#portrait of a marriage

Day 15: Character with Most Intense Internal Conflict

Tie - Vita Sackville-West, Portrait of a Marriage & Sarah Morris, The Intended

This was actually supposed to be “write a letter to Janet day,” but I decided that a letter was a bit too personal, and opted to create a new topic. Hence, Vita and Sarah. Not that Janet’s other characters didn’t have internal conflicts, or external conflicts for that matter, but it seemed to me that upon viewing both of these films, Vita and Sarah appeared to be, pardon the term, tortured souls, in a manner of speaking. Vita and Violet’s relationship, as I’ve mentioned before, was so astoundingly toxic and volatile, I don’t know how they managed to stay together for so long. Though, it’s almost like despite their intense arguments, they were truly passionate about one another, in an almost sickening capacity. Their love affair was this force field of sexually charged resentment and hostility. They were like school girls in the beginning (actually, they technically wereschool girls when they first met) and we see the violent decline by the end of their torrid affair. It was exhausting to watch them. And then, of course, we have Sarah Morris, a Mrs. Robinson in her own right, as she was betrothed to a much younger man, who literally is forced to prostitute herself in order to save her fiance’s life. This film is also hard to watch because not only is it dirty (in both a literal and figurative sense), but it’s clear from the beginning that sexual activity is a painful subject for Sarah, so much so that she doesn’t even sleep with Hamish. It’s a disgusting predicament she’s put in - her intended’s life at stake; having to fornicate with a filthy, obese, dishonorable murderer. I think that, ultimately, the most disheartening part for Sarah is that…she actually may have, just a little bit, liked having sex with William, or was at the very least, semi-aroused by it…though it disgusted her. In both films, love, sex, and betrayal lead to deep, internal conflicts, and at times, self-loathing. I admire Janet for exploring characters such as Vita and Sarah because I’m guessing that the sexuality she portrays with each role is different from her own, and once again, I think it illustrates how expansive she is in her work. /Film as a Narrative Art English paper.