Thomas and Smoking
Why was Thomas shown, in almost every one of his scenes, lighting and smoking a cigarette? No one else even smoked in the whole 6 years. Well, almost no one else.
shareIt is peculiar because smoking was so commonplace among men of all classes.
We do see a few other smoking scenes. There's one brief shot of Bates holding a cigarette in Season 1, in the servants hall after a dinner. O'Brien, of course, smoked with Thomas.
At the very end we see Henry Talbot with a cigarette. I don't recall any of the other young men - Mary's three suitors, and certainly not Matthew, smoking, though odds are in real life at least two out of the four (more like three) should have if we're going by the norms.
Having said that, it really isn't needed or necessary to show more characters smoking. Thomas's smoking was probably done to make him appear even more of an outsider.
Thanks, tslly. You could be right - to make him even more of an outsider.
But I was struck by how each time he is shown with the lighter and taking that first deep drag. Every time !! The lighter, the deep inhale. If the cigarette had just casually been hanging between his fingers as the others were shown, it wouldn't stand out. But it does. Especially in contrast to the other (few) smokers that you mentioned.
I became very aware of it as the series went on and noted that it happened every time - the pronounced lighter, etc. Of course, it's quite possible I'm reading something into those scenes that isn't there.
I don't think you're reading too much into it at all, I think you picked up on something that's there for viewers to see. Thomas is a miserable person, and he takes that first drag like that cigarette is his only friend.
*Formerly Nothin_but_the_Rain*
Moss-Garden - His only friend - that works for me. And thanks for that link, Tom.
Another thought - Thomas is clearly a bad guy, but he intervenes in the fight saving the footman and winds up in the hospital badly beaten. Later he runs through flames and saves the unconscious Lady Edith at the risk of his own life. His difficulty with his "aversion therapy" is another complex aspect of his character. Finally, his acceptance back into the family at the conclusion reveals a sympathetic view but is that simply for a happy ending all around?
In some ways, he was the most interesting character of all.
The funny on all this smoking thing is that Robert James-Collier is probably not a smoker and so he didn't know how to properly light and smoke a cigarette. In most of the smoking scenes after lighting the cigarette he didn't inhale the smoke and he spat it somehow out of his mouth creating a smog cloud around his head!
Using smoking as a way to show him as a an outcast wasn't right as back then the majority of men used to smoke ( some from a very young age) and after WW1 smoking became a fashion trend on women too.
Thank you brakerules - I agree with your point.
I am surprised and not a little shocked that this message board feature will soon disappear. I have always found it to be one of the most valuable features on the site. The troll effect is here as it is on most sites, but not so prevalent to require eliminating the message boards. My guess is that there's some other reason but I don't know what it could be.
Good luck.