MovieChat Forums > The Collector (1965) Discussion > About Freddie's 'ability'

About Freddie's 'ability'

posted 15 years ago by rfniligxkx
6 replies | jump to latest

Was Freddie impotent?

SPOILERS

When Miranda is trying to seduce him and they lie on the couch and he starts kissing her... Suddenly he stops, looks terribly frustrated and then he appears to have come to a certain realization. He goes on then accusing her of behaving like a slut and that's not what he wants of her, et cetera.

Could it be that when he stopped, with that frustrated look on his face, that he realized he couldn't perform in spite of her willingly offering herself to him, and then figured out he could just turn it into something else, blaming her for being promiscuous and avoiding the embarrassment that way?

[–] bogwart-1 15 years ago

There's no suggestion that he was impotent, either in the book or the film. He idealised her and wanted her for her beauty. He had already promised that he would not sexually molest her and would have been mortified at what he saw as cheapening her.

Besides, after it was all over he started looking for another girl. If all he wanted was to get his leg over he had more than enough money to guarantee that.

[–] Child_OfThe_Moon 15 years ago

In the book Clegg says his excitement went away after he sensed that Miranda was only trying to seduce him to escape, so it's not really clear if he's impotent or whether it's just his extreme discomfort. Miranda tells him "it happens to lots of men, it doesn't matter", so it's obvious he's had difficulty, but he makes up a story about a psychiatrist telling him he could never do it, probably to hide the fact that he simply feels disgusted about sex. And he's too afraid to say that for the fear of having to explain his first unpleasant experience with the prostitute, which is probably what made him adverse to sex. He does obviously have a sexual nature though as he describes being able to "take his time" with the nude photos he took of Miranda.

So yes, I do think Clegg accuses Miranda of being low and despicable to mask his own sexual hang-ups and insecurities, but they reach far beyond mere impotence, and being the moralistic hypocrite he is, he has no intention of exploring or realising his own perversities.

Death is a stripping away of all that is not you. The secret of life is to die before you die — and find that there is no death.

[–] slowpoke_98 15 years ago

In the film, he strokes her breast while she's unconscious (in the scene after the "i know you need a witness to get married" scene). It's very quick & I didn't notice it at first, but it happens.

[–] spookyrat1 11 years ago

In the film, he strokes her breast while she's unconscious...

True enough, but I think there were strong suggestions throughout the film that in spite of his obsessions, he was incapable of much greater performance than this.

[–] 11 years ago

[deleted]

[–] mdonln 9 years ago

rfniligxkx says > Was Freddie impotent?

Yes, Freddie was a true nut and impotent in every way. He could only imagine things, like a relationship with a woman, but he couldn't really do have any kind of normal relationship with a woman.

To him his 'guest' was no different than one of his precious butterflies. He can sit all day and admire their beauty from afar but he wanted to possess them. To do that he had to destroy them but he didn't care. In his mind that's what love and relationships are.

He watched Miranda's every move for a long time then finally he decides he must have her. He may think he has some sexual attraction to her but he doesn't know the first thing about sex. When she came on to him, it was more 'real' than he could stand. She was shifting power and he would be vulnerable. She'd laugh in his face, and he not only knew it, he knew he couldn't handle it.

Woman, man! That's the way it should be Tarzan. [Tarzan and his mate]