MerylStreep\\JeremyIrons\\desire,betrayal longing-timeless4conte

human emotions—desire, betrayal, longing—are timeless, while the context changes

"It was as if a torture had become a delight... She does not want to be cured." Oh and he knows prostitutes that "gloated" over their "victims" being husbands with children. Great perspectives on this dude. I don't know what you mean by pointing out this quote, which would only make this movie great if you understand the absolutely demented perspectives of men then and now. Look in to Freud. He wrote that one of his patients. explain

ChatGPT said:

The quote “It was as if a torture had become a delight... She does not want to be cured” points to a profound psychological paradox — one that blends suffering and desire, especially within the framework of Victorian repression, gender dynamics, and Freudian theory.

Let’s break it down:

Freud and the "Pleasure in Pain" Paradox

Sigmund Freud observed in several of his patients — particularly women in Victorian society — that their neuroses were often tied to unconscious desires and socially forbidden emotions.

In one case (likely the one you're referencing), a female patient described a sense of gloating or hidden satisfaction when placed in the role of a sexual "victim," especially over men who were otherwise respectable — married, with families. Freud saw this as a reversal of power: the so-called "fallen woman" secretly gaining control over those who had public moral authority.

Freud’s view: Symptoms can persist not only because of unresolved trauma but because the patient unconsciously derives pleasure or psychological power from the suffering. This is called secondary gain.

Applied to The French Lieutenant’s Woman

Sarah, the titular "fallen woman," chooses to remain in her role as a social outcast. She resists being “rescued” or re-assimilated into polite society by Charles. Her refusal to be “cured” — even though it would mean a return to security — aligns with this Freudian insight. She may be gaining:

Autonomy in a world that denies women agency
A morally inverted power over the men who desire or pity her
A kind of existential dignity in her suffering, ungoverned by male approval

So, the quote isn’t just about Sarah being “demented” — it reflects how women were pathologized for having inner lives that didn’t conform to male expectations of healing or submission.

? Your comment on “demented perspectives of men”

Precisely. That’s what the film and Fowles' novel critique:

Men pathologize women’s agency (e.g., “she doesn’t want to be cured”)
Even apparent empathy (like Charles’s) is laced with control and projection
The idea of women “gloating” over respectable men’s moral fall isn't about evil — it’s about power in a society where women were denied it openly

Conclusion:

The quote only makes the film great if you understand the twisted social norms, psychological repression, and gendered double standards of both the Victorian era and our own. It’s not about Sarah’s illness — it’s about the culture’s refusal to let her own her pain without diagnosis, and a man’s attempt to “fix” her becoming part of the same patriarchal structure she resists.

The central theme of The French Lieutenant’s Woman is the tension between passion and societal constraint, woven through love, identity, and the illusion of choice—all explored via parallel narratives.

1. Love vs. Convention

In both timelines—Victorian England and modern times—the protagonists struggle between deep emotional or physical desire and the social or personal responsibilities that attempt to suppress them.

2. The Search for Identity and Autonomy

Sarah (the "French Lieutenant’s Woman") is a symbol of female agency and ambiguity. She defies the role assigned to her by Victorian society, choosing her own path—even at the cost of alienation.

3. The Nature of Fiction and Reality

The metafictional dual structure (a story within a story) questions the boundaries between reality and art.

4. Freedom vs. Fate

Both Charles and the modern actor find themselves caught between a life that is safe and socially acceptable, and one that is risky but authentic.

In essence, The French Lieutenant’s Woman is a meditation on romantic love as both liberating and destructive, filtered through the prisms of social expectation, personal agency, and narrative artifice.

隴山隴西郡

ChatGPT said:

Freud and the "Pleasure in Pain" Paradox

Applied to The French Lieutenant’s Woman

? Your comment on “demented perspectives of men”

Conclusion:

1. Love vs. Convention

2. The Search for Identity and Autonomy

3. The Nature of Fiction and Reality

4. Freedom vs. Fate

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