The Wings of a Dove Essay Example
The Wings of a Dove Essay Example

The Wings of a Dove Essay Example

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  • Pages: 6 (1612 words)
  • Published: October 16, 2017
  • Type: Essay
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The American novel that I chose is The Wings of the Dove. This novel was published in 1902 by Henry James. The film was produced in 1997 with Miramar productions and was directed by Ian Softly. This novel was very similar to film that was produced much later in the years and depicts the story of love vs.. Money and friendship. The setting of this story takes place in London at Mrs.. Maude Loader's mansion in 1910. Mrs.. Maude is an extremely wealthy woman and is the aunt of Kate

Crop. Skate's mother passed away and she was sent to live with her aunt knowing that she would be well taken care of. The lifestyle of Mrs.. Maude is very unfamiliar to Kate and takes some getting used to. In the beginning of the film,

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Mrs.. Maude hosts a party at her house and Kate is introduced to a friend of her aunts, Lord Mark. Lord Mark tries to befriend Kate and soon falls for her. Mrs.. Maude wants Kate to marry Lord Mark but Kate refuses because she is in love with another man, a writer named Morton Denser. Morton and Kate met while on the train to go live with her aunt and ell madly in love.

When Mrs.. Maude finds out through the grapevine that Kate is in love with someone who she believes isn't up to par for Skate's well-being. Mrs.. Maude gives Kate an ultimatum and says she will either stop seeing Morton romantically or Mrs.. Maude will disown Kate and her father. Kate agrees to stop seeing Morton, a few months go by and Mrs.. Maude holds another

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party. Morton heard about the party and figured it was his only way to see Kate so he accompanies a date that was invited. There he and Kate meet and their romance is sparked all over again.

Mill Tale, a lately young American girl that Kate went to school with as a child, had moved to London and attended the party too. There Mill spots Morton and asks Kate who he is, Kate replies that he is a Just an old family friend. Kate later finds out that Mill is terminally ill and that she is interested in Morton. Aware of Mills illness and interest in Morton, Kate schemes up a plan where Morton is going to seduce Mill into loving him so that Mill will leave him all her trust fund money and he and Kate will be able to get married after she passes.

Morton, Kate and a friend of Mill go to Venice, Italy o make it look like they are taking Mill away to live up her last few months but really they are there for their own intentions. Kate goes back to London and Morton stays behind with Mill where they spend some weeks together and Just as planned Mill falls for Morton. One morning Mill is paid a visit by Lord Mark and he tells her about Kate and Morton being together from the very beginning. Just like everyone else in the film, Lord Mark tells Mill this for his own good, not out of looking out for her.

He was angry because he had proposed to Mill a few days before and she refused to array him because

she knew that he was only trying to inherit her money. Morton cries and apologizes to Mill for doing what he has done and she says she loves he and Kate and that they are past all of it. A few days later she passes away. Kate and Morton finally see each other after the funeral and are given a letter from Mill about the money she has left him. At the end of the film, Morton says that he wants to marry Kate but not with Mills money because he feels awful about what he has done.

Kate says she will do that on one condition, he has to promise that he isn't in love with her memory. Morton is speechless and at the end of the movie, Kate and Morton go their separate ways. The film had many symbols in it, but one that stuck out to me in particular was "the dove. " Mill is the dove in this story. She is quaint, beautiful, charming and so gracious in her manners. In the film Mill is so kind to everyone she comes across. While on her trip in Venice, she starts to feel dizzy, and disoriented but doesn't let anyone know that she feels that way.

She always wanted to make everyone feel like they didn't have to pity her and that she was capable of doing anything. She kept a smile on her face even when she knew her health was decreasing. "Bright, vivacious, and charming in all ways, she finally wins a heart and ironically loses both hers and his to the tragic situation. Her generosity in remembering her two

closest friends (whom she forgives for plotting a scheme of marriage) is unacceptable finally. The wings meant for sheltering then become symbols of religious purity' (Cyclopedia).

One theme among many that stood out to me was love vs.. Friendship. The love Kate and Morton had for each other end up taking a toll on their friendship with Mill cause they know the only way they will be able to be together is if they deceive Mill into thinking Morton likes her. The significance of this novel during this time period is that it was said to be true back then when women did not have much say in which they were going to marry. Men and women of higher class were taught to not really associate romantically with those who couldn't provide the same for them. Not only are most women working, most young girls are raised to think of themselves as capable of anything they wish to do, and to know they must be economically viable. By contrast, Germane Greer claimed that, unlike their counterparts in the sass and early sass, when the feminist movement was gathering momentum, many women of the sass had been indoctrinated by multinationals selling their versions of beauty, health and hygiene, medicating them and cultivating their dependency' (Raw).

The film and novel were pretty on point with being the same all the way up until the very end of the film when Mill gets very ill and passes away. "What is communicated in the screenplay will only and can only scratch the surface of what is offered by the prose, and if executed half- earthly will result in a

banal and half-hearted ennui. But Amine manages to capture all the moral ambiguity and ambivalence to codes of propriety and human conduct that James places in the book.

It feels modern, this century old tale, that might be described as what Anna Karen might have been were Tolstoy an expatriated American enraptured with the British mode of tragedy'(Connotation Press). In the film, Mill passes away a few days after Morton apologizes for the love affair with Kate and how he deceived Mill. Morton was later met by Mills friend hat had traveled with them to Venice and she was dressed in all black, symbolizing that Mill had passed away. In the novel, "Denser returns to London but does not, at first, go to see Kate.

He cannot face her after the turn that their plans take, and he cannot bear the idea of having hurt Mill as he did. Finally, on Christmas Day, he has a premonition. He hurries to Sir Lake's residence. There he finds Mrs.. Lewder, who tells him that she received a telegram the previous day with news of Mills death. A few days later, a letter arrives from Venice. Without opening it, Denser knows what he message is, for it is addressed in Mills handwriting. He immediately goes to see Kate, who also guesses that it is a letter to tell Denser that Mill left him part of her fortune so that he and Kate might marry.

Neither of them dare open the letter because they are ashamed of their conduct, and they burn the letter in the fireplace" (Masterpiece). I found this film to be entertaining and very well thought

out. I think it shows how money can truly influence people and sometimes bring out the worst in them. The ending was the perfect twist and to be honest, it was an unexpected one. I sat there in away when the film ended with Kate and Morton going their separate ways after trying so hard to be together.

Kate had sabotaged her own relationship with her the scheme she thought up herself. I would most definitely recommend this film. The only thing I would of liked to see change during the film is the way it ended. I thought the twist at the end was fantastic but I would of liked to see more reaction from the two of the characters after having split and gone their separate ways. At the end you Just see Morton get Off little boat and take his educates with him, indicating that he moved to Italy without Kate.

I think that there should have been more emotions shown. Other than that, the film was great, filled romance, passion, temptation and greed. I think this film would be directed more towards a female audience. I don't think the film would make the person want to read the novel because the film was pretty true to the novel. There wasn't much that could be left out. The point of the film was put across very well.

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