In the film Unfaithful, Connie Sumner is a wayward wife and Edward Sumner is her suspicious husband. Connie leaves her suburban home on an errand, venturing into Manhattan during a wicked windstorm where she literally runs into Paul Martel, a handsome young Frenchman She mentions the encounter in passing to Edward, her husband, but it’s clear that she’s obsessing about Paul. Edward decides to confront Paul, a decision that will come to haunt him and change the lives of his family forever.
In the film Two Lovers, Leonard Kraditor returns to his childhood home after a recent heartbreak. He becomes drawn to Michelle Rausch, who is struggling within a relationship with Ronald Blatt, a married man. Leonard is also introduced to a down to earth woman named Sandra Cohen, whose family is planning to merge a business deal with Leonard’s family. Leonard is forced to make a decision between following his heart or seeking safety within a predictable and familiar relationship.
Final Questions: (select ONE question for your essay)
1. Unfaithful explores how limerence vs love in the marriage of Connie Sumner and Edward Sumner. Describe their marriage before Connie bumps into Martel on that fateful day. Was it a bad marriage or emotionally unfulfilling? Who was limerent and who was nonlimerent in the marriage? Do these states of limerence seem to switch? Lastly, which force, limerence or love, seems to be the most powerful influence and why?
2. In the films Unfaithful, and Two Lovers, main characters are clearly in the throes of limerence, but how are those who are close to them affected by this disruptive force? Discuss the secondary characters in the films: Edward Sumner, Paul Martel, Sandra Cohen, Ronald Blatt. Are any of these characters triggered into limerence? Can any of these characters be considered nonlimerent?
3. In the films Two Lovers and Unfaithful describe how the limerent finds and then deals with their limerent object (LO). Are these limerents working with the same motivations? How do the limerents’ pasts define their fascination to their LO.
4. Define who the limerent and non-limerent characters are in the two films. How are these characters depicted in the film? Do any non-limerent characters become limerent? If so how and why?
5. Track the course of limerence seen in either Unfaithful or Two Lovers. Start with the limerent’s situation before limerence hit. What in their past or daily life makes them susceptible to the disruptive forces of limerence? What triggers their limerence? Next, describe what phases and effects of limerence are seen in the film. Does the limerent attempt to break away from the clutches of limerence? If so, how? Do they succeed? Why or why not? Lastly, both films have “inconclusive” endings that are left to speculation. What type of relationship is the limerent finally left with? Do their final choices suggest they have found “peace and happiness”?
