Tuesday, March 13, 2007
Mummy dearest
I had the impression that maybe some bad things happened to Little Edie at home — abuse? neglect? — something that might explain her negative attitude toward her father. And I also had the impression that maybe Big Edie turned a blind eye to some bad stuff (vs. dealing with it) or that she was jealous of her daughter in some way at some point. Did anyone else have that impression?
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No, I didn’t have any very particular impressions like that. But I was left wondering about what mix of their personalities and backgrounds could have brought them to where they are when we see them in the film.
My general impression was just that Edie was alienated from her father because she didn't behave in keeping with her station in life and didn't live up to his expectations for her. She described how she used to come into his office and he would berate her for wearing too much makeup and earrings and high heels. I figured that Edie just didn't conform to what he thought was proper.
I think there was definitely a sense that Big Edie didn't win any mothering awards. The background Erin supplied showed how she was mainly interested in doing her own thing, outside the sexist mores of the time, (and who can blame her?), but I had the sense that in so doing she wasn't the world's greatest parent — that she probably put her own needs ahead of her children's (as her husband undoubtedly did, too). I didn't have the sense that she concerned herself a great deal with Little Edie's happiness, for example, when it came time for her to find a suitable husband.
I found this exchange very telling (and very funny and very sad):
Little Edie: You can't have your cake and eat it, too in life.
Big Edie: Oh, yes, I did. I did, I had my cake, loved it, masticated it, chewed it and had everything I wanted.
What I've gleaned from everything I've read is that Big Edie manipulated things throughout her life so that Little Edie would have to stay home and take care of her. She did her best to chase off all Little Edie's suitors, sabotaged her career, etc. That was Little Edie's view of it, certainly, and there seems to be quite a bit of truth in it, based on some other accounts.
There were some boys too? What became of them?
Here's the 1993 obit for one of them:
BEALE Phelan Jr., 73, died June 26 in Oklahoma City. He was born on June 16, 1920, in New York City to Phelan Beale Sr. and Edith Ewing Bouvier Beale. He grew up in East Hampton, Long Island. He attended Westminster School for Boys in Simsbury, Conn., and studied journalism at Columbia University. He was drafted into the U.S. Army in 1942 and sent to Camp Gruber in Oklahoma. He served in World War II in the Pacific theater of operations and participated in the battles of Saipan and Okinawa, where he was wounded in action. He was decorated with two bronze battle stars and a purple heart. He married Rosella Ramsey in Tulsa, Okla., on Dec. 26, 1942. Mr. Beale had 30 years service with the Oklahoma Employment Security Commission in Tulsa and Oklahoma City, and consulted on unemployment compensation law following his retirement. He was also an American Kennel Club licensed dog judge and toured the U.S. judging obedience trials. He was an accomplished speaker and writer. He delivered speeches to numerous organizations on a variety of subjects and wrote magazine and newspaper articles. He also won hundreds of writing contests. He appeared in television commercials for MCI Communications. He liked to fish in Galveston, Texas. He remained active writing, speaking and judging dogs until his death. He is survived by his widow, Rosella Beale, Oklahoma City; daughter, Michelle Beale, Houston; sister, Edith Beale, Miami Beach; and brother, Bouvier Beale, Glen Cove, Long Island. Funeral services will be 10:30 a.m. Friday, July 2 at Bill Merritt Memorial Chapel, Bethany. Burial will be at Forest Park Cemetery East in Houston.
The other one, Bouvier Beale, had his own law firm in New York. I haven't been able to find out whether he's still alive or not.
I read somewhere that they're both dead.
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