The wife in a World of His Own
Of all the loathsome villains she is one of the worst. Does anyone else agree?
shareIn the whole of the series there are worse ones. However, I agree that I don't like her.
shareIt has one of my favorite endings. Both Victoria getting her comeuppance and the interaction with Rod Serling. I think it's the only time Rod interacts with someone other than us the audience?
shareGregory West is worse.
shareHow is he worse? When he sends characters away they don't die. It didn't appear to be painful. He was just lonely because he mistakenly created an ungrateful self centered bitch and wanted someone to talk with.
shareHe was cheating on her. She had a right to be angry. He didn't like that she defied him by having a mind of her own and coming home when she wasn't supposed to. She called him on his bullshit. He didn't like it. So he threw her in the flames and replaced her with a bland, obedient, empty-headed bimbo that would pour him drinks, call him master and never question his bullshit.
He wasn't cheating on her. He was just talking to the other woman because his wife didn't want to anymore. He didn't care that she had a mind of her own he just wished he had added some human frailty to her. Despite seeing with her own eyes that he was telling the truth numerous times she still insisted he was crazy and shrieked that she was going to have him put in an asylum and take everything he had. Despite all that Gregory DID NOT toss her into the flames. He was about to place her tape back in the safe when the shrew Victoria snatched it away from him and tossed it into the flames thus destroying herself.
Basically everything you said was wrong which kind of makes you look like you just instantly assume the man was the bad guy. Kind of a misandrist, huh?
I'm not a misandrist. But I also don't subscribe to the view that Gregory is blameless in this situation.
Gregory West: "You've got to believe me Victoria. Characters in my plays do come alive. I've seen them, I've talked to them, I even shaken hands with them ..."
Victoria: "You've even made love to them. Remember?"
Gregory: "YYYeeesss .... I mean no ..."
Gregory West cheated on his wife. And if he'd honored his vows, instead of fooling around with another woman, maybe his wife wouldn't behave like such a shrew.
I stand corrected: Victoria threw her envelope into the flames. But considering how indifferent he is to his wife's immolation I find it hard to believe he wouldn't have done it himself at some point (even if he postponed doing it this time).
I'll draw from Samuel Shovel's review of "A World of his Own" on IMDB to underscore my dislike of Gregory West: "The main character's God complex, creating and deleting female companions haphazardly, entrapping them under lock, key, & elephant, making sure they are everlastingly obedient. Whether it's intentional or not, this story feels a bit more misogynistic to modern audience than it probably did back in the 60's. As soon as Victoria disobeys Gregory for the first time, the threatening comes into play."
In conclusion: Gregory West's appeal is lost on me. I'm glad you like him though.
AngularTurnip,
You handled this very well. It's disturbing to see name-calling on this site, but you rose above that.
Thank you.
I certainly don't want to give the impression I hate this episode (it's certainly no "Cavender is Coming" that's for sure). I just happened to find Mr. West a pretty sinister character and feel pity for the women in his life who have to show him at all times the proper deference lest he will them out of existence.
Sorry but you're still interpreting it wrong. He said Yes and then said I mean no because he had made love to his character. The one he was talking to his wife Victoria but she didn't know she was a character so he had to change his answer for her benefit. He obviously wasn't a cheater or he wouldn't have married her in the first place when he could make her do whatever he wanted.
Again you seem desperate to hate the husband and you are trying to alter what happened to justify your hatred. He was not indifferent to her immolation, he was upset even though he knew he could bring her back. The only threatening done was by Victoria who repeatedly threatened to have him put in an asylum despite seeing he had told the truth. Of course you blame Gregory for her malicious actions because he's the man. Quoting someone else desperate to blame the husband doesn't help your skewed view at all.
I can agree that in our present "let's blame the man for everything" society this story seems misogynistic so at least we agree on something. Your opinion that "I find it hard to believe he wouldn't have done it himself at some point (even if he postponed doing it this time)." making Gregory guilty for something you assume he will do(projecting?) just solidifies my original closing comment.
I'm sorry someone hurt you but that's no reason to blame all men.
"I'm sorry someone hurt you but that's no reason to blame all men."
It seems you're doing some assuming yourself.
I don't blame all men because most men are quite lovely. I do, however blame Gregory West more than you apparently do.
I imagine if the average husband came home and found his wife being kissed on the forehead by another man while sitting on this man's lap I bet the average husband would be more than a little suspicious.
"Again you seem desperate to hate the husband and you are trying to alter what happened to justify your hatred."
And you seem desperate to absolve Gregory West of all blame. Yes, Victoria threatened to throw him in an asylum after he explained who Mary was. And, yes, her behavior is a little extreme (I, personally, would not opt to throw the person I was married to into an asylum even after feeding me an explanation like the explanation West feeds Victoria). But she espied Gregory kissing another woman while this woman was on his lap. So some reaction other than unconditional love is in order. Sure, Mary and Gregory weren't caught making the beast with two backs -- how would that have been able to get past the censors anyway? I think the show is suggesting, without getting graphic, that Gregory is unfaithful. And if Gregory didn't want his wife throwing a shit fit maybe he should have worked on saving his marriage and opting not to bring another woman into the picture.
" ... he was upset even though he knew he could bring her back."
He was not upset. Or, I suppose he was a little at first. But then, if you recall, he has a change of heart. "Why not leave well enough alone," he says and brings back Mary who is even getting tired of his bullshit as she demonstrates a scene earlier by pleading with Gregory "don't bring me back again ..." He, of course, does, because after all, Mary's wishes are hardly important; Gregory's, on the other hand, are.
Maybe take a step back and realize that you seem to be getting upset over someone's opinion of a fictional character. We're all just here to have a good time and chat; it doesn't have to be so serious.
shareOf the "humorous" episodes, it is easily my favorite. Partially because it is one of the first episodes I remember seeing way back when, but also I think the plot is just a neat idea.
share