Marion Ravenwood, presexual tomboy

[dreamer_easy]

"Our initial image of Marion is as a woman who is physically tough and mentally determined. Furthermore, she is a 'presexual tomboy', the ideal companion for Indy, whose masculine quests would only be undermined by any love interests in the peripheral plot... Showing no remorse for placing Marion into these precarious situations, Indy criticises her for wearing a dress given to her by Belloq. His criticism is, in fact, a criticism of her blossoming femininity. 'Whereas Indy treats Marion like an irritating kid sister,' Biskind states, 'Belloq treats her like a woman.'"

- Biber, Katherine. The Emperor's New Clones: Indiana Jones and Masculinity in Reagan's America. Australasian Journal of American Studies 14(2) December 1995, pp 67-86.

(I periodically find my photocopy of this article in the piles of paper about the place, and get something new from it every time I re-read it.)

Comments

[purrdence.livejournal.com]

I thought Indy and Marion had had a romantic relationship prior to events in Lost Ark and he had broken her heart (one of the reasons her father and Indy had broken off contact)?

[alryssa.livejournal.com]

I believe the implication is that he was decently older than she was; her specific line to him is, "I was a child; I was in love-- it was wrong, and you knew it!"

So there are a host of things implied by that statement, notably that she had a huge crush on him which he may well have played into despite his supposedly better conscience.

[pbristow.livejournal.com]

Actually... Hm. Yes, I remember that now, sort of. Modulo Alryssa's comment, I think... [SCRATCHES HEAD] Weird how the memory re-invents things, isn't it? [BOGGLE]

Damn it, now I'm going to have to watch the movie to straighten my head it out! =:o}