June 26, 2015

Richard Armitage: Wharton Quoted as Saying of Mr Royall "he's the book" + Received Saturn Award 2015

QUOTE: The Divided Conflict of Edith Wharton's Summer by CAROL WERSHOVEN -- WHEN Bernard Berenson complimented Edith Wharton on her latest novel, Summer, and expressed admiration for its predominant male character, Lawyer Royall, Wharton replied, "of course he's the book."l Wharton's statement has been largely ignored by critics who view the book as Charity Royall's story, and who classify Lawyer Royall as an old windbag, a pompous drunkard, or worse. 2 The popular interpretation ignores not only Royall's central position in the plot, but Royall's central role in the novel's subtle and unfolding themes. For Summer is not just Wharton's variation on the old seduced-and-abandoned theme; it is a story of two protagonists, both of whom must come to terms with their destructive illusions in order to lead adult lives. The ability to "look life in the face, "3 to confront reality without flinching or evasion, was, for Wharton, an essential quality in mature conduct. She repeatedly traced the conflicts of characters faced with the choice of escape through evasion or a more painful but adult recognition of things as they are. In the majority of her novels, Wharton chronicles this conflict through the use of an outsider heroine, one who exposes the reality ofsituation and selfin confrontation with a weak male. This male figure, unable to face the truths the heroine reveals, rejects her. Such is the pattern of Ellen Olenska and Newland Archer in The Age of Innocence, of Lily Bart and Selden in The House of Mirth, as well as of Wharton's lesser known novels. 4 What is unusual about Summer is, as Wharton herself noted, that a man, Royall, is at the center of the book, that the conflict between suffocating illusions and painful but liberating reality is not expressed through Wharton's customary plot structure.
Richard won the above Saturn Award as the best supporting actor in a fantasy film' He played Thorin Oakenshield in the 3 Hobbit films. Following is not his Thorin attire rather it's a fan's dream costume for him...
Thanks to www.richardarmitagecentral.com for making available a translation of a Polish interview with RA.  He was asked about playing Francis Dolarhyde on 'Hannibal' Following is a quote from that interview(see link below)
"I think in fact 'Red Dragon' is a tragic love story....I've never played such a character and I will not ever again"
Following from fan Abby - adorable! Do a search to learn origins of the flowered crown meme...
See Poldark, ep 2 on PBS this Sunday...
After past couple days, it's encouraging to see just how stupid Mideast Death Cult can be... 
http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~irlmahs/index.htm

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