read the bok and he was very much married before he went to war. The book is definite as to that.
shareThe Italian chick definitely says the word "wife" in the scene where they're laying next to the fire in the shelled out building. Not only that but it's apparent from the way Maria is talking that she knows she has no future with him specifically because he is already married. I'm pretty sure the kids came after the war.
shareI just saw the film, finished it a couple of minutes ago. He must have been married because the Italian boy is 10 years old AND earlier, he told his boss that his children were 10, 7 and 6.
shareYes, she definitely uses the word "wife", and seems happy that she is pregnant even though she knows he will return home to his wife. I just saw this movie a couple hours ago!
Katherine
It's been many years since I've seen the movie, but I remember being puzzled as to why he told his wife about the affair/child in the first place. Why didn't he just send money to the Italian woman for their son on the sly and keep his mouth shut? Was he trying to hurt his wife on purpose because she was kind of witchy?
shareShe makes a comment early(-ish) in the movie about honesty in marriage and then again in business relationships, and Gregory Peck's character feels compelled to be honest with her despite the consequences.
shareIt's been many years since I've seen the movie, but I remember being puzzled as to why he told his wife about the affair/child in the first place. Why didn't he just send money to the Italian woman for their son on the sly and keep his mouth shut? Was he trying to hurt his wife on purpose because she was kind of witchy?
That definitely would've have been the path of least resistance, but as another poster mentioned, Betsy seemed to sense that something had come between them after Tom came home from the war, so maybe it made him feel better by telling her after he found out about the child. Good thing she forgave him in the end. Another reason he might have told her --- she was awfully concerned about money and developing their property into a subdivision --- how could explain or hide the fact he was sending money to someone with his wife that involved with the finances? In some ways I thought Tom was a little whimpy around his wife and others in general....but I assume it was his war experiences that took it out of him.
But Maria says something like, "Will you think of me later, when you're with your wife?" That could be interpreted to mean he was engaged, and Maria knew that he would be with another woman in the future.
shareShe asks how long he will remember her: "Even when you're back with your wife?"
shareThere are some real issues in the film regarding the timing of things. Based on the information in the film, including some cited dates, it's set in fall 1955. (Brooklyn Dodgers won their only WS in 1955.)
The war in Europe is over when Tom has his affair with Maria. He later tells his wife this was June or July 1945. A child conceived then would be born around March 1946, and thus only be 9 years old. Tom and Betsy also have a son who is 10 years old. When was he conceived? Tom would have to have been home on leave, married or otherwise, at this time but he was sent to the Pacific immediately after Italy and at earliest could have gone home in late 1945.
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