Saturday, June 8, 2013

Girls, I Have To Wonder--Could Annie Wilkes Have Been Descended From Ashley Wilkes?????????


                             Rhett says "I don't give a damn;" Scarlett says, "As God is my witness....;" Melanie and Bonnie die, while Aunt Pitttypat faints, doles out fine Madeira wine,  and hauls those enormous hat boxes out of the house, during the Atlanta evacuation!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  Even Suellen is a bitch, and Emmy Slattery is White Trash-y!!!!!!!

                               Almost every character in "Gone With The Wind" gets their share of  dramatic attention.  Not so, Ashley Wilkes, the story's most annoying character, who just mopes around, masochistically tormenting himself with sexual hypocrisy and indecision, while doing  an injustice to both Melanie and Scarlett--I am telling you, this character is a real crepe paper hanger!!!!!!!!!!!!!

                               I wonder if there was mental illness in the Wilkes family?????????  And if it trickled down through the generations???????????????

                                I think so, darlings!!!!!!!!  I mean, if you think about it, Ashley, in today's parlance, seemed surely to be suffering from what  would be called clinical depression, with, thanks to his war experiences, a little PTSD thrown in!  Which you can be sure Dr. Mead, too busy, anyway, nursing those wounded soldiers down by the old car shed, hadn't the foggiest notion of, anyway!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

                                The Wilkes were not big on facing things, Ashley in particular.  So, you can just bet this instability trickled down through the ages, (wonder what happened to Ashley and Melanie's son, Beau????), and maybe a Wilkes or two emigrated to California, so that, in the twentieth century, by the time Annie is born, this emotional disequilibrium has been fine toned!!!!!!!!!!!!

                                When it comes to mental illness, Annie, immortalized in Stephen King's novel, "Misery," and defined for screen immortality by Kathy Bates, is the crowning achievement of the Wilkes' dysfunction!

                                  Honey, she has it all--sociopathy, BPD (that's Borderline Personality Disorder, dears!!!!!!!!!) with a penchant for violent laced self-righteousness thrown in--so she can't connect with anyone!  No wonder her warmest relationship is with Misery, the pig!!!!!!  And, if I were she, I would run off the Wilkes farm, but quick, because, if triggered detrimentally, poor Misery could end up as the next loin of pork for dinner!  And I just love her, in the movie!  I wouldn't want THAT to happen!!!!!!!!!!!!!

                                   I have to wonder if Stephen King ever thought of Ashley Wilkes during the writing of "Misery;" I know, at times, I have!  And, if he were to admit it, then that points to a blood  kin relationship between these two rather disturbed characters!!!!!!!!!!!! Personally, I would not want to spend time with either one!  Though, at least, Annie is exciting, in her own, fun, twisted way!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

                                    And, get this--their initials are both AW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

                                   You DO have to wonder, darlings!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

6 comments:

  1. I know I'm in the wrong thread, but I'm hiding out here! I am MORTIFIED that the actor from Rags read what I wrote about him here. It never even occurred to me that all he had to do was google the production and this blog would come up. I seriously feel 2 inches tall. I've directed and acted in off off Broadway plays myself, and I'd feel terrible if someone wrote that about me. I apologize to you too, I should have known better. I feel like taking this guy out to dinner, but he'd probably stick a fork in my throat like Hope Emerson! Awkward much?? Fifty lashes with a wet noodle for me!

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  2. I welcome comments of all sorts on here, and respond to them, in kind. Please don't feel inhibited, or that you have to apologize for anything you say. By the way, my partner, who saw RAGS with me, agreed with us.

    I will deal with this actor on here, so stay tuned. I will be tempeered, but direct. I understand how he feels, but he needs to go back, as I did, and read what I wrote again. But, as I have said, stay tuned! And don't be afraid to express your opinion.

    I have trod some boards, too, as he will find out!

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  3. As the Artistic Director of Beautiful Soup, I just wanted to say thanks for your wonderful review of RAGS. We're so glad you enjoyed it - it's a very special show to all of us and we had such a great time working on it.

    I hope to see you at future Beautiful Soup productions!

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  4. Dear Mr. McCasland,
    Thank you and your company for bringing back RAGS. I only wish it could have been extended or had a more open run. I would have come back.

    Any group that can pull off something as ambitious as this deserves watching. I look forward to the company's next venture!

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  5. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  6. Is there a way to reach you privately, Raving Queen? Could you contact us at beautifulsouptheater@gmail.com?

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