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Post by reverendcaptain on Nov 17, 2022 20:17:12 GMT
In the play, she was absolutely a Nazi sympathizer. That's why she and Georg broke up (not the love triangle). Her character in the movie is different though. I wonder what movie Elsa thinks about the Nazis. I'm guessing she has a similar feeling as Max and just wants to get along, so as to not make enemies if Austria gets taken over. She must know that Georg is never going to feel that way though.
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Post by indigoblue on Nov 19, 2022 20:46:08 GMT
I think it's quite possible that she didn't know that before she arrived at the villa. In the whirlwind of her Vienna social life, it's quite possible that Georg's loyalties didn't get aired, so when she arrived in Salzburg, not only did she have to unravel the unexpected relationship with the governess, but it became clear with time that Georg's political leanings were far off from her own.
When you factor in that she was 250 miles from home without her own transport, she must have got that sinking feeling...
What were Maria's political views?
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Post by reverendcaptain on Nov 28, 2022 20:45:50 GMT
Ooh, maybe she didn't know! She definitely thinks Georg is being too hard on Rolf, and seems startled when Georg yells at Max in the same scene. One would assume that someone with a military background would be fiercely patriotic, though with some people accepting the Nazis with open arms, maybe this wasn't a given. And maybe they had no reason to talk about it until this point. Did they fight over the guest list for the party? Was the giant Austrian flag his compromise for her getting to invite certain important people (who happened to be Nazis) to the party?
My guess is that Maria feels similarly to Georg about politics. She doesn't seem like a "just make sure it doesn't happen to you" kind of person. What does everyone else think?
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Post by indigoblue on Dec 2, 2022 22:53:15 GMT
I think that is one of the reasons why G&M are drawn to each other. Maybe they had the opportunity to talk together at some point, and some throwaway remark revealed that Maria is fiercely patriotic too - one of those interactions which never made it into the film...it would be a good reason to explain why they both reevaluated each other and came to a different conclusion...and more...
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Post by augiesannie on Jan 1, 2023 0:11:42 GMT
I think I am right in saying that in the play, Elsa was slightly sympathetic to the Nazi cause. If this is the case, it may be another reason why she could see that she and Georg were not going to work together. I believe many Austrians welcomed the Nazis into Vienna in the Anschluss, and she may have been one of them. Yes, in the play, it is quite explicitly the reason for their breakup like reverendcaptain says. I think it's something like, she asks him, can't you see it my way?" and he says, "not if you see it their way." |
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Post by reverendcaptain on Aug 15, 2023 22:20:57 GMT
I recently had the chance to see some vacation pictures from some people I know who visited Eastern Europe. The person who was walking us through the pictures was born there, and so was able to give us details about each city, castle, church, etc. that they visited. I was struck by how many times the word "war" came out of his mouth. "This was rebuilt after the war", "This was because of rations during the war", "This belonged to a different country before the war"...it went on and on. Initially, I (stupidly) asked "Which war?", thinking maybe there was a civil war in this area that I didn't know about. The answer, of course, was WWII. I was shocked at how impactful the events of 80 years ago still are on the every day lives of people. It's something that I don't see here since (the vast majority) of battles did not take place in my country. It was eye opening.
And it made me think of Georg. I'm sure the evidence of WWI was still obvious in Austria when Georg was being "requested" to join the Nazis. I'm sure his experiences during war, especially losing his brother, were always on his mind. I can't imagine how deeply personal his aversion to the politics of the time had to be (and no one even knew yet how devastating it was actually going to turn out). If Elsa was oblivious to Georg's political stance, she really shouldn't have been. It is very clear where his loyalty would lie.
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Post by indigoblue on Aug 17, 2023 23:58:16 GMT
Yes, WWII is still felt deeply as a 'turning point' in all European countries, especially those on the Continent where many countries were overrun by the Germans with horrific consequences, with huge destruction and loss of trust between countries because of changing loyalties, depending on whom they sided with (not always their own choice). There were also national border changes, interracial conflicts and huge loss of life; some people still feel they 'live in the wrong country' as the borders changed around them and their language and culture became subsumed.
In fact, the European Union was in part formed because Europe was so fractured, it was felt necessary to have a unifying force to prevent war in Europe again. Eighty years on , there are still people who can remember fighting in the war, or lost loved ones in it, so it is still not forgotten.
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