Something that's been on my mind for quite awhile here; not a question about a plot twist or the meaning of a scene. Just an observation:

For some reason, it really bugs me to view the scenes where Michael lies to Kay, insults her intelligence, takes her love and her loyalty for granted. The "courtship" scene in New Hampshire after Michael returns from Sicily was cringe-inducing enough. The scene at the end of GF1 where Michael looks Kay right in the eye and lies to her face was downright disturbing.

For me though, the last straw is the scene in the DC hotel room, soon after Michael beats the rap at the Senate committee hearing by playing the Vincenzo Pentangeli card. Kay questions him about it, and Michael has the audacity to tell her, "It was between the brothers, Kay. I had nothing to do with it".

This is a woman who has now been married to Michael for several years. She had also known him for quite some time prior to their marriage. She has observed throughout all that time the changes in Michael's demeanor and behavior. Though she had never been involved in the family business, she surely had seen enough to have a good idea of what Michael and his associates were up to at any given time, at least in very general terms. She's not stupid. She can read between the lines. It's not hard to figure out.

Yet by this time, Michael lies to Kay as automatically and effortlessly as most people say "Good morning" or "How are you doing?" Part of this is undoubtedly due to the widespread chauvinism that still prevailed during the Forties, the Fifties and the early Sixties. But another part of it is undoubtedly due to Michael's basic lack of respect for Kay, his unwillingness or inability to treat her as his soulmate and intimate partner. And then there is the ever-present influence of the family business - and Michael's unresolved ambivalence about how to reconcile its demands with the requirements of a healthy, happy marriage and family life.

Viewed in its totality, it's easy to see from the clues in GF1 that Kay and Michael's marriage was headed for disaster, years before it ever happened. Almost like a slow-motion train wreck: perhaps a long time in coming, but ultimately inevitable. And heartbreaking when it actually happens.

~ Q