I wouldn't call Marjorie "strong, reserved,
> determined, and confident." She's loyal to a
fault.
She actually enables this idiot by not getting to the bottom
of the problem when her mother died, for example. She could
clearly see something was off base at that point. She
certainly has a hand in her own death. Anyone who's wondering
why the institution of marriage has eviscerated over the past
century only needs to read FRIGHT to get a good idea. Few
people today will put up with a bad attitude from a partner
much less murder. And with good reason. Why make oneself
miserable to live up to someone else's idea of
"marriage," whatever that is? If I knew someone was a
murderer, I wouldn't be around them without a few good
friends or a Smith & Wesson. While Marjorie is certainly
the most sympathetic character in the book, it's never clear
what she saw in Marshall in the first place. Was he charming
when he courted her? Because from the moment we meet him he
is a weakling with no self control, and no common sense when
he finds himself in a predicament. Certainly Dolly Dillon in
Thompson's HELL OF A WOMAN, is a despicable character, as is
Lou Ford in THE KILLER INSIDE ME. Still I don't feel the
contempt for either of them that I do for Preston Marshall. I
think FRIGHT is a great story and would make a good movie,
but to some extent it has to be played for laughs. Marshall's
cowardice is only equaled by his stupidity.
As to the unpredictability of the ending, perhaps it's
because I write, too, but I saw it coming very early on. It's
good! Don't get me wrong. But I did expect it.
Patrick King
--- Jeff Vorzimmer <
jvorzimmer@austin.rr.com> wrote:
> I'm currently reading Manhattan Love Song
which
> reminds me a lot of Fright. The main characters
seem
> to be almost identical, especially the
male
> progtagonist, though the story is different. It
is
> set in 1928, which is four years before the
novel
> was published, but it's surprising how
progressive
> the thinking is about love, marriage,
prostitution,
> etc.
>
> You'll find that almost all Woolrich's
male
> characters are like those in
Fright--whining,
> self-indulgent, petulant, and morally
ambiguous,
> while his female characters are strong,
reserved,
> determined, and confident. That's what makes
a
> Woolrich novel a unique experience.
>
> One other thing about a Woolrich novel that no
one
> has mentioned is that they are never
predictable.
>
> Jeff
>
> ---- Patrick King <
abrasax93@yahoo.com> wrote:
> > While Woolrich's purple passages and
liquid
> metaphors
> > are a lot to deal with, I found the book
engaging
> and
> > interesting to think about. Preston Marshall is
a
> very
> > unattractive protagonist. He is not charming,
he
> is
> > not intelligent, he is a coward, and a
clown.
> While
> > Frank in THE POSTMAN ALWAYS RINGS TWICE, is
an
> > unscrupulous character, he's both cunning
and
> > masculine. Marshall has not even these traits.
The
> > employer, Pond, is an interesting person
because
> of
> > the initial way he dealt with his own crimes,
but
> he's
> > underused in the book. Wise and his wife are
great
> > characters, but represent more of Marshall's
fear
> of
> > what they may be, then the people they
actually
> turn
> > out to be. I do feel sorry for Marjorie but
her
> > continued stupidity mitigates most of my
good
> > feelings. She is in every way better than
her
> husband
> > so why ever did she marry him in the first
place?
>
>
>
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