#126
Posted: 2/20/07 at 4:21pm
Wow, quite the debate we have here.
To me, it's like you're saying "Melchior should have done x," but... did he know enough to figure that out? Maybe not. You're saying realistically, he should have known to pull out -- but the naivete the show suggests in these characters leads me wonder if he truly did not know any better. That seems to be the tragedy of it all in the sense that they spiral so far down from their innocence.
I'm not saying that Melchior should have "tried to pull out," or anything like that, since I think that would be pretty absurd (and quite difficult to stage?), but I think it is a material point that he probably knew that sex leads to pregnancy. And probably either didn't consider it or didn't care. He's presented as the one character who actually does know these things...a tempter of sorts. Part of the tragedy of the piece is that Melchior knows more than everyone else, and he imparts knowledge to them -- selectively -- that eventually leads to their downfall within the confines of the repressive society. I'm fine with the plot being as it is now, but I wish there had been more exploration of Melchior's actual feelings, motivations, guilt, etc.
I do think that they tried to make Melchior the tragic hero of the show and really want audiences to genuinely like and relate to him, as evidenced (IMO) by the change of the sex scene from rape to consensual sex. But in this, I don't feel that they were entirely successful. He thinks that he's liberating them, but I think that there's also a fair measure of selfishness in his actions. His actions lead them to tragic ends, and those can ultimately be traced back to the social structure that prevents them (all but him, I'm assuming) from knowing these consequences, but I see Melchior as far from blameless. I wish that they had actually embraced this and explored it more.
To me, it's like you're saying "Melchior should have done x," but... did he know enough to figure that out? Maybe not. You're saying realistically, he should have known to pull out -- but the naivete the show suggests in these characters leads me wonder if he truly did not know any better. That seems to be the tragedy of it all in the sense that they spiral so far down from their innocence.
I'm not saying that Melchior should have "tried to pull out," or anything like that, since I think that would be pretty absurd (and quite difficult to stage?), but I think it is a material point that he probably knew that sex leads to pregnancy. And probably either didn't consider it or didn't care. He's presented as the one character who actually does know these things...a tempter of sorts. Part of the tragedy of the piece is that Melchior knows more than everyone else, and he imparts knowledge to them -- selectively -- that eventually leads to their downfall within the confines of the repressive society. I'm fine with the plot being as it is now, but I wish there had been more exploration of Melchior's actual feelings, motivations, guilt, etc.
I do think that they tried to make Melchior the tragic hero of the show and really want audiences to genuinely like and relate to him, as evidenced (IMO) by the change of the sex scene from rape to consensual sex. But in this, I don't feel that they were entirely successful. He thinks that he's liberating them, but I think that there's also a fair measure of selfishness in his actions. His actions lead them to tragic ends, and those can ultimately be traced back to the social structure that prevents them (all but him, I'm assuming) from knowing these consequences, but I see Melchior as far from blameless. I wish that they had actually embraced this and explored it more.
)But I get it now. 
