fanny or nick?

this movie has intrigued me because fanny's story seems so simple. and she loves her husband, isn't that simple. and on top of that there's a lot of humor in this film. but the nick arnstein aspect of it seemed so dark and mysterious. first it was more clear-- he is beautiful, she feels unworthy. but their estrangement from each other was always "off" to me. i blamed nick's character for being proud partially because they focused so much on what fanny was willing to give up to save their marriage. i also heard they made him into a junk character in the sequel, so i thought maybe that was the original intention.

but now i think i understand what her part really was. obviously she never intended to be unsupportive, but there's this deep message running in this film about what supportive and a relationship means. maybe this is foreshadowed by the "you are woman, i am man" song a little. at least it hinted at roles that are so broad and yet so ambiguous to most of us.

watching it again i see fanny did not know how to give nick support. in the end she even says "18 months have gone by and i never thought about it." she just never went for a more meaningful level of supportive communication with him. their relationship was shallow, them not knowing each other very well, and then not being able to communicate and address their individual needs effectively. it wasn't nick's fault. maybe that's obvious to everyone else who watched it, but i really see how fanny could have done so much more for him.

now why is that deep message in a film called Funny Girl? doesn't it seem random? i don't know. it's very complex and i haven't heard anyone discuss it beyond barbara streisand and her typical victim role.