screen cap 29: And now, dear God, about Liesl...

She looks skeptical. Which suggests that Maria has either spent a lot of time with mischievous teenage girls, or that back in the day, she was involved in a bit of mischief herself. I always thought it was funny that Maria got right to the point: were you out walking by yourself?

Also I know this is off topic but I love all the detail here: the bolts of fabric we see made into dresses later, the bathrobe we'll see shortly. Who put the flowers there: the girls whose affection she has already earned, or Frau Schmidt.

welcome back!

HELLO LEMACD! Welcome back!

My tuppence-worth is that Maria sees a mirror of herself in Liesl, that's what that look is, and why she doesn't berate her - she knows that rules will get broken if there is something important to you to be done.

I'm always wondering which clothes the bolts of fabric are for, because the top yellow one looks to me like Maria's new outfit from when she returns from her honeymoon, and the green one - not sure!

That look says to me "I'm not buying whatever it is that you're selling."

Though there is something in her look that makes Liesl go from "Are you going to tell on me?" to "You're not going to tell father, are you." The last one was a statement, not a question. So maybe she trusts that Maria is going to be different from the other governesses who would have been all to happy to rat her out?

I like that Maria makes her own up to being out with someone else instead of just saying, "I saw you leave dinner when that telegram boy arrived. I know what you were up to."

Then, not only is she not going to tell on Liesl, she's going to help her cover up the evidence that she was ever not where she was supposed to be. Winning over Liesl had to be a major victory in getting the other older kids to trust her. (the littles were already sold)

As for the fabric, the top is the carriage fabric, the middle is dark brown (so what she is wearing when they leave for the picnic), and bottom appears to be a dark blue with a pattern on it (I don't think we ever see this one). Not sure where her other clothes, shoes, hat come from..

nice work reverendcaptain! And laurynvi, I suppose they had more practice getting into the governess' room than the nursery. Don't you like the way she says, "that's how we always got into the governess' room" like it was ancient history?

Yes, I'd say your last thought is right; the kids must have got used to being berated by their governesses in the past, so to have one who considers herself to be on their level must be a new experience for them, and very pleasing.

I'll go for the Captain deliberately locking Liesl out when he "didn't remember seeing her around after dinner". I always thought he was surprisingly aggressive towards her in Maria's room (actually maybe this is partly why he is so cross from the moment he enters the room, because he realises that she has been successful in giving him the slip, and up until then there was nothing he could do about it - a classic case of a man who likes being in control being out of control - not a good look!) Liesl really needs Maria at this point, and she gets her.

I love the way Maria shows her frustration and annoyance soon after this point - it makes her so human!

Anyone could have locked the doors earlier than usual because of the storm, assuming no one would be outside. But I like the idea of ​​Georg doing it to test Liesl.
Georg's irruption into the governess's room is as aggressive as his look and seeing that his authority is being examined by everyone, he takes the opportunity to emphasize it to Liesl, knowing that perhaps he catches her giving up but slowly accepts Maria's excuse.
I have always thought that Georg has always known with whom Liesl walks in his gardens after dinner. When it comes to his eldest daughter, his own house, the kid who regularly comes with telegrams, I have no doubt that Georg knows everything, no matter how indifferent he appears at dinner (recall the look of disapproval in the Abbey hideout when Liesl gasps at the sight of Rolf). Maria doesn't know it but she intuits it, perhaps due to affinity with her youth, perhaps simple feminine intuition.

In houses with children after dinner there is always a time for the game (and the routine fights to brush the teeth!). I remember hearing my mother and aunts talk (50 years ago) about reading in their rooms or just talking all sisters together until late at night.
I imagine this environment in a time without technology: books and lots of chatter (toys for the little ones). Only this time in a low voice to avoid being heard by his father, eager for discipline, who will surely spend time in the study before retiring to sleep (yes, I also imagine Georg with the smoking jacket and the liquor). If he himself admits that "bedtime is strictly observed in this house" there were probably reasons for establishing this rule: lots of play, shouting between siblings, endless fuss. Everything a lonely parent must face (or fear facing).

Does Georg think that Maria knows about/approves of Liesl's relationship with Rolf? That Liesl told Maria all about it that evening and that is why Maria is covering up for her? Or does he think Maria is helping Liesl just to be kind (and in the process upset him by breaking the rules)? 

My feeling is that Georg is crabby during the thunderstorm partly because the kids are out of bed in Maria's room, but also because he has a suspicion that Maria is defensive of Liesl's activities after dinner. The trouble is that he is in a bind because he is going away, so he doesn't have the time to do anything about it, but also that he is going away for so long he can't sack her (as he has probably done with governesses before) because then there wouldn't be anyone to look after the kids.

I get the feeling he doesn't know what Liesl has been up to, another source of annoyance, because if he asks in front of the kids it will make him look like he is out of the picture (not what he likes). Hence when he catches Rolf throwing stones at the window, he roars because it explains the deception of his daughter.

I think Maria had identified that Liesl was at a different stage to the other kids, and wanted to take the opportunity to chat with her in a more grown-up way.

In doing this, she was probably hoping to find out what Liesl was doing in the garden at night, and who she was meeting.

And who knows, perhaps she was going to use it to launch into something about the Birds and the Bees...!

After all, I can't see the Captain taking the initiative...

Maybe no-one...maybe she was completely innocent when she was at the Villa von Trapp?

Is that why she left for the Abbey, because that steamy look he gave her down the hall in the party was too much for her, and she (sort of) knew what it meant?

But didn't? Or...she knew he was so experienced and she wasn't?...

Did this really happen? Yikes! I know she didn't know anything going into marriage, but wouldn't you think Georg, a father of 7, would have had this basic level conversation with her before she was actually pregnant? Or that she would have asked someone how it works? I don't understand the thought process behind leaving people in the dark when you have information that you know they need to know. 

I was thinking about what it would have been like in the film if Julie had played Maria as a total innocent...can you imagine the worldly captain sparring with someone so naive? It just wouldn't have worked!

I realised that so much of the fun and intrigue in their relationship is borne from the fact that the Maria that Julie plays is actually a little bit sassy and has plenty of spunk, enough to give the Captain a run for his money. And it is this 'game' they play which sustains our interest all the way through to their wedding. True to say, perhaps Julie couldn't have played someone truly innocent as IRL she was married with a child, so had lost all that, but it is her slightly tongue-in-cheek attitude and refusal to be overrun which makes their relationship so combative, and therefore equal.

Know what I mean?!